ABI Research estimates that the market for managed services for mobile network operators is currently worth $25 billion. The firm says that IT managed services represent roughly half the market. Top providers include Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei, ZTE and Nokia Siemens Networks. Mead said carrier migration to LTE can be a driver of new managed services contracts. "If a customer is going through a technology shift, that could be a decision point that could steer them down a managed services path because they could access some skills and competence," he said. A new perspective Like 25,000 other Ericsson employees, Mead came to the company from a telecom operator. He said that the operators he works with now are starting to look at their business in a fresh way, with decisions driven less by technology and more by business strategies based on customer experience. "[Carriers are] using data services to drive high customer experience and high customer satisfaction," he said.