Changing industry dynamics call for a new perspective on the part of industry publications. That said, I thought I'd use this month's Platform X to explain how xchange is addressing the upheaval in the marketplace; to reiterate the magazine's focus; and to explain how and why we've modified our product beginning this month.
While competing trade publications are focusing almost exclusively on the daily developments of fraud, bankruptcies and the like, xchange is looking beyond the headlines already covered by the general press to analyze what the news means to the industry at large and what is likely to come next. At the same time, xchange continues to focus heavily on important marketing and technology developments within the industry itself.
Beyond the current upheaval in telecom, it's clear that a hallmark of the reconstituted industry will be a struggle for supremacy in the mass market between the incumbent telcos and the cable companies. These players understand the future belongs to full service providers that can deliver highly customized packages of voice, data and video services to consumers and businesses alike. Any facilities-based providers that want to challenge them know they will have to do likewise if they are to survive. And all of these facilities owners understand that, to compete successfully, they will need facilitators, which means the ISPs, the managed service providers, content owners, aggregators and the other specialists in value-added services that will contribute to making the broadband full-service venue a reality.
Our new tagline, "The Full Service Provider's Pipeline to Success in the Mass Market," reflects that direction.
To help readers better navigate the publication, xchange has also reorganized some of its sections. Front Page will continue to hold a front seat as the space for analysis of late-breaking news. The Strategic Window is the place to go for coverage of developments in business and finance, regulatory policy, company and executive profiles, and strategic trends. The Consumer Services section is dedicated to comprehensive coverage relating to residential services and strategies. Business Services highlights news and developments tied to the fact that small and medium business markets are now the low-hanging fruit in the telcos' and cablecos' push to build new revenue. In the Support Systems section, readers will find expanded coverage in the vital area of operations software, which has become the key to achieving cost-driven improvements to the bottom line and to the ability to create, package and bill for new services. And finally, Infrastructure Solutions looks at various ways of delivering broadband over the last mile, new optical innovations, routing and caching, softswitches, data centers and much more.
But while the market and our publication continue to change and evolve, one thing remains constant: xchange's dedication to go beyond popular headlines to deliver important news and analysis that gives an inside look at what is percolating under the surface.
Until next time,
Paula Bernier
Editor in Chief
