Whitepaper: How ISVs & Co are driving digital agility across the payments value chain

Innovation is driven by market demand and the ability of a product or solution to solve a real market problem and resonate with customers. However, in infrastructure-heavy industries like TeleCom and financial services, providers often struggle to differentiate themselves due to their highly specialized infrastructure stacks around dedicated processes.

This specialization can create a deceptive sense of security for incumbents who view their infrastructure investment as a market entry barrier. Yet, this walled garden can easily become a commodity product that lacks differentiation through innovation or value for their customers.

The TeleCom industry is a prime example of this trend. Wireless carriers held the dominant position in the market until the introduction of the iPhone by Apple. Apple adopted a customer-centric approach and created a groundbreaking device that changed the power dynamics of the industry, making them the customer leader and relegating the infrastructure providers to commodity status.

Similarly, in the payments industry, the power dynamics have shifted from the card networks and their authorized processors to unexpected players outside the traditional payment processing value chain – ISVs, business platforms, and industry platforms. These ISVs have become the go-to-partner and main solution integrator by redefining the role of payments from a commoditized processing service to a valuable information source, creating insights and products that matter to merchants.

Overall, legacy infrastructure platforms in TeleCom and payments industries are struggling to adapt to the digital age, while disruptive ISVs are becoming the epicenter of the merchant ecosystem.

Download our Whitepaper to learn more about how these industries are changing and the perils of infrastructure-heavy industries.