The white paper, entitled Telecom Information Management and Analysis: Challenges and Solutions," describes how an important strategic priority for service providers is to create an operations infrastructure that allows them to roll out new services much more rapidly, and with fewer errors, than in the past.
According to the white paper's authors Dr. Lorien Pratt and Nancee Ruzicka from Stratecast, a division of Frost and Sullivan, an effective data management strategy -- not a functional focus --will drive the operationalization of next generation services and, in turn, ensure profitability and subscriber satisfaction. The effective management and delivery of next generation services is only possible using an information driven OSS.
As the telecommunication industry moves from a technology to a service-based industry, the focus on customer data is a high priority for many service providers.
David Jacobs, CTO and co-founder of JacobsRimell, said: "To survive in today's competitive telecommunications environment, service providers must improve the customer experience through new and converged products while significantly reducing complexity at all levels. Service providers who consciously engage in an information engineering strategic planning process centered on the creation and maintenance of a unified telecommunications object model will realize a significant competitive advantage by being able to make faster more reliable customer-centric decisions."
JacobsRimell has also provided guidelines in the conclusion of the white paper to ensure success in implementing a more effective information management strategy. These guidelines include the following:
1. A board level sponsor and funded core (non silo) management and IT strategy, design and implementation team is fundamental.
2. IT management needs the authority to veto the "incremental advantages" of IT project which represent a short term, seemingly easy 'fix,' but which retain and reaffirm the silo strategy.
3. A corporate level, across the 'silos' strategy means good education and awareness strategies are important.
4. Convergence for subscribers and products (services) will mean governance, roles and budgets will need to be re-assigned.
5. Core systems owners need to be reassured that their systems are critical and will be given funding for upgrades necessary to support the convergence project.
The white paper is available on www.jacobsrimell.com.
