well, especially as subscribers begin substituting the home viewing experience for rival, more expensive forms of entertainment.  Enterprise customers pose greater challenges, however—according to CIMI, most enterprises plan on a three-year cycle and procure network services with an average contract life of about 27 months. In any given year, about 40 percent of enterprise buyers are reconsidering service purchases and are likely to ponder changes in their service plans, or even in their providers. Historical indicators illustrate that pricing pressure on services is noticeably greater in tough economic times, slashing the profit margins on enterprise services.

Service providers can neither change overall economic cycles nor persuade customers that these cycles don’t matter, of course, so it’s vital that they offer products and services closely aligned with buyers’ present and future priorities. Some providers are more in step with their customers’ changing requirements and demands than others, but all face the challenge of introducing and maintaining the next-generation solutions that will keep them ahead of the competition. The current recession may impact operator momentum, but it cannot impede it.

“We don’t see operators cutting back dramatically on their plans—we do see some discretionary budget being postponed or pulled back, but most operators are still proceeding on the more valid objectives of transforming their business, like introducing new services and trying to reduce and manage cost structures,” says Oracle senior director of product marketing Leonard Sheahan. “We’re seeing operators of all flavors offer bundled services. All fixed-line operators are trying to roll out triple-play services, and some are now getting into mobile to offer quadruple-play bundles.”

As providers migrate to Service-Oriented Architecture models to accelerate the deployment of next-gen services, Oracle’s portfolio offers both carrier-grade database technology and Oracle Fusion Middleware, ensuring operators the competitive edge necessary to remain flexible and agile in the months and years ahead. In collaboration with Oracle, providers can design, build and manage a Service-Oriented Architecture, accelerate the development and delivery

WHEN THE ECONOMY DOES TREND UPWARD, AND CONSUMER SPENDING REBOUNDS IN KIND, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT SERVICE PROVIDERS BE IN POSITION TO OFFER SUBSCRIBERS THE ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS SOLUTIONS THEY DEMAND.

 

of new services, share information more efficiently across multiple systems and cut integration costs by leveraging existing IT investments. Oracle is the first vendor to offer full ERP, CRM, fulfillment, service delivery, billing and revenue management capabilities, and is uniquely positioned to support new services as well as streamline and integrate existing processes and systems.

“All of our applications are product-based—that’s the core of the Oracle value proposition,” Pereyra says. “We’ve taken great pains to create best-in-class products that integrate data models with best practices work flows, allowing service providers to buy and implement software with minimal customization. Our products are based on open standards, which means they more easily integrate with the existing infrastructure. That saves money and time by enabling providers to get their systems up and running quickly, spend more time on other projects and realize a cash flow from customers much earlier.”

 

ONE ESSENTIAL COMPONENT of the Oracle Communications Service Fulfillment portfolio is the Oracle Communications Service Activation platform, which