The CoralTree Blog Has Moved

That's right, 

We've moved the CoralTree blog so that it's now a part of the CoralTree website. You can find the new blog here www.CoralTreeSystems.com/blog

Thanks for reading all the new articles we've set live over here, you can find them all over on the new site. We hope to bring you the same good quality writing over there too. 

Cheers
Craig. 

Job Opportunities at CoralTree Systems

Graduate Software Engineer

Title: Graduate Software Engineer (3-4 positions available)
Salary: £23,000 – £26,000 depending on skills and experience
Benefits: Range of supplementary benefits
Closing date for applications: 31.03.15

Role
Applicants will be expecting to graduate this year with a good degree in Software Engineering, or similar subject, and will have covered degree course modules or have knowledge/experience in several of the following:

• Software development processes and programming
• Web application design and architecture
• HTML, XML, Java, CSS and Javascript
• User interface design
• SQL
• Web services

Our applications are developed and run on IBM Power Server, primarily using ‘Free-format RPGILE’. Knowledge of this is not expected, full training will be provided.

We will expect applicants:

• To be enthusiastic and self-motivated
• To follow company procedures and conform to company technical standards
• To be able to communicate effectively with colleagues and customers
• To be able to show a methodical approach to problem determination
• To be able to work as part of a team or individually as required

How to apply

Please send a CV and covering letter to craig.maxwell-brown@coraltreesystems.com or send your CV and covering letter to;

Careers
Coraltree Systems Ltd
25 Barnes Wallis Road
Segensworth East
Fareham
PO15 5TT

For more information please check our website www.coraltreesystems.com

Convergent BSS required to drive CEM benefits

Fierce competition, ever-increasing customer expectation, and system complexity continues to challenge the communications industry. Customer Experience Management (CEM) has been hailed as the industry saviour, often favourably described as – ‘boosting profitability’, ‘key differentiator’, and ‘driving loyalty’. So if CEM is helping combat customer expectation and competition, what about system complexity? And does CEM affect the complexity of Business Support Systems (BSS)?

In TM Forum’s research on customer experience the challenges cited by CSPs for effective CEM were legacy systems integration and end-to-end control. CSPs have grown through acquisitions and many still have very disparate systems, with operators continuing to augment rather than replace BSS. Without removing the complexity, CEM initiatives add further pressure on the BSS stack.

So, why hasn’t more been done by operators to resolve the obstacles created by legacy systems? Whether due to lack of foresight or concerns regarding cost, risk, or lack of return-on-investment, CSPs will not be able to meet the consumer and business’ CEM demands with their current IT setups.

Why do legacy systems not serve our needs today?

The main issue leads us back to ‘complexity’. With so many devices, packages, and channels many legacy systems still work in silos, causing inaccuracies. This increases the time and cost to serve, impacting customer satisfaction.

The 2014 Telecoms.com industry survey stated that 42.5% of operators are planning to upgrade their customer management systems in the next 12 months. IT environments need to be redesigned to fit in with CEM strategy, in order to realise the customer loyalty and profitability benefits of CEM.

Optimise CEM with convergent BSS

With convergent BSS, CSPs can optimise their operations. Ensuring all data is centrally accessed and updated, keeping accurate customer profiles. This enables operators to create personalised packages, to enhance customer loyalty, and boost revenues. 

To get the most out of CEM, the operator must examine their current BSS environment and invest to break down the barriers of silos. Convergent BSS enables a transparent and cohesive CRM solution. Resulting in service delivery, billing, and customer care operations all working in harmony and opening the pathway up for innovative CEM initiatives.

Written by Natasha Geldard - Marketing Consultant for CoralTree Systems Ltd.

Cord Cutters and Nevers Part Two: The Rise of the Cord Cutters

In part one of this two part blog on Cord Cutters and Cord Nevers, I spent a week without using my PayTV service, instead using OTT services to sate my need for programming to see just how feasible an option it is.

You can read the whole article here, but in summary, I suggest that the arguments for cutting PayTV are getting stronger all the time and in the UK at least, one could could attempt it quite successfully. But there are still many things hindering cutting ties to PayTV - for example exclusives that you can only get on channels such as Sky Atlantic (Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones) and the convenience that comes from all your TV in one spot, as opposed to multiple apps/services.

In the beginning of the last blog, I led with the following statistic. 18-34 year old's are 77% more likely to become cord nevers and 67% more likely to become cord cutter households [Source]. Of course, it could be quite easy to dismiss stats that say people 'might' cut the cord, people might do a lot of things but the fact is that they are, in ever larger numbers. 

ComScore data published in October 2014 revealed that 24% of 18- to 24-year-olds do not have a traditional pay TV service. Of these people, 13% previously had pay TV service but later cut the cord while 11% have never subscribed to a pay TV service at all. 

In the UK, it's possible to see a possible result of this shift as a report states that, last year, the number of TV households actually fell and by as much as 300,000 as people move to phones, tablets and laptops/computers.

And to see this cord cutting/shaving in action, Reddit (a huge social networking and news website where community members can all submit content on endless topics) there is a cordcutters sub community (subreddit), with 72 thousand unique subscribers, who all share advice, tips and help on how to cut the cord and get cheap/free streaming services legally. They have a dozen related subreddits many again with tens of thousands of subscribers. 

As well as many people who cord cut because of costs, the views of this reddit user are also extremely common;

"For me, it was a combination of things... a lack of interest in a lot of what is on cable TV, combined with a desire for more flexibility in where and how I watch TV. More and more, I watch "TV" on devices other than my television. I watch on my iPad around the house while doing projects or chores, or I watch on my computer while browsing the web, etc."

The problem for this person, is that operators are not keeping up with the changes in how consumers are viewing television - operators need to start getting creative with how they offer TV.

Like a kid in a candy store

Choice, flexibility and price are the three key points, and they're all very much interlinked with each other. 

First and foremost it is likely that going forward operators are increasingly going to need to have some form of OTT offering and a robust means of providing live and catchup TV to subscribers through DVRs, mobile devices and laptops - The SkyGo app is an example of this. 

This is not only a means of dealing with cord cutters by addressing their concerns and providing a solution, but as a service differentiator or perhaps even to keep up date with other service providers. 

AT&T seem to have hit the nail on the head in addressing those three points by providing a service directly to those who want to "cut the cord"

"A $39-per-month bundle [with] 45 Mbps Internet and subscriptions to Amazon Prime and HBO. It's an acknowledgement that subscribers are smart enough to figure out the rest on their own. There aren't any sports channels, cooking shows or 24-hour news stations, and a phone service is completely separate, but these deals are designed for the Game-of-Thrones generation"

It's about empowering the consumer and recognising that there are dramatic changes in the way people are engaging with TV content which is not going to change back. Without these sorts of packages and offers you're making a consumer who is on the fence, choose between having your service or not. And ultimately a consumer who chooses 'not' to take your service brings in no money! 

A provider, like AT&T, with packages that provide the flexibility, choice and prices that customers want, are less likely to see people cutting the cord. 

I believe the industry could make great efforts in eliminating the notion of cord cutters and cord nevers, but they'll have to accept the idea of a cord shaver who is perhaps more money conscious, who is viewing content different but ultimately still wants some, but not all, of the services. 

CoralTree's roundup of 2014

So in good order and good end of year tradition, we felt it worthwhile to recap some of this year's blog articles and see if they correlate with what the key goings on are in the industry.

Customer Experience

We started off the year with a blog on Customer Experience, at the time it proved to be very popular and it remains one of our most read blog articles. This is probably because in this environment of reduced ARPUs, general financial instability, and diverging customer habits getting the upper hand on the competition has been driven, in no small way, by improving Customer Experience.

Maybe that includes getting rid of customer bills?... it might sound controversial, but one operator is already doing it. This is something that we covered in a blog post ingeniously titled "Customers don't really want bills".

Even with things starting to pan out for many operators, as the European economy strengthens, superior customer experience has definitely become something that consumers expect of operators and driving the efficiency agenda can play a part in that as well. Talking of efficiency... 

Operational Efficiencies 

Other ways that operators have sought to improve their bottom line and increase their profits is through operational efficiencies. The OSS side of things has had a lot of focus in recent months with all the talk - and hype? - surrounding 'NFV' (Network Functions Virtualisation).

But BSS efficiencies have been talked about in a variety of flavours and incantations. We covered such topics in "Do we understand the meaning of convergence?" and "Expectations that have sped ahead: efficiency is crucial". 

These topics appear to have dropped off the radar a little bit in the wake of all the NFV talk. However, the OSS/BSS bottleneck that currently prevents some operators maximising efficiencies in NFV, could see BSS efficiencies and even new BSS implementations (make sure you know why they sometimes fail!) being put in place to enable the full benefits of Network Functions Virtualisation integration.

Hopefully this means the topic will get a whole new lease of life!

Viewing Habits

Consumer changes in viewing habits have also come to the fore this year. From the extremes of customers ditching pay-tv services altogether, which have been becoming more of an issue for CSPs, as companies like Netflix become more prevalent. We've started covering this in part one of the "cord cutters/cord nevers" series. To customers general viewing habits changing a topic we looked at in "What’s next? Interactive multi-tasking!"

In a strange twist, North Korea has show just how much viewing habits have changed and how much ready consumers are for change.

With major US cinema chains pulling Sony's new film 'The Interview', but high public demand to view it, Sony called on On-Demand providers YouTube, Google Play, Microsoft Video and more recently iTunes to host the video for a nationwide release which earned them $18m. As much as they had aimed to earn via a national cinema release, so is this the end of the cinema?

We'll be looking at this ever more important topic in the new year.

What can we expect from the coming year? 

Well, all these topics have been high profile topics throughout 2014, but the industry is still far from implementing these features fully. So we should expect to see more of them over the coming year(s)! 

But there are a great many other things that might well present themselves in 2015, such as an increased focus on BSS systems that are able to provide flexible, personalised offerings to customers. Or an increase in telecoms companies adopting more non-traditional services, which are predicted to grow from 8-10% of income, to a potential 15-20% of revenue. This could help sure up bottom lines that are constantly under threat.

What ever the new year brings, Happy New Year, and all the best in 2015! 

Cord Cutters and Nevers Part One: Could I be a Cord Cutter?

In a recent study carried out by Comscore: 18-34 year old's are 77% more likely to become cord nevers and 67% more likely to become cord cutter households. These should be 'sit up and take notice' figures for CSP's as this age group has already caused much of the change we've seen in viewing habits of late (multi device, second screen etc)

So in an effort get an idea on what it would be like moving from 'more likely' to actually 'cutting the cord' on linear TV or indeed why someone might decide to never pick up a subscription TV service in the first place, I decided to delve into the world of cord cutters and cord nevers by giving up TV for a week.

I guess I fall a little shy of an average 'linear' TV user, I do watch it and with some frequency, but I also have access to two leading OTT providers (you can probably guess the names) and access to the VOD offering from that well known UK satellite provider. All of which I use to supplement my linear viewing habits - by all measures I guess I'm well equipped to start this experiment.

Diving In

Not really knowing how this would pan out, I started off the week in a flummox and almost falling at the first hurdle - we usually put BBC Breakfast on in the morning... well that's not going to happen. Radio 4 it is then! 

In the evening I continued to watch a series on one of the OTTs that I'm currently in the middle of, whilst playing some computer games. My wife was out anyway, and Masterchef wasn't until Tuesday. Nice and easy - so ends Monday.

We had to wait until Wednesday to watch Tuesday's Masterchef because of my experiment, which a little frustrating, but ultimately no real hassle. Instead we proceeded to watch some other shows on 4oD (Channel 4's On Demand/Catch Up service) and caught up on some shows we'd neglected on one of the OTT services. We put it on the main TV through the xbox. At this point I'm thinking that the experiment is going pretty well really!

Mid week rolls around and we're a day behind in some of our viewing. So over the next couple of days we watched the things we missed via BBC's iplayer (which has seen enormous growth recently) or the other TV catch up services ITV player and 4oD again. We also binge watched some episodes from a couple of TV series such as American Horror Story and House M.D. via one of our OTT platforms - this time we watched it on the tablet.

Friday and the weekend - well, these followed the same routine as the rest of the week with the radio on in the morning, but we did start to find ourselves struggling a bit, particularly on the Sunday morning as we didn't really have anything we could just put on as 'background' television. 

It made me realise how often we'd put the TV on even if just for background noise - a bit of Friends or something we've watched a hundred times already - whilst we got on with other things. 

Sunday evening rolled around and the experiment was over, and I was starting to consider the pros and cons of the experiment.

Conclusion.

It was an odd week, and it was actually harder than I had anticipated. 

There's a wealth of TV and films available on catch up TV and OTT services, more than enough to ensure you didn't need to put the TV on. But, and there is a but, there are a couple of things that get in the way.

It didn't quite sit well with what, I guess, are my current viewing habits - It turns out that I'm very much a second screen kind of viewer and when I'm watching something on an OTT service I feel as if I've gone out of my way to watch it and so should give it my full attention. This might be little tricky if it was my only source of TV long term!

Secondly, it's all very fragmented. I do not believe cord cutting is possible with just one VOD or OTT service, which means that one must subscribe to several. You must find a device or SmartTV that gives easy access to them all (Chromecast, for example, doesn't natively support Amazon Prime Instant) which adds a certain amount of hassle. Having multiple services also decreases the cost advantage gained through scrapping a PayTV subscription.

In the UK, however, we have access to ‘Freeview’. It has a one off cost, access to all the terrestrial channels and a large number of additional channels as well as the option to use a DVR. 

If this was topped up with some monthly subscriptions to the Over The Top services like Blinkbox, Netflix and Amazon, It would make a compelling argument to ‘cut the cord’ on PayTV services altogether… though i'd maybe off on the scissors until all the seasons of Game of Thrones have been aired. 



In part two I'll be looking why people are cutting the cord, what the numbers are like at the moment, and what CSPs might need to do to change this trend.

Customer's don't really want bills...

Well, of course, customer's don't want bills - who really wants a bill? But this blog isn't about customers who would rather get free services, this is about whether customers want to receive bills or if they're just happy to pay each month.

Over on Billing Views as part of an ETIS community gathering in Budapest, one service provider said that their customers didn't really want bills. 

Taken aback by the comment he was then asked to clarify the statement. 
He responded with;

"Absolutely, of course consumers do not want bills anymore. It is too much trouble. What they want is to look at their bank statement. If the amount is about what they expected, they are happy. If it is different they want to pick up the phone."

This got me thinking... when was the last time that I actually, properly, looked at a bill? I receive both electronic bills and 'traditional' paper bills. But I don't ever read them. The paper bills go in a pile awaiting the inevitable, but often delayed, shredding and the electronic bills (an email telling me to check the bill portal on their website) usually gets opened and ignored. 

Why don't I check my bills? because I check my bank account, I have an account for my bills. I know what I put in each month and I know how much my respeqctive payments cost me each month. Just as the operators said, if there's something wrong - the amount isn't right - i'll check it out and if necessary pick up the phone.. but 9 times out of 10 i'm not interested. 

So how did they come to this realisation? 

A fluke apparently. Customers (for the most part) were notified that their bills were ready to view via text message and email. Typically bill related calls to the company's call centres are quite high, one day the text messages didn't fire to let customers know that their bill was ready and the number of calls about bills dropped dramatically "the percentage of calls about billing was virtually zero" - someone from Customer Relations brought the drop in calls to someones attention and they found out that the texts didn't trigger. 

"Customers only think about the bill when they are told about the bill. Very very few call us to say they haven't received a bill" 

With how easy it is to manage and track your banking and billing via online and mobile banking nowadays it's easy to see how this is the case. So should companies stop sending bills? What about the 'retail space' that comes with bills? the chance for cross-sells and up-sells? Irrelevant apparently. 

"A bill will always have a negative impact" It's a reminder that there's more money leaving your account. Bills are never nice, apart from that one I had from my energy supplier that said I'd saved up quite a bit of credit and they were dropping my monthly charge as a result - but how often does that happen?

As we move further and further into the digital, it's very rare now to find a customer who doesn't have an email account - typically an older customer - so who needs to spend time crafting the space on a bill to sell something to a customer who is disinclined to view the bill in the first place. Send them an email instead it has less negativity attached to it, and there's more space for the offers and incentives. 

Are there problems with this? 

Sure, some people don't check their bank accounts routinely or regularly, so there's a risk that a problem will build up over time resulting in a very negative experience for the customer, but I would hazard a guess that if they don't check their bank account regularly then they're not likely to check their bills either and the situation is likely to occur either way. 

What about customers' whose bill vary month on month? (fixed line and mobile, i'm looking at you) well, there could be a variable limit before a bill is triggered. Maybe 5% or £5 off the baseline monthly charge amount will trigger a bill to inform them of a deviation from their normal monthly charge.

By and large however, I'm seeing benefits - Bill related calls to the call centre virtually zero? A reduction in calls means less money spent on call centres. A reduction in the number of physical bill and text message prompts sent out means less money spent (and it's greener) and informing a customer of when they're bill is abnormal instead of reminding them of their charges each month looks proactive and procustomer - which is never a bad thing. 

An interesting proposal, with some merit by the looks of it. Will it become the norm? hopefully. 


Written by Craig Maxwell-Brown Business Development Associate at CoralTree Systems

Driving the Efficiency Agenda

Efficiency is often considered an internal issue for a CSP. Streamlining processes and minimising the steps to achieve a specific goal; creating efficiency to not only deliver a good service to customers, but also decrease operational costs.

Yet, the part that is often overlooked is evaluating efficiency from the customers’ point of view. Can they communicate and complete the tasks they want to do using the channel of their choice? Can they use multiple channels for the same task? Are the processes within each channel quick and easy-to-use?

In order for the customer to have that efficient experience, the channels have to address the needs demanded by the customer. All this requires an ‘outside in’ understanding. Without this insight, resources can be ploughed into systems that are ultimately not delivering the support demanded by the customers.

The channels desired may well differ from type of customer, or in fact each individual customer. Segmenting the audience to address the core demands is essential. A CSP cannot meet the requirements of all customers. Segmenting allows CSPs to address core concerns of high-value customers, or more loyal ones.

But whatever segment the CSP targets, understanding the customer is crucial. Analysing customer data is important, but further research needs to be done to establish what channels and processes customers want to do, which is not currently possible. This insight can then be applied when mapping out the support systems.

To deliver the ultimate efficient organisation, efficiency must be achieved on the inside, as well as for those using CSPs services. Start with the customers, then work backwards to understand how the vision can be achieved through efficient internal solutions. For the ultimate customer experience – ensure efficiency throughout.

This blog was written by Natasha Geldard, Marketing Consultant for CoralTree.

The Complexity of Simplicity

Why is simplicity so complex?

Less is certainly more when it comes to the IT BSS environment. Eight systems doing the job which one can do. Or even, a ten-step process to solve a customer enquiry, when it could be done in five – lowering the call handling time. Simplifying processes is an obvious win for CSPs. So, why aren't more CSPs simplifying their BSS?

I attended a TM Forum webinar last week in which, Rob Rich, TM Forum’s MD of Insight Research, talked about customer centricity. We heard all about the fundamental steps required for a CSP to drive profitability from having a more customer-centric business.

The majority of the content is not new, as Rob mentioned he has focused on it for many years. And it is fairly obvious. But TM Forum has packaged all the research together into an easy-to-understand format, which aligns to their best practice model for CSPs.

Putting Simplicity First

Rob put simplicity at the heart of achieving a customer-centric business. Simplicity that allows CSPs to increase the customer experience and agility of the business, at the same time decreases operational costs.

So why is simplicity not more readily adopted? Many say it is because they are stuck with back-end legacy systems, which are difficult to cut the ties to. Some claim it is too expensive to move to a new system, so instead invest in further systems to help alleviate some of the short-term pains.

This can work and can help mask many issues. But in order to achieve true ‘customer centricity’ simplicity is crucial. Cutting back systems to a solution that can manage customer interactions, across all channels, has to be the obvious choice. Only then, can CSPs be truly efficient, with simplified processes that benefit both the business and the customer.

This simplicity should not be so complex to achieve, especially as the benefits to the business vastly outweigh the investment. Simplicity – what a great vision.

This blog was written by Natasha Geldard, Marketing Consultant for CoralTree.

Seamless Service Activation

Enhance customer experience with robust provisioning

A customer makes the decision to sign up for a new service; the customer then expects the service to be available. They pay; they receive the service. It seems a clear concept, yet it does not always happen so simply. Operators are still having problems with service activation and this impacts customer experience.

In this digital era, with any service a customer purchases, it is considered to be unacceptable to pay for a service then experience a delay in receiving it. Or it not being authorised when you know the payment card being used is valid and in credit. Or perhaps even the system goes down…’we are not able to process your request at this time’. These are all frustrations for the customer.

This does two things. Annoys the customer, blemishing the company image. And deters them from buying the service, which means missed revenue. Repeat occurrences could have long-term impact on the subscriber base, as some move to competitors for a better service.

Activation of services in a timely and efficient manner for customers is essential for any operator providing subscription-based TV. 

So what are the essentials when looking for a provisioning solution?

1. High performance - you need to be assured that whether your solution is being utilised for hundreds, thousands, or millions of subscribers, it does the job regardless of numbers.
2. Content protection - a small percentage of the consumer market prefer to avoid paying for TV content. Securing authorised access to content is critical to protect revenues and ensure continuity of service to paying customers.
3. Interoperability - working alongside existing systems to ensure seamless, fast and reliable delivery of services.

Delivery of services does not only build revenues for operators, it can ensure a customer stays loyal. The experience is just as critical at this stage as when customers first signed up. Ensuring activation of services is streamlined with a robust and powerful service activation solution will help operators build customer satisfaction.

This blog was written by Natasha Geldard, Marketing, CoralTree

Real Time Convergent Charging and Policy Management are a necessity!

Real Time Convergent Charging (RTCC) and Policy Management go hand in hand, with 95% of the CSP’s that responded to TM Forum’s recent Insights Research paper ‘RTCC and Policy Management’ [Link] saying that they cannot remain competitive without implementing it in some form.

The benefits of introducing RTCC can be great for the CSPs for a whole number of reasons such as improving customer experience, minimising or negate bill shock and providing a means to monetise the OTT market.

As customer experience quickly becomes the critical focus for operators, RTCC and policy management will allow operators to be much more creative and agile in how they interact with the customer and a lot quicker in the introducing new services and products

Bad Profits

Currently the two largest uses for RTCC and Policy Management are bill shock management and threshold management, which are great, but - even now - there are companies who use them in rather blunt ways. Capping or throttling customers who reach data caps, or charging ‘premium’ prices for going over limits. This creates ‘bad profits’ and does nothing to enhance the customer experience.

However some CSP’s have the idea, using these tools to build a bond with the customer and ultimately using it to drive revenue growth. When customers get close to limits they are warned they're close, and offered ‘extensions’ to their data or broadband usage for a set price, repeat ‘offenders’ can be marked for upsell opportunities offering them a better package at a higher price, but one that would be cheaper than the charges they would otherwise incur.

In the short term, this doesn't drive as much revenue as the charges, but, as should be obvious, a loyal customer is more profitable than a customer who leaves because they feel they've been ripped off.

As the marriage between RTCC and Policy Management becomes more complete (94% will implemented a RTCC & PM strategy within two years and 64% within the next year) operators and CSP’s will be able to produce more innovative offerings to their customers.

This will enable them to increase revenue through USPs – introducing flexible services that the customer can control such as Holiday mode, sharing data, moving portions of broadband download limits onto mobiles – especially as networks move towards 4G LTE. And on the topic of LTE, Policy management and RTCC will be necessary for the introduction of VoLTE to ensure bandwidth is properly managed.

Over The Top

Lots has been made of the need to monetize the OTT trend, and with a RTCC and Policy Management, CSP’s and operators can. 

A good number of them are offering free data when using apps like WhatsApp and Facebook, others are offering Netflix or sports services when they sign up (Virgin Media, Vodafone) whilst others are competing directly with their own offering (Sky’s NowTV, UPC’s Horizon) Policy management and RTCC is vital in letting operators omit these services from customer’s data use. 

The nature of the relationship with OTT players is only really beginning to be explored, but it can be as simple as free data, it could be as one Indian MSO does, offering bundles of access to YouTube, Facebook and other OTT services instead of, or in line with data allowances.

Or CSP’s could really be involved with developing the relationship, making it a truly two way relationship that benefits both, working with Google’s Project Loon or Facebook's Internet.org to bring internet (and telecoms) to remote places with the knowledge, infrastructure and software they already have in abundance. OTT’s get more customers, CSP’s get more customers.

However the future unfolds, one thing appears to be a common theme throughout it all, the need for Real Time Convergent Charging and Policy Management, preferably together, to drive new revenue growth. 


This article was written by Craig Maxwell-Brown. Business Development Associate for CoralTree Systems Limited. Views are not necessarily the companies views.

Do we understand the meaning of convergence?

The communications industry is rife with vendors promoting their convergent systems. Technology aligned, all working smoothly, hand in hand. But is this so commonly used word, convergent, merely a buzzword?

Converge is defined as to ‘come together from different directions so as eventually meet.’ So do the systems that are implement into communications providers operations really converge with the existing systems in place? Or is the truth that they simply run in parallel?

I don’t think we should trivialise the importance of convergence here. Creating the competitive differentiation that a converged system allows is in every operator’s best interest. Convergence enables a joined up approach to customer service, more efficient call handling, and minimising billing and order errors.

But very few operators’ systems are really convergent. Many are ‘window dressed’. New systems on top of old, trying to disguise the disorganisation underneath. But the systems only work in parallel and are not often integrated. This can be beneficial in the short-term and helps speed up processes, but as more technologies and services are added complications will become apparent.

The long-term objective should be to converge all BSS systems. This will limit the support needs and issues faced by IT teams, as well as providing a wealth of knowledge to marketing and customer support teams, so service can be enhanced.

Systems must ‘come together from different directions so as eventually meet’ in order to stay competitive in this dynamic communications industry.

To read more about operator convergent strategy, read CoralTree’s latest Insight report: “Convergent strategy or conflicting goals?” by visiting our website: www.coraltreesystems.com/insights-papers

This blog was written by Natasha Geldard, Head of Marketing, CoralTree

CTO vs. CFO – focusing on company prosperity

The goals of the communications providers’ CTO and CFO are driving further apart. Both are committed to do what’s best for long-term business prosperity, but their strategies are far from converged.

In this face-paced sector communications operators have to innovate, to offer the latest services and packages to customers, in order to stay competitive. The CTO is under constant pressure from the business to ensure that the systems are in place for dynamic packages to be marketed, fulfilled, and billed. With many BSS systems dated, this requires investment to upgrade to next generation support systems.

In contrast, the CFO focuses on ensuring profitability and demands in fiscal year returns for any large investments made. The CFO role is to demonstrate to owners, shareholders, or the market, that the business is doing well. In simple terms, growing and making more money than it is spending.

Yet some CFOs are acknowledging this strategic problem. Industry news title, Global Telecoms Business published in an article that interviewed top global telecommunications CFOs in February 2014. Tom Fitzpatrick, CFO of satellite operator Iridium, was quoted saying: “The short-term earnings bias of Wall Street in the evaluation of results proves difficult in that many compelling long-term initiatives are not undertaken in the face of this short-term bias.”.

Many BSS out-of-date

The issue is that many BSS systems in place are so dated that they are unable to cope with next generation technologies and services. Quick fixes will not last for long and will not be able to keep up with the fast pace of change. In the long run, this will cost the operator more money than upfront investment in a long-term solution.

To stay competitive, it is crucial for the CTO and CFO strategies to be converged. Alignment must be made to support the business with advanced IT, creating long-term efficiency and cost-savings.

To read more about operator convergent strategy, read CoralTree’s latest Insight report: “Convergent strategy or conflicting goals?” by visiting our website: www.coraltreesystems.com/insights-papers

This blog was written by Natasha Geldard, Head of Marketing, CoralTree

Big (Little) Data and Customer Experience - CEM Blog Part Four

It has been a little while since the last blog article on Customer Experience Management, so if you're in need of a quick refresher then please follow these links

Part One: Putting yourself in the customers shoes
Part Two: Customer experience and the call centre
Part Three: Going Social

All clued up? excellent.

Big data is proving to be a very important and ever growing part of a business. The ability to collect more and more data from an increasing range of sources provides some very potent opportunities for business. However for businesses to really achieve that ‘write home about’ customer experience, you need ‘little data’.

Big data, better operations

Now, by its very nature, big data gives an extremely broad look at all our customers and what they're up to. It allows us to spot trends in customer behaviour and habits as a whole – both good and bad. CSPs can use this to great advantage, identifying behaviour patterns, trends and pain points for customers and work out solutions that build customer advocacy.

Let us use an example to make it more realistic. An increasing number of people are using OTT services like Netflix and Lovefilm. Not only are more of your customers using them, but they're using them more frequently and these data heavy services can impact the network.

Rob Rich, MD of Insights at TM Forum, says the operators are “using network and customer data to learn the habits of their most valuable customers.” They are using network data to determine where the most strain is being put on the network, so “by comparing the two, they can drive support for future network investments that will improve network performance and boost customer satisfaction.” [source]

This is a perfect example of what big data can do. By looking at the whole picture, companies can find patterns, trends and pain points across a wide section of customers, which can only ever be a good thing.

So what about small data? 

Small data is where unique gains can be made that boosts customer experience and satisfaction. Little data lets us spot opportunities and enables personalised customer interactions. It can be achieved with the data that a CSR should be able to readily access via their CRM.

The key is how easy it is for a customer service agent to access that information and how closely it is linked a 360 degree view of the customer. The customer service agent must be able to view recent customer interactions and all information needs to be clearly accessible, quickly.

Imagine a scenario where you don't have to re-tell the story you've already told to several people because the customer service agent already knows that last week your phone line conked out. The engineer was meant to turn up this morning, but canceled, and that no one has yet replied to your question via social media. It would be blissful, wouldn't it?

Or maybe recognising that a customer is routinely hitting data or download limits. Or that they've been late payers recently, but offering solutions, such as putting a hold on premium services, would be beneficial for the customer for a few months.

All these 'above and beyond' measures build customer loyalty. We know that loyal customers are worth up to 10x their first purchase. [source]

Companies have some, if not all this information available to them already. They have done for a long time. The key to Little Data is making sure you take advantage of it!

Big data and little data are both important strategic considerations for service providers. Ensure the network is performing to its optimum ability and build customer loyalty. Data, big or small, is the gold to each operators armour.

CoralTree’s off to TM Forum Live! – What do we expect?

In just two weeks time we'll be setting up in Nice for TM Forum Live! 2014. Anticipation builds, as it is the first time for CoralTree at TM Forum Live! In fact, the first time we have had a ‘proper’ stand at an exhibition. So what do we expect…?

Renowned for its sharing of best practice, networking and attracting some of the leading operators, I have high hopes for some interesting conversations. The conference agenda itself looks exciting. I am particularly looking forward to the revenue management focus on Thursday.

‘Better, faster, cheaper: How BSS/OSS consolidation can accelerate time to market, reduce costs and maximize revenue’ caught my eye. In my opinion BSS has to move with the times. With new technologies and services needing support from the BSS function, it is essential that next generation systems be adopted.

Convergence of billing and customer care systems into simple workflows is key to ensuring satisfied, loyal customers and agents. Come and see us on booth 52, to see how daVinci enables exactly that.

You can even have a beer with us whilst we discuss. And remember not to miss the ‘happy hour’ on Tuesday, 17:30-19:00 in the expo!

Better go and pack…see you in Nice!

Natasha Geldard

Marketing Consultant for CoralTree Systems ltd.

Spitting in the Soup: Part Two - On the hook.

Spitting in the Soup - part 2 - On the Hook

As a small boy, growing up in rural Nottinghamshire, a highlight of my week would be a trip to the local newsagents to buy another six-penny pack of American Civil War cards. Each wax-papered pack would contain about five random cards from a series of maybe 200 in total, plus a nominal one inch square of bright pink bubble gum. 

Amongst our gang of local village boys, by far the most treasured card was one depicting a poor Confederate soldier helplessly impaled through his torso on a huge angled wooden stake. He had a ghastly agonised expression on his face and blood seeping from an enormous chest wound. By any standards it was a horrific sight, unless of course you were aged seven. Nowadays, I often think back to that picture when I encounter those CIOs of telecom operators who are struggling to come to terms with their own uncomfortable predicaments. Not so much "on the hook" as "on the spike".

To understand the CIO's predicament, I should explain that a telecom BSS solution plays a similar role within a large telecoms organisation to that of the vital organs in the human body - say the heart, liver, and lungs. So, unfortunately when dealing with some vendors, once that BSS solution has been installed and implemented (of itself a major challenge), the operator is effectively "on the hook" to that BSS vendor, and as helpless as that poor Confederate soldier. Up until final implementation and cut-over from any previous system, there may still be a small window of opportunity to escape from the vendor's clutches (see Spitting in the Soup part 1). 

Painful but true

Once the new system has "gone live", and the project celebration party bunting has been taken down, the operator gradually becomes aware of some pretty unsettling home truths:

• The vendor's A team, whose experience and skills were so valuable during the implementation project will gradually drift away to other higher priority (for the vendor) projects/clients, being replaced by inexperienced youngsters, whose industry training the operator seems to be unwittingly paying for.

• The exciting vendor strategic road-map that was so key in convincing the sceptics on the system selection committee to originally choose that particular path from the various available options, drops from sight as though it had never actually existed. Any attempt to engage the vendor in a discussion about it is met with either a blank expression or hysterical laughter.

• As the operator introduces new products and lines of business with corresponding new system requirements, the cost of such incremental system changes goes through the roof, and software is delivered late and with numerous bugs. Support levels deteriorate continuously. There is no other source for the software changes or software support, so the operator has literally nowhere to go. 

• The vendor acquires another BSS business, and announces that the newly acquired company's application software will form the centre-piece of its exciting (for them maybe) new roadmap. The solution that the operator has just spent millions implementing is effectively relegated to legacy status with massively reduced R&D funding.

Sadly for our industry, these kind of post-implementation disappointments have become the rule rather than the exception in recent years. In most "normal" economic market models, vendors delivering poor levels of software, service, and value for money would quickly be driven out and replaced by vendors with better offerings. 

We don't have much choice with who we pick... 

Unfortunately, in the BSS market two powerful forces combine to create a stifling inertia that prevents the development of an efficient market. Firstly there are the enormous barriers to entry that face potential entrants into the BSS industry. BSS applications have increased massively in their complexity as operators have launched new lines of business, with so-called triple-play and quad-play operators now offering complex bundles of telecoms services. 

The expertise required to design and develop such applications is such that there are probably no more than a handful of businesses worldwide attempting to create new applications for the industry, despite analysts estimating the annual market size as being in excess of 15 billion dollars. (Gartner 2011 IRCM Magic Quadrant)    

Secondly, the costs of switching BSS solution are so high, and the negative business impact of switching so great - requiring the business to freeze itself for a year or more, that operators generally have little option, but to grin and bear it.  

So what is our disillusioned and disappointed CIO to do in such circumstances? The real secret of survival for CIOs is to ensure that such scenarios simply do not arise in the first place, with the key issue being that of vendor selection. In fact I would go so far as to say the secret of success here is in not just finding the right vendor, but in finding a vendor with the right people. Ultimately it is the vendor's service delivery team that you will be hugely reliant on, not their corporate image, stock exchange listing, plush executive offices, or extravagant entertaining.

So what is a CIO to do?

So to finish, here are a couple of free tips for anyone thinking of entering the minefield that is buying a new BSS:

Make sure that you meet the vendor staff who will be responsible for implementing your system. Get hold of their CVs and get references from their previous client projects. Make a careful note of their names (the good ones), and ensure that the project staffing list forms part of your implementation contract. Make this a show-stopping contractual point, and do NOT back down.

Negotiate tough, but fair service levels that are clear and measurable. Insist on contract terms that will require the vendor to meet the estimated cost of you having to replace their system in the event that service levels are repeatedly breached, or as an alternative, that will trigger the automatic release of the application source code from escrow. You don't really want to have to exercise either of these options, but they should both help to keep the vendor in line. 

In my next article, I will explore why "small IS beautiful" as far as BSS vendors is concerned, and why there are so few of us around.

Cable Congress Q&A with one of the Sales and Marketing team.

Last week (11 - 13 March) CoralTree started its exhibition season with Cable Congress in Amsterdam. It is actually, the first time we have ever had an exhibition stand and it proved a very informative look into the industry. 

Our 'Pod'.

As it was our first time at Cable Congress and first shot at exhibiting, we thought we'd get a rundown of events, as well as some thoughts on the topics raised in the conference from a member of our Sales and Marketing Team, Craig Maxwell-Brown.

Q: Craig, seamless customer service was high on the agenda at the show, what do you think this means for operators and customers alike? 


Craig: It means that the customer has a consistent service with one operator, no matter what device or service they are using. For example, they watch TV on their mobile using their wifi, but carry on watching that show, with the same provider, when they leave the house, using their LTE service. 

For the customer all their needs are provided in a simple way and billed for by one provider. For the operator it provides greater customer stickiness and increased take-up of new services. This all helps to increase ARPU at a time when the industry is seeing it strained. In order to successfully monetise, operators must ensure they have the systems that can provide tailored and unique offerings.

Q: One of the key issues raised at the show was the need for cable operators to expand into mobile. What were highlighted as the main challenges for this transition?


Craig: Well, this was a very vocalised point at this year's conference. It very much links back to the previous point about providing customers with that seamless service. It is a must for operators, so they can remain competitive as the lines between telecommunications and cable becomes more blurred, but moving into this space certainly has its challenges.

A key IT consideration is the ability of their BSS systems to handle the complexities that mobile offerings bring. But investment is crucial. Providing quad-play bundles and packages will be vital for operators to differentiate themselves and to retain customers as telecomms operators look to compete in the video market.

Q: Are there any other topics/talks that really stood out for you at the show?

Craig: There was an excellent talk by Jordan Casey, a 14 year-old Irish lad who is running two companies. He has a great attitude towards work, and his studies, and it was inspiring to hear the unique challenges that he faces as a young entrepreneur.

Q: How would you summarise Cable Congress for both you and CoralTree?

Craig: It was useful insight for CoralTree. The issues raised in the conference confirmed that our development spend into our BSS portfolio daVinci is correct and will also help to shape where we focus our efforts on in the future. We were pleased to confirm that we have a competitive solution that can help operators combat issues and take advantage of market opportunities.

Q: Finally, a more light hearted question - what are your thoughts on Amsterdam as a city and a venue?

Craig: bikes, bikes, and more bikes! Amsterdam is a fantastic city, with great beer and that brilliant continental atmosphere - which really finds its way into the show. I'd have no qualms about going back there again!



CoralTree's next show will be TM Forum Live in June 2014. You can read more about CoralTree and CoralTree's daVinci BSS here: http://www.coraltreesystems.com/products