Intec to host on Wednesday 7 July 14:00 BST, 15:00 CET, 09:00 EST, 17:00 Dubai
TOPIC: The Strategic Value of Content Partnerships How do you empower, enthuse, incentivise and retain the community of creative content and application developers?
Independent Analysis: Mac Taylor, The Moriana Group
Speakers: Monica Ricci and Balaji Srinivasan, Intec
Analyst Q&A webinar, sponsored by MetraTech, on Thursday 22 July 14:00 BST, 15:00 CET, 09:00 EST, 17:00 Dubai
TOPIC: How your billing system can keep up with organisational changes – not yours, but your customer’s Just when you think you have anchored the account hierarchy of your corporate customer, surprise – they change it! But how many billing cycles will your customer allow to pass before they demand that your billing solution correctly reflects their new organisational structure?
Independent Analysis: Dan Baker, Technology Research Institute
Speakers: Adrian King and Pradeep Suchdeo, MetraTech
TEOCO to acquire Israel-based TTI Telecom in US$58m deal
TEOCO Corporation, a provider of cost, routing, and revenue management systems to communications service providers (CSPs) worldwide, and TTI Team Telecom International Ltd, a global supplier to CSPs of operations support systems (OSS), have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Under the deal TEOCO will acquire TTI Telecom in a transaction valued at approximately US$58 million, subject to adjustments.
According to the merger terms, TTI Telecom shareholders will receive US$3.00 per share in cash at the closing. TTI Telecom’s Board of Directors has recommended that shareholders vote to accept it.
Atul Jain, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TEOCO Corporation, said: “We believe that adding TTI’s employees, assets, and solutions under one umbrella will enable TEOCO to provide unprecedented value to our respective clients. This combination brings together two industry leaders whose solutions contribute greatly to increasing the profitability and success of global communications service providers. I am very impressed with the calibre of the people in TTI and their deep expertise in network management.” www.teoco.comBack to top
Empirix acquires Mutina Technology
Service assurance provider adds comprehensive mobile network monitoring capabilities and expands global reach
Empirix Inc., a provider of service quality assurance solutions for new IP communications, has announced the acquisition of privately held Mutina Technology S.p.A., an Italy-based provider of monitoring surveillance and analysis technologies for mobile broadband, next generation networks, SS7/Sigtran signalling, VoD/IPTV, and IP core for telecom and enterprise networks. The acquisition of Mutina strategically expands Empirix’s product line for the monitoring of mobile networks and extends the company’s presence in EMEA and Asia Pacific. Terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed.
The acquisition of Mutina enables Empirix to offer quad-play providers a service assurance solution that gives them an end-to-end view of their networks. Merging these technologies results in a single, easy to use application for the analysis of control, user and data transmission plane information. By combining Empirix’s Hammer XMS™ solution for IMS, VoIP and SS7 networks with the IPXPlorer® system from Mutina, Empirix aims to deliver cutting-edge solutions for mobile broadband, video and data –– representing a truly comprehensive approach for all types of converged network operators. In addition, Mutina’s handheld device will enable technicians to bring the combination of these technologies out into the field to provide real-time service quality. Currently, Mutina’s portfolio is available only as standalone products and work to integrate these offerings into Empirix’s Hammer XMS platform is underway. www.empirix.comBack to top
Mobile Interactive Group acquires Piri Ltd
CRM and mobile marketing technology platforms to accelerate international expansion Mobile Interactive Group (MIG) a global integrated mobile and digital communications business has acquired the mobile marketing and CRM software provider Piri Ltd for an undisclosed sum. The deal is a full acquisition, and is performance related.
MIG has purchased Piri, which was launched in 2006, because of its versatile technology capabilities and platforms which include integrated cross-platform CRM and a self-serve web interface mobile marketing platform. To date, MIG has been strong in working with media and entertainment businesses, mobile network operators, agencies and brands, and has now strengthened its capabilities as it moves into lucrative vertical customer channels, namely enterprise and self-serve markets. www.migcan.comBack to top
Dassault Systèmes buys Exalead for €135m
New openings for search-based apps for enterprises and consumers Dassault Systèmes (DS), a specialist in 3D and product lifecycle management (PLM) systems, has acquired the French company Exalead, a provider of search platforms and search-based applications (SBA) for consumer and business users, for about €135 million.
Every month, over 100 million people rely on Exalead for information search, access and reporting, including people in companies like Sanofi-Aventis and World Bank for business use, and Friendster, Lagardère Active and ViaMichelin for contextual consumer search. Exalead claims to provide the industry’s only platform designed from the ground up to apply advanced semantic processing to web-scale data volumes and usage. Exalead aims to brings scalability, agility and usability to banking, retail, publishing, business services, life sciences and consumer services.
“The world of innovation is everywhere and information-intensive”, said Bernard Charlès, President & CEO, Dassault Systèmes. “Everyone is looking for simplicity with intuitive applications which value the rich information available inside and outside companies. With Exalead and its partners, we can provide a new class of search-based applications for collaborative communities.” www.3ds.comBack to top
Kenya’s Safaricom enhances roaming and fraud prevention
East African operator grows regional list of Syniverse customers Syniverse Technologies has been selected by Kenya’s largest mobile operator, Safaricom, to underpin its mobile roaming services. Safaricom joins a list of more than 50 operators on the continent that rely on Syniverse for a range of roaming, messaging and network solutions.
Michael Joseph, Chief Executive Officer, Safaricom, said efficient, secure roaming operations are essential as Kenya experiences tremendous growth in mobile subscribers. The country is expected to exceed 100% mobile penetration by 2013.
“Our position as a leading operator in Kenya means we have a key role to play in mobile expansion, and we chose Syniverse to support us because of its commitment to, and understanding of, the African market,” Joseph said. “Syniverse will provide us with the essential tools we need to manage our own growth and, at the same time, ensure we can deliver the quality roaming experiences subscribers expect.” www.safaricom.co.kewww.syniverse.comBack to top
First commercial launch of Telmap5 at Pelephone
Telmap, a mobile location systems provider, has announced the first commercial launch of Telmap5 Mobile Location Companion together with Israel-based cellular operator, Pelephone. Telmap offers mobile operators white label, fully hosted and managed search, mapping and navigation solutions. Telmap5 is said to be the world’s first personalised location ‘companion’, accompanying users throughout their on-the-go experience, going beyond in-car and pedestrian navigation. The system will be known to Pelephone users as “Navigator GPS+” and has been customised to reflect the operator’s brand and values.
Navigator GPS+ features several new content layers, enabling users to search for and access up-to-date information from a variety of content providers. Content layer integrations are server-based and can be easily expanded and modified, allowing the addition of endless sources of content without the need to update the client application.
“GPS Navigator is one of Pelephone’s most growing and successful services. The launch leverages the accumulated experience of both companies in defining customer needs while on-the-go”, says Ziv Kessleman, Head of Products and Value Added Services, Pelephone. “We expect that Telmap’s GPS Navigator + will help us achieve the very important milestone of half a million subscribers by the end of the year,” added Kesselman. www.telmap.com Back to top
KPN Group Belgium improves network performance
Acision Broadband Mobility Suite enhances mobile data experience KPN Group Belgium is deploying Acision’s Open Internet Proxy (OIP) to intelligently manage its mobile data traffic flow and improve network performance. As part of the Acision Broadband Mobility Suite, which combines mobile broadband optimisation, policy management and value added services, the Open Internet Proxy will underpin KPN Group Belgium’s geographic mobile broadband solution while reducing total cost of ownership and enhancing the end user experience.
With 25% market share, KPN Group Belgium is continuously investing in its network to keep pace with the rapid increase in data traffic and the demands of new technology. The Acision OIP platform, including WAP and HTTP proxy, will give KPN Group Belgium a single solution for data access and centralisation, providing easy management of mobile data traffic, greater visibility of customers’ requirements and therefore better control and faster delivery of richer value added services. www.acision.comBack to top
NSN helps Finnish operator differentiate on quality
Elisa customers first to enjoy more flexible mobile broadband Elisa has activated new network features from Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) that provide flexible Quality of Service (QoS). This is the first commercial deployment of NSN’s QoS differentiation system built by integrating multiple network elements, including its radio network and network management system. Elisa is prioritising time- and resource-critical traffic to ensure customers receive the service they have paid for, even when networks are congested.
NSN’s QoS differentiation takes effect in heavily loaded networks when requests to use the network can exceed its capacity. It enables prioritisation of data traffic, according to policies determined by subscription agreements, to fairly divide the available resources. Different priorities can be allocated to different user segments or applications and can be applied dynamically depending on the network load. Nokia Siemens Networks QoS aware scheduler also enables Elisa to change QoS priorities even during a data session and maintain a particular bit rate in simultaneous upload and download sessions.
“Elisa will be able to manage its network traffic and utilise its network investments better while providing better services to its customers,” said Tommi Uitto, Head of Product Management, Nokia Siemens Networks. “Quality of Service differentiation does not replace the need for having good mobile broadband capacity and coverage, but it helps maintain high network efficiency and reduces the need for over investing in a network,” he added. www.nokiasiemensnetworks.comBack to top
Streamlining SIM supply logistics and optimising number inventory Evolving Systems, Inc., a leading provider of software solutions and services to the wireless, wireline and IP carrier market, has announced that an unnamed Brazilian operator has selected its Dynamic SIM Allocation™ (DSA) system to streamline its SIM card supply chain logistics and optimise its phone number inventory. A SIM manufacturer will jointly deliver the project.
Due to the operator’s rapid growth, and to comply with number utilisation regulations from ANATEL, Brazil’s telecoms regulator, the operator faced an urgent need to optimise its SIM card provisioning process. The operator carried out an industry-wide evaluation of solutions using functionality, flexibility and vendor experience as key selection criteria and, after an RFP process, chose Evolving Systems’ DSA solution.
Once in production, DSA will revolutionise the operator’s SIM provisioning process, enabling it to activate SIM cards ‘on-the-fly’ upon first use. This will optimise phone number usage, streamline SIM logistics and cut network overheads. DSA will also enable dynamic phone number selection and other value added services, right to the user’s handset upon first use of the network. www.evolving.comBack to top
InfoVista minimises service interruptions for EnergyAustralia
EnergyAustralia has chosen VistaInsight® for Networks and 5View NetFlow™ from InfoVista, a provider of proactive service assurance. The systems are designed to automate performance monitoring and service level reporting across the energy supplier’s networks and thereby enhance the quality of service. EnergyAustralia is one of Australia’s largest gas and electricity suppliers, delivering energy services to about 1.4 million homes and businesses. EnergyAustralia reportedly selected InfoVista because it offers the best architectural fit with its technology strategy as well as the flexibility to deliver a strong ongoing return on investment.
VistaInsight for Networks gives EnergyAustralia the ability to monitor network performance, usage and capacity in real time, and to understand and track where, when and why peaks occur. This information supports the trend analysis needed to accurately adapt and forecast traffic development based on actual utilisation of the company’s networks. 5View NetFlow ensures performance of business critical applications by tracking bandwidth intensive applications, congestion and rogue activity, as well as efficiently performing in-depth application flow analysis. www.energy.com.auwww.infovista.comBack to top
Telcordia win boosts Caribbean next gen service rollout
Upgraded OSS to increase speed, accuracy of operations With a focus on accelerating the rollout of new services, Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) has awarded a contract to Telcordia for its next generation operations support systems (OSS). Telcordia will provide TSTT with an automated fulfilment system incorporating improved visibility of its inventory of network assets, thus accelerating the order-to-cash cycle, improving customer experience, and lowering operations costs.
“The pace of innovation is accelerating and we need the operational accuracy and speed to harness and benefit from it,” said George Hill, Chief Technology Officer at TSTT.
“(TSTT’s) investment in next generation service rollout will provide a platform to accelerate time-to-market for innovative services,” said Adan Pope, Chief Strategy Officer, Telcordia. www.telcordia.comBack to top
Columbus selects Cerillion’s multi-site cable billing system
Louis Hall, CEO Cerillion
Cerillion Technologies, a provider of next generation customer management systems, has won a multi-million dollar contract with cable MSO, Columbus Communications, Inc. to support its operations across multiple countries. Cerillion will implement the Revenue Manager, CRM Plus, Service Manager, Output Streamer and Web Self-Care modules from its pre-integrated product suite, and perform migration from Columbus’ legacy systems. The five-year agreement will see Cerillion’s convergent CRM & Billing system installed in the Columbus data centre in Curacao to support CATV, High Speed Data and voice services for its operations in Curacao serving the Caribbean and Latin America (CALA).
Cerillion’s system will help Columbus to provide innovative product bundles to its customers and to rapidly introduce new services, including the launch of pre-pay video. In addition, pre-integration of CRM processes with the back-office billing functions will enhance the overall customer experience and enable the highest levels of revenue assurance.
Cerillion is delighted to be working with Columbus on this critical transformation project” comments Louis Hall, CEO, Cerillion Technologies. “Columbus has demonstrated its ability to penetrate its existing markets with a compelling service bundle, and we look forward to being a partner as Columbus continues to expand across the CALA region.” www.cerillion.comBack to top
Telstra asks NewBay for mobile social networking service
NewBay LifeCache Social Networking Gateway powers social networking for Australian subscribers
Telstra has selected the company to deploy its new mobile social networking service, Tribe. Powered by NewBay LifeCache Social Networking Gateway (SNG), Tribe provides anytime access to Australia’s most popular online communities: Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Telstra is providing its customers with unmetered access to the service meaning most Tribe features are available at no cost.
“An increasing number of Australians are accessing social networking sites on their mobiles. To help more Aussies get in on the act, Telstra is providing millions of its Next G™ network customers with access to a NewBay LifeCache-powered service called Tribe,” said Ross Fielding, Executive Director, Telstra Mobility Products. “Tribe allows customers to manage their social profile from a single, easy-to-use portal that can be accessed via a range of Next G™ mobiles – not just smartphones,” he said.
LifeCache SNG provides a single interface and integration point for the operator to quickly and easily connect to the various social networks on the Tribe deck. LifeCache SNG manages the technical and business relationship with each online community. NewBay also provided the user interface and integration with the operator’s infrastructure.
“As each country has its distinct social networking habits it is essential that operators choose flexible technology that can be localised to meet the needs of their own market,” said Nagappan Arunachalam, CMO, NewBay. www.newbay.comBack to top
MACH’s CMO, Lodewijk Cornelis dies on holiday
Lodewicj Cornelis was CMO at MACH
It is with great sadness that we report the sudden death of Lodewijk Cornelis, MACH’s Chief Marketing Officer. Lodewijk leaves behind his wife and young child. A well-known and respected figure in the mobile communications industry and a loving husband and father, he died in a cycling accident while on holiday with his family.
“Our thoughts are with Lodewijk’s family at this sad time,” said Guy Dubois, President and CEO of MACH. “Lodewijk was a unique and special person who loved life to the full, both in the business environment and in his personal life. His limitless energy and shining spirit shone through in all that he did. His tremendous visionary aptitude was admired by all at MACH. I will personally miss him greatly.”
Lodewijk had extensive experience of the telecom industry, starting out in MACH in 1995 as Sales Manager and rising to become Director of Sales & Marketing and Director of Strategy in 2005. He took a one-year sabbatical and then set-up his own company in the Wi-Fi roaming arena. Lodewijk was Head of Sales & Marketing for Cibernet from January 2006 until the merger with MACH, where he returned to take on the role of Chief Marketing Officer. He also undertook humanitarian work for a year in South America and South East Asia. Lodewijk will be sadly missed by his family and all his friends at MACH, to whom everyone at VanillaPlus extends their condolences. www.mach.comBack to top
Rivermuse levels playing field in service assurance
Brings real-time IT operations management for rapid problem isolation to mid-market service providers and enterprises RiverMuse Inc., the provider of next generation, real-time IT operations management software, has launched RiverMuse Pro v2.0, to enable mid-market service providers and enterprises to assure delivery of dynamic IT services through advanced event capture, correlation and alerting. RiverMuse Pro consolidates IT events from all infrastructure components and monitoring tools into one centralised console for rapid problem detection and isolation, and assists in streamlining incident and problem management.
Prior to the release of RiverMuse Pro, sophisticated, high-volume, and real-time IT event consolidation and correlation platforms were mostly implemented by larger service providers and Fortune 2000 organisations. The systems were expensive, taking months or years to implement and require a large number of in-house or consulting staff to maintain. RiverMuse Pro’s next gen architecture simplifies configuration and automates the capability to adjust to infrastructure shifts as they happen. RiverMuse Pro is available today starting at $7,500 annual subscription cost for the entry level, which includes user license and support. www.rivermuse.comBack to top
On Demand Group launches TV SVOD movie service
Three-screen video-on-demand enabler On Demand Group has announced the launch of a TV subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) movie service over SFR Neuf’s network, to add to the transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) service launched in January.
Working with major Hollywood studios, the SVOD service will allow SFR Neuf viewers to watch movies for a monthly subscription. Content is processed and delivered from the group’s London content factory, with many new titles added to the library each month. The SVOD and TVOD services will reach more than two million homes with blockbusters and classic library titles, all on-demand with full DVD-like functionality to pause, rewind and fast-forward. www.ondemand.co.ukBack to top
Mi-Pay 2.0 speeds migration to multi-channel top-up
‘Platform As A Service’ model allows operators to quickly create unified customer payment ‘touch points’ To help operators and MVNOs develop faster, more convenient and accessible customer payment channels, Mi-Pay has extended its mobile top-up and billing platform to offer enhanced multi-channel integration; easily-configurable settings and broader applications. Fully PCI Level 1 Certified, the ultra-secure platform facilitates mobile, online and ATM top-ups as well as SIM purchase and post-paid billing systems.
Supporting payments from over 150 countries, Mi-Pay Version 2.0 can process card, cash and direct payments in multiple languages from multiple hardware and transaction channels; enabling channel portfolios to be custom-built to operators’ exact requirements. Smarter payment services can now be tailored to suit specific country, cultural or system constraints without lengthy timescales, complex processes or heavy investment. www.mi-pay.comBack to top
Customers get true cost calculations of network deployment Plantronics, a provider of personal audio communications, and Netformx, a network planning automation specialist, have announced the inclusion of Plantronics audio devices in the Netformx KnowledgeBase™ framework. The partnership between Plantronics and Netformx marks the first time system integrators and sales engineers have been able to automatically generate complex network plans which include audio endpoints such as headsets and USB phones.
The planning of complex network services involves labour-intensive and error-prone data collection and management processes. Automating the process with Netformx DesignXpert® and leveraging their KnowledgeBase of over two million rules and 200,000+ devices ensures that devices and systems are interoperable, available and updated in accord with company releases. The Plantronics audio devices in the KnowledgeBase will complement the full Cisco UC solution design within Netformx DesignXpert. www.netformx.comwww.plantronics.comBack to top
Content Partnerships Webinar 7 July, 2010 – 14:00 London, 15:00 Paris, 10:00 New York, 18:00 Dubai Hosted by Intec, moderated by VanillaPlus and with guest analyst Mac Taylor, The Moriana Group Free to attend online To register click here www.vanillaplus.com
Billing Systems v Organisational Change Webinar 22 July, 2010 – 14:00 London, 15:00 Paris, 10:00 New York, 18:00 Dubai Hosted by MetraTech, moderated by VanillaPlus and with guest analyst Dan Baker, TRI Free to attend online To register click here www.vanillaplus.com
VanillaPlus Magazine next issue: Out 3 September, 2010
Editorial Features in the August/September issue include:
Are application performance management systems helping much in the cloud?
Securing a better revenue share: Enabling 3rd-party applications
Profitable location-based services are built on personalisation
What’s the future of mobile money transfer?
Convergent billing and charging is still a critical goal for many CSPs
Network sharing brings challenges for the back office
CSPs long for speedy problem-solving to optimise IP service performance
Service Level Management: A growing challenge for carriers
Publication: 3 September, 2010 To secure your copy of VanillaPlus Magazine subscribe (Free in Europe, Middle East and Africa*) at www.vanillaplus.com*Terms & Conditions apply
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