Redknee Blog

Bill shock isn’t just for business travelers anymore. Just ask anyone with kids.

Thu, 23 May 13 15:30:00 UT

Microsoft just released a survey that indicates unauthorized spending on smart phone apps and in-app purchases by kids in the UK could amount to £30.9m per month. Yup, per month. Assuming Microsoft didn’t mistake their math, as they say, that means more than half a billion dollars a year in the UK alone. And this is on top of data bill shock created by business roamers. Although this survey focused on Microsoft's advanced Windows 8 parental control features (against the supposedly weaker iOS and Android approaches – no comment from our side), the survey does provide some fundamental insights on client overspending and what to do about it.

Transform Your Business by Making it Simpler

Tue, 07 May 13 21:30:00 UT

Today’s mobile subscribers are a sophisticated species. In a market where practically every subscriber is equipped with smartphones and devices, there’s a growing sense of familiarity with technology and the costs of ownership. This is especially the case as consumers find it so easy to shop around, either in retail outlets or online.

Operators now accept the business imperative that says innovation is critical for success. The ability to support this change, however, often requires CSPs to update their back office systems; ensuring that they have the right foundation in place to support the newest technologies, deliver the latest services, and market more effectively to their subscribers. Before making any changes, however, CSPs need to ask what are their primary goals and objectives and what are the gaps in their systems today?

Why Risk BSS in the Cloud? To Reduce Risk, of Course!

Mon, 06 May 13 19:45:00 UT

A typical line item on the agenda of my meetings with customer CIOs is “what to do about the cloud.” Some CIOs in the Tier 1 space avoid talking about the cloud, mainly because cloud computing seems outside their control, and anything outside their control is too risky to touch. The more enlightened are more open, but usually won’t consider looking at the cloud for their mission critical systems. The thinking goes that non-critical, low-volume systems can be “cloud-ified” rather easily, with little or no risk to operations or the company’s (or their personal) reputation. But the same logic holds that business support systems (BSS) are the central nervous systems for every telcos operation, so moving BSS to the cloud may be considered a risky proposition.

Redknee Plans to Acquire NSN Business Support Systems

Thu, 06 Dec 12 22:30:00 UT

This week the industry is buzzing with the announcement that Redknee plans to acquire Nokia Siemens Networks’ Business Support Systems (BSS) business.

This acquisition is a significant milestone in Redknee’s long-term growth strategy: to be the provider of choice for real-time converged billing, customer care, policy, and payments solutions in the communications industry. Nokia Siemens Network’s BSS unit provides real-time charging, rating, policy, and customer care solutions to more than 130 communication service providers, including half of the top 100 global mobile operators around the world. Redknee will gain a larger global footprint that spans more than 90 countries across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Redknee will take on approximately 1200 employees, expanding the team to drive greater success and continued service excellence for customers.

MVNO Marketplace - Where the Lines are Blurring Between Retail and Mobile Brands

Wed, 18 Jul 12 18:15:00 UT

This week, Amazon officially announced its intentions to launch a prepaid mobile internet services in Japan, signifying that brands are increasingly entering the mobile space as MVNOs. Executives from Redknee, KPN Spain and Informa Telecoms & Media recently sat down to take a closer look at this trend and discussed the key drivers and the likely outcomes.

For a More Profitable Future, Look to the Cloud

Thu, 05 Jul 12 17:45:00 UT

I was recently asked if I have seen any changes in service provider behavior in the past year due to the continued economic uncertainties. While the global economic outlook is showing signs of improvement, I see that many service providers are still, to some extent, being fiscally conservative and holding back on making significant investments into their infrastructure. This operating environment has been a major contributing factor to the uptake of new and more agile business models that are needed to manage today’s infrastructure demands and enable service providers to successfully compete with traditional and alternative service providers in the future. The key takeaway being, service providers need customer and operational agility to adapt their business for future cost savings and increased profitability.

Bridging the Customer Experience Divide Between Service and Content Providers

Tue, 12 Jun 12 19:30:00 UT

In an era where service providers may have, at times, seen third-party content or over-the-top-players (OTT) as competitors to the customer experience, it may now be time to consider how CSPs and third-parties can share the stage to secure loyalty in customers.

Ensuring Profitability While Aligning with Customer Demand: Next Generation Policy Management

Wed, 30 May 12 18:00:00 UT

Driven by the need for marketing departments to provide subscribers with an improved data experience and to monetize the service provider’s network investments, we are seeing a rise in new data rate plans. In most markets, the unlimited data plans of yesterday are diminishing as service providers contend with these increased demands on their networks. Alternative options popping up are tiered plans that charge by the megabyte or gigabyte but are met with confusion and a reluctance to buy more.

The Rise of Billing as a Service

Tue, 22 May 12 14:00:00 UT

In today’s economy, communications service providers (CSPs), in their never ending search for ways to reduce costs and streamline operations, are looking to the cloud to help manage some of their most critical back office requirements.

Even retail CSP billing systems, which have traditionally been made up of large and complex suites of services that require costly upkeep and a team of specialists to maintain, are now moving to a more nimble and cost effective route of a cloud offering. CSPs are looking at different options of leveraging cloud billing to fulfill their business needs. These include: Billing as a Service (BaaS), Managed Services and Private cloud-based billing solutions

The Role of Social Media to Drive Down Costs and Increase Loyalty Heats Up

Wed, 16 May 12 16:00:00 UT

Why service providers should assess the role of social media today.