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Billing and Customer Care Market Past its Prime Says Yankee Group; With Consolidation 75% complete, Incumbents Look to Horizontal Expansion into CRM, OSS and Business Intelligence
[April 05, 2004]

Billing and Customer Care Market Past its Prime Says Yankee Group; With Consolidation 75% complete, Incumbents Look to Horizontal Expansion into CRM, OSS and Business Intelligence

BOSTON --(Business Wire)-- April 5, 2004 -- After a five-year roller coaster ride, the billing and customer care industry is once again dominated by a handful of players. At the beginning of 2003, the Yankee Group predicted that 75 percent of marketplace consolidation would be complete by mid- or late 2003. Our view, and the Yankee Group report, Executives Speak Their Minds About Industry Consolidation, of the current billing and customer care technology marketplace shows this prediction to be true.



Although the number of players in the billing and customer care market may be past its peak, the acquisition strategies of technology vendors will remain active, says Paul Hughes, Billing & Payment Application Strategies director. Based on our discussions, the Yankee Group expects to see the key billing players focus on expanding into complementary areas of mediation, charging, settlement, inventory and business intelligence. The billing and customer care market space will see a significant slowdown in the remaining consolidation.

According to the report, industry executives said they expect systems integrators to acquire billing and customer care technology. The Yankee Group disagrees. As systems integrators have shed non-core segments, they have benefited from being technologically neutral, particularly in a tight market.


When asked, every executive interviewed commented that horizontal expansion will drive much of the ongoing communications software acquisition over the next 12 to 24 months. The executives also ranked their preference for several areas of technology expansion, the results (from highest to lowest) were as follows: CRM, OSS, Business Intelligence, Professional Services. When asked about future acquisition activity, every interviewee gave the same clear message. Prices are low, some said, and now is the time for due diligence.

NOTE TO EDITORS

For interviews, contact Paul Hughes, [email protected].

The Yankee Group (http://www.yankeegroup.com)

The Yankee Group is the global leader in communications & networking research and consulting. The company helps businesses understand the opportunities, risks and competitive pressures of developing, deploying and consuming products and services that drive communication or information exchange. Now in its fourth decade, the Yankee Group is based in Boston with offices throughout North America and Europe.

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