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Competition vs. Collaboration: Strategies for New Revenue Generation

Posted by: Erik Linask | November 16, 2009 11:34 PM | 0 Comments
The question of which approach - competition or collaboration - is best in a competitive business landscape is hardly new. The natural instinct is to lean towards competition. After all, collaborating with other industry players can expose your business. However, collaboration breeds innovation, especially in the communications space, where most technologies are based on accepted standards, so there is little risk to intellectual property - your competition is leveraging the same technology.
 
Gary Iosbaker, Principal Technologist in the Office of the CTO for Communications and Media Solutions at Hewlett-Packard, recently discussed this issue in his article in Alcatel-Lucent's online magazine Enriching Communications, noting that HP prides itself on its extensive industry partnerships. In fact, he claims that, because of the standards-based technologies driving the communications market, and the rapid rate of evolution today, it is imperative that businesses be willing to share their information and experiences for the benefit of the industry.
 
Because today's communications experience depends on a broad range of vendors - devices, clients, access, transport, support systems, and more - the only way to truly succeed and deliver a quality experience to the end user is to work through partnerships, "rather than wasting limited resources chasing the same goals," as Iosbaker says.
 
It's the old strength in numbers theory: "By pooling the rich complementary capabilities of a broad range of players, the collective expertise and experience benefits everyone," writes Iosbaker.
 
The idea is that working in tandem with other industry experts facilitates more rapid development of products that will be more widely available, more reliable, and more cost effective to develop. In addition, market acceptance is increased due to the collaborative nature of the product(s) - there is less hesitation resulting from the perception of single-vendor bias.
 
The same ideal of bringing more innovative revenue-generating products to market more quickly drives the Alcatel-Lucent initiated ng Connect program, which is designed to foster the very kind of collaboration between vendors Iosbaker promotes. In fact, according to Iosbaker, HP didn't hesitate to become an ng Connect member because, quite simply, it made good business sense.
 
"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," said Derek Kuhn, Vice President of Emerging Technology and Media at Alcatel-Lucent, of ng Connect. 
 
Ultimately, with the growth of broadband communications and the pace of evolution of communications technology, it is impossible for any single vendor to keep pace alone - they simply lack the resources. Si, the logical alternative is to rely on mutually beneficial partnerships that help achieve existing goals, but are also likely to unveil new opportunities as well.

 
For more on how HP leverages its partnerships to drive its business success, read Iosbaker's article, along with several others in an entire issue of Enriching Communications dedicated to how collaboration is driving innovation in the communications market, enabling new, revenue-generating products to be introduced more efficiently and cost-effectively.

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.
 

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.
 

Evolve to a More Stable Business Model and Create New Revenue Opportunities

Posted by: Erik Linask | September 7, 2009 5:09 PM | 0 Comments
Today's Internet has evolved into a real resource - perhaps the greatest resource - for business and personal interaction with other individuals, communities, businesses, and information portals. It is typically the first place people look to for information, and the networks that provide access to that information and content are the primary vehicle for all communications today.
 
The applications that enable these various modes of interactivity, whether person-to-person communication, downloading content, online shopping, or merely gathering information are becoming more complex and more personalized to meet particular needs of each individual user. They are able to do that only by leveraging user data available through network providers.
 
However, the traditional relationship between network providers and content and application providers, where the network is merely a physical resource for delivering content and applications, has resulted in an unstable business model. The fact is that neither party has the resources to fully provide enhanced services to users, but neither has access to all the resources they need for developing a viable long-term business model.
 
Network providers are not being compensated for providing the bandwidth to deliver applications, and service and application providers are not being given access to full network capabilities that would increase the value of their services (i.e., location, presence, QoS, security). The challenge, as the demand for applications continues to grow - and features directly tied to these network capabilities with it - is for operators and providers to agree on a business model that benefits both and allows them to deliver optimized services to their users.
 
Naturally, any mutually beneficial strategy will be focused on delivering an improved user experience and a keen understanding of what services users want, how do they want them delivered, which ones will they pay for, and, perhaps most importantly for long-term success, which ones will they be willing to provide profile information for. Those operators and providers that can collaborate to determine these factors will be on the front lines for successful new product launches.
 
Alcatel-Lucent's application enablement ideal is built on enabling these kinds of business models and delivering these key services. On the network operator side, it focuses on the need to evolve to a high leverage, all-IP network, which can deliver these services and collect subscriber data - and then recycle that data for delivering even greater value to users. 
 
These new high leverage networks will allow operators and their provider and developer partners to collaborate in a much more meaningful fashion, where the best capabilities of both sides are highlighted to present a more stable business model with new revenue potential. A new, significantly larger market opportunity can be opened up, network providers can open their resources to their partner community in a controlled way, such that applications and services can be optimized and delivered to each unique user anywhere, anytime, on any device.
 
It presents a new opportunity for operators and providers, where each can showcase their strengths, and leverage each other's assets to enrich the user experience and drive new revenue streams.
 
For the content provider and application developer, it creates a targeted audience for services. For network providers, it means an offset to network investment through advertising and network access and resources.
 
By evolving to a high leverage network, network operators will quickly be able to build new business models with partners via a network that is:
 
  • Multi-service, to reduce cost and enable both fixed and mobile services that are transparent to the network
  • Available at anytime, anywhere, and on any device
  • Application- and service-aware to allow contextual, personalized delivery of content and services
  • Scalable and flexible in both directions to provide high QoE at all times without increased cost
  • Open to developers and for service providers to leverage

By embracing the application enablement ideal, and a high leverage network, operators will put themselves, and their partners, well on the path to a sustainable, mutually beneficial business model for the next generation communications environment. And ultimately, both will benefit from the ability to combine to deliver new, innovative, and rich set of applications to the user community.
 
Read more about application enablement in Alcatel-Lucent's white paper, Application Enablement, Delivering a trusted Web experience to increase revenue.

Enhance Network Relevance to Strengthen Customer Relationships

Posted by: Erik Linask | September 5, 2009 12:21 PM | 0 Comments
As the network continues to become an increasingly valuable tool - indeed a necessity - for both business and personal communications, entertainment, and information, network operators are faced with a serious challenge. Specifically, they must address the need to expand and enhance their network capabilities to deliver a quality user experience, but they must develop a strategy for doing so that will allow them to remain financially competitive.
 
In other words, while network evolution and investment are required - for instance, by evolving to all-IP high leverage networks that enable scalability and increased flexibility -- operators must find the right business models to balance that investment with new revenue streams to ultimately meeting users' demands for new applications and service quality and reliability.
 
The current environment is not conducive to meeting that goal. Network operators are hesitant to invent in network resources because they feel they are not being appropriately compensated for their resources. On the other hand, application and content providers are not given access to the resources and data they need to deliver the experience users demand. 
 
To overcome this hurdle and to create a network ecosystem that benefits all constituencies - from network providers to developers and content providers to end users - the network must be evolved into a more relevant resource, more than just a "dumb pipe."
 
Alcatel-Lucent's answer is its application enablement strategy for operators, which is designed to leverage both the network and the content and applications to help create a more stable, more easily monetized - and significantly enhanced - user experience. By making network resources available - in a controlled and managed environment - the idea is to help operators develop and build new relationships and business models increasing the ROI on their network investment.
 
The strategy is founded on the fundamental that network operators and content and application providers add value to the overall network and services environment, and are all necessary to deliver a viable end product. It also is based on an understanding that each must derive value from the relationships between them.
 
In addition to the network infrastructure, operators have significant resources that can be leveraged to deliver applications and content more efficiently and reliably and, importantly, to the users that need or want them. It is these resources that can be leveraged to extend the value of the network to developers and content providers, increasing the ability to generate recurring revenue. 
 
These resources include:
  • Integrated billing systems that allow multiple alternative billing options
  • Security to enable private transactions
  • Network-based storage to allow more efficient delivery of digital content
  • End-to-end bandwidth management for ensuring QoS and enhancing the user experience
  • Contextual information and other user data that can be leveraged to personalize services and applications
Alcatel-Lucent drives additional innovation to drive these new services through its Alcatel-Lucent Ventures division of Bell Labs, which focuses on creating innovative products and services, from concept to market availability, all designed to enhance the value of the network for both operators and their applications developer and content provider partners.
 
By taking measures to ensure content providers and application developers gain value from their relationships, network operators can increase their value as a vehicle for delivering services, ultimately cultivating stronger relationships between themselves and their partners, as well as with end users.
 
For more on Alcatel-Lucent's application enablement strategy, read its recent white paper.
 
 

How can I minimize the risk of new investments while increasing my network bandwidth, capacity and speed?

Posted by: Erik Linask | August 31, 2009 1:37 AM | 0 Comments
Wise budgeting has always been a hallmark of successful businesses, but the current economic climate has forced the entire business world to scrutinize every investment more cautiously than ever before. In the communications space, it has resulted in the development of new business models that, though driven by extreme situations, may ultimately create more effective operations.
 
For instance, the hosted communications space has gained significant momentum because of its ability to provide valuable next generation communications services without the need for investment in infrastructure.
 
For network operators, a similar trend is on the horizon. 
 
There is no question carrier networks must be upgraded to accommodate growing demand for bandwidth intensive services and content, driven by a host of new devices and multimedia content being developed today. However, the investment required to upgrade networks to what Alcatel-Lucent calls high leverage networks - networks that provide scalability and flexibility to meet growing subscriber demands for contextually aware applications, without sacrificing service quality or reliability - is beyond the capabilities for many, at least to the degree to which they desire to expand their reach.
 
Thus, to achieve scale and deliver new capabilities without taking on undue investment risk, many operators are looking at a new business model that is not unlike the hosted model in the enterprise communications space. Rather than building out their own networks to deliver new services and to reach new subscribers, they are looking to outsource their networking needs to other partners with established IP networks, looking more towards being a pure service provider and less a network operator.
 
What this will create is two distinctly different entities within the service provider space - the network owners/operators and the service/content providers. In fact, the market is already witnessing the evolution to this new model with the growth of the wholesale market, through which network owners are effectively selling space on their networks to other providers.
 
It's a model that works well for both sides. The network owners are able to increase the return on their network investments thanks to increased "rental" traffic, and the "renters" gain access to subscribers in areas in which they don't own network assets without having to invest time and capital in building out their infrastructures.
 
Quite simply, as network operators migrate to all-IP high leverage networks, they will increase their ability to provider new services to subscribers but, at the same time, the general industry move to all-IP eliminates the network as a differentiating factor. Thus, it becomes more effective to explore network sharing or outsourcing models, which will create a substantially different carrier landscape than today's - and one that will drive new carrier relationships out of necessity.
 
To read more on the future of the network operator, read Alcatel-Lucent's white paper, The Coming Carrier Network Infrastructure - A Very Different Landscape.

Enhance and Prioritize Personalization with Contextually Aware Applications

Posted by: Erik Linask | August 28, 2009 1:51 PM | 0 Comments
Today's Internet is largely indistinguishable from its previous incarnations - not only has it become a seemingly infinite repository for information and an means of access to applications and content, today's Internet takes it even further. 
 
The new devices, applications, and network technologies that combine to form the infrastructure and delivery mechanism for today's abundance of Web-based content have also enabled a high degree of personalization. Personalization, of course, creates sticker services, leading to user satisfaction and, ultimately, subscriber loyalty.
 
The need for increased personalization comes as a result of a new age of real-time social communication that allows users to communicate, create, and collaborate anywhere, at any time. That ubiquitous access to the Internet and its capabilities has led to what is being called Web 2.0 - a highly interactive, personalizable version of Web-based applications and services that is truly only possible when users have access to these resources at all times.
 
For the application developer and service provider, this presents an opportunity to leverage that desire for real-time interaction by delivering applications that leverage user data to create a personalized multi-screen experience - which to a large degree means adapting applications that have traditionally been available on the desktop, for the mobile device.
 
After all, the mobile device is quickly growing to be a popular means of accessing the Web, thanks to not only the devices, but the evolution of wireless broadband access from both cellular carriers and through WiFi routers. It all results in an always-on user, though on different devices at different times. It also results in a need - but also an opportunity - for providers to understand where users are at any given time, and on what device.
 
Certainly, the integration of GPS chips into mobile devices makes identifying where users are easy.  And identifying on which device users are accessing the Web is a basic task.
 
What remains, then is using that information, along with other available data - after all, users leave their footprint each time they visit a site - to create an experience that makes it increasingly desirable for subscribers to use a provider's services.
 
It can be used to deliver targeted advertising based on sites visited or items viewed; it can be used to recommend restaurants based on knows preferences and current location; it can be used to let users know when their Facebook friends or Yahoo! buddies are within a certain distance so they can meet for a coffee; it can be used simply to identify the most effective communications channels at any given time. Those are just a few basic examples.
 
The possibilities are nearly limitless, when providers leverage all the data that is available to them. The key is they have to do so in order to create the services that drive loyalty among user groups.
 
As the market becomes more adept at leveraging this available information, the next step will be adding intelligence to the Web - the Semantic Web, according to a recent White Paper from Alcatel-Lucent. The Semantic Web, as its name implies, requires the Internet to "understand" user requests - does he mean Michael Jackson the late pop icon, or Michael Jackson the former wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens.
 
But that is a discussion for another day.  Today, the focus for providers and developers must be on identifying what data is available and how they can programmatically turn that behavior information into a highly user-centric Web experience.
 
For more on the Web 2.0 world, read the Alcatel-Lucent white paper.

Best Practices for Managing OPEX in Today's Challenging Climate

Posted by: Erik Linask | August 20, 2009 12:16 AM | 0 Comments
Telcom operators are facing a new competitive environment, where they are challenged by the economy as well as market trends, to manage capital and operational expenses more carefully than ever before.
 
As far as investments in their networks goes, operators are carefully planning their roadmaps to next generation communications infrastructures, including high leverage networks. But, ultimately, investment is inevitable, if they intend on remaining competitive and be able to deliver the latest content and services to a new generation of devices.
 
However, there are alternatives that can provide substantial benefits on the operational side, and operators are considering new models that will allow them to create new revenue streams through partnerships with various members of the community, from other network operators to content providers to application developers and others.
 
These new strategies include investing in fiber to the home, which will allow operators to deliver an expanded set of services more cost effectively. They can also look to deliver their services on converged platforms, lowering management and maintenance costs, as well as power to maintain multiple systems.
 
But perhaps the most telling sign of the changing landscape is a growing trend towards network outsourcing. In other words, service providers are looking to partner with network operators to deliver services to customers, rather than focusing on expanding their ownership of network assets. Considering the prevalent thinking that the future of communication lies in applications and services, it's not surprising we're seeing a separation of the network from services.
 
For network infrastructure owners, this presents a parallel opportunity to become network managers, allowing other operators to leverage their network reach and capacity to as a way of generating revenue and maximizing network potential. Increasingly, network operators are turning to managed services to increase their market position, including adopting "build-operate-transfer" or "build-operate-manage" strategies; full or partial network outsourcing (i,e, the transport
network of a mobile operator or full outsourcing of a legacy network); capacity management; and managed or hosted content and applications.
 
These new models not only reduce operating expenses, but build new relationships that will guide the communications industry into the future. Take, for example, the BT Openreach initiative in the UK, which allows telecom operators in the UK to leverage BT's existing local access and backhaul networks.
 
According to an Alcatel-Lucent whitepaper, outsourcing and network sharing can have a significant positive impact on a network operator's finances. Outsourcing can improve EBITDA (net income before interest, income taxes, and depreciation and amortization) by about 1.5 % and OpFCF (Operating Free Cash Flow) by about 6 percent. Infrastructure sharing will deliver 10-20 percent savings in CAPEX and 20-40 percent savings in OPEX over a five-year period.
 
Furthermore, separating the network from services vastly enhances a leased line unbundling model, and allows operators to be labeled as utilities rather than telecoms, increasing their market value.
 
Ultimately, though, sharing of network infrastructure will result in much faster ROI on new applications and services, as they can be rapidly deployed to a larger subscriber base without having to invest in new network infrastructure, and the testing and maintenance that go hand in hand.
 
Because of these inherent benefits in an outsourcing model, service providers are increasingly looking at network ownership as being outside their core business - their new core business, that is. Not only do they lower their capital investment, but, more importantly, they reduce the recurring costs associated with network upkeep. And the simple fact is that, as network operators continue to migrate to high leverage networks, those networks will become less of a differentiator and simply a means to an end, with each network being much like the next.
 
Instead, services become the differentiating factor, which is where providers will focus their investment, and service providers of the future may not even own any network assets. Instead, their efforts will be entirely focused on the customer - acquisition, interaction, and retention. And even then, they will need to forge third-party relationships to help deliver the latest applications and services to their customers, as members of the ng Connect program are already doing.
 
For more on the how the telecom operator landscape is evolving, read Alcatel-Lucent's white paper, called, The Coming Carrier Network Infrastructure - A Very Different Landscape.

Address Legacy Network Phase-out While Developing Solutions from Embedded Network Assets

Posted by: Erik Linask | August 17, 2009 12:28 AM | 0 Comments
Today's digital age has created an opportunity for network operators worldwide to differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive market by developing effective and attainable network evolution plans that will enable them to keep pace with user requirements for access to services and applications - anywhere, anytime, on any device.
 
To help deliver that promise, Alcatel-Lucent has developed its high leverage network strategy, through which providers can address the need for building efficient, high-availability networks, as well as the innovative, user-centric services they deliver across those networks. The high leverage network model allows providers to have flexible bandwidth while retaining an acceptable cost model - critical for delivering advanced applications to users across multiple access technologies.
 
Importantly, in the United States, the high leverage network will also offer an opportunity to catch up to other developed markets in terms of broadband infrastructure. Continued, targeted investment in effective next generation network solutions will also help boost the economy through job generation and new applications and services users will pay for that run on those new high leverage networks. This, of course, is a key driver of the Obama Administration's broadband component of its Economic Recovery Act, which is designed to drive intelligent investment in broadband infrastructure.
 
Such investment is also the only path to being able to support end user demands for more interactive broadband services, including multimedia services, as well as tighter integration between telecom and other media.
 
Alcatel-Lucent details a high leverage network as having the following characteristics:
 
·         High bandwidth
·         Scalable and elastic
·         Reliable, resilient, and always on
·         Cost-effective
·         Eco-sustainable
·         Multi-service
·         Open and interoperable
·         Secure and private
 
However, this is a major undertaking, and such an evolution will not happen quickly, though incremental progress will become evident quickly, as operators look to phase out their legacy networks in favor of new high leverage networks. Success will depend on their ability to make the transition seamlessly to users, with no service disruption.
 
While each network provider will choose the specific path to a high leverage network that fits its model, it will be an multi-stage process that will culminate in a complete migration of all services and subscribers.
 
Many wireline providers have already begun the process by deploying investing in broadband, IP/MPLS, or optical transport solutions, which have opened the door for new services, like residential triple play or VPNs. Additional steps might include access network evolution from copper to fiber, enhanced video capabilities, improved content delivery, new advertising models, and digital home solutions.
 
On the wireless side, providers will look to adapt their traditional voice networks to accommodate the growth of wireless data services, with an eye on transport costs. Of course, there is much more to it than just transport, and wireless operators will also need to focus ultimately on evolving to all IP networks to ensure scalability and cost effectiveness. This means they'll need to develop plans for evolving radio access networks, backhaul, the network core, service delivery architectures, as well as the transport layer.
 
This is where a proven networking expert - both wired and wireless - like Alcatel-Lucent can prove a value partner. Alcatel-Lucent has developed its product set specifically to help network operators evolve from legacy to all-IP in a cost effective, step-by-step manner that will only become apparent to subscribers when the realize the benefits of the new infrastructure - though most users care little about how their services work, they only care that they work.
 
Ultimately, because the nature of IP differs little between wired and wireless networks, the same strategies that have already proven beneficial for many wireline operators will also be implemented by wireless providers. In fact, a wireless IP network will become merely an extension of a wireline IP network. Before that can happen, though, wireless and wireline operators alike must overcome a number of hurdles:
 
·         Converging the metro, aggregation, and edge with Carrier Ethernet and MPLS;
·         Evolving from circuit-based to packet-based transport using packet-optical transport;
·         Scaling the core with next generation integration of IP and optical technologies;
·         Delivering service specialization and application assurance to improve end user QoE;
·         Enabling converged services control including dynamic policy management, session control and mobility management.
 
Once these issues have been addressed, and providers have drawn up plans for their evolution path, they will enjoy significantly lower operating costs, while cutting the time to market for new services, and will have increased flexibility with bandwidth and service delivery - all resulting in increased revenues.
 
In addition, U.S. providers will have put the country's infrastructure back on a path to being a global leader, rather than playing from behind, as it is now.
 
 
For more on high leverage networks, read this article.
 
Common strategies for evolving to high leverage networks can be found in Alcatel-Lucent's whitepaper, and more on how intelligent investment in networks will help support America's infrastructure growth, read here.

Create an Optimal Partner Ecosystem for Delivering New Services and Applications

Posted by: Erik Linask | August 15, 2009 10:57 PM | 0 Comments
What we've come to know as the Internet today - a global phenomenon that provides access to more information and tools than could have been imagined 15 years ago - presents a goldmine of opportunity for network operators to differentiate themselves in the market. The challenge, though, is to decide on the right business model when it comes to developing and delivering applications and services to subscribers.
 
Already, the majority of applications have been built by third parties, not the service providers themselves, and the application development market is one that is only going to continue to grow as network technology continues to evolve and user devices become more sophisticated. This means providers have to decide - and quickly - how they want to work with these third-party applications developers.
 
This understanding of how to leverage third parties is a key component of Alcatel-Lucent's application enablement vision, which includes network evolution to a high leverage network, and collaboration with the application developer community - and, ultimately, managing the integration of new applications in the network environment and identifying ways to effectively monetize those relationships.
 
In order to accomplish the latter goal, operators behave, as they have for the most part until now, as strictly access providers. In other words, they provide the connectivity to third-party applications without leveraging their network resources to add value to the services. It's a strategy that poses little risk to the provider, but also limits their revenue potential.
 
On the other hand, providers have an opportunity to bring developers deeper into the network experience, linking applications to a wealth of resources, including subscriber demographics, billing systems, location and presence information, user preferences, and more. This model requires network operators to open their data vaults to their application partners, but significantly increases the revenue potential by creating higher value, more targeted, stickier services.
 
So, in order to most effectively integrate third-party applications into their overall product offering, network operators must identify which applications will be most valuable to them, which partners will be most valuable in delivering those applications, and which business models will allow them to most effectively create new revenue streams through those relationships.
 
Regardless of the specific applications that each operators will choose to focus on, there will be a number of key characteristics common to many of them that will make them easily integrated into next generation communications networks and make them desirable to the end user.
 
For instance, many will incorporate video technology, which is becoming a central part of services and devices. They will be much more personalized and customizable to create a stickiness not possible with legacy technology. They will leverage the growth of collaborative environments, like social networking, which has quickly grown into worldwide phenomenon.  They will incorporate automation techniques, making it simple to install, maintain, and troubleshoot them - no application is 100 percent fault-free, but enabling simple resolution of problems limits user frustration, which could result in dissatisfaction and, ultimately, churn. And they will leverage open standards that will allow them to be delivered to a wide range of devices, critical in today's always on world.
 
In order to build an ecosystem of application partners, network operators will have to first agree to open their networks and data stores more than they have in the past - which also means they will have to very carefully select their trusted partners to ensure the security of their resources.
 
A recent Alcatel-Lucent white paper has identified ten principles that operators must follow as they look to grow their third-party partnerships. These guidelines are meant to help derive maximum value from their relationships, while ensuring they can still exercise control over their resources.
 
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.       Have a variety of business and commercial solutions available over time to meet the needs of different types of partners.
4.       Understand which third parties are most likely to respond positively to an invitation to work with you. This can vary based on network operators' size, competitive position, geographic position, customer set, strategic objectives, services available, etc.
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 - including resolving issues on behalf of third parties, such as the customer's location, type of access network, device, and so on, as well as configuration, installation, and support.
7.       Break down internal walls and barriers between the key stakeholders, which will include CIOs, CTOs, OSS/BSS, network operations, CRM, product management and marketing.
8.       Deploy policy and QoS tools that are designed to 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. Subscriber profiling in its widest sense could be the most valuable tool that network providers own.
10.   Emphasize the ability to identify and authenticate individuals in a secure environment, as well as the ability to bill them.
 
For more on the relationships between network operators and third-party developers, read this article on the Next Generation Communications community.
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