10 steps to_4_g_service_assurance

10 Steps to 4G Service Assurance

Tom Lybarger

Assistant Vice President 28th July, 2010

10 Steps to 4G Service Assurance 28th July 2010 2

Aricent Today

Aricent is a global innovation,

technology and services

company focused exclusively on

communications

• Unique focus on telecom innovation through consulting, design, products and services

• Annual revenues of over $480M USD for fiscal year ending March 31, 2010

• Investors include KKR, Sequoia Capital, The Family Office, CPP and Delta Partners


Aricent Addresses Operator's Two Top Priorities

• The industry’s only blended strategy, design and development engagement

model, helps conceive and commercialize highly differentiated subscriber

experiences

• Innovative services and business models drive increased top line

• Deep expertise in design and usability of connected devices, user

interfaces, applications and more

• Extensive networking design expertise simplifies 4G transition and

optimizes network quality

• Contemporary approach to business processes and systems integration

streamlines operations and reduces costs

• Comprehensive operation and maintenance services further reduce costs


Agenda

• Understand the limitations of existing Service

Assurance Strategies

• The 10 Steps for 4G Service Assurance

• Customer Case Study


• Real time services like video, online gaming and social networking is continuing to

drive demand for differentiated treatment of specific traffic streams

• Multi-access complexity – WiFi, Femto and more

• Growing need to prepare for cloud services

Surge in Data Traffic Straining the Network

Operator ‘3’, in the UK, says that data

now makes up 96% of its traffic

Ovum forecasts smartphone shipments to

grow by 32% between 2009 and 2010

Existing Assurance Systems and Processes predate iPhones and YouTube


Current Mobility Service Assurance Operations

o Network Assurance – Fault and Performance data collected from OMCs and elements

o NMS (In-house or COTS) – silo FM and PM processing, distinct RAN/Core and IP solutions

o Service Management – managing devices, not end-to-end service delivery

o Limited or no information from end-user devices

o KPIs/KQIs defined in deployed systems

o QoS/QoE monitoring is evolving


Mobile Service Assurance Scope

Fulfillment Assurance BillingOperations Support &

Readiness

Ser

vice

Man

agem

ent &

Ope

ratio

ns

Res

ourc

e

Man

agem

ent &

Ope

ratio

ns

Sup

plie

r/ P

artn

er

Rel

atio

nshi

p

Man

agem

ent

S/P RequisitionManagementS/PRM

Support &Readiness

RM&O Support & Readiness

ServiceConfiguration & Activation

ServiceProblem

Management

ServiceQuality

Management

Service &Specific Instance

Rating

ResourceTrouble

Management

ResourcePerformance Management

S/P Problem Reporting &

Management

S/P PerformanceManagement

S/P Settlements& Billing

Management

SM&O Support & Readiness

CRM Support &Readiness

ProblemHandling

CustomerQoS / SLA

Management

Billing & Collections

Management

OrderHandling

Resource Data Collection & Processing

Supplier/Partner Interface Management

Retention & Loyalty

Customer Interface Management

Selling

Cus

tom

er

Rel

atio

nshi

p

Man

agem

ent

Resource Provisioning

Workforce Management

MarketingFulfilmentResponse

Service Assurance

Focus for Mobile

Operators

Typical areas for

major Service

Assurance

improvement


Ten Steps to 4G Service Assurance


Functional Architecture Overview

NW & Svc

Inventory &

Topology

Fault 1 Fault 2 Fault 3

Event Correlation

Perf Mgmt

Service Quality Management (SQM)

Mobile R

esource (Work F

orce) Managem

ent

Trouble M

gmt

Test Mgmt

QoE – Customer Experience

Mgmt (CEM)CRM

CEM

Collectors

Customer Service Representatives

Perf Mgmt

KPIs & KQIs

KPIs & KQIs

KPIs & KQIs

Dashboards20

Voice 11

Cust A

73

IP 125

Cust B

00

Vendor 1

12

Vendor 2


Step 1: Evaluate and Re-Evaluate

Know where you are going – Vision and Objectives

Examine existing Service Assurance systems and

processes

Leverage external resources to evaluate processes

against best-in-class benchmarks


Step 2: Develop KPI/KQI Model

o Potentially thousands of KPIs/KQIs must be considered

o Understand available KPIs and required KQIs are key to creating an efficient and

effective Service Assurance capability

o Determine immediate and long-term value of KPI/KPQIs

Illustrative

KPI/KQI

Structure

KPI KPI KPI KPI KPIKPI

NOC


Step 3: Integrated Inventory Management

o Create a reliable, accurate Inventory Management capability that reflects installed

networks and services

o Enable network correlation and root cause identification

o Prioritize problems through service impact and enable comprehensive service

management


Step 4: Automate Trouble/Incident Management

o Enable zero-touch trouble management / incident management

o Accurate network and service inventory is key – identify the correct root-cause and

send technicians to the correct location


Step 5: Implement Centralized KPI/KQI Repository

o Centralize all collected and generated KPIs and KQIs

o Provide central access for all users

o Reduce point-to-point integration between applications

Centralized Repository


Step 6: Implement Service Quality Management

NW & Svc

Inventory &

Topology


Event Correlation

Perf Mgmt


Mobile R

esource (Work F

orce) Managem

ent

Trouble M

gmt

Test Mgmt


Mgmt (CEM)CRM

CEM

Collectors


Perf Mgmt

KPIs & KQIs

KPIs & KQIs

KPIs & KQIs

Dashboards20

Voice 11

Cust A

73

IP 125

Cust B

00

Vendor 1

12

Vendor 2


Step 6: Implement Service Quality Management

o Rapid identification of service problems (manage QoS)

o Focus on highest revenue services or competitive indicators: retain subscribers

with higher overall ARPU

Planned Service

Quality

Performed Service

QualityPerceived Service

Quality

Expected Service

Quality

Customer PerspectiveMobile Service Provider

Perspective

Quality of

Experience

Quality of

Service


Step 7: Implement CEM and QoE

NW & Svc

Inventory &

Topology


Event Correlation

Perf Mgmt


Mobile R

esource (Work F

orce) Managem

ent

Trouble M

gmt

Test Mgmt


Mgmt (CEM)CRM

CEM

Collectors


Perf Mgmt

KPIs & KQIs

KPIs & KQIs

KPIs & KQIs

Dashboards20

Voice 11

Cust A

73

IP 125

Cust B

00

Vendor 1

12

Vendor 2


Step 7: Implement CEM and QoE

Determine what to measure

• Define the relevant Service Level Objectives (SLOs)

• Explicit and implicit SLAs

• End-user devices and other service access points

Define/Review Network Monitoring Requirements (Availability)

• FM and PM with KPI support

Define/Review Service Delivery Monitoring Requirements (SQM)

• Correlation and KQI

Define Usage and Experience Monitoring (CEM) Requirements

• Identify initial devices for monitoring – expand scope over time

• Central point for End-to-end experience monitoring

Handset Issues are the single most influential factor for churn, followed by cost, coverage and quality – Booz, Allen & Hamilton


Step 8: Implement Service Level Agreement Management

o Enable an array of tiered approaches with strict SLA management, including VIP,

enterprise and consumer

o Combine with active Policy Management


Step 9: Integrate 4G Elements

o Implement KPI/KQI changes for new 4G elements e.g. eNodeB and EPC

o Retire 2G and eliminate redundant systems

o Make a decision on Voice - Continue to use 3G voice, or deploy VoIP?

o Implement new services and usage patterns including new KQIs, root-cause and

service impacts


Step 10: Implement Continuous Improvement

Helps you deliver on your Objectives:

o Lower expenses

o Increased subscriber satisfaction and resulting loyalty

o Enhanced ability to respond to change

o Agility to support new services

Adapt to changing requirements,

technology and market

conditions

Define as-is

processes and

architecture

Implement

processes and

system changes

Measure

effectiveness of the

processes and

systems


Case Study: Service Assurance Simplification

Improved Quality and User Satisfaction

SLA based service delivery

Continuous Service Improvement

Improved User Satisfaction

Significant Cost Reduction

30% cost reduction within 6 months through

global delivery approach

Reduced Complexity, Quicker response to

dynamic and evolving contexts

Architectural Simplification

Improved Knowledge / Skill Base

Improved Efficiency and Effectiveness of Delivery

Knowledge retention across domains

Reduced Management Overhead

Simplified Governance, Flexible and Multi-Skilled

pool


Summary

o Learn from your past - every Service Assurance environment is unique

o Bring in an experienced advisor to help design the Best Fit solution for your operations

o Follow the Steps - No shortcuts! Do not kid yourself, positive changes take effort and investment

o Focus on the individual Subscriber Experience; the network and perceived service delivery do not tell the whole story

Future success will ride on the satisfaction of your subscribers

Documents

10 steps to_4_g_service_assurance