Buying bespoke solutions can cut operators’ OpEx by up to 70%: Iskratel

Operators should avoid blindly implementing off-the-shelf automation solutions if they want to see significant reductions in their Operational Expense (OpEx), Iskratel’s CTO warned.

According to Damjan Slapar, operators looking to virtualise their networks can increase savings by up to 70% by working with vendors to create and deploy tailor-made solutions which not only keep ongoing costs to a minimum, but also future-proof infrastructures against rising consumer demand.

“In the midst of the changing industry landscape, operators need guidance, they need more than just a technology provider,” he said. “There is no one size fits all approach when it comes to network automation and the individual requirements of each network must be carefully considered and addressed in order deliver the huge OpEx savings operators crave. Without this expertise, operators will find their ongoing costs to be significantly higher; up to 70% in some cases.”

Slapar highlighted leading French wireless internet provider Ozone SAS as an example of where a customised solution brought additional benefits and savings. When Ozone’s customer base rapidly rose, its Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) became incompatible with its existing provisioning system, leading to manual and time-consuming activation and provisioning.

As well as providing its home gateways, Iskratel designed a software solution which includes a specific default configuration to facilitate fast activation of new customers and their services and a zero-configuration provisioning process. This automated system cut the number of help desk tickets and reduced truck rolls. A Service Level Agreement was also established, giving Ozone access to professional and responsive support.

This brought significant operational savings, reducing the time needed for reconfiguration of home gateways by 40%, the time needed for problem diagnosis by 30% and the time needed for issue resolution by 70%.

“By addressing the specific requirements and challenges of Ozone’s network, we were able to design a software solution which seamlessly integrated the third-party CPE into Ozone’s provisioning system, streamlining its operations with reduced activation and response times,” said Slapar.

“The responsive and reliable support we provide builds a partnership beyond the “usual business” and instils confidence that ongoing OpEx costs are as low as possible – something which all operators need as their networks are put under unprecedented strain.”