10 WEDNESDAY 14th NOVEMBER 2012 FEATURE | REDKNEE By Issa Chini, Vice President of Sales Middle East and Africa, Redknee


Strategies to Effectively Launch New Revenue Streams


T


he growth of mobile technol- ogy and new startups within the African markets will provide lucrative revenue streams for


communication service providers (CSPs). Unfortunately, the complexity of legacy billing systems are preventing CSPs from being able to quickly capitalize on these opportunities or provide an advanced retail experience that will be pivotal to ensuring the success of these strategies. So what options do CSPs have in an environ- ment where the need to accelerate time to revenue is at an all-time high, but with a contrasting low appetite to invest in large scale infrastructure deployments? At Redknee, we believe that deploying


a secondary converged end-to-end billing and customer management solutions are quickly becoming an alternative solution for CSPs that are looking to leapfrog their legacy challenges and successfully launch new business streams to the relatively untapped African markets. Today, Tier 1 and 2 operators are


managing multiple legacy billing systems operating in silos by customer type – prepaid or postpaid – or by service type – such as fixed, mobile or ISP. CRM systems are also in the same situation where they have been pieced together over time and are not well integrated into the BSS layer, simply providing a skeleton interface. The result is a complex system whereby as each new service or device is introduced, a separate customer record with its own user interface has to be specially created and integrated. Issues abound – customer service representatives do not have an overarching view of subscriber activity and these separate specialized systems are expensive to maintain and operate, costing millions in customization, and require costly training and teams of specialists to manage. Systems that are not pre-integrat- ed are also often plagued with provision- ing errors and billing mistakes, driving more people to the customer care center and increasing retention and customer care costs. Infrastructure based on mul- tiple point systems also face integration issues on the technical side, which result in lengthy and costly deployment cycles pre- venting CSPs from capturing new markets in a timely manner. For CSPs launching new, partner or


sub-brands, implementing an end-to-end, pre-integrated billing and customer care


AFRICACOM DAILY 2012 I http://africa.comworldseries.com/


New revenue streams require new pricing models and enhanced customer care capabilities


system is an ideal strategy. This strat- egy allows CSPs to target a new market without the legacy integration headaches; have flexibility as they grow their business, while minimizing the investment risk with low initial setup costs; and deliver a next generation experience. In addition, CSPs benefit from today’s flexible and agile bill- ing and customer care solutions. Solutions that support data monetization strategies, such as the ability to launch tiered pricing plans, flexible billing options, or have integrated Business Intelligence and Ana- lytics in order to personalize the customer experience and customer care facility. Strategies such as these will be vital to the success of launching a new, partner or sub-brand business line to the market. We recently announced a new deal that


saw a Tier 1 communication service pro- vider based in North America implement this strategy. By augmenting the existing infrastructure with a real-time converged billing and customer care solution, the service provider has reported that it can launch new services faster to the market, reduce capital expenditure, provide per- sonalized and empowered customer care; all while benefiting from a low risk, com- mercial model. Dario Talmesio, Principal Analyst with Informa Telecoms & Media, was impressed when he learnt more about the service provider’s strategy and imple- mentation:


“The ability to truly differentiate


through innovative pricing models and customer care represents one of the most successful ways for service provid- ers to gain traction in the market. In order to achieve this, next generation billing solutions that support a lean cost base will become a key asset for ser- vice providers that want to launch into the market quickly or reenergize their multi-brand strategies. Across the globe, this Tier-1 service provider’s strategy to launch solutions for third party and multi-brand services places it at the top of the board in terms of innovation and market leadership.” The African market is a prime market


to take advantage of this strategy because of the growth the market is currently experiencing. The growing adoption of cheaper smartphones across Africa and new entrants in the communica- tions market will continue to accelerate as CSPs seek to achieve the benefits of greater time to market, flexibility and lower risk, and cost. Competition will increasingly become more aggressive and the ability to differentiate will become all important. As CSPs consider how to launch and monetize new revenue streams, it will become imperative that they find viable solutions for the indus- try’s competitive operating environment and fast-changing dynamic.


“At Redknee, we believe that deploying a secondary converged end-to-end billing and customer management solutions are quickly becoming an alternative solution for CSPs that are looking to leapfrog their legacy challenges and successfully launch new business streams.”


Issa Chini, Vice President of Sales Middle East and Africa, Redknee


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