October 2009 Archives

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."
 

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."

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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.
 

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.

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.
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