Contents - Connect-World

Mobile Data
format information services from an
external server. The formatted content
is delivered to profiled mobiles when
requested via a short number dial-up.
SMS feedback can provide useful
information about pharmacy opening
hours in the district, train timetables
or school enrolment procedures, to
name but a few.
There are enthusiastic reports from
service providers in the poorest parts
of the world regarding the peoples
eagerness to learn how to use the keypad
and scroll.
What we really need now is a concerted
effort to help mobile coverage reach
the remotest corners of the world, so
everyone has a chance to get digital
with the most user-friendly applications
possible.
In terms of service delivery, information
by text messaging is often the
most reliable way of reaching the
mobile user. In many countries where
GSM penetration has developed faster
than the infrastructure could keep up,
network equipment is nearing saturation
and calls often do not get through.
SMS messaging not only ensures
potential traffic throughput, but
increases quality of service (QoS) and
hence customer satisfaction.
Talk to any operator in large mobile
operators, from Sydney to London,
about the key issues in technology rollout
and the same words and same
issues are invariably heard, even from
the poised giants of 3G. Basically, the
three issues decision makers around
the world comment on are building the
Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)
from data services, improving customer
satisfaction using Customer
Relations Management (CRM) and
reducing the Total Cost of Ownership
(TCO) using streamlined CRM.
The first two issues aim at raising,
boosting, improving and enhancingyou
name the verb with a fastforward
feel to it; the TCO matter,
though, usually puts a damper on
ambitions and remains a spanner in
the works as far as ensuring service
satisfaction is concerned.
It seems a tall order for an operator to
cut customer care costs, while making
sure that their valued customers are
not getting seriously frustrated by yet
another failed attempt to set up a multimedia
or other advanced service.
It would seem that the answer lies in
being able to gather device and subscriber
metrics automatically over the
network and then use them to make
life easier for the people that actually
use them.
Customer-care services related to configuration
enquiries are often complex
and time consuming. Asking a subscriber
to navigate the many menus
and keystrokes necessary to make a
modification increases call-handling
time and reduces subscriber satisfaction.
It is vital to take over these devicerelated
tasks and solve them before
they even occur. To do this requires
high-performance software tools with
a database that recognises all the functions
of every device on the market. By
implementing automatic device discovery
software on the server, there is
no longer a need to rely upon a customers
initiative to sort out his service
requirements.
With the appropriate systems, full
information about the type of phone
and the available settings, can be
retrieved by the operators server. The
server can then anticipate customer
needs and invisibly cure device management
headaches before the customer
even perceives them.
With the right software, we can now
detect the specifications and capabilities
of every single mobile device on
the networkits manufacturer, its
model and even the settings available
on that particular model.
The device detection technique is fairly
revolutionary at the moment, but it
has already been successfully implemented
on the Wataniya Telecom network.
No doubt, the use of such software
will snowball, and will spread to
networks worldwide, as operators
realise the benefits of such capabilities.
Device characteristics have many uses.
Automatic device discovery, knowing
what each device can do — what services
can be implemented — is a valuable
marketing tool; sales pitches and
offers can be directed to the owners of
devices that can take advantage of
them.
The appropriate software patches and
updates can be sent over the air to
enable new services, fix configuration
problems, or at times provide security
patches.
An obvious CRM application is the
automatic delivery of service settings.
By adjusting device settings over the
air, the customer can start using WAP,
MMS or GPRS services. As a result, no
time is lost delivering the new data
service delivery and the quality of customer
service is improved. Another
key application is device diagnostics
for troubleshooting; the ability to correct
faulty devices with the minimum
of hassle for the customer.
Converging technologies pose new
challenges in designing devices. We
are now dealing with ever more complex
device lifecycles, different operating
system versions, conflicts between
installed applications, frequent device
changes and great amounts of personal
data to be saved and restored.
In the mad scramble to keep up with
marketing opportunities, operators are
commercialising devices that are barely
off the test bed and, which more
often that not, contain firmware bugs.
The challenge facing mobile software
architects is to design software tools
that can troubleshoot problems and
deliver corrective patches. To do this,
the device management solution must
include a comprehensive database of
handset functions, constantly updated
in line with commercial releases.
All this takes resources and strategic
integration of device criteria into the
device management tool. However,
the rewards for an operator who can
effectively manage all customer-base
devices remotely can be considerable.
Automating customer care is critical
for profitable mobile data marketing;
effective device management will be
the foundation upon which most
future service provisioning, bug troubleshooting
and CRM will be well
administered.
Ultimately, the aim is to ensure seamless
multimedia access to the entire
operator customer base and provide
effective customer-care and self-care
tools.
Such systems should lead rapidly to a
considerable reduction of TCO. Device
management software, by anticipating
customer needs, or by correcting problems
over the air, should substantially
reduce calls to customer care services.
Such calls cost an estimated industry
average of $5.50 each, so huge savings
can be realised in device management
related queries.
In a nutshell, from a mobile operator
perspective, device management is
certainly not to be over looked.
Operators, by quickly and easily
updating end-user phones, can build
customer loyalty and gain a competitive
edge.
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