Drivers for Successful Multimedia Services in the Emerging Communication Market : A Study About the Trends in the Market and the Possibilities with IMS in the Future

Abstract: The communication market is in a change. This changes how people communicate but also the structure of providers in the market. Traditional isolated players start to provide similar sets of services, competition increases and so does the collaboration between different providers. Customers receive more opportunities to choose between when they want to communicate and to use different multimedia services. The development of new technology continues and what kind of services customers will use tomorrow are uncertain. This study aims to identify the drivers and key success factors in the market for communication services and to find which multimedia services consumers will use in the future. The purpose is then to find out if these services can be provided with IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). IMS is a technical architecture with the aim to provide the market with any service, to any device with any access, in a standardized way. The result from this study is that services that will be present in the market in a close future are services that give customers flexibility and accessibility, anywhere and anytime. This is services that can be provided with IMS. Providers who will succeed in the market are providers that will offer services that give customers flexibility, simplicity and control. This is also services that will reach high customers equity.