Business Transformation Strategies I
Transformation is happening at a number of levels and this module examines the steps that service providers are taking to ensure their future success in a changing and converging market. There is no single model for transformation and so the focus will be on bringing out service provider experience in areas such as operational efficiencies and service innovation. The format of this module will also provide personal insight from leading vendors who will also explore aspects such as how to avoid the “dumb pipe” destiny for service providers and how to develop a business model that will allow service providers to align their network and operations for new opportunities, from the early concepts to realisation.
Business Transformation Strategies II
Given the importance of the subject and the diversity of knowledge and experience, the subject expands into a second module building on some of the ideas brought out in the first but also introducing new ideas and concepts. As before, the sessions will be highly interactive, using panels and discussion formats to further engage with the audience – many of whom we expect to have their own experiences and ideas to share. Every service provider may have a different reason for transforming and a different starting point but they all should have a similar end goal of becoming leaner and faster in delivering, guaranteeing and charging for new blended services. The journey should consist of a planned evolution and migration of not only the network but also the OSS/BSS. To provide a more analytical approach we will also feature an Economist Intelligence Unit survey of 252 global telecom executives reveals they are concerned about finding the right mix of converged services that will generate a predictable revenue stream and showing where operators plan to focus their investments and the new business models they are considering.
Evolving Business Models
Following on from the Business Transformation, this module will focus in on ways that the transformation is leading to changes in the fundamental business models that underpin the future of the service providers. This will discuss the role Communications Service Providers can play in the emerging Services Ecosystem of content providers, aggregators, and distributors. Companies such as Google, MySpace, and YouTube are potentially forcing CSPs to fulfil the role of dumb pipe provider. But this is not an inevitability and this will examine what steps CSPs can take to prevent this devaluation as part of a new Services Ecosystem. It will also examine the concept of "Business Mashups Framework" – a proof of concept about the creation of a business and management environment to enable multiple service providers to create, share, combine and commercialize services under SLA based business models.
Service Delivery Frameworks
Featuring an interactive panel of suppliers and service providers with experience in building and operating Service Delivery Platforms and Frameworks, whose panellists will debate drivers for creation of service marketplaces, how to plan and operate a service marketplace and examples of successful ones, key ingredients of such marketplaces (services, frameworks, syndication, B2B agreements, & revenue models). It will also address which standards or best practices would help the development of service marketplaces. Often in a modern service provider the means to understand product or service composition is fragmented across many systems of different types, with none having an overall picture. This module will discuss an architecture that enables the service factory agility needed to reduce production costs and speed time to market using a catalog that drives front and back office systems to improve the product and service lifecycle management function.
Business Process Frameworks
The TM Forum’s eTOM defines a framework for a set of business processes aimed at managing the effective integration for the end-to-end functions for a service provider to manage the service lifecycle. Service providers are facing increasing pressure to rapidly transform their existing business processes while remaining competitive and simultaneously introducing new services. This module will discuss how to build a successful business transformation approach by leveraging the eTOM framework while successfully linking business with IT. This will cover critical success factors, process redesign, and KPIs for monitoring and measuring process improvements. Examples will be used where service providers have adopted the eTOM as a framework to build their business process map to guarantee coherence, consistency and integrity of the process map. This explains the purpose of using the eTOM framework to design and build the company-wide process map & process architecture and the role of the “BPM Office” to satisfy its internal needs.
Mobile & Wireless
Mobility remains one of the most compelling drivers for new services and new devices – enabling people to remain in touch throughout their increasingly mobile business and social day. With mobility comes the need for wireless technologies. Such new technologies can bring their own challenges throughout the service lifecycle such as the need to manage the proliferating number of in-home devices. Next Generation 4G and WiMAX technologies are changing the way people communicate and use wireless services in their homes. Home WiMAX hotspots that provide a full range of next generation services offer significant revenue opportunities. Mobile network evolution also gives reason to examine the future OSS for such networks. Convergence of IT and Telecom opens up advantages include economy of scale, leveraging industry maturity and enlarged user community and examines the opportunities, challenges, and lessons learned from implementation experiences.
NGOSS Transformation Case Studies
Today’s system and network management environment is complex and becoming more so as network operators are expected to monitor information coming from an increasing number of sources. Service providers will need to manage their IP networks in a holistic manner if they are to successfully deliver converged services in a reliable and cost effective manner as well as maximize customer quality of experience. This module will examine how NGOSS bridges the gulf allowing the managed environment to be viewed as a single entity enabling clients to share management information without regard to where the information originated. We will also feature examples of where multiple OSS management platforms from different operating companies within an organisation, each with pre-existing systems and processes, were migrated into a single group wide system. This looks at the various strategies considered as well as the knowledge gained in the NGOSS migration and reconciling critical network resource information with fulfillment applications using TMF standards.
IT Return on Investment
Managing the introduction of new technology can present technological challenges. It also raises the issue of how investment in new technology can be measured and shown to have a real contribution to business success. More than ever, communications providers worldwide are challenged with IT asset rationalization/consolidation decisions in order to increase IT agility and lower cost. This module will examine application scoring, analysis and decision-making framework for prioritizing, planning and transforming IT applications. By applying eTOM definitions and using this innovative approach to examine, evaluate and compare business metrics against IT efficiency metrics, organizations can optimize, balance and align their applications with their strategic business objectives. We will also examine the benefits of agile development techniques that bring real time collaboration to the developers’ desktops using communication technologies like 24/7 video conferencing with offshore partners and networked digital whiteboards so that development teams remain in contact all the time and can adapt to the changes in the business requirements.
Enterprise/Defense Infrastructure Management
This module examines the management needs of Enterprise networks with a specific focus on public sector/government and defense networks. It will feature the Large Scale Buyers initiative looking at standardising the procurement process for public sector and government networks. In defense and military networks, it examines how the U.S. Army and Army National Guard have handled the need for precise, real-time information on what communications services and infrastructure are in place, how the infrastructure is connected, and how services are being provided. This then allows the management of mission critical services and infrastructure across Network and IT domains from a single platform bringing together the worlds of eTOM and ITIL – the standard for IT infrastructure management.
Service Oriented Architectures
Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is software architecture grouped around business processes and packaged as interoperable services. So, it is natural for SOA techniques to be combined with NGOSS standards to the development of operational and business support systems. What does it take to align your IT strategy directly with the customer? Can the customer actually benefit from SOA? This module will feature a number of case studies which have enabled better customer visibility and improved control of network and IT infrastructure and will highlight experiences in using SOA to deliver next generation services to mobile devices as part of initiatives to deliver services to multiple end devices. It will also look at the implications of exposing these services to the customer, for example to improve customer experience and call center representative efficiency. Throughout, in examining the role of SOA, key business issues, major technical challenges and results, including ROI and performance on KPIs, will be highlighted.