In this never before told full story behind Telefônica’s external monetization journey, Jason McGee-Abe, Editor of PEX Network, speaks to Lorraine Stone, UK Country Director, Telefônica Dynamic Insights, about the origins of its Big Data Smarts Steps program. Looking at how the telecommunications giant has adapted its proposition to become more flexible and bespoke, whilst enhancing the value of its data to multiple sectors.
Smart Steps, which provides insights based on the behavior of crowds to help companies make informed business decisions, was launched in October 2012 as the first product of Telefônica Dynamic Insights. In the first 18 months, the focus was spent understanding the data, creating the platform and trying to focus on a retail solution looking at granular insights.
"We’ve secured some big brand names in our portfolio," explains Lorraine, but the customer model has constantly evolved.
The original vision was centered around an insight capability predominantly focused on retailers and Telefônica wanted to link the mobile network with what they knew about the locations of crowds to determine movements and profiles of crowds. The insights could help retailers to tailor local offerings for existing stores, and determine the best locations and most appropriate formats for new stores.
The creation of Telefônica Dynamic Insights, a new global business unit aimed at delivering revenue from Big Data, was the first public announcement of a European operator actively engaging in a Big Data initiative that goes beyond in-house processes.
It marked a turning point for the industry by publicly announcing the launch and its plans to unlock the potential of customer data.
Lorraine has agreed to share Telefônica’s Smart Steps story with us stating: "We’ve never told our in-depth story like this before: looking at the history, lessons learnt and the challenges faced on our Big Data journey."