By Ed Finegold
For many of us the New Year signals the kick off of new initiatives and, in many cases, fresh IT budgets. It’s to time build new capabilities and decide whether to keep, consolidate or eliminate the old. Often we resolve to do things better and to try harder, forgetting that by mid-February our cynicism will return as we endure endless conference calls on the long road to March Madness. We must, however, embrace the now and allow ourselves a bit of excitement as we seek ways to clean up those nasty architecture diagrams in search of the new BSS solutions that will help separate our market offerings from the industry pack. As we fall in love with new technology and bold ideas, however, let’s remember some key shopping tips that ensure our new BSS investments have more staying power than this year’s hottest stocking-stuffer fad.
- Treat every deal like it is Black Friday. For CSP IT departments, the truth is that it’s a buyer’s market. Most BSS products are complex and costly – that’s the nature of the beast. But the market has never been more competitive than it is now. If you’re in the market for a BSS solution, make sure to understate your budget, no matter how lean it is, and fight for the most aggressive pricing you can. It’s what the CFO, CEO, and Board expect you to do. The business developer wants to make a sale and carving out a clear piece of your architecture is critical to his or her boss’ long term strategy. Treat every deal like its Black Friday and you’re the only customer in line when the doors open.
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Most BSS products are complex and costly – that’s the nature of the beast. But the market has never been more competitive than it is now. |
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- commitments. With exciting new capabilities like real-time charging, customer analytics, marketing personalization, and deep packet inspection on the radar, we can’t forget the underlying risks that always trouble major IT initiatives. Grinches like poor data quality and integrity; complex systems integration requirements; immature code; and disruption of key business processes can spoil Christmas in less than a fortnight. You can’t create a viable business case without a complete understanding of the risks any new solution is likely to exacerbate.
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- Unlike Santa, mitigate your risks. Santa’s not a risk-averse guy. He flies around in an open sleigh, lands on roofs, and slides down chimneys to get his job done. BSS buyers can’t be so cavalier. Yet we often see IT departments taking the same risks again and again no matter how often they’ve been burned in the past. Weigh all the risks, specific and systemic, before making any
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- This Christmas, consider take-out. Though it may fly in the face of tradition, it’s a good time to examine Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) options when evaluating new BSS solutions. The SaaS model doesn’t always make sense, but if SaaS providers aren’t on your RFI list then it is past time to rethink you approach. SaaS’ cost, risk,
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