In the rapidly evolving landscape of communication services, communication service providers (CSPs) are faced with increasingly complex networks, highly sophisticated services, more demanding customers and ever-increasing costs. Operational automation offers an indispensable solution to these challenges, enabling CSPs to streamline processes, enhance efficiency and deliver seamless consumer and enterprise experiences.
Realizing these goals requires improved integration of service fulfillment, inventory management and assurance processes. This integration is crucial for establishing the closed-loop operations that uphold business intent. When focusing on assurance, the evolution from isolated, reactive and resource-centric to integrated, proactive and service-centric capabilities is essential.
Integrated service assurance spanning service quality management (SQM), fault management (FM) and performance management (PM) capabilities generates a ripple effect that goes beyond the obvious. It revolutionizes aspects of the CSP ecosystem that drive business improvements.
Let's delve into how integrated service assurance unlocks value across different domains.
Aligned with network inventory
The alignment of integrated service assurance with network inventory has a significant part to lay in operational efficiency.
Streamlined root cause analysis (RCA)
Combine real-time insights provided by integrated service assurance with the comprehensive service to resource dependencies maintained in the network inventory to swiftly pinpoint and eliminate the root cause of any issues.
Identification of impacted services
Leverage the service topology and underlying information maintained in the network inventory to determine accurately which services are directly impacted by network issues, whether fault or performance related.
Intelligent anomaly detection
Anomalies in both service and network behavior often hide in the sea of data generated daily by the network and systems, such as network inventory. Analytics and machine learning algorithms help identify anomalies and proactively mitigate potential problems.
Empowering End-to-End Service Orchestration:
End-to-End Service Orchestration and integrated assurance are two sides of the same coin, a symbiotic relationship that is essential for the efficient management of programmable networks and the services that run over them.
Enhance automation
When integrated with end-to-end service orchestration, service assurance amplifies automation capabilities with real-time network and service insights. This enables CSPs to intelligently automate the deployment, configuration and scaling of network and services based on accurate data.
Reduce costs
Streamline operational processes by providing actionable insights into resource allocation and service fulfillment. Follow a data-driven approach to reduces costs while maintaining service quality and customer satisfaction.
Accelerate new revenue
Drive revenue growth through innovation, enabling CSPs to introduce new services quickly. Support the growing customer demand for highly performant and reliable services that require real-time data on service performance and quality.
Maximizing the Potential of Analytics
Analytics is vital for AIOps, with integrated service assurance offering crucial historical and real-time service and network data.
Predictive AIOps
Employ advanced analytics and machine learning (ML) algorithms to predict potential issues before they occur. This predictive analytics approach ensures that CSPs can address challenges proactively, minimizing the potential impact on services and customer satisfaction.
Holistic data correlation
Integration of data from multiple data sources is a hallmark of a robust analytics strategy. This allows CSPs to correlate data, including historical and real-time data, providing a holistic view of the network and service to enable better decision-making.
5G NWDAF & RAN Analytics
The rollout of 5G networks promises differentiated slice-based services with strict SLAs. In this context, integrated service assurance becomes critical to perform end-to-end 5G slicing assurance, from the RAN, including Open RAN, to the 5G core.
Elevating BSS
Insights provided by integrated service assurance contribute to the BSS layer intelligence, improving customer satisfaction and protecting and even increasing revenues.
Proactive customer care
By identifying potential service disruptions and anomalies before they become customer-affecting, CSPs can enhance customer experiences and build loyalty. This approach reduces the number of complaints to be handled and improves brand reputation.
Revenue protection
Minimizing service interruptions and ensuring that highly profitable services are performing optimally prevents potential revenue loss. Additionally, service assurance insights help CSPs prioritize and allocate resources more efficiently towards high revenue impact areas.
Dynamic pricing strategies
Leveraging insights into service quality and performance, CSPs can implement dynamic pricing strategies that align with real-time service conditions. This approach provides a competitive advantage by offering customers pricing structures aligned with the value delivered.
Amdocs Helix Service Assurance Suite
As described above, the value of an integrated service assurance suite extends well beyond the obvious benefits. Amdocs’ acquisition of Helix, the service assurance business of TEOCO, enable us to offer CSPs a unique, integrated, end-to-end service orchestration, inventory management and assurance offering. This solution empowers CSPs to assure quality of service and monetize dynamic next generation customer experiences.
By integrating Helix’ extensive service assurance expertise and capabilities with Amdocs Intelligent Networking Suite, we can deliver a holistic, end-to-end approach that is key to fulfilling the promise of amazing experiences in the 5G era.