Network Operator Slowness
There’s an interesting story at Valista regarding the time taken for operators to implement new products and services…
"A survey commissioned by Valista and conducted at the Building Blocks 2008 conference held last week found that over 86 percent of the industry insiders interviewed believe that it should take less than a month to launch new mobile content and services with an operator. This expectation is far from reality, as 80 percent of respondents stated that it actually takes between 3 and 9 months to introduce new mobile content and services."
In my experience it can actually take much longer than 3 to 9 months to introduce a new product or service.
So why does it take so long for network operators to introduce a new service? I worked for Vodafone UK for 4 years, 16 years ago. While a lot must have changed since then, I suspect most network operators are still locked into the large company systems and processes I experienced.
I worked in the department that creates the software that Vodafone and its retailers use to connect new subscribers. Consequently, I saw what needs to happen to introduce a new service. The main problem is that a new service impinges on several departments. For example…
- Subscriber connection software needs to be changed to talk to network hardware and servers to provision the service
- The service has to be added to the billing system
- Marketing need to know about the service
- The new service need to be promoted on the operator’s portal
- Any new hardware and software has to be set up and processes put in place for support and backup
- Network and Customer support need to be trained to be able to handle queries on the new service
- Retailers have to be briefed on the service
- Creating adverts/point of sale literature
- Legal need to review agreements and ensure passes any regulatory requirements
If you are pitching a new product or service, in all probability, you will be talking to yet another person in another department that is fairly remote from the day-to-day activities described above.
The problems are compounded in that each department has to balance more usual day-to-day requirements with those of many new services. Each also has resource constraints and is more often than not undergoing some sort of upgrade or maintenance program. It’s easy to see why implementing new services takes so long.
As a startup, how do you get through this minefield? To be truthful, if you are new to this you don’t stand much of a chance. You really need to know someone (with influence) in the company or have already done business with the company in some way. If you think that you have to deal with multiple network operators then you can imagine how difficult this can be. Obviously, there are exceptions to this. For example, if you have such a great service such that the network operator comes to you then things become a little easier.
What can network operators do to make things easier? Many product and services can be classified. For example, a backend service (e.g. Email), download application or web based service are just three classifications. A generic product/service platform needs to be set up such that new products and services (of given classes) can be set up with minimal change. Think in terms of iTunes or the iPhone Application store. Think Handango. These are generic systems that allow new products and services to be added with minimal impact to the business.
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