Controlling the Telecom Service Lifecycle A Manager’s Guide Book Guide Book Contents 1. Today’s current carrier challenges 2. IT Executives’ greatest challenges 3. The Telecom Service Lifecycle (Balancing Strategy and Execution) 5. Execution & Control Phase 4: Manage Service Delivery Phase 5: Audit & Control Billing Phase 6: Order & Ticket Management 4. Strategy & Planning Phase 1: Define Business Objectives Phase 2: Define Solution Criteria Phase 3: Carrier Evaluation & Selection 6. Telecom Service Lifecycle Roadmap 7. Example of Selection Criteria Matrix About DuPont Solutions & The Author Today’s current carrier challenges IT Executives are more reliant on Carriers than ever before. Carrier Solutions are more sophisticated and more flexible. Products range from Ethernet, MPLS, VPLS, Cloud Solutions, Managed Solutions, etc.. ….but carriers’ ability to execute is severely lacking. We all have horror stories of service deliveries going awry. • IT Executives spend way too much time trying to get proper carrier support in the case of outages! Intense competition has driven carriers to focus attention on sales growth and neglect service delivery and support. IT Executives’ Greatest Challenge is Post-Sales Support! IT Executives Greatest Challenges In a recent Poll we ran, IT Executives reported that Post-Sales Support is the greatest challenge they face when dealing with telecom carriers. …but how do we control carriers to get better results? To answer that question, we need to examine the Telecom Service Lifecycle from an IT Executive’s perspective. Poor Support, Service Delivery, and Post-Sales Account Management are Real Challenges for IT Executives The Telecom Service Lifecycle Balancing Strategy and Execution Phase 6 Order & Ticket Management Execution & Control Phase 5 Audit & Control Billing Phase 1 Define Business Objectives Te l e c o m Service Lifecycle Phase 4 Manage Service Delivery Phase 3 Carrier Evaluation & Selection Phase 2 Define Solution Criteria Strategy & Planning Phase 1: Define Business Objectives Revenue Objectives How much is the company planning on growing this year? Will some departments grow faster than others and how will that affect usage? Cost Reduction Objectives Capex cutting might shift costs to operational spending i.e. to cloud, hosted, and/or managed solutions. Employee Growth Objectives Revenue growth probably means adding sales and support resources, which in turn requires further IT resources. Productivity Objectives Productivity goals can drive organizations to change their workflow, collaboration, and communications styles. Phase 2: Define Solution Criteria Design the solution to match your business objectives Your business objectives will clearly dictate the design of the solution. Design your WAN framework before meeting with potential carriers. Define Budget Determining your budget will define telecom service possibilities and constraints. Define Service Requirements Larger carriers tend to have more products but offer poor support in general. Smaller carriers focus more on support but generally lack full product suites. Phase 3: Carrier Evaluation & Selection Create Selection Criteria Matrix A selection criteria matrix should comprise key categories that match customer needs. Criteria Matrix Parameters will vary depending on the vertical and business need. Carrier Selection The matrix is not meant to be inflexible, it’s only meant to be a tool to help decide which carrier can best match your network design and service requirements. Contract Negotiation Contract areas can be focused on pricing, free months of service, SLAs, Delivery Times, Business Downturn Clauses, No AutoRenew clauses, etc.. Phase 4: Manage Service Delivery Appoint a Team Lead A member of the IT team should be responsible for managing the carrier. Schedule regular meetings Organize regular meetings with the Carrier including a proper kick-off. Define key milestones and dependencies Agree upon milestones at the beginning of the project. Understand carrier order and delivery process Due to human latency, lack of attention to detail, and a lack of ownership, orders can be wrong, delayed, or even lost. Be sure to track the order in order to control it. Identify Carrier Resources for each phase Determine who will be responsible for overseeing the project at each phase, so you can move items along if the order stalls. Phase 5: Audit & Control Billing Audit first bill compared to contracted price Billing disputes can be terribly frustrating. The majority of times when billing mistakes are made, they occur when bringing on new services. These errors can linger for years if not corrected. Open a Billing Dispute if billing is incorrect The key to getting credits is to be armed with the right documentation. If you are well prepared and organized, persistence will prevail, and billing will be corrected. Control billing on a quarterly basis While not a fun exercise, auditing the initial bill will clean up all sorts of potential future issues. Once billing is correct, it rarely reverts to wrong billing. Phase 6: Order & Ticket Management Clearly identify which methods will be used be to open tickets and track orders Most carriers’ back office are broken, and orders and tickets need to be escalated, which can be terribly frustrating. It is important that you take control and manage the carrier through the process. Understand Escalation Process Understand the carrier’s order process and timeframes. Designate a strong member of your team to control the order and to escalate when an order is stalled. Understand SLAs Understand the Service Level Agreement timeframes and escalate when there is a breach. Telecom Service Lifecycle Roadmap Strategy & Planning Phase 1 Define Business Objectives Phase 2 Define Solution Criteria Phase 3 Carrier Evaluation & Selection Revenue Objectives Design solution to accommodate business imperatives Create Selection Criteria Matrix Cost Reduction Objectives Identify Telecom Services needed to support solution Evaluate Carrier Options against Criteria Execution & Control Phase 4 Manage Service Delivery Appoint Team Lead Define Budget Select Carrier Productivity Objectives Define Service Requirements Contract Negotiation Phase 6 Order & Ticket Management Audit first bill compared to contracted price Clearly identify which methods will be used be to open tickets and track orders Open a Billing Dispute if billing is incorrect Understand Escalation Process Control billing on a quarterly basis Understand SLAs Schedule regular meetings Define key milestones and dependencies Employee Objectives Phase 5 Audit and Control Billing Understand carrier order and delivery process Identify Carrier Resources for each phase About DuPont Solutions & Mischa DuPont • DuPont Solutions is a Carrier Neutral Telecom Agency representing over 50 carriers across the United States. Mischa has spent his career working in the telecom industry, both domestically and internationally. • Management Services are paid for by the selected carrier, not by the End-User. His passion is in collaborating with organizations to deploy new technologies. • For more information, please go to www.dupont-solutions.com Please feel free to contact Mischa directly at mischa.dupont@dupont-solutions.com