Shift in optimisation to drive $2.5 billion managed services market

A shift towards ongoing network optimisation will drive an increase in operators treating optimisation as a managed service, according to research company ABI Research, with optimisation as a managed service totalling $2.5 billion by 2017.

ABI said that the trend is now for operators to need to manage Key Quality Indicators and QoE related parameters on an ongoing basis as part of their CEM strategies, rather than on one-off basis at the start of a network lifecycle or a consulting engagement to improve specific parameters. Accordingly, network optimisation has moved from being a one-off, or project specific, function to a on-going operation. That, in turn, makes the provision of network optimisation as a managed service more of an option for operators, with ABI saying that optimisation as a managed service will account for 10% of the total network managed services market by 2017. 

“With the shift from voice to data services, the rise of tiered plans, the increasing focus on customer and service level management, and the growing complexity of networks and tools, there is a need for optimization to change with the times,” says Aditya Kaul, practice director of mobile networks. Kaul added, “Optimisation can be seen to be moving from the network domain into the services management and customer experience domains, with each of those eventually being treated as a part of what is being termed as professional or managed services for mobile operators.”

 

With the growth of SON, managed services are expected to see some level of consolidation especially in the network layer. While a SON should automate the initial network configuration, the dynamic optimisation element that oversees the complete end-to-end performance management should remain in the hands of operators and managed services vendors, ABI said in a statement.
 
ABI Research expects the large infrastructure vendors to soon start providing dedicated monitoring and optimisation on an on-going basis from their Global Network Operations Centre’s (GNOCs). While some of the network optimisation elements are already provided today, the service and customer experience optimisation is where the opportunities lie, the company said.