ORACLE CX REFERENCE ARCHITECTURE FOR COMMUNICATIONS

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1 ORACLE CX REFERENCE ARCHITECTURE FOR COMMUNICATIONS Communication Service Providers (CSPs) around the world are looking for ways to offer an engaging Customer Experience (CX) so that they may expand their customer base, retain existing customers, and monetize on these relationships. To harvest these benefits CSPs need to address CX at all customer touch points. Oracle has developed the CX Reference Architecture for Communications to help CSPs delivering a superior experience to their customers in all touch points throughout the Customer Experience lifecycle. The Oracle CX KEY BENEFITS Seamless cross-channel purchasing and services experiences Personalized offers and interactions Fast time-to-market to meet customer demand First-right ordering Rapid fulfillment Reduced order fallout Accurate billing reference Architecture is founded on proven solutions and best-in-class applications and will enable CSPs to adopt a holistic approach to Customer Experience across standard processes from front office channels to back office operations. Today s Challenges In today s world CSPs are facing 3 main challenges when interacting with their clients: Technology is exploding Behaviors are rapidly evolving Expectations and demands are rising Explosion in the pace of technology innovation We all witness how the pace of technology innovation is exploding. Internet and mobile are now ubiquitous and powering this explosion: 2 billion people worldwide have access to high speed data networks; 87% of the world population are mobile subscribers; more than 35 million apps are downloaded every day; social is mainstream with more than 75% of Internet users that now have a social profile; mobile is the primary channel of internet access for the millennial generation. In this complex vortex of technology CSPs are challenged with keeping ahead of their competition and running profitable operations. Product and service lifecycles can now last weeks and months as opposed to years or even decades as they used to. Each week multiple new models of internet accessible mobile devices are being released and the customers are increasingly looking at them as fashion accessories as much as communication devices. Data growth is exploding with cloud based delivery models revolutionizing the IT landscape and new M2M services producing an exponential increase of network entry points and transactions. Rapid evolution in customer behavior The rapid pace of technology innovation and the equally rapid pace of its adoption by consumers are also at the base for the rapid evolution in customer behavior. In the last 5 years many long standing behaviors have been transformed, probably forever. The way we chat, the amount and speed of our access to resources, what and how much information we share, who we influence and who we are influenced by every single aspect of our daily lives has been impacted. In the Always Connected, Always Sharing, and Always Aware world customers are vocal about their experience. 1

2 Purchasing and service behavior also evolved. Customers often traverse multiple channels to complete a single transaction with the service provider, even the simple act of purchasing a handset and associated services can typically be executed across a whole range of channels spanning the web, mobile social, , store, and contact center. Today customers expect to be able to traverse across multiple channels seamlessly and CSPs cannot afford any longer to adopt the erstwhile channel specific approach because that cannot address the new and more complex purchasing journey that customers are increasingly using. Rising customer demands and expectations In a recent survey over 70% of US executives said their need to focus on the customer experience is being driven by rising customer demands and expectations. Because of the rapid changes in technology and behaviors, customers demand more options from their service providers in term of choices of services and of what, where and how they interact with the CSP. Customers expect more access to their services across multiple technologies as well as more access to providers across multiple channels. Customers are also increasingly vocal about sharing their thoughts and experience, especially not so good ones, thereby exercising considerable more influence on their peers and putting greater pressure on the service provider to ensure that each interaction with the customer is a positive one. Delivering an Engaging Customer Experience is critical to CSP s business objectives Ironically CSPs never appear in lists of top 10 brands for customer satisfaction. According to a recent study 94% of mobile consumers surveyed will pay more for a better customer experience, only 1% of these consumers felt that their expectations for a good experience were met, and 89% of them previously switched carriers because of a poor experience. Common business objectives for service providers include: expanding the customer base, reducing churn to retain existing customers, and increasing the efficiency of their operations. CSPs need to ensure that they acquire large numbers of customers with the lowest possible cost of acquisition, retain them longer by building a trusted relationship with them, and while doing so ensure adequate profitability by improving the efficiency of their operations and deflecting transactions to lower-cost unassisted channels. Figure 1 - Business Objectives driving CX initiatives 2

3 Customer experience initiatives are critical to these drivers, and thus are an increasingly strategic imperative for CSPs. But CSPs must recognize that the new technologies and behavior generated a power-shift and customers are now empowered. Figure 2 - CSPs need to be ready for the power-shift Because of this power-shift the question service providers should pose themselves is not any longer Should I focus on improving customer experience? but rather Will I survive as a viable market entity if I do not? Need for a holistic approach to Customer Experience in Communications So what can CSPs do in today s hypercompetitive world to change their customers perception? In order to effectively deal with customer experience CSPs must undergo a Copernican revolution and shift from a Vendor-centric universe to a Customer-centric universe. To do so CSPs must first recognize two key aspects of Customer Experience in Communications: 1. Customer experience is a journey: It is important to understand that a customer interacts with the CSP in many different ways across time with different expectations at different stages. It is not a one-off transaction but a long term relationship built on multiple interactions. Figure 3 - The CX lifecycle journey 3

4 2. Customer experience impacts the entire business: Every CSP s business process with customer touch-points will affect the customer experience and a holistic approach is needed to address the multiple interactions that constitute the customer experience. Figure 4 - Customer experiences spans across all processes Once service providers recognize these two key aspects, they will realize that the technology used for their business processes is a key factor to deliver a differentiated and engaging experience to their customers. They will also realize the need to connect their insides (meaning converging systems and platforms within the organization), make them more seamless and efficient, and offer to their Customers interactions that are personalized and engaging rather than transactional. Oracle CX Reference Architecture for Communications To enable CSPs to identify customer touch-points across standard processes and to deliver a superior experience to their customers across front office channels as well as back office operations, Oracle Communications developed the CX Reference Architecture for Communications. Four functional layers to cover every aspect of CX The Oracle CX Reference Architecture for Communications identifies four key layers that are critical to deliver an engaging customer experience: 1. Channel Interaction Layer includes front-office applications delivering the channel specific interfaces and interactions demanded by CSPs customers. The applications in this layer support assisted and unassisted channels and directly enable purchasing and service interactions with customers. 2. Channel Coordination Layer includes front-office applications focused on enabling a common set of data and services to support a single customer view and enable the delivery of context sensitive experiences as the customer switches between channels for his interactions. Benefits delivered by this layer include seamless cross-channel purchasing and services experiences, personalization of offers and interactions, consistent sales catalog for all channels, knowledge management, as well as mastering of order, customer, and asset data. 4

5 3. Order and Revenue Management Layer includes customer-facing back-office applications such as those for central order management, billing and revenue management, and product lifecycle management. Benefits delivered by this layer include rapid order delivery, first-right ordering and reduced order failures, complete order visibility, personalized interactions, accurate billing and revenue management, and meeting customer demand with the rapid launch of new offers, products, and services. 4. Order Fulfillment Layer includes back office applications enabling order and service fulfillment in its entirety from networks facing applications to Supply Chain Management, from Project Management applications to Work Force Management. This layer is mainly focused on fulfilling the customer order across networks and IT applications by coordinating the set of activities needed to enable use of the service by the customer. It is typically a part of the more traditional OSS domain and usually the customer has limited or no touch points with the systems in this layer; still failing or lengthy fulfillment processes will greatly affect customer experience. The various functional areas covered by the four layers are summarized by the following diagram: Channel Interactions Web Mobile Partner Field Sales Call Center Retail Channel Coordination Order Capture Sales Catalog Customer Asset CPQ Guided Selling Decisioning Knowledge Base Order and Revenue Management Commercial Offer Order Lifecycle Management Billing Charging Revenue Management Order Fulfillment Provisioning Activation Network Inventory Policy Mgmt Project Mgmt SCM WFM Figure 5 - Oracle CX Reference Architecture for Communications - Functional coverage of the 4 layers Oracle Communications portfolio of software solutions can help CSPs address their pain points across the four layers of the reference architecture, and put in place the strong foundation needed to deliver an exceptional customer experience. Productized solutions to reduce cost and risk in deploying standard-compliant processes Oracle pioneered the introductions of productized solutions for the communication industry. Oracle solutions are open, flexible, and modular and deliver to CSPs critical business processes spanning across multiple applications and compliant with industry standards. By leveraging these solutions CSPs can considerably reduce the cost and risk associated with transforming their business and adopting industry best practices. Specifically two solution are the keystones for the Oracle CX Reference Architecture for Communications: Cross-Channel Customer Experience solution Rapid Offer Design and Order Delivery solution 5

6 Service Fulfillment Commercial Offers ORACLE DATA SHEET The Cross-Channel Customer Experience (C3E) solution is focused on the channel interaction and channel coordination layers of the Customer experience framework. This solution enables CSPs to increase their Net Promoter Score (NPS) and customer loyalty and to deflect transactions to lowercost unassisted channels for operational efficiency. The C3E solution provides a range of capabilities to assist the commerce and customer care aspects across channels supported by core channel co-ordination, knowledge management and real time decisioning functions; through these capabilities the solution enable consistent sales catalogue and shopping experience across all channels, seamless cross-channel purchasing, personalized interactions through intelligent recommendations and click to call/chat capabilities. Web Mobile Partner Field Sales Call Center Retail Web Commerce Self Service Retail C&BC Knowledge Mgmt Decisioning CRM Sales Catalog, Order Capture, Assets, & Customer Figure 6 - C3E Solution C&BC = Customer & Billing Care The Rapid Offer Design and Order Delivery (RODOD) solution was the very first solution to be certified by TM Forum against Frameworx. This solution focuses on the channel coordination and order and revenue management layers and it enables service providers to rapidly design and introduce offers to meet their customer demand, to capture and fulfill orders efficiently and accurately, and to provide visibility across the entire order lifecycle. By providing productized capabilities and integrations out of the box, the RODOD solution enables service providers to improve key business metrics like offer time to market, order cycle time, and operational efficiency. CRM Sales Catalog, Order Capture, Assets, & Customer Central Order Management Billing Service Order Management OSS Stack Figure 7 - RODOD Solution The RODOD solution works with a number of other Oracle OSS solutions including the Rapid Service Design and Order Delivery (RSDOD) solution to complete the Order Fulfillment layer functions 6

7 Service Fulfillment Commercial Offers ORACLE DATA SHEET Oracle Reference Architecture provides the foundation for delivering a superior CX Oracle Communications has developed its CX Reference Architecture to help CSPs adopting a holistic approach to Customer Experience, to enable them to identify customer touch-points across multiple processes, and to deliver a superior experience to their customers across front office channels as well as back office operations. The Cross Channel Customer Experience solution and the Rapid Offer Design and Order Delivery solution constitute the foundation for the Oracle CX Reference Architecture for Communications, front a front office BSS perspective and provide CSPs with the comprehensive capabilities to deliver a superior experience to their customers across channels, across business processes, and across front and back office operations. Channel Interactions Web Mobile Partner Field Sales Web Commerce Self Service Call Center Retail Retail C&BC Channel Coordination Knowledge Mgmt Decisioning CRM Sales Catalog, Order Capture, Assets, & Customer Order and Revenue Management Central Order Management Billing Service Order Management Order Fulfillment OSS Stack C&BC = Customer & Billing Care Figure 8- Oracle CX Reference Architecture for Communications The Oracle CX Reference Architecture for Communications is based on proven solutions and best-in-class applications. The architecture offers a large footprint for a comprehensive coverage of all customer touch points across the four layers, but it is also open, flexible, and modular and enables CSPs to adopt just what they need at first and incrementally expand the footprint later. The Oracle CX Reference Architecture for Communications improves the customer experience across multiple customer touch-points, across multiple processes, and across front and back office operations through: Seamless cross-channel purchasing and services experiences Personalized offers and interactions Fast time-to-market to meet customer demand First-right ordering Rapid fulfillment Reduced order fallout Accurate billing 7

8 Bottom Line The rapid pace of technology innovation and the equally rapid pace of its adoption by consumers produced an evolution in customer behavior and dramatic changes in customers demands and expectations. This generated a power-shift and customers are now empowered rather than CSPs. In this hypercompetitive world delivering an engaging Customer Experience is not any longer a strategic approach to achieve some of the CSP s business objectives but a mere survival necessity. To do so CSPs must shift from a Vendor-centric to a Customer-centric approach and realize that: 1. Customer experience is a journey made of multiple customer touch-points and they all contribute to define the relationship with the customer. 2. Customer experience impacts the entire business as any direct or indirect interaction with a customer may potentially affect his/her experience. Oracle recognized that only a holistic approach spanning across processes and front and back office applications will enable CSPs to deliver a superior customer experience. For this reason Oracle developed the CX Reference Architecture for Communications to address all critical customer touch points and enable service providers to achieve a number of key business benefits including: Seamless cross-channel purchasing and services experiences Faster time to market to quickly meet customer s demands Consistent, accurate, and personalized purchasing experience Efficient operations across their entire IT infrastructure The Oracle CX Reference Architecture for Communications is founded on the Oracle C3E and RODOD solutions, which combine in a modular and extensible way many best in class applications and implement industry standard processes that will help CSPs to accelerate and derisk their transformation journey towards delivering a superior customer experience. Only by delivering an engaging experience to their customers Service providers will be able to acquire new customers while retaining existing ones and monetize on these relationships by containing cost, increasing revenue generation, and expanding opportunities. Oracle CX Reference Architecture for Communications January 2013 Author: Andrea Canessa, Oracle Communications Solution Marketing, Andrea.Canessa@oracle.com For more information about the Oracle CX Reference Architecture for Communications and the Oracle Solutions for Communications, please visit or call ORACLE1 to speak to an Oracle representative. Copyright 2013, Oracle. All Rights Reserved. This document is provided for information purposes only, and the contents hereof are subject to change without notice. This document is not warranted to be errorfree, nor is it subject to any other warranties or conditions, whether expressed orally or implied in law, including implied warranties and conditions of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. We specifically disclaim any liability with respect to this document, and no contractual obligations are formed either directly or indirectly by this document. This document may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without our prior written permission. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners. 8