As telecommunications service providers are driven to provide new offerings aimed at differentiating themselves in a market dominated by new players, lower margins and reduced ARPUs (average return per user), IBM Research is leading the way with a broad set of innovative solutions that can raise customer expectations, lower churn rates and boost revenues. Exploiting call detail records (CDR) data to discern consumer trends, managing high volume transaction data to reduce revenue leakage and leveraging location-based technologies to offer a new set of personal mobile services are just some of the new capabilities available from IBM Research that IBM Global Business Services (GBS) consultants are providing to clients through IBM On Demand Innovation Services (ODIS).
Extracting value from CDR data CDR data contains a wealth of information on customer habits and preferences that could help telecommunications service providers improve customer loyalty and reduce churn, but unlocking that information requires advanced analytical capabilities. IBM's SNAzzy tool uses IBM's social network analysis (SNA) methodology to reveal and map patterns of interaction between and among users with the goal of improving understanding of customer behavior and enhancing business intelligence. The result is a graphic representation of static variables such as phone numbers, individuals or households and geographical areas, along with dynamic information such as call duration and relationships.
Using the tool, telecommunications service providers can see who's talking to whom for how long and how often – information that can help identify "highly influential" users, shape advertising campaigns and targeted pricing plans, and work toward reducing churn rates. For instance, carriers might focus retention efforts on highly influential customers, because studies show that such individuals often take their "clique" with them when they change carriers. In addition, SNAzzy can help identify informal user groups and communities that could provide ready-made networks for viral marketing activities and a receptive market for more targeted calling plans. The key to SNAzzy's business value is its ability to provide a global structure analysis that leverages its telescopic, rather than microscopic, view of the CDR data.
Plugging revenue leakage through better data management The extremely high volume of CDRs typical of any telecommunication company's operations can trigger "leakages" in very complex billing systems, resulting in the loss of up to 5 percent of revenues. To stem leakage and provide revenue assurance, the IBM Massive Collection System (MCS) can process billions of CDRs each day, providing full support for data access and recovery while finding and curbing revenue leakage sources and increasing the net revenue of the company. The MCS output can also serve other sub-systems, such as market intelligence and fraud detection. The system is applicable to other industries, providing an integration framework to support compliance validation, risk management and assurance services, and serving as a single point for collection and storage of CDRs and other electronic data records.
New tools for monitoring network infrastructure The ongoing convergence of content and networks in the cable and telecommunications industries has led to the proliferation of diverse and often complex services such as VoIP, video-on-demand, and online gaming, among others. As service providers seek to expand into these new areas, they face the challenge of integrating new operations and business processes into existing network infrastructures. IBM's Integrated Infrastructure Intelligence (i3) solution – a suite of location-aware analytics – offers an efficient way to monitor and manage large distribution infrastructures using geographical mapping to perform problem determination and impact analysis. The result is improved network infrastructure management and a significant reduction in the time it takes to diagnose problems such as outages.
Leveraging location-based services The advent of location-based telecommunications services is turning cell phones into mobile tour guides, matchmakers and shopping assistants. IBM's Presence Zones solution uses Bluetooth technology to identify a cell phone's location and then associates contextual information related to that location, including nearby businesses or points of interest, and in the case of community-based services such as gaming or dating, alerts the user to other community members in the vicinity. In addition to providing customers with a wider array of innovative services, service providers can tap into new revenue streams by using the data collected to track trends in customers' habits that can then be marketed to advertisers and other interested parties.
IBM Research's PASTA technology relies on low level presence information from various sources, such as GPS and digital calendars, and converts it to meaningful information using its advanced learning engine and complex event processing mechanisms. For instance, if a user is running late for a meeting, PASTA would relay to co-workers not only the user's current GPS location coordinates, but also an estimate as to how long it will take to reach the office. By providing this higher level, more relevant information, a telecommunications service provider could create more influential services while at the same time decreasing infrastructure costs and avoiding network bottlenecks.
IBM Research's BusinessFinder allows users to locate companies and professional services in their vicinity. Currently available location-based services include emergency services, mobile yellow pages, buddy finder, personal navigation services, enterprise-scale asset tracking and management services. In addition, BusinessFinder leverages presence awareness, and can help facilitate workforce management and provide a portal for client advertisements. These offerings can help boost operator revenues through subscription and service charges, while increasing customer loyalty and decreasing churn.
Meeting competitive challenges with telecommunications Advances in telecommunications technologies from IBM Research are providing GBS clients with a wide array of tools and solutions geared toward meeting the challenges of the telecommunications industry, including helping reduce churn rates, stem revenue leakage and enhance customer satisfaction. At the same time, IBM Research is deploying innovative new location-based services that are turning cell phones into multitasking mobile assistants, and providing the platform for the business transformation underway in most industries today, from media and entertainment to financial and healthcare services. Recognizing the pivotal role that telecommunications innovation plays in most industries today, IBM Research is devoting significant manpower to developing new telecommunications-related solutions and assets, both for GBS clients and as a part of its first-of-a-kind (FOAK) program. The continuing convergence of the telecommunications, information technology and media and entertainment industries likely will accelerate that trend, as IBM Research strives to help clients leverage technology to gain a competitive advantage over industry rivals.
For more information on engaging IBM expertise in telecommunications technologies to help improve your telecommunications operations, customer management and revenue assurance, contact ODIS today
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