swathesgooglevoice

TelecommunicationsthewayweseeitCommerceandCollaboration:Socialmediafortoday'stelecomcompanyNo.
2inafour-partseriesCrisisofInertiaBusinessdislikesthiscommentJustbecauseyourenterprisehasasocialmediaaccount,doesn'tmeanyouhaveanenterprisesocialmediastrategy.
2BusinessdislikesthiscommentWouldn'tyouthink,BYNOW,myserviceproviderwouldhaveenoughinformationaboutmetoatleastknowwhichservicesI'mbuyingfromTHEM!
Iknow,RIGHT!
Youfickle,youngconsumersexpecteveryonetorespondimmediatelytoeverythinginwhatevermediumyoudecidetousetoday.
DoyouknowhowmuchinfrastructurethattakesI'mabouttotweetthisserviceissue,andifIdon'tgetaresponsesoon,I'mswitching!
TrendsinSocialMedia:Part23Telecomcompaniesarebeginningtounderstandthatsocialmediaoffersanunprecedentedopportunitytobuildanew,richerrelationshipwiththeirclients.
Alreadyconsumersareengagingacrossavarietyofinteractivechannels,havinglearnedhowtodividetheirattentionamongsimultaneousonlineactivities.
Yetmanyenterprisesstillfailtoharnessthepotentialofsocialmedia.
ToooftenthischallengeispromotedfrominsulatedITsystemsthatlackabasicunderstandingofacustomer'sbehaviorandexperienceacrossdifferentservices.
Thechallengefortelcosistounderstandsocialmediaacrossplatforms,channelsanddevicesthatspancustomers'workingandpersonalpersonas.
Today,customerdataresidesinsilosindiscretebusinessunits.
Inflexiblebusinessprocessesandphysicaltechnicalconstraintsmeanitcannoteasilybeshared.
Asaresultnooneperson,channelorplatformhasasingleviewofthecustomer.
ThisisthechallengeofstructuredlegacyITsystems,whichlacktheagilitytomanageunstructureddataintelligently.
Overcomingthechallengesofsocialmedialiesintheenterprise'sabilitytodeliverconsistent,carefully-alignedmessagesacrossallinteractivechannelswhetherhandlingacustomercomplaint,deliveringamarketingmessageorbeingsuretodeliverchannel-appropriatecontentbasedonyourconsumers'patternofengagement.
Telcosrecognizetheproblem,buttheyarehamperedfromtacklingiteffectivelybylegacyITsystemsandtheneedtoreviewentrenchedbusinesspractices.
Notonlyischangecostly,itcanalsoberiskyiftheymisjudgetheirstepinthisfast-movingmarket.
Suchchallengescanbeaddressedasweinvestigatefurtherintothe"CrisisofInertia.
"BusinesslikesthiscommentI'vebeenhearingsystemintegratorstoutflexibleplatformsforyears.
Aren'tournewsystemssupposedtoadaptAnyonerememberSOAUnderPressureTodayenterprisesalreadyjugglemanydifficultchoices.
Leaderswithintheorganizationneedtoplanproductlaunches,priceservices,choosechannels,manageoperations,measureperformanceandshapecorporateculture.
Andtheyhavetodosoamidconstantdisruption.
Facebookillustratesthespeedwithwhichnewinternetservicescancomefromnowhereandchangeeveryone'sunderstandingofthecompetitivelandscape.
Yetitishardtotellinadvancewhether,howandwhennewtechnologiesandserviceswillhitatelco'sbusinessresultinginchurn,reductionsinmarginsandincreasedoperationalexpenses.
In1997,manydebatedwhetherBluetoothwouldsupplantWifiandmanyassumedthatWifiwasgoingtokillmobileoperators,buttheydidn't.
Today,Netflix,GoogleTV,andAppleTVandothersareintheprocessofusurpingcurrentcableTVbusinessbyofferingcontent-on-demand.
Suchanevolutionfromtheopeninternetintoanon-lineeco-systemoflooselycoupledAPIsareshapingthewholesaleandconsumermarkets.
Customersarebuyingservicesdifferently.
Theonlycertaintyisthatservicegrowthanddiversificationareputtingnetworks,pricingandcustomercaredepartmentsunderpressure.
Inalltheupheaval,socialmediacanappeartobejustonemorehard-to-gaugeopportunity.
Theriskissuchthatanimplementationwillbealongcostly,headache.
Businessunitsneedtobebroughtonboardandstaffretrained.
Thenetpresentvaluecanbeunclear.
WhatifyoufinishamammothITprojectandrealignbusinessprocessestodiscoverthemarkethasmovedontothenextbigthingWhatifthesolenetgainisadditionallegacyITsystemstointegrateGiventhedangersoftheunknown,itcanseemsafertowaitandseehowsocialmediatakesshapeelsewhere.
Afterall,fewlargeenterpriseshavetakensocialmediainitiativesbeyondone-offmarketingorcommunicationinitiatives.
4ExploitingPotentialNevertheless,thereareindicationsthatsocialmediacontinuestoimpactlargeenterprisescustomerserviceandsupportteams.
.
OneexampleisBestBuy.
TheyhavebeenwidelylaudedforhavinghundredsofemployeesprovidecustomersupportonTwitterthroughaservicecalled"Twelpforce.
"Theemployees'participationistrackedbyacustom-basedsystem,measuringengagementandoverallcustomersatisfaction.
However,notalllargecompaniesthatdeploysocialmediaexploititspotential.
Capgeminihasencounteredcompaniesthatsimplyprovidetheir800numbersviaTwitter.
Thatbringsacallcenterbackintothecustomersupportvalue-chain,drivingcost,increasingtimetoserviceandreducingtheopportunitytoengagecustomersthroughsocialmedia.
Instead,companiesneedtocreateasocialmediapolicyandtrainstafftouseit.
Anyquerythatsurfacesonasocialmediachannelshouldbetrackedacrossmultiplechannelsandcustomercaresystemsuntilitisresolvedandmeasuredwithoverallcustomersatisfaction.
Companiesalsohavetheopportunitytomobilizetheircustomerbase,buildingcredibilityandreinforcingtheirbrandacrosson-linecommunities.
Allthismeansprovidingaflowofinformationbetweensocialmediaandotherformsofcustomermanagementsystems,allofwhichiseasiersaidthandone.
BypassingComplexityTherealityisthatanytelcolookingatsocialmediafirsthastoconsiderthesoftwaretheyalreadyhaveinplace.
Normallythatmeansacomplexbackofficesystem.
Indeed,integratinglegacytechnologyisthebiggesthurdletoadoptingnewtechnologies.
Thatexplainswhymoreagileorganizationsaremovingfasterthanlargeenterprisestoembracesocialmedia,buildingcredibilityandreinforcingtheirbrandacrosson-linecommunities.
TheirrelativelysimpleITinfrastructuremeanstheycan.
Capgeminiresearchhasdiscoveredthatmanyoperators,forexample,arealreadyadoptingnewOSSandBSSsystemsbasedontoday'ssimple,cheap,industrialized"cloud"infrastructure.
Newserviceorientedarchitechture(SOA),masterdatamanagement(MDM),andsemanticstechnology(seeFigure1))enablesenterprisesandmedium-sizedbusinessestobemoreagileindetectingandaddressingmarketneedsquickly.
Theycanalsoscaletheirconsumptionofsoftwareforrunningbusinessprocessesaccordingtotheirneeds.
Inthisway,theylinktheiroperationalcoststogrowthwithservicedemand.
Deployingsocialmediatechnologyisbecomingeasier.
Today'scloudcomputing,SOAsandsemanticssoftwareallowlargeenterprisestobypassITcomplexityandintroducenewservices.
Capgeminiishelpingtelecommunicationcompaniesusepackagedsoftwaretoolswithvirtualizedplatformsandopenstandardstomakeinformationtechnologyagile,cost-effective,scalable,andsecure.
CustomerslikethiscommentMynewmodemisn'tworking,andIcan'tgetonlinetoaskasupportquestion!
Oh,hey,I'lltweetfrommyphone!
LOL1www.
blog.
nielsen.
com,December2010TrendsinSocialMedia:Part25IfYou'veGotit,UseitChangeisneeded.
ExistingITsystemsareoftenpooratexploitingwhatshouldbeatelco'sgreatestwealth:customerdata.
Telcoscollecthugeswathesofinformationabouttheircustomers,buttypicallyfailtostoreitinawaythatmakesituseful.
Insteaditstacksupinmultipledatabasesthatdonotinterconnectbecausetheyareeachbuiltoutofdifferentlegacytechnologies.
Asaresult,callcenterstaffstruggletopullupdatainrealtimeandfrustratecustomersbyaskingthemtorepeatinformation.
ManytelecommunicationorganizationshaveFacebookpagesandTwitteraccounts.
Inaddition,afewthousandenterprisesarealreadysearchingTwitterformentionsandengagingcustomers.
Yetthatisonlythestartofextendingself-serviceautomation,giventhatcompaniescancombinebetterservicewithlowercosts:itcosts$10dollarstoansweraqueryandlessthantencentstoaddressanissueproactivelyon-line.
Inaddition,themarketingandcustomercaredepartmentscannotminedataquicklyenoughtoreacttoserviceproblemsorbuyingtrends.
Andanyonewhowantstorunsocialmediaandmobilityserviceswillfindthedatatheyneedunavailableorunder-leveraged.
Capgeminiishelpingtelcosdeploymodernconceptsofsemanticsanddataservicestounifythecustomerdataelements,openingupthepossibilityofreal-timerealizationofthemacro-andmicro-behaviorofcustomers.
TheWholePictureKeepingworkflowsforsales,support,andbillinginsilossupportedbyinflexible,verticalsoftwarestacksmakesithardforaworkforcetocollaborate.
Italsomeansnoonesharesacompleteviewofthecustomer.
Thesereasonsaloneshouldbedriversforchange.
Yetattemptstore-engineerITprocessestypicallymeetwithresistancefromvestedinterestssuchascustomercareorganizationsorbillingsystemproviders.
Meanwhile,theusualwork-arounds,suchasoutsourcingorbuildinganextralayerofinfrastructureusinginternalresources,failtosolvetheproblemifthereisnostrategicre-evaluationofworkingmethods.
Instead,companiesriskwastingtimeandmoney.
SowhatshouldtelecommunicationscompaniesdoTheyneedsoftwareforrevenuemanagement,enterpriseresourceplanning,customercareprovisioningandtheactivationormodificationofcustomer-facingservices.
Whattheydon'tneedisforthesesystemstodiminishtheagilitythatisrequiredforanalyticsandcustomermanagement.
Butaswehaveseen,thatisexactlywhathappens.
Typically,amaturecompanywillrunseveralhundredoreventhousandsofsoftwaresystems,eachbuiltonseparateclient-serverarchitectures(Figure1).
Notonlyisthisexpensivetorun,itallowsdatatofallthroughthecracks,therebyrestrictingserviceinnovation,customercareandcollaboration.
Figure1:ComplexityandProliferationofITSystemsCRMSystemClientHardwareClientSoftwareNetworkinfrastructureServersoftwareServerHardwareSystemXClientHardwareClientSoftwareNetworkinfrastructureServersoftwareServerHardwareSystemYClientHardwareClientSoftwareNetworkinfrastructureServersoftwareServerHardwareSystemZClientHardwareClientSoftwareNetworkinfrastructureServersoftwareServerHardwareERPSystemClientHardwareClientSoftwareNetworkinfrastructureServersoftwareServerHardwareBillingSystemsClientHardwareClientSoftwareNetworkinfrastructureServersoftwareServerHardwareTime+unplanned,organicgrowth=Organizationalfragmentation"Shadow"ITComplexityLackofagilityExcessivecustomizationFragilityDuplicationandwasteComplexworkowLackofcustomerfocusWastingassetsHiddenbusinessriskInterfaceproliferationDatasyncissuesDatanormalizationissuesBestCase"InitialState"UnmanagedState6Thisisdangerousinafast-changingmarketwhereyourcompetitorsarenotjustcompaniesthatlooklikeyou.
Today'stelcosneedaclearviewofthecompetitivehorizon.
Theyneedanup-to-the-minuteunderstandingofhowtheircustomersarereactingtoservices,pricingpoliciesandchangesintechnology.
DangerousDiseconomiesCompaniesarehinderedwithcomplexitythatincreasesthemarginalcostofdoingbusiness,stiflesinnovationandmakesitharderforemployeestoworktogether.
Theeconomicterm"diseconomiesofscale"fitstoday'sindustry,asthemarginalcostofproductionbeginstoexceedmarginalrevenue.
Infact,effortstosupportbasicandnewproductsandservicescanbecomesoburdensomethattheancillaryimpactissignificant.
Turnoverrateandtrainingcostsincrease,theproductivityoffront-lineemployeesdeclines,andcustomersatisfactionsuffers.
Largenumbersofinterfacescanturnsimpleprocesses,suchassigningonanewcustomerorchangingsomeaspectofacustomer'srateplan,intomajorundertakings.
Businesshistoryislitteredwithincumbentsthathavebeendisplacedbynewcomersthatdeploynew,disruptivetechnologieswithloweroperationalcosts.
Inthelate1990s,USlong-distancetelecommunicationcompaniestriedtoinnovatewithexpandedproductfeatures,butwereheldbackbycomplexandexpensiveinfrastructure.
Suddenly,thenewmobilephonecompanies,unencumberedbyalegacyinfrastructure,startedwinningoversubscriberswithconvenience,friendlyfeaturesandeventuallythecheaperpricepointsthatopenedthedoorformassmarketadoptionandsaturation.
Thelong-distancesegmentconsolidatedanddeclined.
Today,VoIPprovidersarebeingsqueezedonmarginandcustomerretentionduetotheuptakeofSkypeandGoogleVoice.
IndeedGoogle'ssuccessisinpartduetoitsuseofstandardlow-costIntelserverstobuilddatacentersconnectedtoIPnetworksunhinderedbylegacyinfrastructure.
Evenifcompetitionwerenotanissue,thereareotherreasonstosimplifyprocesses.
Today,manyITdepartmentsarebucklingunderthestrainoftryingtotacknewprojectsontooldsystems.
Facedwithlimitedcapitalbudgets,ITdepartmentsareforcedtoprioritize.
Theoutcomeisoftenacompromisethatpleasesnoone.
Thiscompoundsinternalclients'perceptionofITdepartmentsasincompetent,whichinturnpushesemployeestodeveloptheirownsolutions.
ButacustomercareteamthatusessocialmediatoolsortoolslikeTweetDeckinanadhocmannerriskscreatingsecurityandintegrationheadachesforeveryoneelse.
Thedatacollectedwillbeunavailabletomarketing,businessoperations,orproductmanagementteams.
Theresultinglackoforganizationalalignmentexaggeratescostinefficiencies,exacerbatesorganizationalsilos,andultimatelyworsensthecustomerexperience.
ThesuccessfulintroductionofsocialmediaintoanenterpriseisdependentonstrategicplanningaroundamodernITarchitecture.
Otherwise,itislikelytobeacomplicated,riskyandcostlyproposition.
Manymaturetelcostodayknowthatinflexibletechnologiesmateriallyimpacttheirbottomline.
Theycanseehowrigidinformationsilosinhibitinnovation,negativelyimpactemployeeproductivityandhurteventraditionalinteractionswithcustomers.
Theyunderstandthedangerofdiseconomiesofscale.
Theyneedtobeasking,"Whatisourpathforadoptingthesenewtechnologiesandchangingourbusinessforthebetter"CompetitionlikesthiscommentWhatIwantedwassimple.
You'dthinkIwasaskingthemtoconnectmetotheInternationalSpaceStation!
TrendsinSocialMedia:Part27KnowYourAssetsTheycanstartbylookingathowIThelpsthemunderstandandmanagetheirmostimportantasset;thecustomer.
WhenaUSconsumerbecomesasubscriber,thetelcohasaccesstotheirname,socialsecuritynumber,address,andcreditscore.
Thecompanythenaddsserviceandbillinginformationtocreatethecustomer'saccountcredentials.
However,whenitcomestocollectingandanalyzingbehavioraldata,fewtelecommunicationcompaniesdoagoodjob.
Figure2illustrateshowthedataassociatedwithacustomeristypically"organized"withinacompany'stechnicalarchitecture.
Theonlybehavioralinformationthatfeedsintotheaccountrecordisrelatedtoserviceevents,suchaswhenacustomercallsforhelp.
Meanwhile,keyinformationrelatingtocustomerbehavior—thehow,when,andwhythecustomerusestheoffering—isstoredinothersystemsandnotmadereadilyavailabletokeybusinessstakeholdersinmarketingandproductdevelopment.
Thedispersalofcustomerdatainmultiple,separatedatabasesleadstoaloadofproblems(seeFigure3).
IDENTITYOFFERINGCONTEXTNameAgeAddressSocialSecurityNumberProle(s)NameDevicesServicesPresenceLocationDeviceBEHAVORIALINFORMATIONServiceusage(voice,data)DeviceusagePreferences(explicitand/orimplied)HasHasUsesGeneratesFigure3:BehavioralInformationTypicallyRelatestoServiceEventsOnlyFigure2:DisparateDataSourcesDon'tAllowforOneViewoftheCustomer2MSISDN(MobileSubscriberIntegratedServicesDigitalNetworkNumber):AnumberuniquelyidentifyingasubscriptioninaGSMoraUMTSmobilenetwork;thetelephonenumberoftheSIMcardinamobile/cellularphone.
TheMSISDNtogetherwithIMSIaretwoimportantnumbersusedforidentifyingamobilesubscriber.
NameAgeAddressSocialSecurityNumberProle(s)IDENTITYAgent-employeeVirtualchannel-websiteOtherphysicalchannel-ownedretail,etc.
TelcoIdenticationCredentialsAccountIDOfferingDescriptionContractDescriptionDeviceDescriptionAccesstoNetworkServices-OfferingAccountOFFERINGNameDevicesServicesHasCONTEXTPresenceLocationDeviceBehavorialInformationServiceusage-voice,dataDeviceusagePreferences-explicitand/orimpliedPoliciesRulename.
.
.
.
AlgorithmOtherSystemStoreand/orDiscardUsagedataBehavioraldataDevicedataContextdataCustomerContactdataHasUsesVerify/collectgenerate/provisionLeverageGrantsOtherSystemAnalyzeand/orStoreDemographicdataMarketingdataFinanciladataNetworkdataManufacturersdataTroubleshootingdataOperationaldataGeneratesStoreand/orDeletedPollPollAppendassociatedwith8ASharedPerspectiveNothavingaccesstokey,real-timecustomerinformationisanobviousdrawback.
Afullpictureofthesubscriberopensupnewrevenuestreams,facilitatesthecreationoftargetedservicesandpricing,andmakesiteasiertosealadvertising,marketingandwholesaledealswiththirdparties.
Butinmanytelcos,inaccessibledataisnottheonlyproblem.
Differentdepartmentsandchannelscanfindthemselveswithcontradictoryviewsofthecustomer.
Aclassicexampleisthe"engineeringview"ofacustomerequalingavalidMSISDNandIMSI,2versusthe"billingview"ofacustomerrepresentingapersonwithavalidaccountthatisassociatedwithoneMSISDN,oneormorelines,andaserviceordercodemap.
Failuretodeliverhigh-qualitymessagesacrossallinteractivechannelscanconfuseandfrustrateyourcustomers,whileincreasingyourchancesthatyourmessageswillbeoverlookedorsimplyignored.
Understandingacustomeridentitybasedonthisinteractionisthekeytodevelopingpersona,profileandentitlementswithsecurity.
Inpractice,multipleviewsareinflexibleandhard-to-reconcile,severelylimitinghownewofferingsaredefinedandpromoted.
Dataintegrityissuesproliferate,causingtheenterprisetosetupteamstomanuallykeepthedata"insync"acrossseveralsystems.
Asaresult,dataisnotavailableinreal-timeandwhenacustomercallsforhelp,theservicerepresentativecannotseecrucialdatasuchasthekindsoftransactionsinitiatedinotherchannels.
Thismeanscustomersarelikelytoreceiveinconsistentinformationonpricing,features,availability,andserviceeligibility,dependingonwhichchanneltheyusetocontactthecompany.
Forinstance,acustomercaresystemmightdefineeligibilityforaproductthisway:Customer>2years+creditscore>670=EligibleMeanwhile,retailmightdefineeligibilityinaslightlydifferentway:Customer>24months+approvedcredit=EligibleAsaconsequence,consumerscouldbedeniedproductthroughthecarechannelbecausetheircreditscoresare650orbecausethey'vebeencustomersfor729days.
However,theycouldstillbegivenproductthroughtheretailchannelifacreditagencyapprovestheircreditorif729daysisroundedupto24months.
Thisvariationinthecustomerexperiencecausesconfusion,resultingincallstotheoperatorandlostsales.
Undersuchcircumstancesthehopeofmodelingconsumerbehaviorinresponsetonewofferingsisillusionary.
Withoutacentralizedviewofacustomer,operatorscannoteffectivelyuseinformationaboutgeo-locationanddatausagepatterns,forexample,todrivenewrevenuesandbettermanagecustomers.
Multiple,separatedatabasesfurthercompoundtheproblem.
Ifacustomerusesacompany'swebsitetoenterinformationinordertospeeduptransactiontime,theymaywelldiscoverwhentheycallwitharequestthatthecustomercareemployeecannotaccessit.
Thecustomerwillwastetimebygivingtheinformationalloveragain.
Separatedatabasesalsohinderserviceintroduction.
Serviceautomationisdifficultbecausemultipledatasetshavetobecoordinated.
Ifoneisn'tinsync,theworkflowbreaks.
Ifanewproductislaunched,orabusinessruleischanged,thenalargenumberofseparatedatastoreshavetobepopulatedwiththesamemasterdata.
Ijustenteredthatdataonline,andyouwantmetogiveittoyouoverthephoneThisislikehealthcare!
BusinessdislikesthiscommentTrendsinSocialMedia:Part29Oftentherepresentationofdatavariesfromsystemtosystem,resultinginacumbersomeprocessthatcausesdelaystoproductrollouts.
Whatismissingfromlegacytechnologyisa"virtualizedcustomerdatabase,"whichstoresinrealtimealldataassociatedwithacustomerandmakesitavailabletoanycorporatesystemthatappropriatelyrequestsaccess.
Suchadatabasewouldhavetobestructured,secure,andextensible.
Butitwouldfreedatafromindividualapplications.
Insteadofbeingholedupinapplication-specificdatabases,datawouldbeaccessibletomultipleapplicationsviaacommondatasource.
Withoutthattypeofsolution,customerswillcontinuetobeunder-served,andtelcoswillfindithard,ifnotimpossible,toleveragethepowerofsocialmediatogetclosertothem.
SelfService,NowOncecoreprocessesareinplace,theyarehardtodislodge—regardlessofchangesincustomers'serviceexpectationsorharsheningcompetitiveconditions.
Soratherthandevelopinganewstrategytocopewithchangingmarketconditions,companieslookforstop-gapsolutionsthatseemeasierintheshortterm.
Whenitcomestocustomercare,forexample,thedefaultsolutionistoputanemployeeinfrontofthecustomer(seeFigure4).
Thisiscostlyandovertimewillundermineanoperator'smargins.
Itisalsooutofstepwithcustomerexpectations,whichhavebeenresetbytheInternet.
Customersincreasinglyexpectself-serviceforsimpletransactions.
Fortheaveragebankcustomer,nothavingaccesstoanATMwouldbeunacceptable.
Andself-serviceisawin-winbusinessmodel:customersgaincontroloverwhentheyperformtransactions,whilethecompanybenefitsfromgreaterefficiencyandreducedcosts.
Inthiscontext,socialmediaprovideanemergingchannelofcommerceandcollaboration.
AuserwhopostsaquestionorcommentonFacebookorTwitterexpectsanimmediateresponse.
Automationisnotonlytolerated,it'sembracedifitprovesrelevant.
Inthesestressfuleconomictimes—whentelecommunicationcompaniesareworriedaboutmarketsaturation,customerloyalty,andoperatingefficiency—socialmediaofferarealopportunitytoprovideacompellingcustomerexperience.
Likeanydisruptivetechnology,socialmediaareforcingcompaniestoreassesstheiroperations.
Morethanever,acompany'sleadershiphastothinkoutsidetraditionalsilosandverticalorganizations.
Ahorizontalapproachisthewaytodeliverconsistentandcontinuouscustomerconnectivityacrossmultiplechannels.
CUSTOMERCURRENTSUPPORTSTACKAUTOMATEDSELFSERVICEEMPLOYEEWEBSITEIVROTHERTier0Tier1-4EMPLOYEEWEBSITEIVROTHERTier0Tier1-4CUSTOMERFigure4:DifferencesintheCustomerSupportParadigm"Itisagoodthingtofollowthefirstlawofholes;ifyouareinone,stopdigging.
"—DenisHealey10InConclusionTelecommunicationcompanieshavespentalotonITsystemsforcustomercare,revenuemanagement,andenterpriseresourceplanning.
Theyhaveinvestedheavilyinhardware,software,staffandconsultingonlytofindtheROIisoftensuspectatbest.
Littlesurprisethatbusinessleadersarereluctanttospendevenmore.
Instead,theyprefercontainmentpolicies.
Buttherearenewtechnologiesthatallowcompaniestocombineastrategic,top-levelapproachtobusinesswithexistingsystems--namelytheimplementationofservices-orientedarchitecture(SOA),masterdatamanagement(MDM),and"cloud"technologies.
Overall,adoptionofcloudtechnologieshasbeenslowbecauseofuncertaintyaboutsecurityinamulti-tenantenvironment.
Thereareconcernsaboutthetransferabilityofdatafromonecloudprovidertoanotherandhowthelackofindustrypracticesrelatingtotheliquidationofacloudserviceprovidermightaffectthedataandapplicationshostedinthecloud.
Companiesalsowonderabouttheirabilitytocustomizethesoftware.
Yet,rightnow,thecloudisprovidingsmallandmediumbusinessesscaleandthatcouldprovedisruptivetotheindustryatlarge.
Withitspay-as-you-gocoststructureanditssuitabilityfortemporaryapplications,thecloudcanalsoactasamigrationenvironmentforanITtransformation.
ThiscontrastswithanITcontainmentstrategy,whichtakesalotofexpertise,money,anddisciplineifnewtechnologiesaretoprovideareturnoninvestment.
Inadditionthepayoffcomesattheendoftheimplementationcycle,withalltheriskloadedintothefrontend.
TrendsinSocialMedia:Part211ServiceOrientedArchitecture(SOA)isa"trafficcop"thatorchestratesthesequencesofactionsperformedbymultipleapplicationsduringthecourseofapre-definedworkflow.
Itisheavilydependentonbuildingservicesthatactasinterfacestotheapplicationsandonacentralprocessorthatisprogrammedtocalluponapplicationswhenafunctionisrequiredinapre-determinedsequencethatrepresentsaworkflow.
Whencorrectlyimplemented,SOAimprovesspeed-to-marketfornewofferings.
Italsohasamaterialimpactonthespeedwithwhichthirdpartiescanbeintegratedintoaninfrastructure.
MasterDataManagement(MDM)istheuseofacommonsetofdefinitionsfortermssuchas"product"or"customer"whichthendictatethebehaviorofanapplication.
Forexample,if"PlanX"hasacostattributesetat$10/month,thenanyapplicationthatuses"PlanX"initscodeshoulduse"$10dollars/month"asdefinedbytheMDMrepository.
WithoutanMDMrepository,acompanyhastosetupmanydifferentapplications'masterdatatoagivenvalue.
ThatchallengeoftenresultsinoperationalfailuressinceinvariablyerrorsaremadewhentheattributesofanofferingareBusinesslikesthiscommentInNo.
3ofourfour-partseries—APathForward—wedescribehowpackagedtechnicalsolutionscansuccessfullyandcost-effectivelyaddresstheneedsoftelecommunicationcompanies.
Thankgoodness!
Iwashopingyouweregoingtotellushowtopullallthistogetherinaworkablesolution.
NewTechnologiestoMaketheTransitionEasierchangedovertimeinalargenumberofparallelsystems.
LikeSOA,MDMcanimprovespeed-to-marketfornewproductreleasesandeasethird-partyintegration.
CloudComputingreferstoseveraltechnologies.
Oneisgridcomputing,whichdescribesclustersofCPUsthatdistributetasksamongthemandenablehighvolume,highperformancecomputing.
Anotherisautonomiccomputing,whichare"self-healing"andautomatedresourcemanagementtechniquesthatpromoteresourceavailabilityandefficientresourceuse.
Inadditionisutilitycomputing,whichinvolvesmeasuringandmanaginginfrastructureinunitsofresources,thatcanresultinbetternetworkbandwidthandreducedlatency.
Therearealsoimprovedtechnologiesformulti-tenantenvironments,relatedtodynamiccomputing,storagenetworks,andsecurity,aswellasservervirtualization,SOA,andMDM.
Thecloudisusuallyabstractedintothreelayers—application,platform,andinfrastructure—eachofwhichismanagedasa"service.
"Largetelecommunicationcompanieshavemostcommonlyadoptedtheinfrastructurelayer,forwhichopenstandardsexist.
002_TME_TSMPOV_010711www.
us.
capgemini.
comCopyright2011Capgemini.
Allrightsreserved.
Capgemini,oneoftheworld'sforemostprovidersofconsulting,technologyandoutsourcingservices,enablesitsclientstotransformandperformthroughtechnologies.
Capgeminiprovidesitsclientswithinsightsandcapabilitiesthatboosttheirfreedomtoachievesuperiorresultsthroughauniquewayofworking,theCollaborativeBusinessExperience.
TMTheGroupreliesonitsglobaldeliverymodelcalledRightshore,whichaimstogettherightbalanceofthebesttalentfrommultiplelocations,workingasoneteamtocreateanddelivertheoptimumsolutionforclients.
Presentinmorethan35countries,Capgeminireported2009globalrevenuesofEUR8.
4billion(approximatelyUSD$11.
6billion)andemploys100,000peopleworldwide.
Moreinformationisavailableatwww.
us.
capgemini.
comAboutCapgeminiContactMatthewStandishCapgeminiMobilityandSocialMediaServiceLineLeaderMatthew.
standish@capgemini.
comPhone:1.
404.
910.
6686FollowMatthewonTwitter@matthewstandish