Innovation in Cloud Technology

The Innovation in Cloud Technology category was a David and Goliath story this year. It pitted industry juggernaut Netcracker against the up-and-comer Intraway. Netcracker submitted its Ecosystem Approach to Cloud Transformation, and Intraway once again submitted Symphonica, its flexible orchestration engine for zero-touch service order management.

Netcracker’s highly focused submission on cloud technologies and enabling cloud transformation gave them the win in a near landslide. David doesn’t always win, but Intraway did pick up notable votes and recognition from Tier 2 operators in the US, a Tier 1 operator in LATAM, and a notable industry analyst. The results were Netcracker, Winner; Intraway Runner-up.

Innovations in Customer Experiences (CX)

The Finalists in here had innovations featured across the 2023 Pipeline Innovation Awards program, but they really had an opportunity to shine in the Innovations in Customer Experience (CX) category. They included Etiya, CloudSmartz, and Netcracker. Etiya submitted its Etiya Campaign Management (ECM) innovation, which provides holistic campaign management across streamlined communications channels while providing near real-time performance insights and adaptability. CloudSmartz expanded its Acumen 360 submission to show how it provides a 360-degree view of the customer, seamlessly integrates with existing systems, and lays the foundation for AI use cases. Netcracker submitted its immersive Netcracker Intelligent Customer Experience Solution featuring an AI-first approach to the Total Experience (TX) supporting internal (e.g. employee) as well as external (e.g. customer) stakeholders.

Etiya ranked highly with both the CSP and analyst judges, whereas the rest of the votes were bifurcated between CloudSmartz and Netcracker. The CSPs seem to lean slightly more heavily toward Netcracker, while the majority of analysts felt CloudSmartz was the most innovative. In the end, Etiya emerged as the Winner, Netcracker was the Runner-up, and CloudSmartz was the Finalist by a single vote.

Innovations in Digital Experience (DX)

Netcracker and CloudSmartz squared off in a barn burner in the Innovations in Digital Experience category. Netcracker squared off its Intelligent Customer Experience solution against CloudSmartz’s Acumen 360 digital marketplace and customer experience platform. Going head-to-head proved exciting with the Winner coming down again to a single vote. An equal number of analysts voted for each Finalist. It all came down to the CSP judges. CSPs from every tier and from the US, Canada, and Europe all voted for each of the Finalists. Then CloudSmartz picked up a vote from Telefonica creating a tie. It all came down to the final vote, and a split vote between two judges from AT&T sealed the Winner’s fate. The results were Netcracker as the Winner and CloudSmartz as Runner-up.

Innovations in Partner Ecosystems

The Innovations in Partner Ecosystems category is designed to recognize innovations that expand global connectivity, commerce, and collaboration. The Finalists were ConnectBase, its submission featuring The Connected World platform; Netcracker with its Netcracker Partner Ecosystem Management solution; and Subex with its Partner Ecosystem Management Solution. All were innovative in their own right, but at the end of the day there can be only one Winner.

This category wasn’t particularly close, but upon closer inspection there were some notable takeaways from the Judge’s votes. In addition to CSP judges such as those from Lumen and Rogers, the analyst judges strongly favored the winner, ConnectBase. The majority of CSP judges, however, voted for the Runner-up, Netcracker. While the Finalist, Subex received notable votes from both CSPs and analysts alike but not quite enough to edge out Netcracker.

Innovations in Managed Services

Netcracker and Subex had the opportunity to square off again in Innovations in Managed Services. Subex submitted its Managed Services for Fraud Management to proactively address fraud risks and revenue leakage. Netcracker submitted its Customer-Centric Managed Services encompassing cloud management, application services, end-to-end network monitoring, operations optimization and governance, and security.

In another photo finish, Subex won by a single vote with a majority of CSPs voting their way along with a handful of analysts. However, Netcracker picked up the majority of analyst votes, along with a handful of CSPs in Canada and Europe as the Runner-up.

Showcasing Innovation

As you can see, the Pipeline Innovation Awards program is an extensive competition across many different technical areas of innovation. It also provides the most credible validation of innovation in the world through its objective scoring process and third-party Esteemed Judges Panel comprised of decision markers that buy, use, and recommend these advanced technologies to advance the way we work, live, and play as a globally connected society.

We applaud the vigor and achievement of all our awards contestants, including the Nominees, Semi-finalists, Finalists, Runner-ups, and Winners. We invite them and all other technical innovators to submit their latest innovations in the 2024 Pipeline Innovation Awards Program. 2024 Nominations are now open, and – for a limited time – contestants can enter under the pay-as-you-progress pricing model, where contestants only pay for the level of advancement they achieve in the awards program. To view the 2024 Pipeline Innovation Awards categories and pricing, visit the Official Nomination Form and be sure to enter the promo code PLPRG to unlock progressive pricing.