We know that big IT transformations – and particularly BSS transformations – are expensive, risky and take far too long. We also know that if we want to become a digital service provider, we are now being forced to look at alternatives. It is no longer an option to transform into an entity that resembles Amazon, Google or Apple. Even giants such as Vodafone are wondering what Google would do if it owned the company.
It is timely, then, that telecoms software provider Openet published a recent survey among 112 operators from each major region on exactly what they think about transformation.
Among respondents there is no dispute over whether they should transform their business. The reason for doing it is to have a platform to “develop, deliver and monetize new digital services; enable a faster time to market and achieve an agility” that begins to look like Amazon, Google or other digital service providers.
There are, of course, (increasingly rare) scenarios where large transformation is the only possibility, but it is risky and costly. Sixty-eight percent of operators know of large transformation failures. Forty percent of those surveyed have seen ones that cost over $20 million, and 10% know of failures that cost over $100 million (which equates to over a billion dollars, just among this group).
The main reasons cited for failure is too much customized software development, over-complicated requirements and overpromising by vendors.
Operators see the impact of failure in delayed product launches, opex increases, customer complaint increases – and in the worst cases, they find themselves being slated in the press.
Transformations also take too long. Thirty-nine percent say that they take one to two years, while 28% say two to three years. This must obviously change – 49% of respondents say they should take between six months and a year.
So, what are the alternatives that deliver this speed and functionality? The most popular one is the “addition of new solutions for new use cases (e.g. new solution for shared data, sponsored services, VoLTE, etc)”. Next is the adjunct system approach, implementing real-time charging as an adjunct to existing billing systems, followed by “moving BSS to cloud – gradually, system by system”.
Many operators favor a “use case” approach to transformation so that they can leverage what they see as immediate opportunities, and therefore presumably fund the ongoing, gradual transformations of everything else. VoLTE and QoS charging are by far the most popular use cases, followed by real-time alerts and the ability to take advantage of intelligent upsell opportunities.
The advantage of the adjunct approach is clearly popular, with 46% seeing this approach taking six to 12 months, with 42% believing it will take just three to six months. And, of course, an adjunct approach can happen alongside a larger transformation to deliver concrete results as soon as possible.
The discussion about using adjunct systems and separate solutions for use cases is not a new argument. It is, however, made more compelling when seen in the context and capability that virtualization, openness and increased systems and process agility bring to the table. These ingredients now enable these implementations to happen very quickly.
Operators see the move to more, much smaller, less risky projects as the most effective way to achieve transformation. Certainly advances in IT with virtualized systems and open APIs now make this approach viable in a way today that would have been unthinkable even five years ago. In many cases, these smaller agile projects can be run alongside the larger (typically billing) system transformation projects so that operators can move away from the prison of single vendor lock-in, as well as have systems that will enable them to best compete in the digital economy.
However, if operators want to become truly digital service providers then they must move now, and move swiftly.