Welcome to 2019 and all the telecom threats we want to crush!
As we kick off the year, I anticipate a year of exciting opportunities for communications service providers (CSPs) worldwide - but with these prosperous times new fraud threats and revenue leakage vulnerabilities may present themselves that CSPs must acknowledge as early in the year in order to stem potential losses.
So, what’s on my list of exciting opportunities? I see 2019 as the year where we will finally see the benefits of digital transformation. While visiting customers over the past 12 months, I’ve seen a shift in how CSPs are approaching the digital era. Where it was once with trepidation, our customers are now starting to realize fruits of their labor – shown by the number of 5G networks being switched on, and announcements of future roll outs. I see 2019 as the year that the adoption of IoT, augmented/virtual reality, and other connected services will skyrocket across the globe.
Unfortunately, with all these new and exciting devices and services come billions of new fraud and revenue leakage risks that communications service providers need to prepare for. Over the past two decades, communications networks, services, and risks have vastly changed - but for the most part, the way CSPs have managed fraud and revenue assurance have remain unchanged. With a network of billions to protect, these cracks in the armour will soon become chasms for fraudsters to exploit. It is no longer feasible for CSPs to manage their fraud management and revenue assurance like they did in recent past.
Fraud management, security, and assurance are increasingly becoming interdependent, and it’s time for CSPs to determine a strategy for breaking down the siloes between these ‘divisions’ in order to holistically protect their networks. Thankfully, advancements in machine learning, artificial intelligence and automation are helping pave the way to identify patterns across fraud, security and assurance that reveal hidden relationships and suspicious movements, helping to minimize potential damage. This is the only approach in an era where devices will outnumber humans by 5-1, and where protection is no longer possible by relying solely on outdated fraud management systems.
Helping CSPs overcome this challenge will be a key focus for WeDo Technologies in the coming year. We have made significant investments in cloud and AI/machine learning and continue to build out our risk management offering, integrating security as a key data point for fraud management.
These developments and key strategies into how CSPs can overcome the challenges of risk management in 2019 and beyond will be front and center at WeMeet Asia, which is being held January 23-24 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. WeMeet Asia is an annual gathering of the region’s best minds in fraud and revenue assurance, sharing best practices and exchanging ideas.
2019 is going to be an exciting time for the communications industry, but the time is now to transform your fraud and assurance practices in order to realize the full potential of this opportunity. I look forward to seeing you at our Asia event, or at the forthcoming WeMeet Europe and WeMeet Americas events that are planned later in the year.
Want to get in touch? Contact us anytime.