Business support systems and operational support systems sit at the centre of telecoms operations, supporting areas including customer management, billing, product management, service delivery and network operations. Changes to these systems can therefore affect multiple parts of an organisation at the same time.
Cerillion argues that this makes transformation more than a technology replacement exercise. Successful programmes need to consider how new systems will affect commercial operations, customer journeys, processes and the teams responsible for delivering services.
An IT-led approach can place too much emphasis on technical implementation while giving less attention to the operational and commercial changes required across the wider organisation. This can create difficulties when businesses attempt to introduce new processes or move customers and products onto new platforms.
The company points to business ownership as an important part of transformation. Commercial, operational and customer-facing teams need to be involved in defining requirements and understanding how changes to BSS and OSS platforms will affect their day-to-day activities.
Product and service design is another area where transformation programmes can have a wider impact. Modern telecoms businesses increasingly need to introduce and modify products quickly, making the underlying systems an important part of their ability to respond to changing customer requirements.
A transformation programme can therefore provide an opportunity to simplify processes and reduce the complexity created by legacy systems. Consolidating systems and improving automation can help reduce manual work while providing businesses with a more consistent view of customers, products and services.
Cerillion also highlights the importance of data. BSS and OSS platforms generate and manage information across multiple stages of the customer and service lifecycle. Ensuring that this information can move effectively between systems is important for both operational efficiency and customer experience.
Cerillion plc (LON:CER) is a leading provider of billing, charging and customer management systems with more than 20 years’ experience delivering its solutions across a broad range of industries including the telecommunications, finance, utilities and transportation sectors.
