True Convergence Demands a Communication Service Provider that Embraces a Customer- Centric Approach

True Convergence Demands a Communication
Service Provider that Embraces a Customer-
Centric Approach
October 2009
TRUE CONVERGENCE DEMANDS A COMMUNICATION SERVICE PROVIDER THAT EMBRACES A CUSTOMER-CENTRIC APPROACH
INTRODUCTION
In the communications industry, the term convergence is defined as the integration of all forms of communication - data, voice, and video - onto a single (IP-based) network. In practice, enterprises have multiple business objectives for pursuing network convergence, such as:
. Network simplification
. Access flexibility
. Bandwidth optimization
. Service uniformity
. Supporting an increasingly mobile workforce
. Establishing a platform for new and advanced forms of communication (e.g., unified communications)
Of elevated importance during the current economic downturn is cost savings, savings that can materialize with each of the aforementioned objectives.
Yet, for its part, the industry has spent a considerable amount of time and money on developing what it labels as "converged" solutions. While captivating, this industry activity can also be confusing to businesses if they are left to wonder whether service provider converged solutions actually correspond to the same set of objectives they, business organizations, have with regard to convergence and whether and how soon cost savings will be realized.
We believe that to alleviate this uncertainty, the converged objectives put forth by the industry must tightly align with the objectives of businesses. This, however, may not be
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entirely present as communication services providers (CSPs) can have their own set of inward-focused objectives and constraints as to what comprises and how to offer convergence.
To test this alignment, we believe a provider's convergence objectives should be measured on how well they support the following three customer-centric objectives:
1. Strategic - Contributes to a business' strategic goals such as penetrating new markets, enhancing company and employee productivity, deepening customer relationships, advancing new partnerships, improving the use of company assets, and adapting quicker to the dynamics of a competitive market.
2. Cost Efficient - Assists the business in being cost efficient in its capital investments and operational expenditures without impairing the organization's pursuit of its strategic goals. Integral to this objective are fluid and cost-justified transitions to new communication technologies. In addition, administrators of the converged communication infrastructure need centralized and highly effective management tools.
3. Secure - Continuously safeguards intellectual property and private information that are conveyed through a converged communications network.
Reaching tight alignment with these objectives is not an easy task. Yet, we believe when a communication services provider integrates these customer-centric objectives into the design of its converged solution, its business customers will no longer ask if the solution will meet their objectives. Rather, the question becomes one of execution: how and when to move to a converged communication solution.
The purpose of this paper is to describe the attributes of a true customer-centric converged solution. From these attributes, a framework to measure and compare providers' converged solutions emerges. We will conclude with a review of Sprint's approach to offering true convergence to business and government customers.










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CUSTOMER-CENTRIC CONVERGENCE ATTRIBUTES
Through Stratecast's research, we have compiled six customer-centric attributes that should be at the heart of a communication services provider's customer-centric convergence solution.
1. Multiple network access alternatives - Network access, the on and off-... [download for more]