Business customers who usually account for large slices of the ARPU pie are less tolerant of service malfunctions. As carriers depend more and more on their voice and data services to conduct business, they have a unique and mutually beneficial opportunity to prioritize service for enterprises. <‾xml:namespace prefix = o ns = 'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office' />
By offering guaranteed service-level agreements (SLAs) to business customers, carriers not only ensure that their most active customers are getting flawless service, but also allows them to monitor network performance at a level that ultimately benefits the entire customer base.
Analysis shows that if customers have a single bad experience with a new service, a large percentage of them will never try that service again. <‾xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = 'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags' />OSS providers should, therefore, provide their service provider customers with end-to-end visibility of service quality to ensure that services function correctly for each user on the network.
Leveraging time-saving pre-built service models for key services is crucial. Carriers should also be able to link SLAs to businesses' specific needs, such as third-party content and bandwidth providers.
Mind the details
Network operation managers have to ensure that infrastructure investments are targeted where they will generate the maximum return. This will entail leveraging legacy investment.
They also have to more effectively manage risk exposure during the rollout of new services or technologies, as well as understand network behavior and performance across a wide range of operational conditions.
They should likewise automate manual data collection and error analysis management, simplify and standardize reporting procedures, standardize tools for analyzing network performance across multi-vendor platforms, apply real-time data to identify and resolve problems before they impact services and/or customers, and respond to and manage a network converging on fixed, wireless and IP.
The OSS strategy must be mindful of these issues, and driven by an overall need to drive efficiencies throughout the business.
Strength from the core