The good news is that folks are talking about (even some folks are executing PoCs) SDN/NFV in terms of understanding the technology. The fall season is also loaded with educational and technology conferences and webinars that are addressing SDN and NFV from lots of different perspectives which is helpful as you solidify your 2016 plans. Plus, there is increasing collaboration between vendors and suppliers (hardware, software, technology) to drive this even more to the next level with lots of options and approaches. The next step is building the checklist of items (both strategic and tactical) to continue this journey and prepare for 2016.
The SDN/NFV Checklist:
A simple checklist could consist of the following:
- Vendor(s) Selection with supporting uses case
- Platform Architecture design
- Business case and ROI model with cross functional owners
- Process changes
- System Architecture with changes and integrations
- Capturing the Voice of the Customer
- Marketing and sales cadence
- Security systems, policies and procedures.
- Creating a PoC’s
- Measuring success (criteria)
- And so much more!
Everyone will have their own version of list with different layers of details and complexity depending upon your organization and approach, the key is creating a cadence to help move the ball down the field. There will always be some type of delicate balance of taking costs out of the business with new technology while you are building new services to introduce to the market and drive new revenue sources.
You’re asking: “Do I Leverage, Enhance or Build?”
The big ticket item in this process could be working thru (assume the technology is still emerging and evolving everyday) is how to leverage or enhance or build OSS/BSS systems to deliver value added services in an efficient timeframe that leverages this technology. The question is complex depending on the use case as well as existing system architecture and legacy platforms that could include Customer Portals, Reporting, CRM, Billing, Pricing, Inventory, Trouble Tickets, and Customer care, to name a few.
The short term goal is get services to the market to validate the offering and customer experience while we minimize the OSS/BSS work as much as possible. There are lots of system approaches here and the key is getting a product to market to test the waters and then scale quickly. The ability to operate in an agile framework with a complex technology and integration can be very helpful in this area.
The ability to keep this simple can be challenging in both the short and long term as well as keeping the voice of the customer (the user experience) in the foreground. Simplicity can be found in how the customer consumes the services to the messaging and value proposition while the technology does the work behind the scenes.
So what are your next steps?
You’re on the hunt for a SDN / NFV provider – Make sure you talk to a provider who is flexible to your needs… and has a 360 view on not only building you a solution, but building you a solution for Productization and monetization that accelerates revenue, cuts costs, and amplifies the customer experience.
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