Oracle: Key takeaways from TM Forum Live

NICE, France – Much of the telecom and wireless world was focused on software last week, as TM Forum hosted the industry in Nice, France. RCR Wireless News was there and had the chance to learn how some of the software industry’s biggest players view wireless now. Oracle’s Gordon Rawlings, senior director of regional marketing, shared his three key takeaways.
1. Network function virtualization needs to deliver more than promises
“The interesting challenge we have as an industry is to really think about how can we really get some value out of that quickly?,” said Rawlings. “We can all make a lot of noise and what we’ve been trying to focus on here is what are the very real cases where you can apply that kind of technology and actually realize some value quickly.”
Rawlings said that for Oracle, the answer to that question lies in its two recent telecom software acquisitions: Tekelec and Acme Packet. Tekelec makes diameter signaling routers and policy control solutions, while Acme Packet specializes in session border controllers.
2. Focus on the enterprise
Rawlings said he is talking with clients frequently about how to unlock value in the enterprise market. “We need to think a lot differently in terms of the enterprise marketplace,” he said. “We all get tied up in a lot of the energy of the consumer side, but actually enterprise is incredibly compelling in terms of the margins and the service expectations there.”
Rawlings noted that those service expectations are ramping up quickly. “It’s hard because increasingly those customers are also looking for consumer expectations in their service and so you do need to bring the two together,” he said.
3. Empower customers
“I think it’s a really interesting conversation about how we can empower consumers to really personalize their own services,” said Rawlings. Other software vendors are clearly having those types of conversations as well. This week Ericsson announced a new solution for T-Mobile that will include the ability for customers to “dynamically change their service plans.”
For carriers, the key is creating tools that empower the consumer in a way that enhances revenue. “You need to tailor those services and put them in a monetization framework which works for the service provider,” said Rawlings. The company’s growing expertise in policy will serve it well in this arena, and virtualizing these solutions will help networks deliver resources to customers only when they are requested.

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