Clarity Case Study

Sri Lanka Telecom Case Study

Sri Lanka Telecom Deploys Clarity’s Integrated Next Generation OSS and Delivers Real Service Improvements

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Innovative OSS Implementation Delivers Quantifiable Business Benefits

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) is the Tier 1 tele-communications opera-tor of Sri Lanka. SLT is the only integrated operator in Sri Lanka providing international and national fixed line, data and mobile services. We are a techno-logically advanced, reliable and customer focused telecommunications service provider with a global reach. Our mission is to anticipate and fulfill the communications requirements of all sectors of the nation.

SLT is heavily focused on developing standards of customer care. We are building the capacity to respond effectively and speedily to customer demands and provide total customer satisfaction.

In line with world’s best practice, we have been improving our IT infrastructure through the implementation of enhanced computerised information systems. In 2003 we commenced an Operational Support System (OSS) initiative, to modernise and automate the way we manage our network and provide service to customers.

Through an international tender process, we selected a next generation OSS from an international company called Clarity. Today we have over 600 staff using Clarity’s world leading technology to understand what network we have, how it is performing, and how it is used to provide service to customers.

The system manages our network inventory and automates our delivery and repair of services. It is a single system that manages the diverse range of technologies deployed in our network, from 60 year old circuit switching

equipment to the latest next generation network equipment. It manages our complete range of products which include PSTN, ISDN, ADSL, data services, hosting, internet, international and national long distance and VoIP. Since implementing Clarity OSS we have seen dramatic improvements in both the way we do business and the level of service we provide to our customers.

Since implementing Clarity OSS we have seen dramatic improvements in both the way we do business and the level of service we provide to our customers.

Mr Shuhei Anan Director, SLT

SLT’s Application of BSS/OSS

1. We are the first incumbent Tier 1 in Asia Pacific to replace all legacy systems with a single next generation OSS /BSS platform

2. We are the first to deploy a single OSS network wide across both legacy and next generation network - dramatically extending the life of existing network whilst reducing the time to deploy new technology

3. We are the first to support all services including POTS, data, internet, NGN and CDMA WLL within a single integrated provisioning, assurance and billing system delivering true convergence to the customer

4. We achieved one of the fastest implementations in the world - with the system supporting the entire business - all network, services and customers - within 24 months

5. We ensured the success of the project by empowering our staff and developing a true “strategic partner” relationship with our vendors Clarity and Convergys

6. We set, monitored and met key performance improvements including time to deliver service, network utilization and monthly revenue

7. We achieved the normally incongruent goals of reducing costs whilst increasing levels of service

8. We achieved a return on our multi million dollar investment in just 3 months

9. In an increasingly competitive market, with decreasing tariffs, we are growing our market share and increasing our revenue

10. Our innovative application of leading technology and world’s best practice is delivering true value to our business, our customers and our nation

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Deployment of Infrastructure to Meet Customer Demand for Connections

Our OSS provides online access to accurate information about our network inventory and available capacity. We have invested over half a billion dollars building our national and international telecommunications network.

OSS has helped us leverage new tech-nologies, such as a 25 million dollar CDMA wireless local loop network that extends the coverage of our existing network. We have deployed over 50,000 new copper lines last year with an addi-tional 60,000 lines on track for deploy-ment this year.

CDMA will facilitate deployment of an additional 150,000 lines per year. With line deployment status managed by the system we are able to deliver new lines to customers within hours of them being installed. As a result we have substantially reduced the size of our waiting list and the time that customers wait for service.

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OSS Automatically Tracks and Allocates our Network Facilities, Increasing the Number of

Services Delivered and Reducing the Number of Services Waitlisted

Product Innovation and Leadership

OSS helps us to quickly deploy the best technologies to deliver the latest products and services to our customers. We are today in an era of advanced technology. Palm top devices that combine telephone, camera and computer into a single device, fiber optic cabling that delivers voice, data and images at the speed of light, an internet that provides access to global information, and Operational Support Systems, such as Clarity, which enable us to leverage these technologies to provide innovative, high quality, on demand services to our customers. This is a new world, with new demands and exciting new challenges.

OSS is a vital technology in sustaining our position as market leader and innovator. We enjoy market domination with 87% of fixed line services. Through our subsidiary, Mobitel, we reach about 19% of active mobile customers. With over 65% of the data services market we are setting the standards in corporate communications. And as Sri Lanka’s premier Internet Service Provider, we are first to launch the latest in high speed internet connectivity, applications and content.

“We have recently launched a number of innovative product and service offerings including DSL for residential customers and IP VPN/MPLS for corporate customers. We now have over 70,000 customers using our next generation IP services with over 500 new subscribers joining us each month”

“Knowing where our network is and what it is being used for has enabled us to turn our investment in network to revenue. Despite an extremely competitive environment, our total network utilisation is now 84% and our revenue has increased by 4%.”

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Reduced Time to Deliver Service

We have dramatically increased the number of fixed line services delivered each month from 841 in July last year to 11,493 in June this year; an increase of more than 1,000%.

From the time an order is placed in one of our shop fronts, our OSS tracks, manages and streamlines the provisioning of that order.

When the system went live in February 2004, the time to deliver service dramatically decreased with the time to provision a customer fixed line service reducing on average from 14 days to 2 - 4 days. Some fixed line services are now provisioned same day which is a first for Sri Lanka.

Since deploying the system we have supported a 1,600% increase in the volume of provisioning transactions whilst maintaining existing staffing levels and our improved provisioning times.

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Total Orders P rovisioned % Provisioned in 24 Hours % Provisioned within 48 Hours OSS Automates our Provisioning Process Enabling a 1,600% Increase in Provisioning

Transactions

Rapid Repair of Service Faults

Our dedicated customer call centres reflect the changing face of SLT - that of a more customer centric, efficient and professional institution where technology, such as OSS, opens the door to great service. We have over 100 customer care staff in our dedicated ‘121’ call centre managing thousands of customer calls per day.

“With OSS adding intelligence and automation to our fault management process, our rate of clearing faults has climbed to 96% in the Colombo Metropolitan area and 84% across the whole country”

Our Next Generation IP Network is delivering the latest technology, products, services and

content to Sri Lanka

“With OSS to automate our provisioning processes we are managing a 1,600% increase in the volume of provisioning transactions whilst maintaining existing staffing levels and provisioning times”

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Our OSS provides our call centre staff within a sophisticated system for managing customer faults. Within seconds of a customer reporting the fault, the system automatically distributes the fault to the appropriate SLT staff and tracks it through to resolution. In the last year our OSS has helped us quickly resolve over 250,000 reported faults. Our rate of clearing faults has climbed to 96% in the Colombo Metropolitan area and 84% across the whole country.

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Total No . of Faults Managed % To tal Fauls Cleared Adding OSS Intelligence and Automation to Fault Management Processes Enables us to Improve Fault Clearance Rates and Manage Increased

Volume of Customer Calls

Increased Workforce Productivity

The productivity of our highly skilled, nationwide workforce has improved drama-tically. The number of lines per employee is a key measure of telecommunications produc-tivity and this has improved by 300%.

In 2004/2005 we established 6 Outside Plant Maintenance Centres (OPMCs) to manage our outside plant and customer premise networks. OPMC, a fairly new concept to Sri Lanka, centralises resources and facilitates rapid deployment to locations where they are needed. Advanced computer technology, including our OSS has made this possible, and has resulted in considerable savings while providing superior maintenance. Our OSS takes

customer orders and fault tickets from our 58 customer interface centres (teleshops and regional offices) and automatically distributes work to the appropriate OPMC. This has vastly improved our delivery and maintenance of service to new and existing customers.

Our OSS/OPMC concept has paid off quite well, with higher productivity in resource management and much improved customer care. We plan to open another 10 OMPCs in 2005/2006. We also plan to use OSS to support centralisation of resources in the core network where transmission and switching functions take place.

With over 7,000 employees workforce productivity improvements have a direct impact on our bottom line. They have enabled us to increase revenue, profitability and returns to our shareholders whilst reducing the time and cost to deliver service to our customers.

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Average No. Fault Tickets Managed Per User

Average No. Service Orders Managed Per User OSS has Improved our Operational Efficiency Enabling our Existing Staff to Manage Increased Volumes of Services Orders and Customer Calls

Reduced Revenue Leakage

We implemented OSS in conjunction with our next generation convergent billing system from Convergys. The two systems work hand in hand to provide automated and customer friendly billing. A single bill can be produced for any combination of products and services.

“Our multi million dollar investment in OSS and BSS was returned within 3 months. Since the system has commenced operation we have reclaimed USD 6 million of lost revenue per month”

“OSS has supported a restructure of our organization resulting in higher productivity, cost reductions and much improved customer care”

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With real time integration between OSS and billing we can automatically and instantly initiate billing for new services. And, with OSS keeping an accurate record of every service in the network, we can ensure that we are billing for each active service. Since implementation we have reclaimed USD 6 million of lost revenue per month.

Simplifying Data Migration

We knew that the biggest risk to a project this ambitious would be the data migration. We had millions of items of equipment and exchange lines to find. We had very complex, uniquely configured corporate data services and hundreds of thousands of “virtually configured” next generation IP services.

Clarity quickly recognised both the risks and opportunities. They helped us plan and manage a fairly unique data migration strategy. We

combined the capabilities of those network platforms that that could provide data (auto discovery) with the knowledge of our local exchange staff. Guided by Clarity’s data migration experts, and using Clarity’s data migration methodology and toolkit we achieved over 95% data accuracy.

Return on Investment in Just 3 Months

SLT’s multi million dollar investment in OSS was returned within 3 months of the system being implemented in our pilot exchange area. Our returns grow each month as we add additional exchange areas.

The system is truly delivering real value to the SLT business through increased productivity, reduced costs, improved utilisation of network

“It certainly helped to be working with a company experienced in implementing OSS for incumbent Tier 1 operators. Clarity quickly recognised issues and risks and implemented clever strategies to mitigate against them.”

“SLT is extremely happy with the Clarity product and the level of professionalism, flexibility and cooperation shown by the Clarity Team in working with our staff.”

Industry Leading Integrated OSS and BSS Platform from Clarity and Convergys

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and reduced time to deliver service to customers. This enables SLT to deliver real value to Sri Lanka by offering a higher quality and broader range of service, more quickly, and at very competitive prices.

“SLT is extremely happy with the Clarity product and the level of professionalism, flexibility and cooperation shown by the Clarity Team in working with our staff.”

The End Result? A Transformed Business

OSS has been a key enabler in creating a brand new image for SLT. It has delivered the workforce productivity and customer service improvements required for our “new visage” as a technologically advanced reliable and

customer focused telecommunications service provider with a global reach.

OSS has facilitated our deployment of new technologies such as CDMA and advanced products such as IP VPN MPLS. It has enabled organizational improvements including the establishment of centralized call centers that provide a single point of contact for customers, and regional operations centers that co locate resources and equipment for rapid deployment to locations where they are needed. It has reduced the time and cost of delivering service to customers, whether it be new services or maintenance of existing ones. It has helped us to achieve our goals of technology leadership, increased productivity and vastly improved customer service.

“With OSS integrating our customers with our network, automating our processes, and enabling service innovation we can set our sights on a world beyond.”

“OSS has been a key enabler in creating a brand new image for SLT. From connection to call completion, every step is accomplished with a high degree of professionalism incorporating top class technology.”

Mr Rohana Wijeweera Chief Information

Technology Officer, SLT

Summary of Business Benefits

• 6 million dollars of reclaimed revenue

• Productivity improvements of 300%

• 50,000 new lines deployed last year with additional 60,000 lines on track to deployed this year

• Latest technologies readily integrated into existing network and innovative new services launched to meet customer demand

• 1,000% increase in number of services delivered and decrease in services being waitlisted

• Fixed line delivery times reduced from 14 days to 2 to 4 days

• Fault Clearance Rates increased to 96%

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About Sri Lanka Telecom

Sri Lanka Telecom is one of the country’s most vital utility companies with an annual turnover in excess of Rs.29.5 billion. The group of company has over one million customer base including multinational corporations, large and small companies, retail and domestic customers.

Today with NTT of Japan as a strategic partner, SLT provides facilities and services to its customers, which are unmatched in scope. These services range from domestic and international voice, advance data transmission services which include internet services on leased lines, broadband [on ADSL] and dial up, data circuits, frame relay solutions, to IP based services such as IPVPN, total solutions of combination of multiple services, satellite uplink services and mobile telephony through fully owned subsidiary Mobitel. The company was also awarded an AAA (sri) rating by Fitch Ratings Lanka followed by a B+ international rating by Fitch International and Standard & Poor’s.

For more information, please visit us at www.slt.lk.

CLARITY INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

15 BLUE STREET

NORTH SYDNEY NSW 2060

AUSTRALIA

TEL: +61 2 9925 5000

FAX: +61 2 9955 9999

WWW.CLARITY.COM

About Clarity

Clarity enables its customers to simplify their operations with a unified operational management solution. Clarity provides an integrated, modular solution to optimise and automate core operational processes to manage network build and movements, develop and sell next generation products, and deliver and assure the quality of customer services.

Clarity solutions provide the lowest total cost of ownership using embedded best practices and process-driven workflow to reduce the complexity, risk and cost of operations. Clarity empowers its customers to generate and protect revenue and enhance the complete customer experience. With over 35 Telecom Tier 1, 2 and 3 customers worldwide, Clarity solutions currently help utilities around the world manage over 250 million subscribers.

Established in 1994, Clarity has offices worldwide. For more information, please visit us at www.clarity.com.