SWOT analysis of Idea

Idea Cellular is a telecom service provider that is owned by the Aditya Birla Group. The company offers 2G, 3G and 4 G services to customers across India. The government of India is highly supportive of digitization and in tune with this strategy the company now offers various digital services like entertainment, music, movies, games, and chat.

Other digital services offered by the company include digital communication, digital finance, cloud-based services and information services. The idea is ranked at number 6 on the list of telecom companies and the company has around 200 million subscribers.

The company has a market share of 19 % and the annual revenue of USD 5.5 billion. The company has been able to capture the attention of the customer through a series of interesting advertisements and endorsements from popular celebrities.

Strengths in the SWOT analysis of Idea :

Strengths are defined as what each business does best in its gamut of operations which can give it an upper hand over its competitors. The following are the strengths of Idea:

• Robust Services: Idea Cellular offers a wide variety of services over and above just telecom such as digital communication, online entertainment, digital payments, Games, Movies, music, and cloud-based services.
• Wide network: Idea has a network that spans across India and is there in 40,000 towns across the country. The idea is also credited with the fastest 4 G network in India close to 230,000 sites and a fiber optic cable covering close to 1.28 lakh kms. It is proposed to expand the Idea 4G services to 20 circles which will cover more than 94 % of the total market.

• Prompt Service: Idea Cellular is credited with the provision of great after sales services through its outlets which number to 8780, call centers with round the clock help desk number, service app, and social media presence. The brand is at number 1 in a survey taken on customer satisfaction.
• Numerous Awards: The Idea Cellular Services has been given numerous prestigious awards such as Voice & Data Telecom Leadership Awards 2016, the Best CEO of the year 2015 by Business Today and the best marketing campaign in 2016 at The Economic Times Telecom Awards. The company is also listed amongst the top 25 companies to work for.
• Various domains of service: The company is also a registered presence in other technology areas such as Enterprise Services, Customer Service, Marketing, Internet & Broadband, Infrastructure Innovation, and VAS.

Weaknesses in the SWOT analysis of Idea :

Weaknesses are used to refer to areas where the business or the brand needs improvement. Some of the key weaknesses of Idea are:

• Weaker 4 G: In comparison to the market leader Airtel, Idea Cellular indicates slower 4 G speeds and more customer complaints about internet speeds. With increased usage of smartphones, this can turn out to be a critical weakness.
• Poor rural access: Idea Cellular is more focused on urban markets and cities and customer complain that the speed is painfully slow in rural regions. This gives many competitors an upper hand in rural areas.
• Pricing: The competition in the telecom service market is on a steep incline and the only way to penetrate the market through the lowest pricing. However, the company is finding it extremely challenging to undercut the prices of its competitors.
• Promotional Schemes: Mobile service providers are offering numerous promotional schemes and offers not just on calls but also on data and apps. These promotional schemes are eating into the financial models of the business.

Opportunities in the SWOT analysis of Idea :

Opportunities refer to those avenues in the environment that surrounds the business on which it can capitalize to increase its returns. Some of the opportunities include:

• Growth in technology: The technology changes are creating new opportunities in domains like VoIP and cloud-based communication services. These may be used as value added services for telecom service providers for which they can charge a premium.
• 4 G networks: Most of the telecom service providers in India are now into 4G which means that the internet speeds will see an ever before impact in more aspects of life. Moreover, the internet is being made cheaper and accessible to everyone and this increases the probability of an increase in demand for phones.
• Connected devices: The possibility of cities migrating to smart cities and the emergence of connected devices will present a new segment that technology companies can target. Emerging technologies like IoT and artificial intelligence presents a whole new gamut of services.

Threats in the SWOT analysis of Idea :

Threats are those factors in the environment which can be detrimental to the growth of the business. Some of the threats include:

• Competition: There is neck to neck competition in the telecom sector from players like Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone.
• Lobbying and mafia: There are a lot of unethical practices and malpractices including lobbying and corruption in the telecom sector and this is creating a pricing struggle in the telecom sector in India.