Six strategic imperatives to win in connectivity and beyond edition 2

The second edition of the Capgemini Research Institute’s annual B2B pulse for the telecom industry examines the evolving needs, challenges, and experiences of business customers across 13 countries and sectors. Based on insights from 1,100 organizations and more than 15 executive interviews, the report highlights the experience gaps B2B customers face today, and identifies six priority areas where telecom providers must evolve to strengthen service delivery and unlock business value. Key findings include:

  • Telcos must evolve into growth partners. Customers want telcos to drive outcomes, not just connectivity: 74% expect accountability for business results, but only 39% say their provider contributes to top-line growth. Demand for tailored, industry-aware solutions is rising, with 65% willing to pay a premium for them.
  • Organizations expect telcos to orchestrate ecosystems. Enterprises want telcos to coordinate across IT, software, SIs, OEMs, and hyperscalers. While 65% expect telcos to orchestrate full ecosystems, only 35% see this happening today.
  • Network innovation is now essential. Intelligent, on-demand networks are becoming a priority: 61% see NTNs as essential, 55% are exploring NTN solutions, and 53% are adopting advanced network services such as SD-WAN, private 5G, NaaS, APIs, and slicing.
  • AI enablement is a defining expectation. AI has moved from pilots to platform decisions. Within two years, 84% plan to invest in AI/ML and 76% in AI/Gen AI platforms – yet 72% say telcos lag hyperscalers in AI and cloud capabilities.
  • Trust, sovereignty, and cybersecurity influence provider choice. Trust is influencing vendor selection: 86% consider a telco’s country of origin, and 67% see sovereignty as the key reason to prefer telcos over hyperscalers. But satisfaction with AI-driven cybersecurity remains limited at 51%.
  • B2B customers want seamless, digital-first experiences. Experience gaps persist: while 64% say seamless CX is essential and 58% will pay a premium for it, 65% find the buying process too complex – especially billing – highlighting significant opportunity for improvement.

B2B pulse – Edition 2 is essential for executives shaping the future of B2B telecom strategy, including enterprise and B2B sales leaders, product and portfolio owners, network and infrastructure executives, and leaders driving customer experience, managed services, AI, and cybersecurity. The report provides guidance on how telcos can deliver differentiated, value-driven, AI-enabled solutions. To accelerate growth and meet customer expectations, telcos must:

  • Prioritize high-value plays aligned to customer needs and core strengths
  • Co-create with partners to orchestrate full ecosystems
  • Strengthen trust with sovereign, secure digital solutions
  • Embed AI across operations and customers journeys
  • Build future-ready talent and culture with solution-oriented skills.

To discover how telcos can redefine their role from connectivity providers to strategic, trusted, AI-enabled partners for enterprise growth, download the full report today.