The telecommunications industry has undergone an ­astounding development. Just one example: anyone wanting to be reachable as recently as 20 years ago required an end ­device the size of a gasoline container and weighing as much as a full case of beer. This type of end device was the first step in the direction of “mobile” service. Now, 20 years later, cell phones are the size of a pack of cigarettes, weigh 150 grams, and assure unlimited reachability; the ability to make phone calls regardless of current location has long since turned into a ­hygienic factor. Consumers are constantly coming up with new ideas for desirable features, making heavy demands on network operators and developers. This simple example documenting the digital ­revolution gives us a foretaste of the technological quantum ­leaps lying ahead in the next 20 years and what high expectations customers will have for their providers in the future. Networks of a generation as yet unknown, almost complete convergence, and “connected live and work” are certainly only some of the topics which will concern us in the distant future. Decision-­makers everywhere are naturally keenly interested in knowing what concrete developments are on the way. Anyone motivated to read this article in the hopes of learning answers to this ­question can stop right here. But if you want to know how you can prepare optimally from an organizational standpoint despite all of the uncertainties, continue reading.

There certainly are ways to arm yourself to face any eventualities. You only need to know what they are. Experts such as Mike Kelly from the TM Forum are certainly on target when they question the extent to which the traditional business models of the telecommunications companies will remain viable in the future (see Interview with Mike Kelly, TM Forum). In view of the fact that there is presumably not one decision-maker anywhere who can even roughly predict how markets, customer requirements, or even business models will develop over the coming decades (the number of plausible ­scenarios is simply overwhelming), organizational structures gain a completely new significance. The focus is shifting to organizational models which, rather than unconditionally guaranteeing optimal support of a specific business model, feature structural ­models which can be used to capitalize on future uncertainty. But we will have to break with conventional ways of thinking.