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may be experiencing problems that the operator may not know about, such as the time it takes to download or set up an application or that the customer provision has been incorrectly set. Closing the customer experience gap – the difference between what your customers expect and what the network is delivering – is the key to ensuring customer satisfaction and retention. To close this gap, network operators require accurate, actionable information from every point where the customer touches the network, from the delivery of multimedia services and applications, to other touch points such as customer billing and customer care.
Network Intelligence: Turning Data into Actionable Information
Information is power – and having access to network monitoring solutions that collect data from the network, correlate it, and then make it available for upstream processing and analysis is fundamental to implementing a Network Intelligence strategy. At the same time, it is equally important to have the ability to get actionable information into the hands of those who are empowered to take action back downstream in the network. Departments such as network operations, engineering, customer care, marketing/sales or other OSS/BSS departments, all require accurate, real-time (or historical) information to make better decisions that impact their customers and how they are served.
To embark in a Network Intelligence strategy, your network capabilities must be aligned with your business objectives. For example, if you are a mobile operator whose value proposition is targeted at business users who require high-speed, reliable data services, then your network needs to be optimized for delivering high-quality, high-speed data services. In order to achieve this alignment, operators need to know what levers in their network directly impact the desired business outcome. As is often the case, there can be multiple sub-levers
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The consumer does not care how hard it is to deliver those services. |
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that contribute to a given lever that must also be identified. After identifying what levers impact a desired business outcome, Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) are then assigned to each lever. Depending on the nature of the KPI, a nominal and threshold value can be assigned and monitored. In our high-speed data service example mentioned above, the key levers that impact our desired business objective might be levers related to the network quality of service, of which KPI’s related to monitoring data rates, packet loss and delay might be used.
And finally, but fundamental to a Network Intelligence strategy, is the ability to cost-effectively collect and correlate signaling and media data from across your network. Depending on the amount and type of traffic specific to your network, probes are selected and placed at key points within your network to collect the right data that will be transformed into actionable information.
Better Business Results
Market dynamics and the realities of today’s global economy have resulted in fierce competition in today’s telecommunications market. To succeed, telecom operators must focus on the quality of their network and ensure that the customer is having a quality experience. This is not easy given the diversity of customer segments and ever-changing customer needs. By adopting a Network Intelligence strategy, multiple groups within a network operator are empowered with actionable information; meaningful, real-time information that allows them to more efficiently run their network, make better decisions that have a positive impact on customer satisfaction and retention and close the customer experience gap.
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