How Real Time Stream Processing Can Transform Telecom Billing Systems?

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As non-telecom companies eat into the profits of telcos with their OTT (over the top) offerings, the industry is in a state of flux. Due to marginalized profits and depreciating revenues via staple services (voice, data and SMS), the urge to immediately overhaul the operations is strong amongst the industry leaders. But, a sudden transformation is more likely to hurt the prospect of an established business than lead to its welfare. A cautious step-by-step transition is a much better option. And, it is best to start the transformation at the heart of B/OSS i.e. Telecom Billing Systems.

Real Time Stream Processing: The Catalyst to Transform Telecom Billing Systems

There is no one quick fix to telcos afflictions in today’s extremely challenging and competitive world. However, a good start can be made by employing real time stream processing that empowers telecom billing systems. Below are some ways, in which, real time stream processing capabilities can work to the advantage of telecom operators:

Perpetual customer experience enhancement

Traditional systems utilized by telcos focused on dissecting and deciphering usage behavior pattern for reporting purposes. While this is not a bad thing, it does not enhance customer experience, at least not in a way most modern-day subscribers (read millenials) would expect. New-age subscribers are more hands on and want instant gratification, which means you need to act fast upon the insights generated by data. There is a need to correlate different dynamics faster. For example, network performance needs to be correlated with usage data in real-time to instantly add value to the customer experience. Such initiatives are highly appreciated by the millenials and thus help a telecom operator expand its subscriber base perpetually.

Bolsters fraud management strategy

Conventional methods for fraud detection are time consuming and require considerable domain knowledge. This means that as a telecom operator one needs to make considerable investments in hiring the right people and buying pertinent software solutions. However, with faster real time data processing solutions it is possible to employ new fraud detection methodologies like fuzzy neural net, supervised neural networks or signature based fraud detection techniques. These advanced techniques are a lot more effective and work in innovative ways to curb frauds. For example, signature-based fraud detection works on the principle that people committing frauds will have usage patterns that are very much different from the normal user. By crunching the data generated by telecom billing systems in real-time, this methodology ensures that no fraudsters gets through the system without leaving a trail.

Optimizes telecom processes without burdening the already-established infrastructure

Most solutions in the market that make billing performance better require telcos to amend their present telecom billing systems, which can be a costly endeavor. However, real time stream data processing capabilities can be procured from the outside to enrich a pre-established work operation without burdening one’s in-house resources. Therefore, it is important to employ the services of telecom billing systems vendors that also have access to fast data processing capabilities at their disposal. Vcare is one such vendor that has access to all the necessary capabilities to fulfill all your telecom-billing related needs.

Important Attributes of Telecom Billing Systems

Real time data stream processing can enhance the value of a telecom operation by leveraging many day-to-day tasks. However, there are some other essential attributes of telecom billing systems that are required for beating the competition:

1. Convergent billing – By employing a centralized platform (like Online Charging System) that bills all the services based on events and sessions, it is possible to bring in complete transparency in billing. Convergent billing allows for creation of invoices that have all the service charges mentioned in a single invoice and hence, leaves no room for discrepancy. When you employ telecom billing systems that allow for convergent billing, you not only help your customers but also empower your customer support team to serve customers in a better way.

2. – Software customization can be a costly affair. Therefore, you should invest in a billing system that can be enhanced with APIs. An API built for a particular business use case helps you fulfill a particular requirement without making wholesale changes to the telecom billing system. Therefore, it is best to partner with telecom billing systems vendors that have different APIs for different situations. At Vcare, you get access to Telgoo5, which is a platform that offers different APIs that link payment gateways, websites, billing databases, shipping vendors etc.

3. Inventory management – Managing inventory items can be difficult for operators. By using Telgoo5, you get access to smart inventory that lets you manage and track devices at a granular level. It also allows for inventory assignments and reconciliation.

4. Complete reporting capabilities – It is essential for telcos to assess their situation from time to time and alter their strategy depending on customer behavior. By partnering with Vcare, you get access to a custom slave database that is frequently updated by a master database and allows you to run as many reports as you want, and at any time you want. You can add field or remove field, imagine ad hoc reporting and do manual analysis in a better way.

5. – Telecom billing systems store vast amount of customer information. This information cannot be compromised, which is why; you need a billing platform that is fortified with strong security encryption. Also, the encryption and security measures should be timely updated to meet the emerging threats. By utilizing Telgoo5 platform, you not only get encryption from start but also get a PCI-compliant platform that protects transactions done via credit/debit cards. 

Summary

Surviving in the modern-day telecom industry has become extremely challenging. Nowadays, it is necessary to think out-of-the-box and have access to all the necessary tricks of the trade. Not only you need access to quality telecom billing systems that are equipped with all the latest functionalities, you also need access to real time stream processing solutions that can leverage the performance of these systems.

At Vcare, you get access to all the resources you ever need for ensuring success in your business venture. We have multiple years of experience in the industry and have all the necessary capabilities to enhance your telecom billing.