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15 October, 2018
In the second part of their article, Chris Gilmour, the technical practice lead, and Mark Holder, an account director, at Axians UK, outline a five-step approach to next generation network success.
11 October, 2018
Now is not an easy time to be a communications service provider (CSP). On one side there’s pressure to expand infrastructure to deal with growing customer demands for data and on the other, an increasing level of competition and constant pressure to provide customers with new, innovative services, write Chris Gilmour, the technical practice lead, and Mark Holder, an account director, at Axians UK.
This combination of factors is generating networks that are significantly more complex than was the case even five years ago. Future-gazers are constantly predicting the next big thing in tech, with many seeing automation and artificial intelligence (AI) as the keys to differentiation that can increase profit margins and solve network complexity problems that hold business back.
But infrastructure changes are not restricted to software and bots. It’s entirely possible that the fundamentals of tomorrow’s networks are already in place, just waiting for the innovation that will bring them to life. Modern platforms, that is to say those built within the last three to five years, frequently hold vast amounts of functionality and programmability that are simply not being used at the moment.
Putty in your hands
Throughout history, innovators have worked with limited resources to create something ground-breaking, and networks work on very similar principles now. For any given business there can be hundreds of opportunities to tweak existing network configuration to make it work better, more efficiently or more distinctively to add value to the enterprise. There may even be scope for a whole new product or product line: just as Play-Doh started life as wallpaper cleaner but became a market-leading toy for children, so a network can be programmed and changed to make better, more wide-ranging or simply new products.
The network is the key enabler of any CSP’s business, and while it is complex it is also the place where costs can be contained and services managed and generated. Customers rely on it, so providers are understandably keen to maintain a steady state, and it unquestionably consumes a great deal of resource as staff work hard to provide the services that customers increasingly rely on for their day-to-day needs. But the fact remains that any modern platform is likely to contain a substantial amount of unused capability that the CSP could be exploiting to reduce costs, reduce customer churn and increase revenue – but they’re not. Why?
Very often, the issue is one of resource. Communications service providers are so busy, with their heads down doing the day job, that it can be hard to look up and survey the possibilities. It’s hard enough launching new products, let alone reconfiguring the very core of the business. But CSPs also know that they simply can’t afford to neglect their infrastructure and pin their hopes on the next big thing. Network efficiency, meeting customer demand and creating new services are the key to their continued success; they must be able to respond to current challenges and future-proof the business.
The situation facing CSPs today has parallels in some of the best-known innovations in history. Alexander Bell’s invention of the telephone was not a stand-alone event, it catalysed further progress. It led to Emil Berliner’s development of new sound recording processes, which in turn gave birth to the music industry. That industry generated new customer needs, and goods and services to meet those needs. Just as network capability does today.
The good news is that there is often more help and expertise to be had, closer to home and more easily, than CSPs realise.
11 October, 2018
Although only 40% of communications service provider (CSP) customers look at their bills regularly this still presents millions of customers for most providers and this channel of communication is not being maximised, writes George Malim. Billing communications remain a neglected channel according to a recent survey of 40 CSPs across EMEA, North America and Asia conducted by Omnisperience on behalf of BriteBill.
09 October, 2018
Telefónica’s Data Unit, Luca has unveiled its new Big Data solutions based on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Two years after the unit’s creation, its multi-sectoral offer of Big Data is evolving with the integration of new advanced analytic capabilities. (more…)
04 October, 2018
John Lenns, the vice president of product management at Oracle’s Communications Business Unit, tells George Malim that, as 5G arrives, communications service providers (CSPs) are preparing to bridge the potential revenue gap between traditional services and the new opportunities and use cases enabled by 5G and associated technologies. It’s not just about connectivity anymore.
24 September, 2018
Just as cloud is becoming more widespread, and organisations are wrestling with the new challenge of managing multiple cloud providers, a few experts are predicting cloud’s demise. In my view, writes Richard Blanford, the managing director of Fordway, they have realised that business needs are changing but are asking the wrong question. Here’s why, and how I believe cloud will evolve.
17 September, 2018
It’s no surprise that a robust, resilient, and reliable network is one of the most important drivers for business success. Organisations are having to continuously improve their network infrastructure to offer the great experiences their customers expect. Recent changes in the network market mean this continuous improvement needs to go beyond optimisations and extend all the way to re-architecting the network, writes Larry Zulch, the executive vice president and general manager of Savvius, a LiveAction company.
14 September, 2018
Every business today is facing a host of new threats in the communications world. Telecoms service providers are no different, and the growing challenge that is VoIP and toll fraud is now estimated to cost £25.5bn globally; more than double that of credit card fraud, writes Carl Boraman, the director of strategic alliances and Tollring.
10 September, 2018
Valossa, a company specialising in video recognition and content intelligence, has announced a new video analysis solution that is said to be able to recognise and summarise inappropriate content elements in video files and streams for content compliance and moderation. (more…)
07 September, 2018
Semiconductors power the electronically pervasive modern world. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is destined to support a vast number of technologies ranging from self-driving vehicles to social media analytics. The combination of AI with semiconductors represents a logical next step for silicon providers to embed AI into virtually anything that requires a processor says the author Gerry Christensen, founder and CEO of Mind Commerce. (more…)
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