Europe : Mobile operators can significantly improve their profitability, growth rates and financial stability by finding the right blend of focus, scale and capital management, according to a new report, Operator Strategies and Key Performance Indicator Benchmarks: lessons from the global mobile communications market, prepared by Analysys Research, the global advisers on telecoms, IT and media.

The report makes use of detailed statistical analyses to measure the impact of operator strategies on their performance in different market environments. "It is a challenging task to quantify the impact of qualitative decisions in order to say how much this or another strategy has contributed towards achieving growth, profitability or financial stability for an operator," says the report's author, Dr Kirill Pyshkin, "but we have been able to identify some clear trends by using an innovative modelling approach which successfully blends a range of qualitative and quantitative factors."

Using this approach, the report provides a comprehensive set of conclusions about the strategies that have most impact on key performance indicators.

One such example is the very strong correlation, in more mature mobile markets, between a focus on quality of service and customer retention and sustained high levels of profitability.

In the report, the aggregate performance of 60 mobile operators across Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia is benchmarked over the period 1998-2002 using a range of 19 key performance indicators (KPIs) for developed and emerging markets; this performance is then linked to the strategic value drivers of focus, scale and capital management. The report also forecasts the expected future performance of operators across 14 KPIs and identifies the most appropriate strategies for generating growth, profits and financial stability.

"To benefit fully from the recovery underway in the sector," says Pyshkin, "operators need to learn lessons from the most effective players, in order to understand which strategies create value and can differentiate you from the competition."