A staggering 96% of service providers suffer operational or financial impacts arising from data misalignment in OSS/BSS services, according to a survey by telecom analyst Telesperience.
And three quarters of respondents indicated that data misalignment - defined as a situation where software solutions either cannot get the data they need when they need it or cannot rely on the data being accurate affected the customer service experience.
"The extent and impact of data misalignment upon CSPs' business was worryingly high," Telesperience research and publications director Teresa Cottam said.
The problem is universal across the industry, the survey shows, felt alike by fixed, wireless and multi-service operators of all sizes in most - if not all - regions.
Nearly every respondent said solving the data misalignment problem would have a positive impact on their customers, and 63% said the problem already drives up customer complaints.
"The overwhelming message from the research was that CSPs told us solving data misalignment would help them tackle their key revenue management, service management and customer experience goals," Cottam said.
But not one of the respondents indicated that they had solved the data misalignment problem.