 Strategies & Tactics for Tough Times
A WARM WELCOME to our 10th Management World conference in Nice. Over the years, TM Forum's flagship conference has become ingrained as the common meeting ground for the industry - a regular fixture in the calendars of communications executives around the world. Our 2009 conference marks what we believe to be a critical turning point for our industry.
We are facing one of the most challenging business environments in recent history. Communication companies in every global market are preoccupied with how to survive and prosper in the face of recession. Pressure from the eternal triangle of time-to-market, operating costs and customer retention has increased sharply and now demands the attention of boardrooms in service providers around the world. Becoming a lean, agile service provider is no longer a luxury: it's now the key to ongoing profitability.
TM Forum exists to help our members improve their business effectiveness and profitability. We guide member companies through the complex, hazardous journey of transformation by providing leadership, technology roadmaps, training, publications, online communities and conferences like this one. Through member collaboration and sharing of information, we formulate best practices and low risk approaches which benefit the whole industry, while enabling our members to continue to exploit their competitive edge in the market.
The Forum's role in industry leadership and transformation is more relevant now than ever. Operational efficiency and business effectiveness are no longer just the buzzwords of the back office; they are the key to profitability, customer retention and critical to supporting the new business models service providers must adopt in order to unlock new revenue streams.
Management World 2009 has been designed to help you refine your strategy and tactics for current market conditions and to prepare for the upturn. We've brought together the best minds in the industry to offer practical advice based on direct experience in communications service providers in every market from around the world. Across five conference summits and our opening Keynote Perspectives sessions, we will explore the strategies and tactics service providers need to explore if they are to succeed:
- The Business and Technology Transformation summits tackle head-on the challenges surrounding transformation - ranging from building the business case to transform, through to determining the right architecture roadmaps to support your business - now and in the future;
- The Customer Experience summit focuses on key issues surrounding customer retention, including how to reduce customer churn by building loyalty into service offerings, and the risks legacy systems pose;
- The Charging & Revenue Management summit brings together leading executives from service providers including Etisalat, Deutsche Telekom and STC to look at new revenue assurance strategies to reduce revenue loss and fraud, as well as the role of personalized services and innovative business models in maximizing revenue streams;
- The Digital Media Value Chain summit puts convergence under the spotlight, looking at how communications companies are working together with advertising, media and entertainment industries to create and define new business models and opportunities for the future.
In addition to an outstanding conference, Management World 2009 includes several unique features. Forumville - TM Forum's Innovation Zone located in Hall 1, offers an opportunity meet the experts behind our impressive Solution Frameworks and other best practices and standards. Forumville includes seven live Technology Catalyst demonstrations and TM Forum's Content Encounter, which offers end-to-end demonstrations specifically geared towards helping service providers make the right investment decisions regarding new services in these challenging times.
Once again, welcome to Management World, and I look forward to seeing you this week.
Best regards,
Martin Creaner
President TM Forum |