Every service provider wants to do it. Some do it better than others. When done right, it can create a competitive advantage. What are we talking about? Improving the customer experience (CX).
It is an admirable goal — creating a culture with the right processes which delivers an experience that turns customers into fans. Important foundational aspects for achieving this goal are your operational support (OSS) and business support (BSS) systems.
These platforms interact with customers and give employees the tools necessary to deliver the right CX. So what are some examples of how OSS can help improve CX? Here are a few:
- Automated Service Fulfillment – a growing number of customers find self-service tools desirable. The ability to go to a website or app and take care of an issue, pay a bill, or order a service (at their convenience and) without human interaction can be quite powerful.
- Improving Efficiency and Time to Market – efficient processes that allow you to deliver services or answer inquiries more quickly and from the first contact are critical in today’s competitive environment.
- Swift and Easy Changes – your OSS/BSS platforms need the ability to quickly adapt to new customer needs and new product orientations. Updates shouldn’t be a time consuming or disruptive process.
- OSS and BSS Harmonization – your OSS and BSS platforms need to be in harmony, working together with open interfaces and a shared data model to facilitate important integration and automation objectives.
- Multitasking – network operators today often employ multiple technologies and multiple vendor solutions requiring end-to-end seamless management of multiple tasks.
These are a few important objectives your OSS/BSS platform should aim for to help improve your CX.
Achieving these objectives often requires a transformation of legacy systems. This transformation requires significant planning and an identification of a framework that captures all relevant functions and processes.
These objectives also require a transformation of internal processes. Evaluating and reimagining internal processes and workflows to ensure optimal efficiency and automation. When implemented together, companies can provide an unmatched CX.
Pick your partners wisely and ensure they have a deep understanding of both the telecom industry and IT. Your partners should understand and adhere to industry best practices and standards. The end result can set a service provider up for long term success and greatly contribute to a customer experience that delivers the best value and creates the most competitive differentiation.
Learn more about CDG’s approach to a better CX through this Telecompetitor series.
Tony Stout, CTO
CDG
Tony Stout joined PRTC in 2010 and serves as the company’s Chief Technology Officer. In his role as CTO, Tony is responsible for overseeing strategic direction for building and expanding PRTC’s next generation network infrastructure. In 2020, PRTC acquired CDG, a telecom OSS/BSS solutions provider. Tony was appointed CTO for CDG and oversees the company’s technology, software engineering, IT and technical support teams. Tony has more than 28 years of technology, business and management experience in various Telecom and Information Technology roles.
This series features insight into important broadband industry issues from industry leaders.
