Optimize architecture to save costs
IT departments are forced to optimize costs. One way to do this is to reduce the number of redundant IT systems used for similar activities. Therefore, a good way to optimize costs is IT consolidation by using the same systems in various domains, e.g.:
- prepaid and postpaid as well as mobile and fixed customers on the same platform
- retail and wholesale domains on one platform, with the possibility of sharing the information
- interconnect, roaming, content revenue sharing, M2M and MVNOs on a single platform
Apart from the time and cost savings it also brings more flexibility and shortens the time to market, which can be an additional driver of transformation.
Another way to optimize costs is to eliminate revenue leakages. This can be achieved by gaining more control over processes, quality and revenue assurance tools, as well as reducing the amount of manually performed tasks by automating certain processes managed by various departments.
Cost optimization also requires flexibility in launching new products designed by the marketing department and needed by customers. This means introducing new products without expensive, risky and time-consuming system upgrades. The need of IT departments for cost-efficient introduction of new products, configurations and business processes, or modifications of the existing ones, requires a modern and consolidated BSS.
Innovate without limits
Communication service providers must be able to introduce new products and enter new markets easily. An example here can be entering the M2M market, strengthening an operator’s multi-service offering, or the simultaneous use of various business models such as reselling, enabling or two-sided. IT departments play a significant role here and need to ensure that systems in place in their company empower innovation. BSS is one of the crucial elements here, so it should not create any limitations or block innovation, but support it in the best possible way.
While innovation is best expressed by introducing new products to the offer, the majority of pre-existing products must still be maintained. So the total number of products to maintain is continually growing. BSS must be able to support the growing number of products and at the same time eliminate the need for creation of redundant products by mechanisms such as personalized pricing and promotions.
Innovation also requires constant development of existing IT systems. Whole new integrations and systems have to be added to the BSS. Such development can be supported by applying Service Oriented Architecture using open interfaces to help limit the overall complexity of the solution.
Accelerate business and shorten time to market
The market is getting faster every day, and the pressure on IT departments to keep pace is increasing. Shortening the time to market from a mere buzzword often becomes a nightmare.
One of the biggest problems with time to market is that legacy systems force you to configure new products in various places, with different rules. This involves a complex process of testing, lacks the possibility of managing the entire process of a product launch, and does not allow for consistent product performance data.
This calls for the architecture to be transformed so that it includes centralized product management and unified order capturing for all sales channels. Such a change lets you configure products in one single place, which radically decreases the configuration time. In addition, product life cycle management lets you better organize processes connected with designing, implementing and terminating products.
There is another crucial thing for quick introduction of new services to the market –
preintegrated BSS and OSS. BSS/OSS integration lies in a common, standard data model. Such a model empowers the user, by allowing a uniform view spanning the network and service layer. It also simplifies a lot of processes. With such an approach, pre-integrated BSS and OSS provides the ability to assure a good quality of service in those aspects which influence customer experience. Additionally, this approach allows many processes to be automated – thus accelerating the business.
