The last 12 months witnessed a return to innovation by telecom carriers as they try to seize opportunities that a rebounding Asian and global economy presents. The industry has clearly shaken itself out from the innovative comatose state of 2008/09. However, the long term challenges of a stagnating carriage market remains and most telcos face a "test of nerve" as it tries to find new growth engines. Telecom providers across the region are at a crossroads. IDC's top 10 predictions for 2011 are opportunities that will allow telcos to achieve "their defining moment in the ICT industry" or place in the sun. It has always been the longstanding opinion of IDC's telecom team that telco service providers have the ability and capacity to outwit the current ICT leaders, gripped CIOs with innovative ideas and rewrite the competitive rules and order of today. Their success and place in history will ultimately depend on how they seize the opportunities that lie within our 2011 predictions.

For networking vendor (NEPs), their success could not be more wedded to telco's new ideals than at any time before. Our Top 10 Predictions highlights the critical importance of the networks in delivering the optimal experience of social media, mobility, cloud and collaboration tools. This would suggest a powerful bond between both entities and how NEPs can thrive in 2011 and beyond will depend on how they can enable Telcos complete and finish their ICT journey.