communications providers who are collaborating with national healthcare organizations to introduce broadband-based services like in-home patient monitoring—e.g., network-connected video services that offer 24/7/365 contact between patients and caregiv-ers, offering some elderly and disabled citizens a welcome alternative to prolonged stays in residential care facilities. “These types of services demand that service providers go far outside the realm of their familiar partnerships, but they add significant value to the broadband pipe,” Vittore says.

The reality is simple: The world is evolving, and service providers must transform their businesses in kind. “As the economy changes, you can’t wall off the hunt for new services,” says Oracle director of product solutions Brian Pawlus, who cites advertising and social networking services as potential catalysts for operator revenue growth. “You have to be innovative, and you have to expand. If you can do that without investing in infrastructure services, and if your underlying infrastructure is flexible, then you’ve got a leg up on the competition.”

FOOTNOTES
 http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/cda/doc/
content/us_industryoutlook_2009Out
look Telecom_January2009( 1).pdf
 http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/04/07/v-
or-l-economists-debate-recoverys-shape/
 http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid
=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=26597
 http://searchtelecom.techtarget.com/
tip/0,289483,sid103_gci1334929, 00.html

MANAGING THE
NEXT GENERATION

WE LIVE IN A BROADBAND WORLD. Life takes place at high speed. The broadband masses exist in a state of seemingly perpetual motion—for a generation raised on anytime, anywhere access to voice and data, not even immediate gratification is fast enough. Faced with intense competition, eroding profit margins and growing subscriber appetite for unique and innovative products, service providers both large and small are transforming their businesses to more effectively grapple with the realities of this new era in communications. But keeping pace with consumer demand and the related pressures of an ever-changing marketplace requires flexibility and agility across every step of the process from service creation and deployment through to revenue recognition—and while operators boast myriad strengths, flexibility and agility have never been among them.

As operators deliver next-generation IP services across an expanding number of channels, they require a unified customer view across all services, not to mention underlying network and IT resources. That’s why an increasing number of service providers are turning to Oracle for help. Oracle’s integrated applications offer operators the tools to more rapidly adapt to changes in subscriber demand, enabling providers to optimize their IT systems to reduce costs and risk while simultaneously accelerating new service deployment and revenue growth.

“Most service providers find it difficult to launch new products and services in a timely manner,” says