MVNE SERVICE DELIVERY W hen to buy solutions and when to lease ser v ices
www.symsoft.com
e x ecuti v e su mm a ry
The Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) business model offers an attractive way to quickly launch new mobile brands in the marketplace. Market oriented companies can capitalize on existing market knowledge and customer relations by adding mobile services without the need to build a new mobile network. Instead, MVNOs rely on services and support offered by established mobile network operators (MNOs) and Mobile Virtual Network Enablers (MVNEs). To be successful in the role as an intermediary between MNOs and MVNOs, MVNEs must balance the needs of the two parties and meet both their expectations accordingly. A key expectation of the MVNO is typically to be able to focus on commercial activities such as marketing, brand development and customer loyalty programs, leaving back-end enablement and operations to the MVNE. To meet the demands from MVNOs operating in dynamic, fast changing mobile environments, the MVNE platform and service offer will need to support rapid launch of new services; in new markets and existing markets. A third key expectation from an MVNO on its MVNE partner is the possibility to minimize the initial investment along with a total cost of ownership (TCO), as a result of economies of scale. MNOs on the other hand are likely to embrace the MVNO business model in an attempt to secure increased usage in their mobile network. Doing this, the requirement will be to secure that new ventures have minimal impact on the MNOs existing business and can be supported within established processes. These two sets of needs have an impact on how the MVNEs choose to implement their service offer. Deciding what parts of the solution they are to buy and operate themselves and when to rely upon services provided by the mobile operator partner is an important part of the service offer design. MSC and HLR operations typically require a limited number of MVNO specific configurations. This means that the MVNE can successfully rely on the MNO services as a way of grasping the opportunity of economies of scale. Requirements for flexibility and efficiency on the other hand make it imperative for MVNEs to provide online charging capabilities and business support systems. Dedicated messaging, mobile data and customer interaction capabilities also strengthen an MVNEs position by enabling quicker launch in new markets and quicker configuration of subscriber services.
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December 2011
serving mvno s
MVNEs build their success on helping MVNOs succeed in the mobile market. It is therefore of paramount importance to understand and meet the needs of these MVNOs. Small initial investment As with most companies entering a new business, MVNOs generally seek to minimize their initial investment. Therefore, they often prefer to let other actors own and operate technical infrastructure. Marketing flexibility MVNOs as market oriented companies are often strong in identifying and targeting specific market segments. They depend on their MVNE and MNO partners to provide them with tools to create attractive products and campaigns. It is of importance that these tools are as flexible and adaptable as required to secure market agility. Short time-to-market Short time-to-launch for a new MVNO gives the ability to react more swiftly to opportunities arising in different markets. This extends both to launching services in entirely new markets as well as quickly rolling out new offers and campaigns in existing markets. Information integrity As any business MVNOs have an interest in protecting their information, be it customer data or details of its services, products and campaigns. When MVNOs manage information using systems owned and operated by others, they have to know that their information is protected and not in any way shared with other MVNOs. Operational know-how MVNOs often focus on the market side of the mobile service business. As such, they often lack deeper technical knowledge and awareness about the possibilities with the services they offer. Therefore, they rely on their MVNE partners to provide them with understanding and guidance in relation to the services that they offer. Therefore, they rely on their MVNE partners to provide them with understanding and guidance in relation to the services that they offer.
December 2011
December 2011
December 2011
December 2011
Voicemail, IVR and USSD MVNEs can provide a better service to MVNOs by operating subscriber-facing systems such as voicemail, IVR and USSD. Operating these systems ensure that MVNO customers can set up their services quickly without having to handle sometimes complex processes in the network operator. Business Support Systems The ability to control Business Support Systems (BSS) is important to all providers, especially customeroriented MVNOs. Although the technical requirements are often less demanding than for MNOs, relying on mobile operator systems would still introduce delays when updating BSS capabilities and configuration. Customer Relationship Management Customer Relationship Management (CRM), i.e. the long term handling of all subscriber relations is a fundamental part of the market-driven MVNO business. To be able to satisfy subscribers, MVNOs must be given access to versatile CRM tools or interface to extract and modify information from the MVNEs.
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reducing time-to-market
Another benefit of offering services from an integrated platform is the possibility to cut time-to-market. With the managed MVNO platform Simfonics have assisted new MVNO-based operators from initial planning to commercial launch in only three months. The flexibility of the service delivery platform also allows for new service offers and campaigns to be created in minimal time. - The MVNO platform we have chosen gives us the flexibility we need to support our clients in launching new services and developing their market offers with competitively short time-to-market, explains Mr. Lhrig. Since the beginning in 2006 Simfonics have supported more than 10 new MVNO businesses around Europe: from business case development, concept testing and business processes definition to solution integration and commercial launch.
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a proven concept
We have over 20 years of experience in helping MVNOs and MVNEs to succeed in the mobile marketplace. Our MVNO/MVNE solutions have been implemented and verified with network elements from all major vendors, making them well prepared for integration with mobile operator networks. With a strong product portfolio, an intimate knowledge of telecommunication networks and applications, and a proven track record, Symsoft is a reliable partner for MVNEs and MVNOs wanting to succeed in a fast-moving market.
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Symsoft is a trusted charging and messaging expert with over twenty years of industry experience. Symsoft provides solutions enabling operators globally to stay ahead of their competitors in an increasingly competitive telecom market. Its innovative products are used by leading operators such as America Mvil, Millicom, Polkomtel, Saudi Telecom, Telefnica, Telenor, Tele2, TeliaSonera and 3 in more than 30 countries, serving over 120 million subscribers. www.symsoft.com
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15 December 2011