Top Attributes of an Enterprise Network Transformation Partner

Posted by: Amy Tierney | October 22, 2009 3:40 PM | 0 Comments
It's no surprise that enterprises today that are looking to improve operational efficiency and increase customer satisfaction are relying more and more on a hosted model solution. 
 
As voice and data networks remain critical tools for companies to grow revenue and satisfy customers, businesses have an increasing need to outsource the management of the technology to equipment vendors and manage service providers
 
After all, partnering with communications solution providers is a good choice to help lead enterprises to next generation networks.
 
Experts at Alcatel-Lucent said the benefits of working with managed service providers that have the right experience to manage and transform enterprise voice and data networks give enterprises strategic advantages in today's marketplace. To maintain a competitive edge, enterprises must evolve their networks to take advantage of the various capabilities being introduced and supported around the world, the company said.
 
"Network transformation can lead to altered network topologies that align with the structure of the applications, services and business processes that are also evolving within the enterprise," Bruce Rowland, a consultant with Alcatel-Lucent, wrote in a company white paper. "The impact of these transformations typically spans significant improvements in costs, reliability, security, manageability and performance."
 
Such transformations include WAN optimization, the switch to VoIP and unified communication, enterprise security refresh, a contact center refresh and the move toward a wireless enterprise.
 
But how do enterprises ensure they are making the right network transformation? By teaming up with the right partner, a critical component to a company's success. Alcatel-Lucent outlined the following characteristics companies would find in an ideal partner:
 
• Works directly with the chief information officer
• Manages external IT partners and suppliers
• Understands enterprise network technology
• Understand enterprise communications
• Understand voice and data carriers, both fixed and mobile
• Understands carrier equipment and networks of the carriers
• Experienced working in a multi-vendor environment
• Has no vested interest in the enterprise's other expense streams
• Experienced in management
• Experienced in transformation
 
But no matter whether companies choose a system integrator, network service provider or network equipment manufacturer for a partner, the process requires a thorough examination of the potential partner's experience, references and position in the marketplace, Alcatel-Lucent said.
 
"With a single network outsourcing partner, the enterprise can build a powerful relationship that will reduce costs and improve service while allowing it to concentrate on products and customers. That single partner is in the perfect position to understand the role of the current enterprise network, maintain its integrity, and guide its evolution in the directions that will continue to add value to the enterprise."
 
For more on enterprise network transformation partners, read Alcatel-Lucent's white paper, "Enterprise Network Partner - Management and Transformation."
 
Share

Speeding Evolution to Stay Competitive - The Right Blend of Network Bandwidth and Speed During LTE Migration

Posted by: Amy Tierney | October 6, 2009 2:43 PM | 0 Comments

These days, seeing young consumers with high-tech gadgets like an iPhone or other smart phone device with Internet capabilities, is pretty common.  As the desire for those very devices increases, so does the demand for increased bandwidth-intensive services.

 

And because consumers' usage patterns keep evolving, wireless operators need to develop a new strategy to support various multimedia offerings at a lower cost. Next-generation LTE technology appears to be the answer, but operators are still challenged with finding an easy way to transition from 3G CDMA networks to LTE.

 

Experts at Alcatel-Lucent said wireless operators should build a strategy that addresses the importance of a technology ecosystem, VoIP and seamless interworking, and spectrum efficiency and CAPEX.

 

Young wireless users are particularly playing a pivotal role in the evolution to next-generation networks. Users that make of the so-called "millennial" market, people aged 11 to 33 - are transforming the way voice and data services are accessed and used for business and consumer applications. While voice services are still important, other forms of communications, such as text messaging, e-mail, instant messaging, photos, video and online games, dominate usage, according to an Alcatel-Lucent white paper.


Businesses, too, are turning to mobile applications, such as collaboration and video conferencing to keep employees connected. A Yankee Group survey found that nearly 80 percent of responding enterprises provide mobile access, plan to upgrade to mobile access, or are evaluating the possibility for the future. As more businesses users look for enriched Quality of Experience and service, a growing number of enterprises appear to be willing to spend more for these services and applications, Alcatel-Lucent's white paper said.

 

 What's more, businesses across many sectors are exploring M2M applications to transform the way they do business, Alcatel-Lucent said. M2M applications require a range of products, connectivity and support. But they key for wireless operators is to deploy next-generation mobile networks that meet younger users expectations while keeping the cost affordable.

 

There is a silver lining. Nearly all GSM, W-CDMA, TD-SCDMA and CDMA operators are embracing LTE as the preferred next-generation mobile network technology, Alcatel-Lucent said. This move toward greater acceptance will help create a larger ecosystem of chipset, device and infrastructure vendors, further supporting a successful introduction of LTE, officials said.

 

Alcatel-Lucent is further promoting the development of the LTE ecosystem through the ngConnect Program, which launched at Mobile World 2009 in Barcelona. The program is designed to bring industry stakeholders together to help shape the direction of LTE content, applications and devices, including multi-mode devices that support CDMA and LTE.

 

The goals behind the open LTE ecosystem, include attracting open innovation, enabling new business models, supporting continuous sharing of experience between wireline and wireless access, accelerating adoption of new devices and services and reducing costs for addressing complex customer requirements.

 

CDMA technology offers a "mature, stable and seamless path to LTE." With its smaller bandwidth requirements, CDMA technology aids in-band subscriber transition, the whitepaper said. And companies like Alcatel-Lucent can help service providers meet the migration challenges, no matter what technology path they choose.

 

Alcatel-Lucent offers a variety of tools, including:

 

• Troubleshooting wireless end-to-end bearers over a flat IP/MPLS network using service-aware

management tools.

• Multi-standard radio network planning leveraging CDMA RAN knowledge to ensure an

optimized and integrated LTE design.

• A strong mass LTE provisioning system for error-free configuration, fast roll-out and audit.

 

For more on the migration to LTE, read Alcatel-Lucent's white paper, "CDMA and LTE: Making the most of Wireless Broadband."

 

 

Share

Top 10 Ways to 'Free Your Network' and Successfully Work with Third Parties

Posted by: Erin Harrison | October 6, 2009 2:23 PM | 0 Comments
Telco interest in working with third-party service providers and developers is growing fast, and with good reason.
 
In the 15 years since the Internet became a global phenomenon, there has been an intense growth in the number of services that customers are able to access through their telecommunications connection, most of which have been created and supplied by third parties.
 
Network providers basically today have two choices - a) to be providers of only a small number of mostly commoditized services, b) or to work with third parties to add value to the customer's overall experience of using Internet and Web services.
 
The shift to third-party services is accelerating as more software platforms are making it easier build and upload new ideas to the Web's expanding community of users. Look no further than Facebook to realize the wide range of ways in which open platforms are being used to leverage businesses and expose them to greater opportunities.
 
A recent Heavy Reading whitepaper outlined the likely dimensions or characteristics these third-party services include: increasingly image and video-centric; highly personalized and customizable; focused on collaborative and social activities; and are available on a much wider range of devices, including non-traditional media such as wearable devices.
 
In a 2007 survey with network operators, they were asked to choose three of the most important factors to the future success of today's mainstream telcos. More than half said "better partnering and collaboration with third-party service providers," most of whom are now trying to deepen relationships with third-party Internet and Web-based service providers and developers, primarily by giving those third parties better access to telco resources, capabilities, assets and databases that could be of value to those parties.
 
Application enablement is a network approach that combines the capabilities of network operators with the speed and innovation of the Web. Quality, security and reliability are key areas that network providers must supply. To create new value, network capabilities must be addressed in a managed and controlled way, facilitating new business models and improving return on investment.
 
According to the whitepaper commissioned by Alcatel-Lucent, to "free the network," operators need to abide by 10 core principles as they make strides in this area:
 
1. Establish a set of KPIs that set benchmarks for improving performance in this area.
2. Take a pragmatic initial approach to working with third parties, aiming to show through simple early-to-market solutions how the new relationship could work and demonstrating that superior value really can be created.
3. At the same time, be ready to have a variety of business and commercial solutions available over time.
4. Understand which third parties are most likely to respond positively to an invitation to work with you, probably through detailed market research.
5. Use software platforms that are suitable or adaptable for use by particular kinds of developers.
6. Sell the ability to connect third parties with end users wherever they are--through both partnerships and technology. This means resolving issues on behalf of third parties such as the customer's location, type of access network, device and so on.
7. Break down internal walls and barriers between the key stakeholders, which will include CIO, CTO, OSS/BSS, network operations, CRM, product management and marketing.
8. Deploy policy and QoS tools that are designed from the start to help enrich relationships with third parties, rather than simply as tools to control the behavior of applications or the telco's own services.
9. Focus on dismantling subscriber data silos and getting consensus on rules for using that data.
10. Emphasize the ability to identify and authenticate individuals in a secure environment, as well as the ability to bill them. Network providers - especially mobile network providers - are in a strong position to do this, and it is a capability that will be valued by third parties.
 
For more on application enablement and working successfully with third parties, visit Alcatel-Lucent's Next Generation Communications community on TMCnet.
Share

Categories:

Tags:

Leveraging Multi-industry Ecosystems to Speed Service Innovation

Posted by: Erik Linask | October 5, 2009 9:48 PM | 0 Comments
It's clear that, in order to achieve ongoing success, mobile operators must put in place a plan to evolve to all-IP networks in order to facilitate higher quality and reliability of service. That means either a combination of 3G and 4G technologies, or an all-out migration to 4G.
 

But, the network technologies they deploy are merely the beginning, and will serve only as a medium for delivering the services, content, and applications that will present the real opportunity for differentiation. Once operators have invested in and deployed their next generation networks, their key to success will lie in their ability to quickly and effectively introduce innovative new services to their subscribers - services that will be in high demand and for which users will be willing to pay a premium. In addition, the innovation must extend beyond the applications themselves, to an ability to integrate these new offerings across multiple networks, devices, and geographies.

 

Operators that invest in LTE technologies, for instance, will have spent billions, even tens of billions of dollars, by the time they have completed their full deployments. ABI Research predicts that Verizon Wireless, for example, will spend close to $30 billion on spectrum and infrastructure, and while LTE technology will present Verizon and other operators with significant reductions in operating costs, they will still need to find new revenue streams to support their business models to compete effectively.

 

As Nadine Manjaro, senior analyst, wireless infrastructure at ABI Research, writes in her article, Ecosystems Help Evolution to 4G Services in the latest issue of Alcatel-Lucent's online magazine, Enriching Communications, "Delivering new services quickly will require collaboration across an entire ecosystem. Operators are turning to vendor partners and members of the mobile value chain to assist in developing new services."

 

The idea of collaborating with other industry participants isn't a new one, and many operators have already successfully developed and launched services driven by such relationships, but there is potential - even a necessity - for more.

 

That's why Alcatel-Lucent, among others, which of course is a key player in the network infrastructure space, is also pushing the idea of developing ecosystems to help spur innovation, lower time to market, and increase the value proposition of new services and applications.

 

The idea is founded on the principle that networks can provide valuable resources that can be leveraged by an entire ecosystem to increase the value of new services and applications. Traditionally, however, most network operators have been hesitant to open their networks up to developers and content providers. However, in order to create deeper relationships, many are realizing that, properly controlled and secured, these resources can be an effective way to deliver more enticing services, since developers will have access to data that will help them more effectively personalize services and ensure their compatibility with networks and devices.

 

An Alcatel-Lucent white paper, Working with Third-Party Services: An Action Plan for Network Operators, identifies several network resources that can easily be leveraged to create compelling services that users will be willing to pay for. They include:

  • The ability to offer differential QoS;
  • Demographic and behavioral information on end users;
  • Information on subscriber devices, location and online status (presence);
  • Ability to authenticate, identify, charge and bill subscribers;
  • Exposure of call control and messaging platforms;
  • Ability to host and maintain services;
  • Ability to provide 1st line customer support.
 

By working with third parties to build wide-ranging, multi-industry ecosystems that include infrastructure vendors, device manufacturers, application developers, content providers, gaming and computing experts, universities, and others with relevant expertise, operators can discover best practices, new business models, and new revenue opportunities not possible on their own.

 

Alcatel-Lucent itself has launched the ng Connect program as a means of bringing together these very types of constituencies in a collaborative environment to develop new services that exploit their network assets to create compelling, sticky services and opportunities for subscriber retention and attraction.

 

"The ng Connect ecosystem has the power to create a nucleus to showcase what is actually possible when you connect all these devices in a real LTE environment that provides the bandwidth that is necessary to provide an enhanced user experience," said Volker Hirsch, EVP at ng Connect member Connect2Media.

Share

Categories:

Tags:

Using Ecosystems to Drive New Revenue and Innovation

Posted by: Erik Linask | October 4, 2009 11:42 PM | 0 Comments
As service providers look to feed their subscribers' hunger for innovative services and applications, they have essentially two alternatives: they can work alone to develop them in what amounts to a proprietary environment or they can collaborate with other companies to develop more effective products and that can be leveraged to meet the needs of a wide audience.
 
In a next generation communications environment, it becomes almost impossible to achieve high levels of success with the former. The need to accommodate to accommodate different means of access and devices and to maintain viable financial models by making services adaptable to multiple user types means providers must facilitate interaction with other companies as they seek to develop and introduce new services.
 
It's this need for collaboration that drove Alcatel-Lucent to create the ng Connect program, a mechanism for partnering with other companies - not only in the communications space, but other industries as well - to create services that are flexible, interoperable with multiple technologies, and importantly, present a revenue generating opportunity.
 
According to Derek Kuhn, Vice President of Emerging Technology & Media at Alcatel-Lucent, ecosystems, like ng Connect, allow members to collectively define prospective user groups for services, and determine best practices for addressing the needs of those users.
 
In his article in the latest issue of Enriching Communications, Kuhn adds that in addition to providing an opportunity to define strategies for developing services, ecosystems create what he calls "living labs" to consider the capabilities of next generation networks to deliver these services and the new business models they enable.

 
"It's about truly transformational and innovative companies that are willing to collaborate and understand how they are going to use broadband technologies in a way that betters the user experience," noted Kuhn previously. "We can collaborate to benefit the operator community with time to market and time to revenue, and we can innovate and touch industries that traditionally telecom might not reach out to. That's what's drawn a lot of the partners to this program."
 
The ng Connect program is based on an understanding that the only limitation to innovation is the effectiveness of vendors and developers in delivering new products. By providing a venue where providers, developers, and even users can come together to share ideas and experiences, ng Connect helps increase the pace of innovation, benefitting the entire community, from developers to providers to users.
To read more about why ecosystems, like ng Connect, hold the key to service innovation in next generation communications environments, click here.
Share

Categories:

Tags:

Using Multimedia Content Management Solutions to Drive New Revenue While Increasing QoE

Posted by: Erik Linask | October 4, 2009 10:46 PM | 0 Comments
In an age where applications and content are king, and the networks that deliver them play second fiddle, telecom provider, in order to effectively penetrate their target markets, must unsure they are able effectively manage that content. It's not enough to simply develop and introduce new services; they must be able to integrate these offerings across multiple platforms, networks, and devices to create a seamless, integrated, and personalized user experience.
 
The evolution of networks, content, applications, and devices, combined with user's understanding of the capabilities available to them and their new expectations that result from this enlightenment make it critical for providers to be able to leverage flexible service delivery and management infrastructures.
 
Alcatel-Lucent's 5920 Multimedia Content Manager (MCM) has been designed for this very purpose - to enable service providers to manage, market, sell, and deliver content and services to any device their subscribers choose to use. The MCM allows mobile, broadband, IPTV, and converged services providers to manage the delivery of their services - including applications, video, music, ringtones, news and updates, and other personalized content - based on unique subscriber preferences.
 
To facilitate the efficient delivery and management of content, the 5920 MCM includes the following features:
·         Service and Delivery Orchestrator - Gateway for coordinating access to and management of core functions, including marketing, rating, charging, digital rights management (DRM) and service delivery;
·         Content, Storefront Manager and Subscriber portals - Provides flexibility in managing multi-screen catalogs and storefronts and allow service providers to build custom Web portals;
·         Marketing and rating - Enables multi-screen subscriber segmentation and management functions and the creation of targeted campaign promotions based on subscriber activities, including the definition of multiple pricing options and discounts;
·         Delivery and DRM - Allows the integration of the latest delivery protocols for both download and push services and offers a complete DRM solution to secure premium content;
·         Mediator - Provides a service order activation-enabled distribution workflow that integrates the Alcatel-Lucent 5920 MCM with downstream systems.
 
By bringing these capabilities to service providers in a single platform, Alcatel-Lucent not only simplified the content distribution capabilities for its customers, but also ensures they are able to focus on growing revenues and increasing operational efficiencies. It also allows them to focus their energies on the kinds of content and application partnerships Alcatel-Lucent promotes through its ng Connect program, while ensuring high quality, reliable services.
 
If you read the latest edition of Alcatel-Lucent's online magazine, Enriching Communications, you saw a case study explaining how Israeli telcom Pelephone used the 5920 MCM to launch its new music service that includes more than 250,000 tracks and playlists - Israel's largest music catalog. Not only does the Alcatel-Lucent solution allow Pelephone to manage and deliver the content through a friendly interface, it allows it to synchronize multiple user devices, a real advantage in an age where many - if not most - users have a desire to access content on multiple fixed and mobile devices.
 
"For example, if you use a PC to download a "jogging music" playlist to your private content area, that playlist is automatically available on your mobile phone," according to Pelephone.  "You can listen while you jog -- without the need for local synchronization via wires or WiFi."
 
This is just one example, and providers like Pelephone are increasingly looking to introduce new, innovative, and more personalized services to grow their market presence and subscriber bases using Alcatel-Lucent technology.
 
To read more about how Alcatel-Lucent is helping the service provider community address growing market complexities on the Next Generation Communications community.
 
If you haven't read the Pelephone case study, check that out here.
 
Share

Categories:

Tags:

Driving Innovation Through Multi-Industry Ecosystems

Posted by: Erik Linask | October 4, 2009 9:18 PM | 0 Comments
The second installment of Enriching Communications, Alcatel-Lucent's eZine highlighting many of the hottest topics in communications today, takes a look at how ecosystems and the business models they promote help businesses leverage a collaborative environment to enhance the opportunities for all members of the communities.
 
As editor-in-chief Ruth Killeen writes, "Why work alone when partnerships help mitigate risk in a highly competitive marketplace?"
 
Indeed, ecosystems provide an opportunity for businesses that would have had little cause to work together under traditional business models, to generate added value for the members of a growing number of ecosystems as well as their end users. Taking a deeper look at some of the trends and topics in the LTE market introduced in the previous issue, this iteration looks at how participation in ecosystems helps members create new value from their own products and solutions, while leveraging the expertise of other members.
 
While the ecosystem isn't necessarily a new concept, this is an ideal time to foster long-lasting relationships to help the community as a whole more quickly assess and respond to evolving trends and requirements. Essentially, these ecosystems are the foundation for business relationships between strategic, multidisciplinary companies from a variety of industries, providing an opportunity for them to collaboratively deliver new solutions.
 
Ecosystems increase the value of products and solutions from each partner by offering input and feedback from a variety of members who have distinctly unique perspectives on what users want, what they will buy, and how much they will use new services and products, adding a new measure of predictability into the value chain.
 
Real-world experiences often provide a powerful message regarding products and services. The same can be said for the successes driven by participating in collaborative ecosystems. Hewlett-Packard, for instance, continues to expand its partnerships because of the benefit it has seen from the openness and collaboration promoted by ecosystems. These partnerships, in fact, are a key part of its corporate culture.
 
With the rate of evolution in the communications market, it is more critical than ever for individual vendors to ensure the ability to move equally quickly. Few companies have the resources to successfully respond to changing customers requirements without risking financial stability, making pooling resources and experiences more than a reasonable option - it is becoming a necessity. This article illustrates the success Hewlett-Packard's has seen from membership in ecosystems like ng Connect.
 
Even as many wireless provides are still moving into the 3G world, wisdom dictates that their goal must be to evolve further, to 4G technology, to deliver services with greater quality and reliability. However, the secret is not in merely evolving their networks - they must have a keen focus on the applications and services they bring to their subscribers. They need compelling new services that can cross networks, devices, and geographies - and they must provide enough value so that subscribers will be willing to pay for them.
 
This article looks at how network operators can leverage ecosystems to quickly develop and deploy 4G services, including eliminating risk through interoperability testing in a standards-based environment. By working closely with their partners, operators will increase their ability to grow revenue and market share in an ultra-competitive mobile market.
 
Israeli telecom Pelephone indentified some time what is now common theory - content and applications will be the keys to successfully penetrating the mass market. As such, it knew it had to be able to design new and innovative services for flexible, scalable deployment and rapid launch.
 
By working closely with its ecosystem partners, it is now able to deploy new services in a fraction of the time it would otherwise take. It has also been able to expand and manage its content and application library through simple, intuitive, and appealing interfaces, resulting in what it calls a "stunning user experience," including location-based services, mobile Internet, and multimedia content.
 
A key part of Alcatel-Lucent's market strategy is its application enablement model, which combines next generation network technology with the ecosystem and partnership theory to create more effective business models and greater efficiency in bringing services to market.
 
Earlier this year, Alcatel-Lucent conducted a study to gain an understanding of how various members of the communications value chain might be able to better work together to combine network capabilities with the speed of the Web - a key part to its application enablement strategy.
 
This article provides answers to the questions it was looking to answer, and which will help network providers more effectively partner with content and application providers to create a highly collaborative environment that drives value for both sides and create a win/win/win situation for network providers, application and content developers, and end users.
 
 
In this issue, experts from Alcatel-Lucent, Hewlett-Packers, ABI Research, and Pelephone discuss the need for and benefits of technology ecosystems in a competitive landscape. The next issue will delve into to telecom operators can transform their businesses to create more effective, sustainable operational models.
Share

Categories:

Tags:

Best Practices for Managing and Maintaining a Multi-Vendor Network

Posted by: Erin Harrison | October 2, 2009 4:43 PM | 0 Comments
Every investment in today's cost-conscious climate goes through a lot of scrutiny. That said mobile operators face no shortage of challenges in today's market environment.
 
In their bid to improve their profitability and maintain their competitiveness, many mobile operators are rolling out new services meant to generate revenue and increase usage. They need to juggle diverse traffic types, keep track of complicated service level agreements and speed time to market - all while reducing capital and operating expense and generating new revenues.
 
Yankee Group estimates backhaul costs account for approximately 30 percent of network-related OPEX, while Heavy Reading noted recently that mobile carriers are increasing their spend on backhaul by 15 percent to 25 percent annually to meet demand for a high-quality HSDPA or EV-DO end-user experience.
 
Faced with these realities, mobile operators are rethinking their approach to the backhaul network - migrating from a mix of legacy transports and multiple leased lines to packet-based technologies, so as to support an order of magnitude more capacity at much lower cost.

But the major challenge for mobile operators is architecting and deploying a high-performance backhaul solution capable of reducing the cost per transmitted bit. Mobile operators are rethinking their approach to the backhaul network - migrating from a mix of legacy transports and multiple leased lines to packet-based technologies, so as to support an order of magnitude more capacity at much lower cost.
 
Evaluating the sustainability of your network, the reduction of your footprint and reduction of power consumption are more important than ever. Companies today are challenged to find ways to add more value to the services they already provide and ultimately, bring more value to the end users. In doing so, businesses will position themselves for a brighter future, so that when the economy turns for the better - those enterprises will be poised for take-off.
Share

Categories:

Tags:

How the Recession is Impacting Consumer Spending on Network-based Services

Posted by: Erik Linask | September 28, 2009 8:43 AM | 0 Comments
There is no question the economic downturn has had a significant impact on spending in both business and consumer markets. In the business market, the results have been well documented, with a marked decrease in spending, including staff cuts as well as an increased need to justify any new investments. For the communications market, this has created an opportunity to feature the cost saving features of IP-based technologies, in addition to their productivity enhancing capabilities.
 
Because its service provider customers are critically impacted by the needs and trends of consumers, Alcatel-Lucent sought to determine how the recession has impacted consumer spending, knowing that overall confidence has been at an all-time low for many of them and that spending patterns can change drastically with the economy. 
 
The good news, based on Alcatel-Lucent's research, is that, while two-thirds of consumers are cutting their overall spending, their first cutbacks are not related to their network services. In fact, only one of the top 11 cutbacks is communications related - downloading online pay per view movies is the fifth most frequently cited cutback. The remainder of the top 11 includes other ancillary entertainment and activities, like going to bars (1), concerts (2), sporting events (4), movies (6), and restaurants (7). Renting movies from physical shops came in third. Travel, charitable contributions, health club memberships, and non-essential shopping rounded out the top 11.
 
The lower half of the response table included many network and communications services, but their frequency was significantly lower than the top cost cutting measures. In fact, the three of the four least likely services to be cut include the basic communications services: broadband, landline phone, and cellular service (education also fell among these three at the bottom of the list).
 
What it means is there is an ongoing opportunity for network operators, whose services are viewed as a much more fundamental part of everyday life than other leisure activities. Indeed, broadband service can be considered recession-proof.
 
Interestingly, paid VoIP has a much higher likelihood of being cut, despite the overwhelming sentiment that broadband Internet is a must-have service. Clearly, providers have a significant opportunity here in developing the PSTN replacement market. But, this is also a reflection of comfort - consumers are used to their reliable traditional phone service and, in a challenging economy, tend to favor tried and tested products to new technologies.
 
On the other hand, free and low-cost services still present an opportunity - though they also present a challenge in subsidizing those services with other revenue streams, including advertising. Even with an improvement in economic conditions, Alcatel-Lucent says 13 percent of respondents still plan on making cuts, while 20 percent are likely to increase spending, leaving the majority at a level spend.
 
What does this mean for providers? Certainly, they will have to adapt their business strategies to account for consumer behavior. More than likely, they will see an increase in the use of free services, like IP-based voice and video services, an increase in messaging (email and IM) as opposed to traditional telephony, a rising interest in bundled services, and a greater acceptance of advertisement-driven services.
 
The latter presents a real opportunity for operators as they look to offset a reduction in the use of fee-based services. The creation of more bundled offerings also is an opportunity, because it creates stickiness and helps reduce churn, which is at least as important as singing new subscribers - and builds a relationship operators can leverage as the introduce new services. And of course, their ability to enhance the overall experience for the end user will only help increase subscriber loyalty.
 
For more on Alcatel-Lucent's research, read the full report, including tables and charts that show exactly how the consumer market is expected to behave as a result of the recession.
 
Share

Categories:

Tags:

Best Ways to Use the Content Management Enabler to Serve Multiple Devices and Screens

Posted by: Amy Tierney | September 24, 2009 6:06 PM | 0 Comments
In an era when content is typically a few clicks away and consumers' thirst for media grows, network providers are increasingly looking to expand their next generation communications with multimedia services. While the popularity of social networking offers SMBS and large companies a host of revenue opportunities, end users are starting to explore the multi-screen concept to capitalize on some of the benefits.
 
One such company that can help fulfill end users' hunger for "always on," anytime and anywhere services is Alcatel-Lucent. The Paris-based company, which focuses on fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, developed a multi-screen experience that helps the movement of content and services across a multitude of devices.
 
Today, multimedia services are often characterized by companies' ability to grab end users' attention for lengthy periods of time. According to a recent Alcatel-Lucent white paper, video, for example, has the longest shelf life. And network providers can monetize that form of media by extending it from TV to mobile, PCs through mobile triple play offerings, remote access to user-generated content in home networks, and building upon existing video services to add value and other personalized information.
 
As people adopt modern day devices like PCs, notebooks, netbooks, and smart phones for greater convenience, traditional TV is no longer a viable means to reach consumers. But a multi-screen foundation lets network providers extend their content beyond TV to the very devices people use everyday.
 
What are some of the advantages of multi-screen capabilities? First off, they help network providers differentiate their products. For instance, providers can offer TV shows or other video content on a mobile phone or personal video recorder.
 
Beyond the obvious goal of increasing revenue, providers can also boost the competitive stance in the marketplace and attract new subscribers. Moreover, network providers can build stronger relationships and increase loyalty among existing subscribers. What's more, the convenience of accessing media through multiple devices stimulates end user consumption, which means more transactions and revenue for providers.
 
By working with Alcatel-Lucent, network providers can learn how a common set of enablers - such as Multi-screen head-end, Federated identity, Converged payment and Multi-screen messaging and communication - can help create one-of-kind multi-screen end user services.
 
To learn more about Alcatel-Lucent's foundation to deliver and monetize multimedia services across multiple screens, listen to a video interview with Basil Alwan, "Strategies for Monetizing IPTV."
 
 
Share

Categories:

Tags:

Speed Introduction of New Intelligent Applications and Time to Revenue

Posted by: Erik Linask | September 14, 2009 1:26 AM | 0 Comments
When you consider the work network operators are doing to build out their next generation communications infrastructures to be able to deliver new services and applications, and when you think about the evolution of end devices on which these new applications will run, the obvious question is, how can network operators keep up with the demand for applications to leverage these latest technologies.
 
Quite simply, the only way they can reasonably deliver new, innovative, intelligent applications quickly is to solidify relationships with third-party developers and content providers. Today's network operators have to focus on their delivery capabilities, and lack the resources to remain competitive if they also have to develop all the applications on their own. 
 
It's clear that network operators understand the need to work with third parties, as most applications already come from other sources, not from the operators themselves. In fact, other than expanding footprints in underserved markets, network operators are seeing relatively flat revenues from network access, due to market saturation. Thus, in order to increase revenues in a highly competitive environment, they need to explore new options for bringing compelling services to market, which they cannot accomplish on their own. The only new wireline service, for instance, that has found wide-scale market penetration is IPTV, compared to the number of new Web services developed by the developer community and other third parties.
 
It's a clear trend, and one that will continue to grow as more software platforms are leveraged to create environments to allow easy development and introduction of creative, and potentially revenue generating services. 
 
Highlighting this fact, a recent Alcatel-Lucent white paper discusses a survey of 132 service providers that were asked to identify the three most important factors that will contribute to the success of mainstream telcos. Two responses dominated their opinions: Rapid transition to all-IP networks and, topping all responses, more effective partnering and collaboration with third-party providers.
 
These two factors effectively comprise Alcatel-Lucent's application enablement strategy, a combination of building out intelligent, all-IP high leverage networks, and using the capabilities of those networks to develop deeper relationships and new business models with third-party providers.
 
By collaborating closely with third-party developers and content providers - and by allowing them greater access to network resources, including QoS capabilities, network-based storage, and key subscriber and device data - operators will not only create long-lasting relationships with these providers by increasing their networks' value to them, but will also allow intelligent, contextual applications and services to be more efficiently developed and rolled out, lowering all-important time to revenue.
 
Certainly, there are barriers that must be overcome - namely, despite a desire to work with third parties, network providers have traditionally not created a valuable enough value proposition that would drive these relationships to new levels. But, by enhancing their network capabilities and, more importantly, exhibiting trust in their partners by making these capabilities available to them, operators will have taken a significant step towards creating an meaningful ecosystem that will increase collaboration and entice developers to work more closely with the operators to quickly develop new revenue streams.
 
To understand more about how network operators can leverage their networks to solidify their third-party relationships and help speed the introduction of new intelligent applications, read the white paper, Working with Third Party Services: An Action Plan for Network Providers.
 
Share

Categories:

Tags:

Alcatel-Lucent's "Enriching Communications" - The State of the LTE Market

Posted by: Erik Linask | September 12, 2009 11:03 PM | 0 Comments
Alcatel-Lucent recently unveiled its electronic magazine (e-Zine), Enriching Communications, an online initiative to provide an in-depth look at many of the communications industry trends and innovations - including how Alcatel-Lucent is helping its customers achieve business success by leveraging its next generation communications products and services.
 
The first online-only edition of the publication focused on the migration of 2G and 3G wireless networks to 4G technologies, specifically LTE. The process of network transformation from legacy environments to more agile, flexible, and stable 4G technologies has been a key area of focus for Alcatel-Lucent, including a particular emphasis on consulting customers on how to best approach the Broadband Stimulus component of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
 
Featured content in the inaugural e-Zine include:
 
6 Key Trends Driving the Evolution to LTE
The demand for mobile services in increasing, and will only continue to rise, which is driving the migration to new wireless technologies to support the growth in subscribers and mobile broadband usage. LTE can enable sustainable and profitable business models while supporting the increase in network usage. In fact, LTE subscriptions globally are predicted to grow at a rate of more than 400 percent (CAGR) over the next four years. This article highlights six trends that will drive the demand for mobile broadband.
 
As it seeks to enhance its ability to provide the best possible educational environment and prepare its students for the future, Georgia Tech's mission is to ensure its students, researchers, faculty, and staff have access to the latest advanced communications technology, representative of the real-world technologies they will matriculate from the University to use, including 4G/LTE wireless networks.  In this article, Georgia Tech's CTO and Director of GT-RNOC, explains how 4G/LTE will enable students and faculty to create a better future and why next generation communications technologies are critical in an academic environment.
 
Inconsistency in the delivery of services across best effort networks, without QoS guarantees are the reason service providers are bombarded with questions like, "Why is the speed and download rate of my public Internet so variable?" or  "Why doesn't TV over the Web look like HDTV?" or "Why do video calls over the Internet have inconsistent quality?" or "Why are multi-user, interactive online games sometimes ruined in an instant by network quality issues?" This article addresses the need for enhanced QoS for reliable, consistent delivery of today's bandwidth hungry services, and how guaranteed QoS turns into a winning proposition for network operators, ACPs, and end users.
 
The global LTE market is expected to grow faster than any previous mobile standard, with subscribers predicted o eclipse 136 million by 2014. To help mobile operators prepare for this growth in both developed and emerging markets, this article looks at end user expectations as LTE-based networks become available to them. What applications will they want? How will they use them? Which applications will the pay for, and how much will they be willing to pay? How much will they pay for network access? These are all questions that operators will need to understand before they can successfully migrate users to next generation networks.
 
LTE is representative of the realization by network operators that they need to create and open environment for application and service development and delivery and become much more than merely providers of connectivity. This video, featuring a number of communications industry experts, including Dick Lynch, Executive VP and CTO, Verizon Communications, and Vivek Badrinath, IT Networks and Product Support, Orange, focuses on end-to-end LTE as a means of "IP-izing" mobile networks, as the industry moves rapidly towards the commercialization the technology.
 
 
The next issue of Enriching Communications will take the ideas from this edition a step further, focusing on how operators can build and leverage ecosystems to increase their ability to provide quality services and content, and create new revenue opportunities.
Share

Categories:

Tags:

Best Practices for Improving Time to Market of New Products and Services

Posted by: Erik Linask | September 11, 2009 10:04 PM | 0 Comments
For today's network operators, the key to creating new revenue streams lies in their ability to quickly and cost effectively bring new services to market. It's an accepted fact that future success depends on applications and content that is delivered to the end user, not in the network itself.
 
Naturally, the network infrastructure must be in place to make these services available, which is why Alcatel-Lucent is heavily pushing its application enablement strategy, including its high leverage network theory, which will enable faster, more reliable, and more flexible service delivery, while promoting increased collaboration between network providers and their third party partners - the application developers and content providers.
 
While investing in intelligent network infrastructures is necessary, as they provide the physical foundation for making new products and services available, ultimately, the ability to quickly deliver new services rests largely on operators' ability to build strong third-party relationships. More specifically, they will need to move past mere marketing and branding agreements to include deeper technology integration to increase the value for both parties. This will have the added benefit of shortening time to market of new services, as partners will have greater insight into the network resources to allow them to more effectively build applications that will require less testing and modification.
 
This change in behavior - to date, network providers have been reluctant to allow access to their resources, and their partners, therefore, have been less motivated to collaborate more closely with them - is key quickly introducing new services. The network capabilities - application enablers - that will drive the creation of new revenue producing services includes, an ability to provide differential QoS, user demographic and behavioral data, end user devices and presence information, billing and provisioning abilities, hosting of content and applications, call control and messaging platforms, and, not least, customer support.
 
These capabilities, made available to in-house developers or third-party partners, will allow for increased efficiency in the development of new services that can run on different platforms to support a wider user base. They will also dramatically increase the number of partners network operators have access, since they not only promote a trusted two-way relationship, but also provide valuable resources developers and content providers are looking for as they seek to engage targeted audiences that are most likely to want their services, increasing the relevance of the entire value chain by leveraging contextual information to deliver services to users where and when they want them, on whatever devices they want them on.
 
Of course, there is also the question of identifying the right applications and services, the capacity for which is also enhanced through this sort of closer collaboration and sharing of information - and revenue. While it is nearly impossible to predict which specific applications will have the greatest impact, a few common traits that are likely to deliver the most significant return include:
  • A focus on multimedia capabilities
  • Personalization and customization
  • Leveraging collaboration and social networking
  • Anywhere, anytime, any device availability with seamless switching between platforms
  • Automation of installation and maintenance
  • Integration with other applications and services
What this list really means is that the most successful services will be more flexible and more adaptable to different user environments than ever before. In other words, they will leverage the need to personalization and customization.
 
For more on how third-party relationships can be developed to improve time to market of new services, read Alcatel-Lucent's white paper, Working with Third Party Services - An Action Plan for Network Providers.
Share

Categories:

Tags:

Alcatel-Lucent's touchatag Announces Urban Game Challenge for Developers

Posted by: Erik Linask | September 11, 2009 12:29 AM | 0 Comments
This past February, Alcatel-Lucent launched its touchatag service - it was actually a rebranding of the former tikitag - looking to differentiate its brand in the growing RFID space. touchatag is the online RFID service that brings to developers an ability to connect objects and devices to Web applications, allowing those applications to be initiated via RFID-enabled devices.
 
In July, touchatag was named to the list of 2009 Best Products and Services by Network Products Guide, thanks to its innovation in driving services and solutions that leveraging next generation communications technology to enhance the value of both applications and RFID-enabled products.
 
This week, Alcatel-Lucent has taken steps to extend its touchatag service to a wider developer community, announcing a competition, called "Vienna Jungle Scrum," inviting developers to submit their entries for the most innovative Near Field Communications (NFC) urban game for mobile phones. The competition is part of mobilkom austria's A1 Innovation Days 2009, and challenges developers to create their games with the city of Vienna as their urban environment.
 
Urban gaming - also known as location-based gaming - leverages GPS and NFC technologies to create real-world games, like point-to-point races, scavenger hunts, problem solving - not unlike a localized, mobile-device based version of the popular reality TV show, Amazing Race - as well as interactive local tour applications.
 
Alcatel-Lucent, through its sponsorship of the challenge, hopes to drive interest and innovation in the use of NFC technology, while also exposing the capabilities of touchatag to a wider developer community. Using touchatag, developers are able to tag locations and objects with RFID stickers, linking them to online information using NFC-enabled phones, creating the interactive experience. Ultimately, the hope is to drive the development of real-world utilities, like mobile device-based electronic financial transactions.
 
"Our goal is to stimulate developers to create mobile applications utilizing leading edge NFC technology" said Anthony Belpaire, General Manager, Alcatel-Lucent touchatag venture, " Urban gaming is a first step in building user comfort in using the technology for more advanced e-wallet transaction applications, such as coupon redemption, payment and fidelity."
 
The Vienna Jungle Scrum is open to developers across the globe through September 18, 2009, with winners being awarded a total of €5000 in cash prizes.
Share

Categories:

Tags:

Lowering Network Costs While Increasing Your Broadband Footprint

Posted by: Erik Linask | September 9, 2009 11:53 PM | 0 Comments
Regardless of what industry you're in, you've heard the mantra, "Do more with less." Cost reduction while increasing value and productivity is what every business aspires to be able to accomplish. That includes network operators, who are faced with the same fiscal challenges as any other business, but also have to increase their network capabilities in order to meet the demands for new bandwidth intensive services and applications. And they have to be able to deliver them more reliably than ever to a larger user base than ever, as more and more subscribers adopt the latest generation of mobile devices to take advantage of next generation communications features and services.
 
So, how can network operator lower costs while increasing their coverage area - including how can they extend their footprints to include rural and under- or unserved regions. Of course, this is the impetus driving the Broadband Stimulus portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which seeks to provide funding for broadband operators to facilitate broadband service delivery to these areas.
 
Certainly, one factor is deployment cost, which can be partially offset by funding from the Broadband Stimulus program. Alcatel-Lucent, which has developed complete end-to-end networking solutions for network operators, regardless of which technologies they have chosen, has spent considerable time and effort providing consultative advice to its customers as to how they can best benefit from the stimulus program, including how to balance accessibility, capacity, and affordability as they built out new or extend existing networks.
 
Alcatel-Lucent also understands that the most effective way to enhance network capabilities - including building out new footprint - is to ensure that appropriate relationships are in place that will enable quick and seamless rollout of new, revenue-generating applications and services. The ability to build those relationships with content providers and application developers by adding value through access to network resources is a key component of its Application Enablement strategy, which is designed to ensure that network operators are able to balance their investment in infrastructure with high-value services from their partners. 
 
In order to develop those relationships, they need to first be willing to make that investment in infrastructure, building out what Alcatel-Lucent refers to as a High Leverage Network.
 
A high leverage network is designed to allow highly personalized applications, services, and content to be delivered, leveraging subscriber data, which is also made available to the service provider partners, allowing them to derive additional value from the relationships and create even more appealing services - particularly those that users are willing to pay for.
 
Fully converged, all-IP high leverage networks allow for easy scalability of bandwidth when and where it becomes necessary. They also provide application and service awareness, QoS, and packet optimization to ensure optimal network efficiency, reliability, and availability.
 
These are all capabilities that are necessary to extend an operator's footprint, while providing incentive for third-party partners to continue to develop new services and applications, which allow operators to offset CAPEX.
 
In addition, high leverage networks, which can be implemented in stages - again to accommodate budget constraints - allow for the convergence of network infrastructures both vertically (across network layers) and horizontally (across residential, business, and mobile users), allowing for a single infrastructure to support multiple access technologies, providing a lower TCO - ultimately driving down cost of operation.
 
For more on High Leverage Networks and how Alcatel-Lucent is helping is customers recover from the recession, read its white papers:
 
 
Share

Categories:

Tags:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
The opinions and views expressed in comments, blogs, etc. are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of TMC, TMCnet, or its editors. TMCnet reserves the right to edit, delete, or otherwise make changes to the content that appears on these pages at its own discretion and as it deems necessary.

Blogroll

Recent Entry Images