8144 Cloud Amp Carrier Routing Turning Complexity Into Capability

8/13/2019 8144 Cloud Amp Carrier Routing Turning Complexity Into Capability

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DIGITALK White Paper

www.digitalk.com

Cloud & Carrier RoutingTurning Complexity Into Capability

...Cloud is the future for carrier routing.

Carriers that can see the layers of long-

term and short-term benet will be theones to take advantage...


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Cloud & Carrier Routing: Turning Complexity Into CapabilityDIGITALK White Paper

Cloud is driving protability, agility and efciency in carrier interconnect routing and wholesaletermination ser vices, ensuring no margin opportunity is lost.

From struggling to service new business opportunities to creating new efciencies, the cloud isgiving carriers more options while reducing complexity. The key is to ask the right questions and getthe most out of cloud platform providers to maximise ROI.

Cloud models are showing that there is a different way forward for players routing their owninternational and national long distance trafc or offering wholesale voice termination. Cloud canaddress a lot of carrier routing issues if carriers ask the right questions in their businesses and oftheir cloud providers.

What are my carrier routing pain points today?

The international voice market accounts for more than 438 billion minutes, according toresearch rm Telegeography, with strong volume growth being matched with a challenging pricingenvironment. This means carriers need to revaluate how they approach the market and look atbetter ways to serve their businesses.

Retail operators ve to six years ago were using three to four termination providers for 100% oftheir trafc, today the same operators are using 10-20 termination providers, many of which areniche operators. The number of carrier interconnects wholesale service providers are dealing with

can be in the hundreds. More players mean more routes, more rates, and an increasingly fragmentedmarket. Carriers looking to terminate or route voice trafc need to be able to take advantage ofnew competition that comes with these new players and not lose out on opportunities to grow.

The only way carriers can be really successful is when they have the infrastructure in place tosupport demand and do it efciently. Keeping costs down while maximising ROI is the mantra butsometimes sounds like an aspiration rather than a reality.

How can cloud improve on the approach weve already got?

When evaluating cloud platforms and deciding if they are right for a business, the common refrainis Why should we change? Weve always done it this way. Carriers have always done it their wayand the pain points havent gone away. The market has exploded with new players but the overall

approach has stayed largely the same. The pain points of yesterday are still the pain points of today.Carriers need increased capability without extra cost. The end-to-end management of carrierrouting with a cloud platform can bring the billing, routing and charging management under oneumbrella and allow carriers to focus on growing their businesses. It eliminates the need to procuremultiple solutions and hire staff to manage and integrate several different technologies or services.Cloud can cover a full set of carrier requirements with a single complete solution.

Consolidated infrastructure on a cloud platform reduces cost of adoption for carriers that

otherwise couldnt afford to create their own solution. Capabilities such as wholesale billing andmedia transcoding require costly support systems and network servers to deploy, but they can bereadily enabled as part of a cloud platform. SBC capabilities like interoperability based on SIP andH.323 exibility, media transcoding, DTMF inter-working can all be part of a cloud solution and solvemultiple carrier headaches.

Ask the right questions to get the best ROI

Company nameDIGITALKType of businessTelecoms Platform

Provider

HQ LocationUKCloud ExpertisePrepaid Consumer

Applications and CarrierCloud Routing andManagement Platforms

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Where operators can spend months evaluating various SBCs, routing platforms, billing and OSS/BSStechnologies, then spend further time and cost in attempting to integrate them and work throughthe teething troubles, the right cloud solution offers these functions pre-integrated and ready forservice. When a service is managed in-house and under one roof, there can be a perception ofincreased control but that can become a fractured environment with multiple vendors feeding intoan ecosystem that can be burdensome as well as labour intensive.

Wholesale service providers see a fragmented market with increased oppor tunity matched withincreasing complexity. They need complete solutions that meet their needs today.

What will cloud mean to my bottom line?

Cloud services are changing long distance carrier routing because the internet, with broadbandaccess, expanding international network capacity, and the growing number of VoIP interconnectcarriers, has created new opportunities to increase service margins and reduce operations costs.

A cloud solution for carrier routing means the elimination of capex and the reduction of thenumber of people needed in order to scale the business and drive protability. It offers low star t-upcosts and inclusive platform maintenance, as the cloud partner is able to manage and maintain theservice on behalf of the carrier. Cloud users are nding that tasks previously performed by teamsof multiple switch engineers, routing analysts and IT engineers can now be managed by one or twoadministration staff.

This takes away the need for large numbers of dedicated staff as well as large upfront investments inon-premises equipment. It also eliminates platform overheads like space, hardware, power, backups,and upgrades, which should be included in the cloud platform.

In addition to greater efciency, there is also an element of risk management. Building a newcustomer price plan and making sure that it delivers the right level of margin can be a highlycomplex and time-consuming process. Carriers can use automated solutions to streamline theiroperations, while providing the margin and quality guarantees necessary to protect their businesses.One way to address that is to be able to create a baseline plan automatically against a number ofsupplier rate plans, with guaranteed margins.

As well as taking cost and margin into consideration, pre-dened QoS policies can be applied toensure that the right performance is being delivered for each carrier choice. A hosted management

solution can help apply rules to mark-up buy price to guarantee margin, add in a QoS plan toguarantee quality, then offer a customer price with minimal time and effort expended. This reducesthe responsibility of two departments in a single role with a rapid response to rate changes.

Similarly, automated features of a cloud platform can alert the business to new opportunities andissues. Effective alerting of anomalies and trends can keep issues management to a minimum andenable carriers to deliver a better service with less effort.

While these features protect the carrier, the pay-per-usage model means no overcharging orunnecessary cost. Whether a carrier is doing 50 million minutes or 500 million minutes, a cloudplatform is built to scale with the operation, making it easier for the carrier to do more business andin turn increase prots. It also safeguards the business with burst capacity to manage trafc spikes.Theres a capability to grow with no risk while adding to the business bottom line.

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A cloud solution for

carrier routing means

the elimination

of capex and thereduction of the

number of people

needed in order to

scale the business

and drive protability


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How can I be sure that cloud is right for my business?

There is a tendency to think that cloud is only for carriers that are operationally light and carrylow volumes of trafc. Cloud isnt only for smaller players. Larger carriers can benet from theexibility and agility of cloud solutions while still delivering high-value and high-quality services.

Larger operators are often accustomed to building out their own infrastructure and running

services top to bottom. The rationale is that this is necessary to maintain service quality standards

and that the value of the capital investment will be recouped in the long term. Extending analready complex infrastructure is a complicated and time-consuming business, soaking up internaleffort and external costs. At the same time, markets are now much more dynamic with constantlychanging requirements and ever-shortening ROI timescales that can be difcult to achieve withlarge, long-term capital projects.

Often the result is that operators build silo infrastructures to get to market quicker, but resultingin an ever-more costly environment to maintain that ultimately hampers the organisations abilityto move quickly.

Cloud solutions offer a viable and attractive option, enabling major operators to be as agile anddynamic as much smaller organisations, while retaining their standards for service reliability andquality. Cloud solutions have no impact on current infrastructure but allow players of all sizes

to get to market quickly and tap new revenue streams. It enables business units to respond tocurrent and changing market demands without compromising on quality or reliability.

As an example, an incumbent carrier can use a cloud solution to introduce a new competitivewholesale termination service entirely managed by their wholesale business unit and capture newrevenue in weeks rather than months.

The benets of a cloud solution for larger operators then becomes clear:

No or minimal impact on existing infrastructure

Rapid time to market for new services

Flexibility to meeting changing market requirements

Ability to meet the service standards that the business demands

Lower business risk with no new capital investment

Low operations costs, enabling resources to be devoted to the business opportunity

Major carriers will of course continue to maintain their role as infrastructure operators as well asservice providers but some have found after using a cloud solution on a single project, the overallperspective on cloud within the business changes. This experience allows cloud to be consideredfor other opportunities when its utility is apparent and the timing is important, as well as the itslow cost of adoption.

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Example: Notications

on a low customerbalance, falling customervolumes, declining ASR,carrier unavailability orreduced margins, enablesaccount managers andbusiness operations staffto manage issues before

they progress or becomedamaging to the business.

There is a tendency

to think that cloud

is only for carriers

that are operationally

light and carry low

volumes of trafc.Cloud isnt only for

smaller players


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What does cloud mean for the availability of services?

Cloud providers should guarantee that all services run on a high availability infrastructure. Theyshouldnt distinguish between their largest customers and smallest. The infrastructure investmentsmade by cloud providers should benet all their customers. The level of ser vice availability offered isan important differentiator for cloud providers from the lowest point of entry to the highest.

Questions around cloud availability are important because it is essential for a carrier to achieve highlevels of availability themselves as they grow their businesses. That is why cloud providers that offergeographic redundancy or geo-redundancy can be powerful technology par tners. Beyond usinghigh availability hardware and software, cloud platforms need to be designed to ensure that services

will operate if there is a service failure. Cloud providers that utilised separate data centres so thatmultiple sites are operating with a shared service are in the best position to deliver cloud platforms.

Similarly, a cloud provider should guarantee the protection of carriers with secure interfacesbetween their carrier customers while offering secure access to the platform, and security ofcustomer data held in the cloud. A potential concern with a cloud solution is the lack of access tonetwork features and data that would otherwise be available on a deployed platform.

Part of this concern should be addressed by the availability of services supported by the cloudprovider (so less low-level access is required), but the reassurance of being able to step in directlywhen it is required. This includes ful l access to all CDRs, with the ability to check details of each call .It also includes access to troubleshooting features; such as detailed call trace facilities that mightotherwise only be available using third party network probes not applicable on a hosted platform.

These features can allow the customer to troubleshoot network and interoperability issues, forexample determining that an ASR drop on a route is an issue with 100Rel support between twocarriers and not a codec negotiation issue. Detailed tracing lters can provide industry standardWireshark PCAP network capture les of both signalling and media for sessions matching a speciccriteria, enabling rapid identication and resolution of day-to-day interoperability and voice qualityissues.

Cloud solutions can offer each customer their own unique peering interfaces and IP addresses,ensuring distinction of interconnects between the same termination partners and absolute signallingand media security.

Cloud is a driver for greater availability of service for carriers rather than limiting an offering. Itall comes down to the provider that is selected. In working with a cloud provider, carriers should

demand availability in terms of the infrastructure the provider has in place with the appropriatelevels of redundancy as well as the SLAs to back it up.

What is the difference between a managed service and a cloud platform?

This is a question that goes to the hear t of cloud. The difference is exibility and agility. The cloud isa much more active and evolving approach to a service offering. A good cloud solution should bea fully managed service but it shouldnt only be that. It should be able to scale and grow with thebusiness with upgrades and expansion.

A cloud service is a service that evolves to deliver better technology and service to the client. Itshouldnt be an instance of buying a box and having it managed by an external provider. This isntabout rental of a box or kit. It is about taking advantage of the elastic nature of cloud while alsoreceiving 24x7 support and maintenance.

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In working with

a cloud provider,carriers should

demand availability

in terms of the

infrastructure the

provider has in place

with the appropriate

levels of redundancy

as well as the SLAs

to back it up


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While managed services have a denite role to play in many carriers businesses, the distinctionbetween a cloud service and a managed service is an important one when making a purchasingdecision.

What roadmap should be expected for the evolution of cloud services?

Cloud providers should offer frequent upgrades to their platforms. Owning your own equipmentis often thought of as offering more control and being less costly in the long term but if a carrierselects a platform that is constantly evolving then there will be a limited need for reinvestment overthe long term.

Cloud services which share too much infrastructure with a large customer base require the consentand buy-in of all customers prior to an update, stiing the ability to deploy new feature releases. Theright cloud solution should be based on a hardware and software architecture that allows customersto benet from regular feature releases and interoperability xes without a drawn out releaseschedule.

When the platform is in place, the cloud helps carriers to grow in capability continuously. There havebeen vendors and solutions on the market that looked like the best solution three to ve years agobut have not evolved so arent the best solution today. That is because theyve failed to keep pushingtheir platform forward. The cloud model is ideal for making the jump from an obsolete platformwhile ensuring that the adopted platform is futureproof.

Cloud is a way to de-risk and futureproof a carriers business. Platform obsolescence is a realconcern and there is an opportunity for carriers that are based on legacy TDM infrastructure to usethe cloud to make the leap to VoIP. It is the fastest route to market for these carriers and one wheretheir cloud provider has already done the hard work.

The de-risking of platform obsolescence should be part of the decision making process for carriers.It is easy to evaluate the explicit costs of the platform today as well as its features but it is what ishappening with the technology tomorrow that will lead to long-term benet.

Whats the future of carrier routing and cloud?

The cloud is a natural step forward for carrier routing. The market will see cloud move from aminority platform to a majority over the next three to ve years. The impact on internationalvoice will be to reduce long distance termination costs, increase voice quality, and leave moreopportunities for value-added service providers.

Looking at other industr ies like enterprise IT, cloud has been fully embraced and innovation in thecloud is excelling. That is a strong indicator of the potential of cloud architecture. Cloud is certainlythe future for telcos because it allows them to focus on differentiating their services and customervalue rather than on infrastructure, which isnt necessarily where they provide the market with themost value.

In addition to the clear benets of cloud, discounts on switching fees for carriers on the sameplatform will also hasten the move to cloud. There will be further partnerships between cloudproviders and third parties to allow carriers to trade more effectively, publishing and reviewing ratesamongst themselves. These are just some of the other benets of a cloud architecture that carrierswouldnt get if they stuck to an on premises solution.

Cloud is the future for carrier routing. Carriers that can see the layers of long-term and short-termbenet will be the ones to take advantage.

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Cloud is the future

for carrier routing.

Carriers that can see

the layers of long

term and short term

benet will be onesto take advantage

It is easy to evaluate

the explicit costs

of the platform

today as well as its

features but it is

what is happeningwith the technology

tomorrow that will

lead to long-term

benet


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1. Are you carrier-neutral or are you also operating your own wholesalebusiness?

2. What kinds of fees accompany the platform and the pay per usagemodel? Are there any hidden fees?

3. Do you offer your own platform technology in the cloud or are you

dependent on third party vendors?

4. What is your cloud platforms technology roadmap? How often is your

cloud platform upgraded?

5. What level of availability does your cloud platform offer? What level of

availability do you get from the very lowest entry point?

6. What service support and SLAs are offered?

7. Can I get detailed diagnostics and call traces so that I can troubleshootcarrier interoperability issues?

8. Do you offer dedicated carrier interfaces so trafc is never shared withother customers?

9. Does your solution support prepaid services as well as postpaid

wholesale billing?

10.What else can I do with the service? Do you support integration to aretail services platform in the cloud?

Cloud Provider Checklist:10 Questions to Ask a Potential Provider


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2013 DIGITALK Limited

www.digitalk.com

DIGITALK Carrier CloudDIGITALKs SBC VoIP Peering solution is now available as the DIGITALK Carrier Cloud, offering you all thebenets of our carrier-grade routing and management platform, without the need to acquire and manage yourown equipment.

DIGITALK Carrier Cloud enables you to arrange your own carrier agreements, set up your interconnects,determine your services and rates, and congure your own routing plans.

You can scale your capacity requirements up and down at will, without having to install or decommissionequipment. Not only does that minimise the risk of new market entry, but it also enables a rapid response to

increases in demand.

cloud.digitalk.com

For more informationplease contact

[email protected]

United Kingdom

Brazil

Dubai, UAE

Germany

Italy

Singapore

USA

About DIGITALK

DIGITALK is a trusted vendor of Carrier,Consumer and Mobile communications

platforms delivered in the cloud or on

premises to service providers worldwide.

DIGITALK offers complete, highlyscalable service delivery solutions with

the applications, prepaid charging andintegrated management that enable

customers to roll out services rapidly and

protably.

+44 1908 425000

+55 11 5185 2775

+971 6 598 5473

+49 69 6655 4480

+39 06 54832 130

+65 6866 3770

+1 954 315 3922

DIGITALK WP Carrier Cloud 1303a

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8144 Cloud Amp Carrier Routing Turning Complexity Into Capability