Telecom enterprises are accelerating the adoption of agentic and generative AI (Gen AI) globally to drive autonomous network operations and transform customer engagement. Investments in cloud-native and edge-native platforms are enabling ultra-low latency connectivity for advanced use cases, including industrial automation, immersive media, and connected healthcare. In response to evolving regulatory requirements, telcos are embedding zero-trust security frameworks and AI-powered threat detection across their digital estates. Operators are increasingly moving beyond pilots to scale Gen AI for process automation, predictive assurance, and intelligent orchestration, unlocking new efficiencies and revenue streams across both horizontal and vertical business functions.
Both demand- and supply-side trends are covered in Avasant’s Telecom Digital Services 2025 Market Insights™ and Telecom Digital Services 2025 RadarView™, respectively. These reports present a comprehensive study of digital service providers in the telecom industry, including top trends, analysis, and recommendations. The reports also closely examine the leaders, innovators, disruptors, and challengers in this market.
We evaluated 34 service providers across three dimensions: practice maturity, investments and innovation, and partner ecosystem. Of the 34 providers, we recognized 17 that brought the most value to the market during the past 12 months.
The reports recognize service providers across four categories:
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- Leaders: Accenture, Capgemini, HCLTech, Infosys, TCS, Tech Mahindra, and Wipro
- Innovators: Cognizant, IBM, and UST
- Disruptors: NTT DATA, Persistent Systems, and Atos
- Challengers: LTIMindtree, Sutherland, HARMAN Digital Transformation Solutions, and Virtusa
Figure 1 below from the full report illustrates these categories:
“Telcos are advancing to fully integrated AI-driven, zero-touch operations using AI automation to transform support, engineering, and assurance,” said Mark Gaffney, Avasant senior director. “They are using co-innovation to deploy programmable networks, NaaS, and edge-capable platforms, simplifying connectivity into repeatable products.”
The reports provide several findings, including the following:
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- Telecom operators are rapidly deploying agentic and Gen AI to enable autonomous network operations and intelligent service orchestration.
- Investments in cloud-native and edge-native platforms are delivering ultra-low latency connectivity for advanced B2B applications, such as immersive media, smart manufacturing, and connected healthcare.
- To ease regulatory requirements and cyber threats, telcos are embedding zero-trust security frameworks and AI-powered security operations centers across their IT and OT environments.
- The industry is moving beyond pilot projects, with Gen AI now being scaled for process automation, predictive assurance, and intelligent orchestration in areas such as contact center operations, field service optimization, and software engineering. This is helping unlock new efficiencies and revenue streams across the telecom value chain.
“Performance has shifted from a bandwidth race to an architecture outcome,” said Sahaj Kumar, associate research director at Avasant. “Telcos are pairing edge computing, network slicing, intent‑driven orchestration, and agentic automation to deliver consistent low‑latency experiences from core to edge.”
The RadarView also features detailed profiles of 17 service providers, along with their solutions, offerings, and experience in assisting telecom enterprises in their digital transformation journeys.
This Research Byte is a brief overview of Avasant’s Telecom Digital Services 2025 Market Insights™ and Telecom Digital Services 2025 RadarView™. (Click for pricing.)