Methodological expertise and IT experience are the critical attributes needed, writes Rick Halton. Co-sponsored feature: HP 
 
 


Rick Halton: managed services are becoming more mature
across the telecoms sector. Where once there would only
have been deployments of limited scope, usually confined
to specific service offerings, there are now deployments
that extend to overall service management


 
The telecom industry is undergoing historic change. The internet is finally going mobile. We hear of iPhones and Androids, app stores, LTE and WiMax and of course, our old friend, convergence. Clearly, service providers are facing great challenges. Over-the-top rivals are threatening to win the hearts and minds of consumers. Burgeoning data traffic is requiring massive network investment. And there is the flat-rate pricing trap.
As the need for capital investment increases, service providers must focus relentlessly on reducing operating expense. One of the unsung ways to reduce opex is managed services.
Managed services are common in the IT industry, but are only now emerging in telecom. Why the delay? Tradition – and probably inertia. The telecom culture has always emphasised self-reliance. Also, telecom operators have had large internal teams to manage networks, operations and services, which re-enforced the desire to do the work in-house. Now, however, cost pressures are driving telecoms to become much more lean and agile. The ranks are thinning. Today, sourcing key tasks to highly efficient partners is both necessary - and attractive.
The concept of outsourcing significant parts of the operator business isn’t really that novel. The first operators constructed all their own network equipment, connections and management systems. Gradually, they began to spin off many equipment operations -- which essentially created today’s equipment vendor community.
Operators are now realizing they can extend that original “outsourcing” concept to include today’s managed services. They really have no choice. In today’s hyper-competitive market, operators must focus on the core business of sales and marketing, brand management, licence ownership and the customer relationship.
The fundamental advantages of managed services are clear: operators can reduce capex and opex by transferring investment and human cost to a managed services provider.
However, operators must take a quantum leap to reach that nirvana of a streamlined, agile business. Why? The systems and solutions that are turned over to a managed services provider are usually mission-critical. They require a high degree of SLA-enforced reliability. Therefore, before they leap, operators must have a high degree of trust in the managed service provider.
It’s not a leap to make hastily or in one go. Instead, operators should start with limited out-tasking of specific projects and then, once the benefits are being reaped, expand into overall service management. HP, in contrast to the many pure equipment vendors, has a wealth of experience in methodological service management. It is able to bring best practices in from the IT sector so that telecoms can benefit from the more methodical approach that has been proven in IT.
This is important because following established standards for service interoperability ensures smooth operations. HP has been a leader in implementing IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) methods and processes dating back many years -- so it can bring that experience to the fast-changing telecom landscape.
HP is very active in the TeleManagement Forum initiative to align the eTOM standards with the same basic processes. It is important to ensure that the alignment of ITIL and eTOM is done in a pragmatic manner to fit the needs of telecoms operations -- rather than attempting to force IT models on the telecom sector. Extensive IT industry experience is a critical enabler of that.





Trust for the long-term

Managed services are predicated on the formation of trusted partnerships for the long-term. Therefore, a measurable, yet adjustable, governance model driven by service level agreements needs to be constructed to provide the assurance demanded by operators. Telecom operators don’t have well defined methods of approaching managed services, so the governance model needs to have multiple faces and services level agreements should not be excessively rigid.
Managing the relationship
The process begins with the setting of goals between HP and its operator customer. Expectations are established by both parties and based on that, HP sets up its engineering and operations to address the operator’s needs in a way that is clear, predictable, and well-defined. It’s essential that the customer knows exactly what they will be getting from the service. The company’s Governance model encapsulates the process to bring together service design, service transition, service operation backed by 24/7 service operation centres and application engineers that are always available to the customer.
After the model of managed services provision is established, HP starts bi-directional mentoring to fine tune the relationship between itself and its customer. That process is managed by a technical account manager who works with IT executives within the customer to ensure outcomes are being realised. That continuous fine tuning is critical to ensure that the engagement is successful.
That IT industry-bred expertise sets HP apart from most vendors which are moving into the managed services space. It is important to recognise that service management is inherently different from the network equipment provider business and HP, as a network-agnostic managed services provider, can bring a fresh approach to its customers’ operations. That approach brings knowledge from outside the telecoms sector to bear and from outside the narrower field of the equipment sector.
HP has an extensive portfolio of managed services, called Solutions Management Services (SMS). It is designed to offer key advantages to service providers:
• Open approach avoids locking a service provider in to a specific vendor or technology.
• HP’s broad experience in multiple industries enhances specific offerings for telecom service providers
• Local managed services are backed by HP’s global size and reach
• HP’s ecosystem of partners ensures rounded, complete offerings
• HP’s track record provides service provider with confidence in successful outcomes
HP SMS complements HP’s extensive portfolio of telecom solutions, which are centered in four main domains: RealTime BSS, NGOSS, Service Delivery Infrastructure and Digital Media.
Combined with HP’s industry experience, intellectual property and services expertise, its range of outsourced services in this sector enables service providers to concentrate on the core of running a communications, media and entertainment (CME) business and positions HP as a preferred partner for operators that want to use managed services to reduce cost and increase flexibility. HP’s enterprise services experience and ability to manage desktops, provide data centres or run ITO or BPO services on behalf of a CME organisation offers a real competitive advantage to customers.

Rick Halton is vice president of marketing at HP’s Communications and Media Solutions (CMS) business unit

Real deployments

HP’s Solution Management Services approach is already bearing fruit in deployments around the world.
- In North America, the company is working with a Tier 1 provider to streamline the operation of its billing system. It has provided proactive and operational services for the operator’s wireless charging and billing system and has achieved a significant reduction in total cost of ownership along with a dramatic increase in systems agility.
- In South America, a large mobile operator uses HP’s management services to streamline and increase the efficiency of the operation of its OSS and BSS systems.
- In Europe, a converged operator uses the company’s management services for their multi-system environment which is composed of IN, value-added services and for the signalling of its next generation network.
- In Asia, HP provides Solutions Management Services for a large network IVR system. The engagement includes all aspects of maintenance and operational services.
- In Europe, the company works with a provider that needs to cost-effectively achieve compliance with European Community data retention regulations. HP provides operational services and change management. 

Road to managed services

• Start from a limited scope out-tasking.
• Use a measureable, yet adjustable, governance model.
• Follow standard management processes.
• Avoid being captured by your prime network equipment provider.
• Keep operation local. Leverage global knowhow.
• Find a reliable partner that can develop with your needs over years.