(iTers News) - The 4Q-2013 Competitive Assessment for the US$ 10B Network Managed Services calls out its leaders. ABI Research finds the lead positions in the Telecom race goes to the companies keeping an eye on the long-haul and those with flawless execution in a seemingly stagnant market. Overall leaders in order are Ericsson, Nokia Solutions, and Alcatel-Lucent, based on a combination of Implementation (market traction) and Innovation (managed service as competitive advantage) criteria. That the three providers lead should not be surprising given their long standing presence in Managed Services.

Ericsson easily claims Implementation winner with an unmatched 36.6% market share and over 1 billion subscribers under its care. Coming in second is Huawei at a projected EoY 22.9% market share, and ABI Research believes it will nudge ahead of the third place contender, Nokia Solutions and Networks with 22.1% market share."

The Innovation leadership nod goes to the challengers Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia Solutions, and Networks and Ericsson, based on advances in Managed Service automation, cloud offerings, and leveraging the potential of Managed Services for competitive advantage. Alcatel-Lucent’s focus on equipping its customers with competitive advantage, coupled with its focus on automation and cloud delivery, positions it as a most formidable challenger.

“Network Managed Services is an extremely competitive and tough business where scale and execution are everything,” says Joe Hoffman, research director. “We now see Managed Services moving beyond outsourcing and cost reduction as service providers seek to deliver competitive advantage to their customers.”

(Credit: ABI Research)