Operators are Struggling to Manage Their Product Portfolio

OSS vendor, Comptel has published the results of independent research into managing telecoms product complexity. The independent research, undertaken on behalf of Comptel by Analysys Research, has highlighted the fact that operators across the globe are struggling to manage increased complexity in telecoms products. 84 per cent of operators interviewed agreed that product management was a major challenge and most said that their existing OSS/BSS systems were inadequate in dealing with it.

Operators need to provide a wide portfolio of services, packaged in a variety of ways, in order to meet their customers' increasingly sophisticated needs and remain competitive. Yet managing the complexities associated with these services and packages is causing a major head-ache for operators. Virtually every service offering requires some action to take place in the network or in a software layer, and when services are combined into packages, the number of actions increases dramatically.

Tom Harden, analyst at Analysis research, commented: "There is demand from operators for solutions to help link customer-facing commercial views of products with technical network views of component services. Most of the operators we spoke to were facing challenges in managing increasingly complex products."

The research, which polled over 20 global operators in both the fixed-line and mobile sectors, showed that operators were aware of the need to update their product management solutions to take account of aggressive product roadmaps, increased costs and inadequacies in other core systems - most notably billing. In addition 79 per cent of the operators questioned in the survey mentioned that they see the value of implementing a centralised catalog solution to support their daily operations or as a key element in their future IT architecture.

Jukka Nyman, director of business intelligence and strategy at Comptel, said: "The results of the research were surprising in that there was very little regional variety in the responses. Operators in Europe and Asia Pacific were both very similar in their understanding of the challenges surrounding product management, with only the Middle East showing a slightly lower appreciation of these. It was also clear that most operators, whether fixed or mobile, have a very poor understanding of the role Service Catalog solutions, such as Comptel's, can play in helping to manage this complexity."

The benefits of a centralised Service Catalog include a reduction in the number of IT projects required by operators, quicker time to market for new products and a deeper analysis of business procedures. Initially, under half of the respondents had an appreciation of the concept of a centralised Service Catalog, but when the benefits were explained, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive with most operators expressing ‘great excitement' at the product. Those operators which already had a good understanding of Service Catalog had recognised the benefits of the solution and were actively engaged in discussions on the solution with vendors.

Nyman concluded: "It is clear that where Service Catalog is understood there is a great demand for it. Service Catalog is addressing a specific and definite need, and it is up to vendors to educate the industry on this solution. For those vendors that can do this effectively this area will deliver much in 2008. Comptel has identified the increased complexity in the telecoms value chain, especially in the mobile world, brought about by ever increasing services to cater to lifestyle and business-style demands. It is clear that OSS must encourage these services, not restrict them. Comptel's Service Catalog solution is founded on this approach - enabling quicker time to market, reliable delivery and value for money."

Posted to the site on 7th February 2008