Service Agility: You're Only as Fast as Your Slowest Process

The sheer number of telcos looking to get a better handle on OSS and BSS functions indicates that top-level executives, once a layer or two removed from nitty-gritty network ins and outs, now understand the critical nature of investing in these systems. Something Lenahan says is driving C-level leaderhip to the table of vendors like Ericsson to find out how to turn their Edsel network into a humming Tesla.

“They know what they need to be faster, more agile, Lenahan says. “There's no resistance at the top.” Instead he says, there is sometimes more resistance at the mid-levels, where processed are most dramatically overhauled.

The promise of becoming more agile and offering what is essentially a network-on-demand is about more than being positioned to offer the services of the future. Sure, digital lifestyle services are turning profits for the likes of AT&T, but thinking up new and innovative ways to reach rank-and-file consumers is only one aspect of the benefits.

First, an agile operator is positioned to re-define, re-package and fine tune existing services. For instance, adding an IPTV offering suited for specific vertical consumers is a snap for an agile operator. Just want to reach World Cup fans? The agile operator can with a few keystrokes. The agile operator can forewarn customers before they accrue data overages and up-sell them on increased data. The agile operator is also positioned to more fully capitalize on network demand spikes and customer location data. The agile operator can do more with less.

“The telecom world is changing,” Ovum analyst, Matt Walker, says. “Established market boundaries are falling by the wayside. Competition is tougher, service innovation is faster, and margins are often slimmer. Value--and profits--are shifting among industry segments.”

He adds, however, that with the new industry paradigm comes a new set of vendors, and even re-imagined legacy vendors, with expertise across the breadth of the business.

“There are two things to remember in all of this,” Walker continues. “First, most of this change is great for the consumer. Users are capturing enormous benefits from the technology investments and new business models of CSPs and adjacent market players. Second, there are upsides to this industry change for vendors. Despite flattish CSP capex, there is a new sector of companies building network infrastructure, partially offsetting the CSP weakness. To profit from this digital media growth, though, vendors will need strengths in both telecom-hardware and IT-software, and learn to serve this new customer type.”