According to Joe Hoffman, Chief Analyst at Omdia, a market research firm, in a recent report, User Data Management (SDM) is a key subsystem of 5G Service Based Architecture (SBA), which is an independent 5G architecture that telecom operators (CSPs) deploy when seeking to monetize their 5G assets. If this upgrade does not include SDM, CSP will only be limited to the 4G monetization model. A 5G network without a 5G core network and 5G SDM is just a better 4G network. Upgrading to 5G SDM can also enable CSP to modernize and unify data management, and is highly compatible with BSS upgrade plans.
For a long time, telecom SDM suppliers have often been the leading network equipment providers (NEPs), and this situation continues to this day because SDM solutions still have very strong “stickiness”. Omdia estimates that the SDM software market for mobile telecommunications will reach $1.3 billion by 2024 and grow at a compound annual growth rate of 3% to $1.5 billion by 2029.
5G User Data Management
In June July 2024, Omdia conducted a survey on the CSP SDM ecosystem. Eight leading suppliers – Alepo, Enea, Ericsson, HPE, Huawei, Mavenir, Nokia, and ZTE – participated in this research.
The focus of this study is on the evolution and trends of user data management, particularly in identifying innovations and trends that can help CSP expand its market. Omdia’s survey questions include the following topics:
·What is SDM’s position in the 5G strategy?
·How does your solution interact with traditional SDM during the transition to 5G SDM?
·What are the main driving and hindering factors for adopting 5G SDM?
·Who is the user data management provider?
·What impact does artificial intelligence and the future have on SDM?
·What suggestions do you have for CSP regarding SDM?

Figure 1 shows the number of CSP customers of each generation from seven suppliers, mainly concentrated among network equipment providers. The evolution of mobile networks towards cloud native architecture has opened the door for more vendors to enter.