As network infrastructure becomes ever more complex, accessing a unified picture of performance becomes more difficult to achieve. Yet at the same time, it’s an increasingly vital component of long-term commercial success. For telcos that want to win the intense competition for market share, network monitoring has become a foundation for differentiation.
Telecoms networks are comprised of multiple elements. These include the IMS core – responsible for session management – the access and CPE domain, as well as metro and transport. There will also be policy and VAS servers, that are involved in the authentication of subscribers and their access to capabilities, and more. And, of course, there’s a raft of solutions involved in billing and charging. Each new generation brings new elements, as well as new interfaces and protocols to consider.
Each element generates large volumes of data that reflect both network activity and performance. It’s in leveraging this repository of information that the telco unlocks its ability to optimise service levels, minimise costs and increase profitability, to improve customer loyalty and assure overall network performance in areas such as accessibility, retainability, mobility, integrity, availability, and utilization.
Network monitoring software, which ensures these advantages can be accrued, should therefore be a critical component of the network operator’s infrastructure.
This reality is truer today than ever before given the increased competition that hallmarks the communications industry. In the fight for market share, network errors and other issues that negatively impact the end-customers’ experience must be identified and resolved quickly and cost-effectively. Unfortunately, that’s becoming harder to do as traffic volumes boom and, as noted, networks themselves become more complex.
Despite the difficulty, achieving the required level of visibility into operations and performance is table stakes. Operations teams must know what’s happening in the network, where, and why if subscriber expectations are to be met and revenue streams safeguarded. With that in mind, let’s look at six areas that underline the benefits of telecoms network monitoring software.
As noted, telecoms networks are a haystack, each component within which performs against its own, unique metrics, as well as those that relate to end-to-end flows and sessions. To identify the anomalies that can negatively impact overall performance and thus customer experience, a single monitoring solution to monitor, alert, and present performance information across all interfaces, in a unified way is becoming critical.
A complex telecoms network (often involving multiple access technologies, different vendors, and numerous deployments) generates a blizzard of event data not all of which is created equal in importance (for instance, in the case of false alerts). Network operations teams need a composite and immediate picture of their data, so they know when, and where, interventions and remedial actions are required.
Network monitoring is the first step to ensure that customer expectations are satisfied. Understanding network performance means being able to proactively respond to issues, for instance by avoiding bandwidth and server performance bottlenecks which, in turn, means delivering better quality of service. The same result is true when previously undetected system failures can be identified by monitoring, (which also increases profit by reducing losses).
Network monitoring software instantly upgrades the effectiveness and performance of the telco’s operations team via providing it with access to a comprehensive inventory of devices, the ability to analyse not only immediate issues but also long-term trends, and information necessary to ensure optimal use of all available assets. These benefits not only improve performance; they also help eliminate unnecessary expenses.
In telecoms networks and technology, little if anything is static. Both technologies and processes are in a near constant state of evolution driven by the quest to secure additional competitive advantages and to deploy new generations of technology. But as new technologies and components come onboard, they have to be managed within the context of the wider network. Effective network monitoring provides a platform through which such (inevitable) change can be accommodated seamlessly.
Cybercrime is not only proliferating. It’s also becoming increasingly sophisticated. So being able to detect and address such threats quickly, before they escalate, is vital. To effectively impact cybercrime starts with being able to accrue insights into network behaviour, which are the foundation for addressing them. Network monitoring does this, expanding the telco’s ability to protect both its data and its infrastructure systems.
Utel provides a complete Real-Time Network Monitoring solution that helps operators accrue advantages in all the areas outlined above (and others).
Based on a combination virtual and physical probes, analytics functions and dashboards, Utel technology helps telcos to gain greater control of how their networks are performing, improve service assurance, and benefit from an enhanced ability to deliver the best possible experience to their customers – across all relevant interfaces.
If you’d like to learn more, please get in touch.