Category: OSS/BSS/CEM

At the heart of any attempt to generate revenues is the need to monetize new services. Our OSS/BSS/CEM coverage addresses this by looking at the billing and operation market dynamics, and the implications for the customer experience.

The New Edge Computing Consortium: Ready for the Digital Prime Time?

by , posted in OSS/BSS/CEM
Ron Westfall - Research Director, Service Provider Infrastructure
Ron Westfall – Research Director, Service Provider Infrastructure

Summary Bullets:

• In November 2016, Huawei co-launched the Edge Computing Consortium (ECC) to advance industry-wide openness and collaboration in digital transformation environments.

• However the ECC initiative must expand its membership, increase geographical diversity, clarify its OT and ICT convergence goals, and further differentiate from existing standards initiatives to move the digital ecosystem needle.

In November, Huawei launched the Edge Computing Consortium (ECC) in coordination with the Shenyang Institute of Automation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), Intel, ARM, and iSoftStone. The primary goal of the ECC is to develop a cooperative platform to advance openness and collaboration in the operational technology (OT) and information and communications technology (ICT) industries to stimulate adoption of digital transformation best practices. The ECC views OT, ICT, and operator communications input collaboration as essential in using digital transformation to drive a new phase of industrial restructuring. This restructuring entails automation of industrial processes and increasingly customized and personalized digital services and products. The lifecycle management of digital service operations and edge computing resources sets the groundwork for digital innovation, unleashing new value chains and supply chain efficiencies for ecosystem members. Continue reading “The New Edge Computing Consortium: Ready for the Digital Prime Time?” →

TEOCO: Can Its New 5G ASSET Design Tool Ready Operators for 5G Buildouts?

by , posted in Internet of Things, OSS/BSS/CEM, SDN/NFV
Ron Westfall - Research Director, Service Provider Infrastructure
Ron Westfall – Research Director, Service Provider Infrastructure

Summary Bullets:

  • TEOCO recently unveiled its 5G ASSET Design tool solution aimed at driving operator network modelling of 5G deployment scenarios and elevating operator consideration of its overall portfolio for 5G network builds.
  • The 5G ASSET Design tool counters existing OSS/BSS solutions that include 5G network design and planning tools, creating a time-to-market shortfall for TEOCO. Moreover, the new tool does not paper over TEOCO’s portfolio gaps in driving overall 5G network buildouts.

In September, TEOCO unveiled its new 5G ASSET Design tool solution. The solution addresses the following 5G network design priorities:

– Ensuring smooth transitions from existing 4G network performance optimization planning to the early-stage design of 5G networks;
– Planning 5G networks to ensure the automation of traffic offload processes and maximize revenue capture opportunities; and
– Generating 5G network designs that account for the expected effect of 5G frequency bands in relation to network site and cell densities. Continue reading “TEOCO: Can Its New 5G ASSET Design Tool Ready Operators for 5G Buildouts?” →

Telefónica’s End-to-End Digitalization: How Can Suppliers Capitalize on Operator Digital Strategies?

by , posted in OSS/BSS/CEM, SDN/NFV
Ron Westfall - Research Director, Service Provider Infrastructure
Ron Westfall – Research Director, Service Provider Infrastructure

Summary Bullets:

  • In September, Telefónica Global CIO Phil Jordan outlined Telefónica’s end-to-end digitalization strategy that focuses on both how it interacts with customers and how it can make internal operations more efficient. The strategy requires digitalization in the front that spans the customer-facing omni-channel spectrum; and digitalization in the back that fundamentally streamlines its organization and operational processes.
  • The Telefónica approach provides a strong checklist of digital transformation demands that OSS/BSS suppliers must meet in order to deepen their operator relationships. Without an end-to-end digital platform offering, OSS/BSS suppliers risk becoming sidelined in operator digital transformation journeys.

At the Amdocs Digital Executive Summit during the 2016 CTIA Super Mobility show, Telefónica Global CIO Phil Jordan provided a view of Telefónica’s end-to-end (E2E) digitalization strategy and vision. Telefónica recognizes that the emerging competitive pressures within the digital services landscape require operators to transform their business models and operations; in other words, ‘do or die.’ For Telefónica, these competitive pressures include growing competition from Google Fiber; satellite TV provider Sky, which plans to offer mobile service in the UK later in 2016 (ironically on Telefónica’s O2 network); other new MVNOs such as Dixons Carphone; OTT substitutes including public WiFi, Skype, and Facebook Messenger; and the evolving digital strategies of traditional telco rivals. This trend has compelled Telefónica to adapt its operational and business processes in order to scale and keep pace with the demand curve of digital customers. Continue reading “Telefónica’s End-to-End Digitalization: How Can Suppliers Capitalize on Operator Digital Strategies?” →

ZTE ZSmart Digital CRM: Does the Solution Offer Anything New or Different?

by , posted in Internet of Things, OSS/BSS/CEM, SDN/NFV
Ron Westfall - Research Director, Service Provider Infrastructure
Ron Westfall – Research Director, Service Provider Infrastructure

Summary Bullets:

  • ZTE recently unveiled its ZSmart Digital CRM solution, a cloud-based platform targeting operator digital transformation, including the exploration of new business models.
  • The ZSmart Digital CRM solution lacks new, compelling differentiators; as a result, ZTE missed the opportunity to convince operators that it can drive digital transformation and help operators profit from emerging vertical and IoT opportunities.

At its recent ZTEsoft User Summit event, ZTE detailed its new ZSmart Digital customer relationship management (CRM) solution. The solution consists of the following key components:

• Mobile-first self-care apps;
• Omni-channel unified contact center (UCC);
• Analytics-driven social and network insights;
• Catalog-driven sales;
• Operator-centric API ecosystem opportunities; and
• Cloud-based management. Continue reading “ZTE ZSmart Digital CRM: Does the Solution Offer Anything New or Different?” →

Nokia’s IMPACT Launch: What is the “Impact” on the IoT Market?

by , posted in Internet of Things, OSS/BSS/CEM
Ron Westfall - Research Director, Service Provider Infrastructure
Ron Westfall – Research Director, Service Provider Infrastructure

Summary Bullets:

• Nokia launched its Intelligent Management Platform for All Connected Things (IMPACT) solution, broadly targeting the emerging IoT market. Nokia is showing early progress integrating key Alcatel-Lucent assets, and now has a solution that yields the company a marketing plan to accentuate competitive differentiation in platform feature areas such as device management scalability.

• Nokia still must further sharpen its investment and channel priorities for the IoT space or risk diluting its IoT portfolio development and marketing objectives.

During the company’s recent 2016 Global Analyst Forum, Nokia unveiled its new IMPACT solution. IMPACT targets burgeoning operator, enterprise, and public sector demand for IoT platforms purpose-designed to manage the onboarding of IoT applications in a secure fashion. The solution includes the updated version of Nokia’s Motive Connected Device Platform designed to deliver lifecycle management for a vast array of IoT, broadband, and home devices. Essentially Nokia acknowledged the platform was available earlier and initiated unified packaging of the multiple assets to sharpen its IoT portfolio and channel messaging. What competitive differentiators and Alcatel-Lucent integration proof points can Nokia use to drive the IMPACT solution further into the IoT service enablement ecosystem? Continue reading “Nokia’s IMPACT Launch: What is the “Impact” on the IoT Market?” →

AsiaInfo and Amazon Web Services Alliance: A Bold Leap Forward or Wishful Thinking?

by , posted in OSS/BSS/CEM, SDN/NFV
Ron Westfall - Research Director, Service Provider Infrastructure
Ron Westfall – Research Director, Service Provider Infrastructure

Summary Bullets:

  • AsiaInfo embarked on an alliance with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to build a business Internet platform based on AWS infrastructure. The collaboration embeds AsiaInfo’s Veris Cloud Core solution on the AWS public cloud network, targeting operator- and enterprise IT-driven transformation of their operations and management.
  • Both AsiaInfo and AWS confront persistent operator reluctance to entrust core business processes on public cloud infrastructure, due to the wide-ranging consequences of a high-profile security breach. Can AsiaInfo and AWS overcome these hidebound operator reservations?

In recent interactions at the TM Forum Live! event, AsiaInfo promoted and re-touted the alliance it formed with AWS in February 2016. The AsiaInfo/AWS alliance – dubbed the Business Internet platform – embeds the AsiaInfo Veris Cloud Core solution, the company’s complete business support systems (BSS) suite, onto the AWS public cloud infrastructure. AsiaInfo is betting that operators, particularly ones that lack the resources of top-tier global operators, will accelerate their evaluation and adoption of public cloud-based BSS implementations. The reasons include the pay-as-you-grow economics and scaling flexibility that the public cloud infrastructure can provide when compared to private cloud, hybrid private/public cloud, and legacy on-premises implementations. What competitive benefits can AsiaInfo and AWS look to gain in the near-term? Continue reading “AsiaInfo and Amazon Web Services Alliance: A Bold Leap Forward or Wishful Thinking?” →

Huawei: Ready to Surf the 2016 SON Burst

by , posted in OSS/BSS/CEM, SDN/NFV
Ron Westfall - Research Director, Service Provider Infrastructure
Ron Westfall – Research Director, Service Provider Infrastructure

Summary Bullets:

• Huawei believes the SON market has evolved from its initial adoption phase of 2014-2015, and is poised for a market burst toward maturity in 2016. Huawei expects to nearly double its SON customer base.

• Huawei believes the SON market faces new service requirements and demands driving operator acceptance of the engineering SON, service SON, and slicing SON trends it has identified.However Huawei must advance SON Open API adoption and ensure slicing SON techniques avoid triggering regulator net neutrality imperatives to sustain operator uptake.

In recent interactions at the Huawei Global Analyst Summit and TM Forum Live! Huawei shared its expectations that self-organizing network (SON) technology will experience a burst in market acceptance in 2016 now that operators have finished cutting their teeth on SON adoption during 2014-2015. Huawei anticipates that its SONMaster solution, already deployed in 36 operator networks as of April 2016, will approach 70 commercial network deployments by the end of 2016. Huawei identified at least three major trends driving the acceleration of SON adoption in 2016 (and beyond): Continue reading “Huawei: Ready to Surf the 2016 SON Burst” →

What Got Ignored in 2015: The Technologies, Topics, and Events You Overlooked

by , posted in Het Nets, Net Transformation, OSS/BSS/CEM, SDN/NFV, Ultra Broadband, Vendor Transformation
Peter Jarich
Peter Jarich

Summary Bullets:

  • Every year, many of our analyses get largely ignored – read many fewer times than the rest. In 2015, the topics of these reports were varied, including: big data, OSS/BSS, branding, video, SDN/NFV solutions and corporate acquisitions.
  • In many ways, the least read reports shared common themes with the most read reports. To that end, all include important insights key for telecom vendor and operator success.

Looking at the top-read reports of 2015 (see What Was Hot in 2015: The Technologies, Topics, and Events You Cared About) was an exercise in tracking what was most important in telecom over the last year. It might not be surprising, then, that SDN/NFV, 5G and strategic vendor moves (acquisitions and partnerships) dominated the list. Against that backdrop, it should be surprising that many of the same topics were well represented in a list of our least-read reports. And yet, looking at reports that generated well below average readership (25% or less of the average 2015 report), this is exactly what we found; reports focused on SDN/NFV, 5G, vendor acquisitions…not to mention video solutions, data analytics and back-office evolutions.

The message? Continue reading “What Got Ignored in 2015: The Technologies, Topics, and Events You Overlooked” →

What Was Hot in 2015: The Technologies, Topics, and Events You Cared About

by , posted in Het Nets, Net Transformation, OSS/BSS/CEM, SDN/NFV, Ultra Broadband, Vendor Transformation
Peter Jarich
Peter Jarich

Summary Bullets:

  • In 2015, SDN and NFV continued to dominate our “most read reports” list, with 5G gaining interest as well.
  • Beyond specific technologies, major vendor moves – partnerships and acquisitions – garnered plenty of attention.
  • Ignoring smaller vendors or less buzzed-about technologies could be dangerous if it leaves vendors and service providers exposed to disruptive market forces.

In an attempt to provide insight into a wide array of telecom network trends and technologies, it’s only natural that some of our analyses will be better read than others. That attention may be due to any number of factors, but interest in the topic is generally the most important driver. In other words, reports about topics that people care about should be the most read, with the top analyses of 2015 pointing to the most important trends and themes of the year. Continue reading “What Was Hot in 2015: The Technologies, Topics, and Events You Cared About” →

The Omni-channel Opportunity: How OSS/BSS Suppliers Can Unleash Operator Capabilities

by , posted in OSS/BSS/CEM, SDN/NFV
Ron Westfall
Ron Westfall

Summary Bullets:

  • OSS/BSS suppliers need to enlist third parties, such as enterprise and SMBs, to partner on attractive use cases that demonstrate near-term return on investment (ROI) opportunities associated with using digital storefront business rules that aid operators in their drive to manage the omni-channel customer experience and advance their goal of monetizing digital service offerings.
  • Through embedded API incentives, OSS/BSS suppliers can boost operator goals to drive partners to adopt digital storefront business rules that remove technical and business logic barriers in creating consistent omni-channel customer experiences.

Operators are poised to invest more resources in finding ways to differentiate their services further while also streamlining their overall costs in areas such as operational expenditure (OpEx) reduction. Through defining and developing the omni-channel experience of their customers, OSS/BSS suppliers can strengthen the operator potential to drive the overall management of the customer experience. However, accomplishing these twin goals presents distinct barriers for the suppliers and their operator customers. Continue reading “The Omni-channel Opportunity: How OSS/BSS Suppliers Can Unleash Operator Capabilities” →