Suresh Khosla, Head – Strategy, Transformation and Alliances, Comviva
As telcos worldwide shift from connectivity-led models to platform-driven businesses, the pressure to modernise business support systems (BSS), embed AI across operations and build new revenue streams beyond core services has never been more acute. In an interview with tele.net, Suresh Khosla, Head – Strategy, Transformation and Alliances, Comviva, discussed how the company is helping operators navigate cloud-native BSS transformation, AI-led customer engagement and fintech-driven monetisation. Edited excerpts…
How is Comviva positioning itself in the BSS and operator digitalisation space? What differentiates its approach to cloud-native transformation?
Comviva positions itself in the BSS and operator digitalisation space through a platform-led approach. The focus is on enabling end-to-end transformation rather than incremental or siloed upgrades. Its differentiation lies in a modular, API-first architecture with AI embedded across the lifecycle.
On cloud-native transformation, the approach goes beyond infrastructure migration. Comviva focuses on software-as-a-service-driven, cloud-native platforms that are monetisation-ready. This enables faster service innovation, real-time personalisation and greater responsiveness to market opportunities. Cloud shifts from a cost lever to a growth enabler.
Where is Comviva seeing the strongest demand today?
Telecom operators are shifting from connectivity-led models to digital, platform-driven businesses. On the technology side, this is driving the adoption of cloud-native architectures, AI-led decisioning and API-driven integration. Operators are also taking a pragmatic approach to legacy modernisation.
For Comviva, demand is strongest in three areas. First, digital BSS transformation, where operators aim to unify charging, catalogue and monetisation. Second, customer engagement platforms that enable real-time, contextual interactions. Third, fintech solutions, where operators are expanding into payments, lending, and financial services. Across all three, investments are focused on revenue growth, agility and customer lifetime value.
As operators look to move beyond connectivity revenues, how is Comviva helping them build new monetisation models across enterprise, fintech and digital services?
Comviva enables operators to unlock the value of data, platforms and ecosystem partnerships. This supports a shift to diversified, platform-driven revenue models.
In fintech, Comviva enables expansion beyond payments into digital lending, remittances and financial inclusion. Platforms like mobiquity® Pay, which processes over $400 billion annually, act as a foundation for additional services powered by data insights.
In enterprise and digital services, Comviva enables real-time, contextual engagement by integrating catalogue, commerce and customer data platforms. Operators move from static products to dynamic, event-driven monetisation.
How is AI reshaping the way telcos engage customers, manage networks and drive operational efficiency? How is Comviva responding to this shift?
AI is reshaping telecom across customer engagement, network operations and product innovation. The industry is moving toward real-time, predictive and autonomous models. In customer engagement, AI enables context-aware interactions at scale. By unifying behavioural, transactional and network data, operators can anticipate intent and deliver hyper-personalised experiences in real time. In network and operations, AI is enabling zero-touch environments. Predictive models identify issues early, automate root-cause analysis, and trigger self-healing actions. This improves uptime and reduces opex. It also drives automation across care, billing and fulfilment.
Comviva embeds AI natively across its platforms. This includes AI-assisted development, embedded intelligence in BSS and engagement solutions, and operational AI for automation and optimisation.
What is your outlook for the global telecom technology market? Which key trends will define the next phase of operator transformation?
The global telecom technology market is entering a phase of steady, disciplined growth. Investments are driven by clear business outcomes such as revenue expansion, cost efficiency and experience differentiation. Three trends will define the next phase:
- Platformisation at scale
- AI-led automation and real-time
decisioning - Diversification beyond connectivity
For Comviva, these trends align with demand across BSS transformation, AI-driven engagement and fintech-led growth.
Geographically, growth remains strong in the US and Europe, along with continued acceleration in emerging markets. Competitive advantage will depend on how effectively operators convert technology investments into scalable revenue and differentiated customer experiences.
