Anyone still doubting that the cloud’s future is all about purpose-built industry-specific technologies and solutions should take a long, hard look at Snowflake‘s new Telecom Data Cloud.
And if doubts persist after digesting this new industry-specific move and hearing AT&T say the new Snowflake cloud helps it liberate its data and drive revenue growth, well, then I wish those doubters well and suggest they consider alternative career options.
I have several reasons for taking this view:
- The unprecedented disruption that has reshaped every industry in the world is still underway, and any company that chooses to try to compete in these new times with yesterday’s technology will be devoured by that upheaval.
- In today’s digital economy, it is the buyers calling the shots rather than the sellers, and traditional solutions are still centered on what the sellers want to do rather than on what the buyers want to have.
- The days of the general-purpose one-size-fits-all clouds are over: Dramatically higher customer expectations, more-intense competition within industries, and more regulatory requirements within industries mean that purpose-built technology is the only way forward.
- The future is coming at us faster than ever before and the only way for businesses to keep pace with their customers and prospects is via ever more-precise digital solutions that allow ecosystems to work together seamlessly and in real time to meet the new expectations of consumers as well as business customers.
Against that backdrop, Snowflake says its Telecom Data Cloud:
- “Unites Snowflake’s data platform, Snowflake- and partner-delivered solutions, and industry-specific datasets”
- “Helps telecommunications service providers break down data silos within companies and across the ecosystem, allowing organizations to easily and securely access data in near real-time, enrich it with machine learning (ML) models, and then share and analyze it to drive better decisions”
- “Helps telecommunications service providers accelerate digital transformation, enable superior customer experiences, maximize operational efficiency, and monetize new data services”
While all of those four strategic business outcomes are essential, the one that is nearest and dearest to my heart is the last one on the list: “Monetize new data services.” Let me emphasize that the first three are wonderful and extremely important and I love them all: accelerating digital transformation, driving superior customer experiences, and maximizing operational efficiency.
But as we are seeing all around us in today’s very tough economy, the lifeblood of business right now is revenue — maintaining the revenue that’s already coming in will keep you abreast of your competitors, but the ability to “monetize new data services” is one of the key elements to thriving and achieving category leadership in this new digital world.
And that’s precisely what AT&T chief data officer Andy Markus said in the Snowflake press release about its new industry cloud: “Our focus at AT&T is always on ensuring that we’re delivering meaningful customer experiences and leveraging our data to maximize operational efficiencies as well as new monetization efforts to grow the business. With Snowflake’s Data Cloud, we’ve been able to democratize and liberate our data to meet these goals.”
That theme of precisely orchestrated growth capabilities was also echoed by the global head of Snowflake’s telecom business, Phil Kippen:
“The next wave of growth and innovation in the telecommunications industry will undoubtedly be powered by data and requires collaboration across businesses and industries. Snowflake’s Telecom Data Cloud unlocks these opportunities by creating one unified platform, enabling secure data collaboration by connecting telecommunications service providers with a rich ecosystem of applications, data, and technology partners.”
Phil Kippen
Final Thought
The days of siloed and general-purpose apps are going the way of the steam shovel, the luggable computer, and the floppy disk: They were fine in their time, but that time is long gone. It’s been replaced by a business world that is more demanding, more exacting, more data-intensive, faster-paced, and totally unforgiving of businesses that still believe that it is they — and not their customers — at the center of the universe.
So this is a big move by Snowflake as it joins industry-cloud powerhouses Salesforce, Oracle, Google Cloud, SAP, Workday, and others in driving a new generation of powerful, flexible, and revenue-producing industry solutions.
To hear more data modernization, AI/hyperautomation, cybersecurity, and growth strategies from CIO practitioners, tune into Acceleration Economy’s Digital CIO Summit, which takes place April 4-6. Register for the free event here.
