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All the gear but no idea: The necessity of service management centres

By admin In Blog

Imagine you’ve invested millions into the latest tools, state-of-the-art technology and top-notch equipment. You’ve got all the bells and whistles to make the company the crème-de-la-crème of the industry. Yet there’s one small snag; no one in the company has the full expertise on how to use the new technology to its maximum benefit and see a high return of investment.
It may surprise you to learn that this scenario is more common than not, especially for mobile network operators (MNOs) today. As the number of mobile connections continues to rise, with GSMA predicting an 114% penetration rate of global connections worth 8.9 billion by 2020, MNOs are increasingly looking to improve their revenues and differentiate themselves from competitors. And what better way to do this than through upgrading outdated software; for example, a new firewall.
The problem many MNOs face however, is they do not know how to utilize the technology available to eliminate grey routes and monetize application-to-person (A2P) messaging to generate high profit and ROI. Most firewalls available to MNOs on the market are 90% the same. The key in getting the best results comes not from having all the equipment but from having the knowledge of how to best manage and utilize it. A lack of understanding of the market and how to separate local from international messages results in many MNOs having all the gear but no idea.

Service management centres to the rescue

Service management centres (SMC) provide both essential market expertise as well as complete 24/7/365 management of the mobile operators’ existing equipment and software. Simply put, they provide the ‘brains behind the gear’.
Live data from the operator’s firewall is combined with the expertise provided by the SMC to provide essential business intelligence and data analytics around the clock. This constant analysis of the network enables effective blocking of fraudulent messages via both local and international grey routes and the monetization of A2P SMS messages.
Without a SMC, operators would need to invest heavily into resource expenses and training staff in how to use the latest software and equipment. Training staff ‘on the job’ means that key trends can be overlooked and staff lack the vital experience to fully understand how to monetize the traffic on their network. As a result, MNOs miss out on huge potential revenue whilst spending big to get their staff up to scratch. SMCs however provide fully dedicated and experienced teams who operate 24/7/365 to analyse, protect and manage the network systems. They are committed to not only be effective but to have the MNO’s interest fully protected and managed constantly.
The intelligence and skilled resources provided by the SMC eliminate all technical and financial challenges faced by MNOs. The best SMCs will install the new firewall, audit the firewall and then manage the MNO’s own equipment to maximise on the MNO’s monetization opportunities in a short time span.
Service management centres are not a luxury for the mobile operator which wants the highest revenue and most secure network.  They are a necessity to ensure the monetization of A2P SMS messages and 24/7/365 monitoring and analysis of the network. The ROI for MNOs using an SMC will be noticed in the medium and long term, allowing the operator to have a peace of mind that their money has been spent in a profitable way. Ultimately, no company wants to be the one with all the gear but no idea.