Flexing the OSS & Network to Support the Digital Ecosystem

September 2014

Flexing the OSS & Network to Support the Digital Ecosystem

interview with Ken Dilbeck

The need for telecoms to support a broader digital ecosystem requires an enormous change to OSS infrastructures and the way networks are being managed.  This interview sheds light on these challenges.

The Data Center & Cloud Infrastructure Boom: Is Your Sales/Engineering Team Equipped to Win?

August 2013

The Data Center & Cloud Infrastructure Boom: Is Your Sales/Engineering Team Equipped to Win?

by Dan Baker

The build-out of enterprise clouds and data centers is a golden opportunity for systems integrators, carriers, and cloud providers.  But the firms who win this business will have sales and engineering teams who can drive an effective and streamlined requirements-to-design-to-order process.  This white paper points to a solution — a collaborative solution designs system — and explains 8 key capabilities of an ideal platform.

Navigating the Telecom Solutions Wilderness: Advice from Some Veteran Mountaineers

January 2013

Navigating the Telecom Solutions Wilderness: Advice from Some Veteran Mountaineers

interview with Al Brisard

Telecom solutions vendors struggle mightily to position their solutions and figure out what to offer next in a market where there’s considerable product and service crossover.  In this article, a veteran order management specialist firm lays out its strategy for mixing deep-bench functional expertise with process consulting, analytics, and custom API development.

Will Telecoms Sink Under the Weight of their Bloated and Out-of-Control Product Stacks?

November 2012

Will Telecoms Sink Under the Weight of their Bloated and Out-of-Control Product Stacks?

interview with Simon Muderack

Telecoms pay daily for their lack of product integration as they constantly reinvent product wheels, lose customer intelligence, and waste time/money.  This article makes the case of an enterprise product catalog.  Drawing on central catalog cases at a few Tier 1 operators, the article explains the benefits: reducing billing and provisioning costs, promoting product reuse, and smoothing operations.

Virtual Operator Life: Enabling Multi-Level Resellers Through an Active Product Catalog

November 2012

Virtual Operator Life: Enabling Multi-Level Resellers Through an Active Product Catalog

interview with Rob Hill

The value of product distribution via virtual operators is immense.  They enable a carrier to sell to markets it cannot profitably serve directly.  Yet the need for greater reseller flexibility in the bundling and pricing of increasingly complex IP and cloud services is now a major channel barrier.  This article explains what’s behind an innovative product catalog solution that doubles as a service creation environment for resellers in multiple tiers.

Telecom Blocking & Tackling: Executing the Fundamentals of the Order-to-Bill Process

August 2012

Telecom Blocking & Tackling: Executing the Fundamentals of the Order-to-Bill Process

interview with Ron Angner

Just as football teams need to be good at the basics of blocking and tackling, telecoms need to excel at their own fundamental skillset: the order-to-cash process.  In this article, a leading consulting firm explains its methodology for taking operators on the path towards order-to-cash excellence.  Issues discussed include: provisioning intervals; standardization and simplicity; the transition from legacy to improved process; and the major role that industry metrics play.

Wireline Act IV, Scene II: Packaging Network & SaaS Services Together to Serve SMBs

August 2012

Wireline Act IV, Scene II: Packaging Network & SaaS Services Together to Serve SMBs

by John Frame

As revenue from telephony services has steadily declined, fixed network operators have scrambled to support VoIP, enhanced IP services, and now cloud applications.  This shift has also brought challenges to the provisioning software vendors who support the operators.  In this interview, a leading supplier explains how it’s transforming from plain ol‘ OSS software provider to packager of on-net and SaaS solutions from an array of third party cloud providers.

Is Order Management a Provisioning System or Your Best Salesperson?

September 2011

Is Order Management a Provisioning System or Your Best Salesperson?

by John Konczal

Order management as a differentiator is a very new concept to many CSP people, but it’s become a very real sales booster in many industries.  Using electronics retailer BestBuy as an example, the article points to several innovations that can — and are — being applied by CSPs today.  The article concludes with 8 key questions an operator should ask to measure advanced order management progress.

Real-Time Provisioning of SIM Cards: A Boon to GSM Operators

April 2011

Real-Time Provisioning of SIM Cards: A Boon to GSM Operators

interview with Simo Isomaki

Software-controlled SIM card configuration is revolutionizing the activation of GSM phones.  The article explains how dynamic SIM management decouples the selection of numbers/services and delivers new opportunities to market during the customer acquisition and intial provisoining phase.

21st Century Order Management: The Cross-Channel Sales Conversation

October 2010

21st Century Order Management: The Cross-Channel Sales Conversation

by John Konczal

Selling a mobile service is generally not a one-and-done transaction.  It often involves several interactions — across the web, call center, store, and even kiosks.  This article explains the power of a “cross-channel hub” which sits above all sales channels, interacts with them all, and allows a CSP to keep the sales conversation moving forward seamlessly.

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