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Driving billing innovation in a converged world

As consumerism spreads, people want any service over any network in any location and via any payment type. Raghav Sahgal analyses the new reality

As consumers we desire more content, more personalisation and more control, wherever and whenever we are—all in real-time, just like our lives. These desires are driving new service offerings that require convergence in terms of the network (the combination of fixed, mobile and IP-based services); payment mechanism (combining the existing methods of pre-paid and post-paid into one); and clientele (the combination of our business, family and personal communication needs). Quite simply, we desire any service, over any network, in any location and via any payment type. Our communication services should be able to match the spontaneity of our own lives and our multi-faceted lifestyles.

Operators who capture this moment of opportunity will reap the rewards with increased competitive differentiation, revenue and customer loyalty. However, many operators will find that their existing legacy billing and customer-care systems are simply not equipped to cope with the challenges these new services will create. They will need a truly converged system, one architected with the customer at the centre and with full real-time capabilities.

Real-time demands of the converged world

As consumers we require more from our service providers than ever before. We are excited at the creative possibilities new converged communication technologies can bring, combining the interactive worlds of voice, video and data inside and outside our homes.

We do not distinguish ourselves by our payment methods—pre-paid or post-paid—and often our requirements change over time. For example, one could go from being a student (when pre-paid credit top-ups are convenient and economical to manage) to a professional (balancing business and personal accounts) and then to a parent (where managing the family’s calling plans and finances is high priority). In essence, we desire more real-time convenience, choice and control over every aspect of our communications lifecycle. ‘We are excited at the creative possibilities that converged communication technologies will bring.’

Competitive benefits of real-time solutions

In this instantaneous world, operators need to have real-time access to all information about a particular customer. They need to anticipate and react to the consumer’s basic desires—want it, find it, buy it. This knowledge will enable them to deliver personalised incentives and promotions. (For example, free ring-tones when more than 100 SMS messages are sent, or merchandise based on a popular theme such as sport.) In addition, a real-time view of customer data enables operators to support real-time credit control and balance management, thus helping them to control risk. ‘In this instantaneous world, operators need to have real-time access to all information about a particular customer.’

With real-time control, services can be managed and offered to the consumer in a targeted manner. This one-to-one marketing enables the delivery of personalised incentives based on a consumer’s interests or usage habits, allowing the operator to stimulate excitement for key products and create familiarity with each individual subscriber.

In addition, by centrally managing multiple content services such as ring-tones and videos, operators can deliver truly exciting and differentiated offerings. This increases market agility, enabling operators to react and anticipate trends at a faster pace, and maintain leadership within a competitive marketplace.

Financial management for the converged lifestyle

The billing system functionality required to meet the demands of convergence goes beyond offering a combination of payment methods. The real-time nature of the platform gives consumers and enterprises the opportunity to manage the financial aspect of their subscription or service, helping them leverage their budgets. This can increase their loyalty to their provider.

A truly convergent system should offer the ability to have multiple personal profiles such as one account containing separate business and personal profiles, or a family account with profiles of family members. For example, a converged system would enable employees to make calls to the office on the company’s bill but personal calls in the evening on their own pre-paid balance. This capability is particularly important within emerging markets where mobile handsets are a valuable commodity. It is also useful for business professionals who are often weighed down with both a business and personal mobile device. Another example is to allow a family head to allocate credit levels to other members of the family to curb excess expenditure. Personalised and real-time notifications keep end-users informed and drive usage.

With converged billing for family accounts, both pre-paid credit (for the children’s accounts) and post-paid balances (for the parents’ use) can be on one combined account. Customers can select how they pay, with the flexibility to top-up accounts or transfer balances as and when increased communication needs are required. This real-time credit control also offers valuable security in case of sudden excessive unauthorised use on account of theft.

Embracing the convergent future

Operators are embracing the new converged world because to do so should help them gain great advantage and potential profit from emerging lifestyles.

To make the most of this new world, operators need a truly converged infrastructure that will allow them to manage their customer base consistently and in real-time. This infrastructure should also support market agility—quickly launch new products and promotions, implement real-time one-to-one marketing, offer personalised incentives, and use innovative marketing tools to attract, stimulate and create a degree of subscriber dependency in order to encourage loyalty. Of course, lowering operational costs is always on an operator’s agenda, so the truly converged billing system must also be efficient.

Industry analysts are in agreement that communication providers will look to converged solutions when assessing new systems for their operational support systems and business support systems over the next few years. For example, Informa predicts that by 2009 the demand for convergent systems will represent in excess of 90 percent of all the new Billing and Customer Care (BCC) systems deployed. Convergent billing solutions, by combining the strength of both the traditional pre-paid and post-paid payment methods with real-time immediacy, hold the key to unlock the profitability of the new convergent world of communications.

The author is Chief Business Officer of the Converged Billing Group at Comverse. He may be contacted at raghav.sahgal@comverse.com