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December 2012

Atlanta-lytics: New Telecom Conference Features Revenue & Customer Analytics

Atlanta is Warm in January: New Telecom Conference Features Financial and Revenue Analytics Workshop

Tim Downs called me out of the blue this autumn to ask if Black Swan would support a new conference he was organizing on telecom analytics.  My first reaction was -- Wow, what a great topic, and. . . it’s about time!

Telecom Analytics 2013 [Atlanta, January 30 to 31] is no longer in the "good idea" phase.  It’s shaping up to be a solid gathering of industry movers and shakers.  Here’s the list of service provider speakers who have signed on as of the first week in January:

  • Justin Croft, Manager, Campaigns and Promotions at C-Spire Wireless
  • Bill Eldredge Sr.  Product Manager, Consumer Insight at Nokia
  • Kari Escobedo, VP, IT Development at T-Mobile
  • Konstantinos Karagiannis, Principal Consultant, Ethical Hacking Center of Excellence (EHCOE) at BT
  • Paul King, Director of Analytics and Insights at Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc.
  • Parimala Narasimha, Senior Manager — Marketing Sciences at Cox Communications
  • Tom Nolting, Vice President of Billing Support & Revenue Assurance at FairPoint Communications
  • Steve Ward, SVP Information Technology, Frontier Communications

It’s also nice to see major companies behind the event.  And in analytics, there’s no bigger name than IBM, who’s the signature sponsor, led by Robert Segat, IBM’s Business Solutions Executive — Telecom, Energy and Utilities.  Another senior exec behind Telecom Analytics 2013 is Frank Bernhard, Director of the Telecom Practice at Deloitte Consulting.

Westin Atlanta Airport Hotel

Closer to home, yours truly has organized a number of sessions entitled, Financial and Revenue Analytics where several contributors to Black Swan will be speaking.

So business assurance or analytics pros get the best of both worlds: the chance to hear and meet these experts, and, as a Black Swan reader / subscriber, a discount attendance fee.

For the Financial and Revenue Analytics sessions, here’s a quick rundown on the speakers and their topics.

Financial and Revenue Analytics Seesions

January 31, 2013 -- 12:30 PM to 5:00 PM

Register

Welcome & Market Perspective on Financial & Revenue Analytics -- Dan Baker, Research Director of TRI

This 10-minute introductory session will explain the rationale of assembling experts from various analytics flavors in these sessions. In addition, you’ll learn:

  • A brief history of analytics and the relative sizes of various telecom analytics/assurance solution markets; and,
  • How the consulting, software, integrator and cloud players are organizing to serve the telecom sector and crossing over formerly distinct domains.

Aligning Analytics with Business Goals --
Curtis Mills, President, ProCom Consulting
Steve Ward, SVP Information Technology, Frontier Communications

Steve Ward Curtis Mills

Big Data becomes Big Garbage unless it helps you take specific action for real change to achieve business goals, such as sales improvement for top-line growth, margin improvement, churn reduction and higher customer lifetime value.  This session will present tool-agnostic case examples of how carriers are using analytics to accelerate strategic results:

  • Measurably improve customer and product/bundle profitability, sometimes by reducing offerings.
  • Fine tune sales efforts, marketing campaigns and other promotions for radically improved outcomes.
  • Improve the customer experience, online and off, in the areas of highest financial impact.

Note: Steve Ward and Curtis Mills will deliver separate talks synchronized around the same topic.

Big Data, Big Results: Case Studies of Big Data Customer Analytics -- Jacob Howell, Director of Revenue Assurance & Fraud Solutions, TEOCO Corporation

Jacob Howell

The presenter will share best practices and case studies highlighting impressive and unexpected results from implementing Big Data Customer Analytics. You’ll learn how service providers:

  • Used customer information to rescue the profitability of their unlimited service plans;
  • Reduced churn by proactively managing bill shock;
  • Increase the margin of their MVNO line of business; and
  • Proactively protected their business from fraud and abuse.

Analytics: Ensuring OTT Services Don’t Eat the Lunch of MSOs -- Mark Trudeau, President & CEO, OpenVault LLC

Mark Trudeau

MSOs never had to worry about high speed data (HSD) consumption levels, at least until now.  With the widespread consumption of OTT content and the explosion in the number of internet connected devices within households the MSOs are suddenly faced with a desperate need to drive additional revenues and control expenses.  What has traditionally been their highest margin line of business is quickly becoming a huge challenge.  The answer: Analytics!  You’ll learn:

  • How Broadband Operators can leverage network and subscriber data to both understand where their biggest challenges are and to create and model new revenue-generating products.
  • The days of all-you-can-eat data are over and Operators must leverage detailed analytics to monetize the usage consumption on their networks.
  • Learn the current HSD usage behavioral trends and multiple ways to align revenues with demand.

Utilizing Big Data Analytics to Drive Operational Effectiveness and Delight Customers -- Dr. Ron Angner, Senior Vice President and Principal, TMNG Global

Ron Angner

Big data in telecom is nothing new.  But there’s now an urgent need to leverage big data to properly manage smartphones, M2M devices and the exploding app-driven market.  The need for revenue-generating insights is also being driven by data-heavy services, OTT delivery, and higher QoS expectations.  You’ll learn how operators are:

  • Managing Operational Big Data (OBD) -- gathering and integrating input from all the major telecom processes: Order to Cash; Switch-to-Bill; Maintenance; and Customer Care.
  • Applying business rules to provide executive dashboards and reports that detect and fix operational issues in near real time before revenue, costs, service assurance and customer satisfaction are impacted.
  • Improving not only operational and financial performance, but most importantly, customer satisfaction and experience programs.

Smart Margin Analytics: Why Bolting on a Margin Assurance Capability to an Existing Revenue Assurance System can Deliver Big Savings -- Efrat Nissimov, Director of Revenue Assurance Product Management, cVidya

Efrat Nissimov

Margin analysis is one of the hottest trends in Revenue Intelligence.  But what’s all the excitement about?  This session explains what margin analysis and show how major cost savings can be realized if it is deployed as a module within an existing revenue assurance suite.  You’ll learn:

  • The benefits of margin analysis and the market forces driving its adoption;
  • Advantages over Excel and heritage data warehouse approaches in terms of flexibility, data granularity and quicker time to access.

Real-Time Customer Experience and Network Analytics in Emerging 4G/LTE Networks -- Martin Guilfoyle, Vice President, Advanced Solutions, Syniverse

Martin Guilfoyle

The speed and capabilities of dynamic 4G/LTE networks generate big data and demand greater efficiency in the management of the network.  Real-time analysis and proactive resolution are not only vital capabilities for monitoring network health, but also for highlighting end-user behaviors and uncovering new revenue streams, protecting brand loyalty, and ultimately ensuring a positive end-user experience.  In this session you’ll learn about:

  • Use cases in real-time analytics that drive better customer experience such as: customized service options for high-value customers, targeted campaigns to silent or low usage roamers, and proactive usage monitoring to avoid bill shock.
  • Network management analytics that provides immediate issue resolution stemming from up-to-the-minute views of both on-net and the visited networks where subscribers roam.

The Road to Business Optimization Is Paved With Much More Than Big Data -- John L.  Brooks, Vice President Product Management, Subex

John Brooks

Harnessing the intelligence that resides in numerous data platforms has eluded most operators despite their purchases of BI, analytics, and reporting tools.  With all the resources being poured into sorting through mountains of data, why aren’t operators succeeding at that game?  In this session, you’ll learn:

  • How the path from data to optimization is achieved;
  • Actual cases of optimization across several  telecom-specific domains.

Copyright 2012 Black Swan Telecom Journal

 
Dan Baker

Dan Baker

Dan Baker is research director of Technology Research Institute (TRI) and editor of the Black Swan Telecom Journal.

Technology Research Institute (TRI) has been writing analyst reports and researching telecom software and systems markets since 1994.

For the last several years, TRI has been following developments in telecom Fraud Management, Revenue Assurance and Analytics solutions.

Most recently, TRI is exploring telecom opportunities in IoT, connectivity, AI/ML and edge computing (4G and 5G) in the Asia Pacific market.   Contact Dan via

Black Swan Solution Guides & Papers

cSwans of a Feather

  • Atlanta-lytics: New Telecom Conference Features Revenue and Customer Analytics by Dan Baker — A new telecom conference on analytics in Atlanta (January 29 — 31) is shaping up to be a key event for people who want to stay abreast of this fast moving field.  Black Swan is hosting a half-day, pre-conference workshop entitled, “Financial and Revenue Analytics” featuring seven speakers, many of whom are contributors to this magazine.  Detailed program guide is enclosed.
  • Big Data Financial Analytics: Creating Business Value for Tier 1 Telecoms interview with John Devolites & Atul Jain — What exactly is an analytics company?  This interview with executives at TEOCO helps defines this new breed of telecom solution vendor — a cross between software, consulting, and assurance supplier.  Along with a few Tier 1 case studies, the interview discusses: big-data vs. sampling, analytics project management, and the importance of data access.
  • Margin Analysis: Bolting Profit Assurance onto a Revenue Assurance Platform by Efrat Nissimov — Margin analysis is one of the hottest trends in business assurance.  But what’s all the excitement about?  This article explains the benefits, the market forces driving its adoption, and its advantages over Excel and heritage data warehouse approaches in terms of flexibility, data granularity and quicker time to access.  The author also touts major cost savings if margin analysis is deployed as a module within an existing revenue assurance suite.
  • Is Offering Free International LD on Your Horizon?  Follow These Checkpoints by Hulya Altinsoy — Free is a magic word for consumers.  So how about adding free international long distance (LD) to your list of services?  While free international LD serivce is fraught with risk, the article presents a  5-point checklist to help get your bearings before you make the leap.  The article also presents an analysis of billions of minutes in international LD calls by U.S. wireless carriers.

Related Articles

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