Alarm Audit Cuts Costs for Carrier

Client Background:
With revenue at over $32B, this wireless giant has grown to more than 58 million subscribers by providing customers with wireless technology designed to enrich their lives.

Service Type:
 •Managed Services Consulting

Contract Initiation:
 •May 2006

Results:
 •Dramatically reduced network alarms up to 98%
 •Over 18 proprietary ‘soft’ alarms discovered
 •Over 48 new relevant alarms introduced

Objective: Improve Efficiency of Network Management Processes

After years of significant growth and a major merger with a fellow top-three wireless provider, this new mega-carrier needed to organize and fine-tune the way it handled network operations to cut costs and widen profit margins. Two years after the wireless giants rocked the industry with their merger, even though subscriber numbers were on the rise, profit lagged because they were still approaching operations as if two-separate entities: with disjointed, often-times proprietary alarming systems, separate OSS, voice and signaling platforms. Moreover, each platform was owned by a separate group with its own monitoring requirements.

The wireless carrier turned to Network Insight, based on its combination of industry best practice knowledge, such as ITIL, and first-hand understanding of network operations from years of providing managed services to service providers and large enterprises. Network Insight was tasked with performing a network operations audit to optimize and standardize alarming across all network elements and review service support processes. This would help to leverage the full capabilities of the OSS tools; and create a structured set of rule files across the network groups.

Challenge: Clear Understanding of Massive, Disparate Network with Limited Resources

As the carrier dominated the marketplace, it was expected to maintain escalating Quality of Service (QoS) standards on an increasingly complicated network. The provider delivered services that had evolved well beyond voice to include texting, ring tones, evolutions in messaging and streaming video that broadened the scope of what the carrier had to manage, all without adding new staff.

The patchwork method in which the network had evolved, along with the vast combined subscriber base, resulted in millions of alarms per day, many of them unnecessary or inaccurate. Alarm volume was so overwhelming that technicians tended to lose their sense of urgency because they knew so many of the alarms were irrelevant. Streamlining operations in house became a kind of chicken-and-egg scenario where network operators were too busy dealing with alarms to fix the process or identify if they should add any new relevant alarms to the system. "Day-to-day activities in the NOC environment would have continued to delay our focus and efforts to accomplish an audit and revision of processes and procedures," said the operator’s National Director of Network Operations.

A detailed audit of this unique network required ample manpower and expertise. "In some cases, this was work that we could have done ourselves, but due to personnel constraints it would have taken a year or more," said the Director.

Solution: Network Insight’s Real-world Experience and Proven Methodical Approach to Network Management Consulting

"In some cases, this was work that we could have done ourselves, but due to personnel constraints it would have taken a year or more. Network Insight completed this daunting mission in a matter of months. They also were able to get the different departments to spend time and focus on this project, which benefited the entire IT team."

-National Director Network Operations

Nation’s Largest Wireless Carrier

The network contained three major areas that would require auditing: Data Core (network routing and switching), Data Services (data applications, messaging platforms and external operations); and Data Voice & Signaling (SS7 networks, cell switches, STP and other wireless services). Network Insight set out to significantly reduce alarming, increase the accuracy of trap collection, increase operational efficiency and reduce unplanned network outage time using network management and vendor best practices.

Network Insight combined industry best practices such as ITIL with simple networking principles such as updating software on vendor equipment to improve supervisory ability; or reviewing vendor documentation to clarify how technicians should remedy alarms.

“Network Insight completed this daunting mission in a matter of months. They also were able to get the different departments to spend time and focus on this project, which benefited the entire IT team,” said the National Director of Network Operations.

Result: More Efficient Fault Management Saving Time and Money

Network Insight’s managed services consulting practice resulted in four main benefits for the wireless carrier:

1. Dramatically reduced alarms – The three network groups experienced a decrease in alarms of over four million per month. Alarm reduction in some areas was as much as 98%.
2. Alarm resolution clarification – The audit produced revised resolution processes that had impact on over 10,000 regularly occurring alarms.
3. Identification of valuable “soft” alarms or performance-based alarms – Over 18 propretary “soft” alarms were discovered that could be valuable across the whole network. These soft alarms were incorporated into the corporate-wide network operations process.
4. New alarm opportunities – Over 48 new relevant alarms were introduced to better manage more sophisticated aspects of service delivery.

Reducing the alarm volume freed a large portion of the technicians’ time, allowing them to focus on more important issues such as QoS. Close-time per case was shortened due to clear and accurate remedies. The standardized use of the most valuable “soft” alarms resulted in fewer unplanned network outages. And, the carrier was able to work smarter by including relevant alarms it had previously overlooked. Additionally, the carrier realized immediate cost reductions from fewer but more effective alarms. And finally the company was able to perform on-going management without additional staff, reducing the need for capital deployment.

Network Insight: Pioneers in IP NGN Network Design and Deployment

Network Insight is a pioneer in building the IP NGN core and complementary network infrastructure for service providers to offer the latest service offerings to end users. Through years of experience, Network Insight has developed a unique series of professional services designed to migrate, or build new, a complete IP Next Generation Network running advanced IP services. Regardless of the current state of your network - Network Insight can help you meet your IP network goals.

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