By Daisy Su, Applications Software Strategic Marketing

We’ve come a long way in telecommunications — from the earliest days of tin cans and strings to a more complicated world with many different players.  Now, we must rise to the next challenge. It’s time for the key players in telecommunications to come together and innovate for the greater good. If it sounds overly idealistic, it isn’t. There’s something in it for everyone. If it sounds simple, it is.

There’s a simple idea at the heart of all major advances. From the beginnings of telecommunications, one simple idea after another has brought us to the point where we are all interconnected. As a result, today, we live in the midst of a wired and wireless web of relationships and interactions.

But, like every evolution, our leaps and bounds in technological and social evolution come with their fair share of chaos and confusion. Our web is tangled. We’re constantly in touch but it’s not always easy. Different devices, applications and, even different service providers, limit how, where and when we can connect with the people and the brands we care about.

Here is the simple idea:

If all of the players involved in the telecom ecosystem — service providers, application and content providers and developers — work together to deliver the next wave of innovation, a new paradigm will emerge. This new model will deliver the seamless experience that is the next step in the evolution of telecommunications. And it will benefit all.  Applications and content will:

• Leverage network capabilities and support cross-provider interoperability.
• Drive consumption of data services to increase advertising revenue, generate new revenue from applications and content and — most importantly — reduce churn.

As a part of the application enablement vision, Alcatel-Lucent empowers the world to innovate together in an open, secure and interoperable environment. The result is a win-win-win business model between service providers, application and content providers and developers. Let’s take a quick look at what working together means to each of the players:

• Service providers can transform their existing network assets into revenue-generating application opportunities. With branded in-house development, co-branded development with customers, third-party development — or a combination of any of these strategies — and an open and secure environment, service providers can set the stage for a vibrant application and content ecosystem that exploits the full depth of their network.

• The new players in the ecosystem — application and content providers — can easily access the communications, context, content, and control capabilities needed to differentiate their offerings and deliver enticing experiences.

• Developers can put their apps on the map, literally. With simplified access to valuable network capabilities, such as location, geofencing and presence, developers can introduce personalized applications that will stand out in the crowd.

Only by innovating together in an open, secure and interoperable environment will everyone benefit from the new possibilities. And only by innovating together will telecommunications become a seamless and compelling experience for people at home, at work and on-the-go.