Most of us have watched service providers move from offering a single service to bundles, triple-play, quad-play and now multi-play. As first-hand witnesses to this evolution, many of us consider ourselves multi-play experts, or at least think we have a pretty solid understanding of the concept.

But what if many of the commonly accepted multi-play principles are incorrect? An Analysys Mason whitepaper "IT Infrastructure of Service Providers – Analysis and Future Direction" contains some thought-provoking conclusions that just might contradict what you think you know about multi-play.

Myth #1: New service types in multi-play packages are solely aimed at attracting new audiences.

Fact: It's true that M2M, for instance, is primarily aimed at new audiences. But Analysys Mason found many occurrences of existing bundled services being open and enhanced, with additions including cloud storage, Wi-Fi and over-the-top offerings, such as Netflix. Multi-play packages are great at attracting new audiences, but they also prevent churn and enhance existing customer experiences.

Myth #2: Bundled services will remain comparatively static and are being used mostly in launch campaigns.

Fact: On a global basis, service providers are implementing multi-play bundles by combining previously separate services into a single offering, with discounts for consumers who purchase the bundles.

Bundled services not only drive revenue, but because they are "stickier," subscribers are less likely to churn. Analysys Mason found that service providers are increasingly moving beyond traditional quad-plays by adding content, including more third-party content, and new services – such as home networking, home security, SaaS for residential and business, cloud services and OTT services.

Also, the combination of new devices like smartphones, tablets and smart TVs – and advanced, super-fast communication networks and technologies – is providing consumers with new and virtually limitless opportunities to consume any service, on any device, anywhere, anytime.

Analysys Mason expects bundled services to continue to expand, helping to offset falling margins in traditional service offerings.

Myth #3: Mature service providers possess greater convergence due to their strong financial conditions and established systems.

Fact: After analyzing the current and future direction of service providers, Analysys Mason surprisingly found that mature service providers have less convergence than newer ones, for a number of reasons.

To start, established processes are difficult to change and often become glued into current systems. In addition, the underlying network tends to be more diverse with age.

Another factor is that mature operators often possess a larger number of service offerings. Diverse services require a rich set of functions to support them, but these functions are typically delivered in projects where short-term goals do not include system transformations to convergent solutions, resulting in a spread of adjunct systems.

How does convergence directly relate to multi-play? "When convergent systems are in place at service providers, their ability to launch multi-play and other complex service types quickly is greatly improved," according to Analysys Mason.

While every service provider can benefit from greater convergence, it's important to remember that there is no one-solution-fits-all solution.

Myth #4: Large enterprises and small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) multi-play requirements are the same.

Fact: Large enterprises possess unique requirements, such as low high complexity and customized services. The systems needed to meet these requirements are typically separate from the higher fully automated solutions for retail or smaller business requirements. SMB customers are supported with different systems than their large enterprise counterparts, and are more aligned with the requirements of retail customers. Enterprises and SMBs need to make sure they work with a vendor who is experienced in offering multi-play solutions that meet their specific business requirements.

Myth #5: A thin layer within the CRM system is sufficient to provide a consolidated experience for customers.

Fact: Systems that support multi-play services must be able to provide a consolidated customer experience. This is most often done through a thin layer within the CRM, according to Analysys Mason, which doesn’t offer deep convergence. Deep convergence is crucial to creating new service offerings faster and cheaper than what can be accomplished by configuring multiple systems responsible for the different services within a single bundle.

The Final Multi-Play Myth

Perhaps the greatest myth of all involves the definition of multi-play. The literal definition is a bundle with additional services beyond the traditional quad-play. But that’s not enough.

Do multi-play bundles appear to subscribers like a single, integrated entity, or a collection of businesses with their own procedures and systems? Are the operations that support these services integrated? Can operators provide a single company view within the major customer process touch points related to multi-play operations? Can operators launch new services and lines of business – such as home security, SaaS, cloud services and OTT services – quickly and easily?

If the answer to any of these questions is "no," then service providers still have a way to go in order to maximize their multi-play potential.