CX transformations reveal common success factors
There are now dozens if not hundreds of clear examples of communications service providers delivering successful customer experience transformations and a pattern of success factors has emerged...
18 Mar 2021
CX transformations reveal common success factors
This article complements our recent report Taking a cloud native approach to customer experience. Download it now to find out the most common success factors that are driving customer experience transformations for CSPs around the globe.
Six common success factors evident in CSPs’ CX transformations include an initial focus on systems of engagement; a commitment to cultural change and new skills training; leveraging TM Forum resources like the Open Digital Framework (ODF) and Open APIs; and a move away from closed systems and vendor dependence. These common success factors include:
Videotron’s CX transformation and new brand launches provide a good example for how some of these common success factors come to life. Videotron had launched its first all-digital mobile brand, Fizz, in roughly 10 months with just 30 people, on a cloud native partner solution from Etiya, running in the AWS cloud. Its solution was designed following the TM Forum Open Digital Framework (ODF) and its information framework guidelines for ordering, business interactions and product catalog.
The multi-play operator followed this with Helix, a new TV and internet service launched in nine months, from an updated and expanded Etiya platform, still running in AWS. Videotron’s core mobile and pay TV business support systems (BSS) were running on-premises in a private cloud, making for a hybrid cloud BSS environment. An enterprise architecture project determined that Helix would need a cloud native platform to underpin the digital-first CX it envisioned.
Exhibiting another common success factor, the solution leveraged 26 TM Forum Open APIs and contributed 10 new APIs to the catalog, so that integration was achieved not only across the BSS environments, but also with more than 50 other IT systems from enterprise resource planning (ERP) and engineering to Videotron’s enterprise service bus (ESB) and its AWS API gateway.
Communications service providers (CSPs) worldwide have been reorienting their organizations around customer-centricity and transforming the customer experience (CX) that they deliver across all channels and, in increasing cases, all lines of business. There are now dozens if not hundreds of clear examples of CSPs delivering successful CX transformations that have achieved and often exceeded their stated goals.
Six common success factors evident in CSPs’ CX transformations include an initial focus on systems of engagement; a commitment to cultural change and new skills training; leveraging TM Forum resources like the Open Digital Framework (ODF) and Open APIs; and a move away from closed systems and vendor dependence. These common success factors include:
- Replacing legacy systems of engagement first with a new, microservices-based digital experience layer (DXL), ultimately supporting all customer-facing channels.
- Committing to cultural transformation evidence by investments in restructuring organizations, adopting customer-centric team structures, and reskilling teams to adopt Agile, DevOps and continuous integration (CI), continuous delivery (CD) and continuous testing (CT).
- Reducing organizational silos, closed systems, and vendor dependence.
- Consolidating systems and a well-defined effort to shed legacy systems and costs, enabled because the cloud native tech stack has proven easier, more efficient, less expensive, and more agile.
- Leveraging TM Forum Open APIs and Open Digital Framework (ODF) to accelerate timeframes and improve outcomes.
- Working with expert partners that bring domain specific CX expertise, knowledge of CSP IT environments and business processes, cloud native skills and technology, and a willingness to engage in the ecosystem.
Videotron goes cloud native
Videotron’s CX transformation and new brand launches provide a good example for how some of these common success factors come to life. Videotron had launched its first all-digital mobile brand, Fizz, in roughly 10 months with just 30 people, on a cloud native partner solution from Etiya, running in the AWS cloud. Its solution was designed following the TM Forum Open Digital Framework (ODF) and its information framework guidelines for ordering, business interactions and product catalog.
The multi-play operator followed this with Helix, a new TV and internet service launched in nine months, from an updated and expanded Etiya platform, still running in AWS. Videotron’s core mobile and pay TV business support systems (BSS) were running on-premises in a private cloud, making for a hybrid cloud BSS environment. An enterprise architecture project determined that Helix would need a cloud native platform to underpin the digital-first CX it envisioned.
The Fizz cloud native platform provided an answer, though it needed to expand. While Fizz was designed around a pure digital, all self-serve CX, Helix needed an omnichannel experience encompassing mobile, web, agents and shops. This approach is like the digital experience layer model that has been a common success factor across many CX transformations.
Exhibiting another common success factor, the solution leveraged 26 TM Forum Open APIs and contributed 10 new APIs to the catalog, so that integration was achieved not only across the BSS environments, but also with more than 50 other IT systems from enterprise resource planning (ERP) and engineering to Videotron’s enterprise service bus (ESB) and its AWS API gateway.
Industrywide commitment to CX improvement
As more CSPs have reported in regarding their CX transformations, a pattern of success factors has emerged. There is an industrywide commitment to focusing on customer relationships, transforming culturally to adopt cloud native ways of working, as well as transitioning the IT landscape underpinning CX systems to cloud native architecture.
For more about how CSPs are taking their CX cloud native, download the TM Forum report Taking a cloud native approach to customer experience.
