telecommunication Comarch M2M Platform

Transcription

1 telecommunication Comarch M2M Platform

2 Intro Machine-to-machine (M2M) traffic can provide additional revenue sources for operators battling against reduced revenues from voice services. The number of connectable machines is 5 times greater than the amount of humans (source: ETSI), and the number of machines currently connected is extremely low. As the level of M2M traffic increases and M2M devices become more common, the price of individual M2M hardware components falls, boosting M2M popularity even further. In addition, the declining price of data services renders more M2M business scenarios viable. Scenarios that a couple of years ago were deemed useless, due to the higher costs related to them, are now an attractive business opportunity. Instead of taking the market share away from mobile operators, the companies that use M2M services introduce new business opportunities for operators and increase revenue. Because typical M2M services do not require high bandwidth, it is a classic win-win situation for the operators. 2

3 Overview The Comarch M2M Platform is designed to support telco operators with their M2M business operations. In addition to rating and charging, the solution contains other functionalities such as mediation, provisioning, self-service and partner management, depending on the requirements of the M2M partner of the telco operator. This platform is the outcome of extensive experience accumulated throughout Comarch s presence on the telecommunications market which stretches almost 20 years. The Comarch M2M platform is a modular and scalable solution based on selected elements of Comarch s award winning BSS/OSS product suite. The whole platform is a single-vendor, pre-integrated and preconfigured solution capable of covering all the unique needs of any M2M service provider. Using this platform, the M2M partner is able to control resources (such as SIM cards) and manage workflows. An operator can provide its M2M partners with access to specific functionalities of its system. The functionalities can be integrated with the partner s own systems, using web services, and it can also use the self service portal offered by the operator. Telco operator M2M Parner External Systems Self Mgmt Existing BSS Platform Comarch M2M Platform Partner s administrators Integration Existing OSS Platform M2M Partner Systems Integration Underlying Network Services 3

4 Features The platform contains the necessary features for operators providing services to M2M partners. For example, the operator is able to provide a self service portal for M2M partners. These partners are equipped with the capability to manage their SIM card inventories and activate them when needed. The resource management tool provides additional functionalities for maintaining control of the M2M equipment. In addition, the portal provides functionalities for monitoring usage statistics and managing billing-related issues. As can be seen from the figure on next page, the Comarch M2M platform provides various tools facilitating telco operator cooperation with M2M operators and partners. Not all features are mandatory for platform deployment. Depending on specific needs, Comarch is able to deliver a platform consisting of all or a subset of the features. Modular architecture makes it possible to upgrade the platform in the future as operator business needs change. Summary of the main features: Rating & charging engine scalable, convergent, carriergrade rating, billing and accounting system. The convergent engine allows handling both prepaid and postpaid services on the same platform Invoicing, reporting the M2M platform also has an advanced reporting subsystem and easy-to-use interface Mediation capable of performing all mediation-related tasks such as collection, decoding, aggregating, deduplicating, correlation, enriching, filtering, validating and encoding of traffic records on virtually all types of network elements Provisioning - for instant activation and manipulation of services in core network environments, fully integrated with the M2M platform Partner relationship management providing functionalities for managing agreements with partners, communication channels management, trouble ticketing, solving disputes and SLA audits Self service portal - a web based, multilingual portal for M2M partners enabling them to perform any kind of account-related operations Resource management - a central inventory of resources (e.g. SIM cards), also providing lifecycle management and logistical support. It is also possible to integrate the M2M platform with an external inventory Workflow engine - for handling an operator s business processes (ordering, trouble ticketing, service activation etc.). The workflow engine is equipped with a graphical process modeler and integrates easily with other platform components B2B gateway enables linking the operator s business processes with external business partners, by providing web service access to the underlying functionalities of the operator s platform (such as provisioning functionalities). Partners can integrate their own systems with the operator s platform, via web services A mobile operator providing M2M services to various industries requires extensive configuration possibilities in order to maximize the usefulness of the solution. The types of services should not limit the use of the platform. With regard to its most commonly used feature rating, the solution supports multiple pricing models: From flat-fee to usage-based fees From market segmentation to custom pricing Product bundling Cross- and volume discounting Rule-based models for custom pricing scenarios The M2M Platform is suitable for small and large operators. The platform is capable of processing information about various transaction types. Processing can be configured using rules and may include configuration for data loading, pre-processing, rating, aggregating, statistics building, correlating with other events and storing in a database. There is also the option to perform mass operations for specific groups of data. For example, all machines in a specific building can be activated / deactivated simultaneously. The statuses of the inventory items can be flexibly defined, for example, for testing and production status thus allowing the M2M partner to test the services prior to launching them, and then activate the services for all specific SIM cards at the same time. 4

5 Partner Provisioning Resource Management Partner Self Service B2B Gateway Workflow Rating Comarch M2M Platform Charging Invoicing, Reporting Mediation Partner Management Usage Data, Provisioning System Management Telco Operator s Network Account Manager 5

6 Platform integration with M2M partner systems Not only should the tariffs be customizable but also the interfaces between operators and partners systems. The operator can host multiple M2M partners with different services available. Therefore, each of the M2M partners can use different types of data in their applications. The differing needs of M2M partners typically apply to issues such as file formats for billing data and the frequency of billing data updates. Thus it does not suffice that the operator can provide access for the M2M partners to the underlying BSS/OSS platform the platform must be customizable in order to suit individual M2M partner needs. This is where the B2B Gateway comes in provid- ing the customizable interfaces for partner systems. The M2M platform also provides APIs for provisioning, status verification, status setting etc. With the M2M platform it is possible to define what services the M2M partner has access to and what kind of data is to be delivered to that M2M partner e.g. usage data, billing data and access point data. The file formats, frequency of data updates and other system parameters allow for optimized adoption to the operator s business requirements. Summary The Comarch M2M Platform presented in this document provides the necessary features required for running operators M2M businesses smoothly. The system can be integrated with the operator s existing BSS and OSS platforms (similar to how MNO can add MVNE functionalities to its platform in order to serve the MVNOs), and access to the specific functionalities of the platforms can also be provided to the M2M partners via the B2B Gateway functionality of the platform. The platform supports a large variety of different tariff types and rating parameters, thus enabling cooperation with numerous different types of M2M industries, and supports partner management and built-in self-service enabling partners to e.g. monitor their account status and perform self-provisioning actions for their SIM cards. 6

7 Benefits > Single platform for various types of M2M services Service-agnostic data processing for multiple types of industries > Capability to process vast amounts of data > Increased automation and cost efficiency > Enhanced cooperation with M2M partners Partners can perform actions on their behalf without the need for operator intervention > Flexible integration with external systems: Standardized interfaces Modern and open technology Highly customizable > Deployment flexibility 7

8 Comarch Headquarters Al. Jana Pawla II 39 a Krakow Poland phone: fax: info@comarch.pl Comarch Inc. 10 W 35th Street Chicago, IL United States phone: fax: info@comarch.com Comarch AG Chemnitzer Str Dresden Germany phone: fax: info@comarch.de Poland Bielsko-Biala, Wroclaw, Gdansk, Katowice, Krakow, Lodz, Lublin, Poznan, Warsaw Austria Kirchbichl, Wien Belgium Brussels China Shanghai Finland France Espoo Lille, Montbonnet-Saint Martin, Paris Germany Dresden, Frankfurt/Main Düsseldorf München Panama Panama City Russia Moscow Switzerland Buchs UAE Dubai Ukraine Kiev, Lviv USA Chicago Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City Comarch is a leading Central European IT business solutions provider specializing in forging business relationships that maximize customer profitability while optimizing business and operational processes. Comarch s primary advantage lies in the vast domain of knowledge accumulated in and applied to our software products. These products incorporate highly sophisticated IT solutions for businesses in all vertical sectors. Comarch has a multinational network of offices employing over 2800 highly-experienced IT specialists in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. Comarch Spółka Akcyjna with its registered seat in Kraków at Aleja Jana Pawła II 39A, entered in the National Court Register kept by the District Court for Kraków-Śródmieście in Kraków, the 11th Commercial Division of the National Court Register under no. KRS The share capital amounts to 7,960, zł. The share capital was fully paid, NIP Copyright Comarch All Rights Reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced in any form without the prior written consent of Comarch. Comarch reserves the right to revise this document and to make changes in the content from time to time without notice. Comarch may make improvements and/or changes to the product(s) and/or programs described in this document any time. The trademarks and service marks of Comarch are the exclusive property of Comarch, and may not be used without permission. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. EN