MPaaS: A Value Proposition for the Next Decade
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DIGITAL REPORT 2020
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MPaaS: A Value Proposition for the Next Decade 03
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Zoran Vasiljev, CEO at Centili, explains why MPaaS (monetisation platform as a service) could be a decade-defining trend in digital monetisation
W
hen McKinsey recently noted that the telecommunications industry has become even more central to how modern society
operates following COVID-19, it was all too familiar to people and companies building digital services for millennials and Gen Z. These individuals and businesses are immersed in the world of low attention spans and instant purchases, apps and mobile services, and the constant striving for frictionless user experiences. To them, mobile operators could open many doors and solve many problems, if they are willing to share the key. Beyond providing minutes and gigabytes, telecoms could indeed plug many of the essential components into the digital ecosystem. Think paying for taxi rides or app subscriptions with telco tariffs with one or two taps on the phone. Think onthe-go verification via the identity attributes MNOs (mobile network operators) can supply. Think engagement and user journey orchestration via texting and bots.
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many global markets. Learning apps, audiobook services and e-publishers are increasingly looking towards MNOs as partners in monetisation. To put it in play on a larger scale is not easy, but it’s doable. According to Zoran Vasiljev, CEO at the monetisation company Centili, carrier billing platforms and business practices have matured, and the time is ripe for a different approach. Since being founded in 2011, the company he is now leading The potential of carrier billing in the 06
has implemented countless payment
digital ecosystem is not a new story:
pages, flows and subscriptions with
buying a low-priced game token, a
hundreds of MNOs and digital mer-
piece of music or social media item
chants. Wargaming, Badoo, iTaxi,
with a mobile phone and charging it
Bigo and 21st Century are some of
to a phone bill has been an appealing
them. As a technology partner, Centili
prospect for 20 years. Yet telco pay-
has removed complexity and worked
ments have not risen to the universal
out ways to make carrier payments
availability and recognition.
easy to spot and use by customers,
Regulation, hesitation, and revenue
easy to manage and settle by mobile
split issues held the potential back.
operators, and easy to add to games,
Despite that, great examples of telco
websites and apps.
payments came to life in the past
Vasiljev believes that, in 2020, the
years, enabled by enthusiasts from
prerequisite expertise, platforms and
monetisation companies, MNOs and
knowledge needed to implement
agile developers. The gaming industry
and run carrier payments on a large
has gone a long way. Dating service
scale now exist, in ways that will not
‘Badoo’ excels in using telco billing in
only serve subscribers, MNOs and
merchants but also boost innovation in
Coded from scratch in 2011, it
the ecosystem. Their flagship product
has grown ever since, with constant
– Centili Maestro – is a cloud platform
upgrades reflecting the needs of tel-
with key capabilities to do just that. It
ecoms and merchants from all corners
comprises APIs, a bundling platform,
of the world. Connected to 280 mobile
payment pages, portals, and dash-
operators, Centili system can apply
boards. It smoothly integrates into
microcharges to mobile tariffs of over
MNOs existing business processes
four billion people, while managing
and billing platforms, adhering to the
subscriptions, bundles, opt-ins, and
highest security standards.
refunds, as well as revenue splits
E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :
Zoran Vasiljev Title: Group CEO
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Company: Centili
Industry: Mobile Payments Location: London, UK Zoran Vasiljev is the Group CEO of Centili. He is an executive with extensive knowledge and legacy in building and running successful digital ventures. He is specialized in telecommunications, investment strategies, M&A, organizational transformation, marketing and product development, channel strategy and business development. Zoran has more than 25 years’ international experience in digital media, telecoms, and management consulting. Before joining Centili, he led projects in the EU, MENA and APAC, holding top executive and leadership roles with Apigate, Axiata Digital, StarHub, Arthur D. Little, Value Partners and Peppers & Rogers Group. He joined Centili in March 2020. www.c e nt ili. com
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and settlements. At the same time, it
running of their digital monetisa-
enables MNOs a real-time view of the
tion ecosystem significantly. Centili
third-party charges happening over
handles commercial agreements and
their network. They can structure this
settlements with national and interna-
part of their business professionally
tional merchants and integrates
and transparently, with monitoring,
them onto the billing platform.
analytics and alerting on multiple levels. Self-care portal for mobile
edge and capability, built through
subscribers is an important part of
consistent specialist work completed
the package, too.
over the last 10 years in Europe, Asia,
Such a proposition is increasingly
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“It is the very core of Centili’s knowl-
Middle East and Africa. This year
described as MPaaS (Monetisation
MPaaS has been gaining serious trac-
Platform as a Service). For mobile
tion, with global markets recognising
network operators, it simplifies the
the value,� Vasiljev emphasises. Five
Centili SMS Payments flow demonstration CLICK TO WATCH
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to use it to add gaming content to their portfolio. TV streaming services and video game developers are also seeing the benefits of using the Monetisation Platform as a Service model. As Vasiljev points out, the proposition reaches beyond the standard implementations have either started or
PaaS scope, as it includes business
finished since April. Several European
services and consultancy, and it’s
MNOs have turned to the MPaaS model
been evolving towards the Software
to launch digital services quickly, while
as a Service (SaaS), already including
skipping the long and expensive integra-
many characteristics of that model.
tions on their legacy systems.
“Exciting times are ahead,” he con-
Besides mobile network operators
cludes, as he firmly believes this to
there has been interest from other
be the winning proposition for digital
verticals. A major Nigerian aggregator,
monetisation in the upcoming decade.
‘21st Century’, is using Centili Maestro as an underlying platform for largescale projects seen as having a major impact on the digital transformation in Africa. European VoD platforms and cable TV STB providers are starting www.c e nt ili. com
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