Twenty years ago, telecom was a fairly predictable game.  Prudent investments in new networks and enhanced services platforms would -- more often than not -- generate enough profits to keep shareholders happy.

Too bad those carefree days are over.  Today, the competitive stakes have been raised considerably.  In fact, we can confidently say that  telecom is now one of the riskiest businesses on the planet.

To be sure, global deregulation has been a major destabilizer, but there's also potent outside-the-industry threat.  Indeed, several industries are now crashing together: telecom, cable TV, satellites, consumer electronics, broadcast TV, and, of course, the internet.

Video service is the perfect battleground of this clash as the customer gets a stunning array of delivery choices: Google's YouTube, Apple iPod, Motorola RAZR, France Telecom IPTV, DirectTV's satellite, NetFlix DVD-by-mail, and NTL's cable channel. 

In an environment like that, perhaps the only telecom strategy that makes sense is to spread your bets and pick the winner-of-the-hour: run with ringtones as long as you can till the next "killer service" comes along.  But realize the game has changed.  With so many market and competitive forces at play, picking winning services becomes a lot like rolling the dice.

Because it's so hard to accurately predict service winners, telecoms are forced to become experts in rapid experimentation, and that implies having enormous operational dexterity.  Telecoms must not only launch services quickly, they must also bill for them creatively and provision them efficiently to keep ahead.

Which brings us to an interesting conclusion.  At a time when operational systems and OSS/BSS platforms are being stretch to their limits, it's crucial that revenue leaks, fraud, customer bad debt, and interconnect billing problems don't sink the business in the midst of the system juggling.

In other words, there's a growing need for telecom risk management solutions that monitor operational systems for problems and keep the business on an even keel.

To understand the market for these vital risk management solutions is the purpose of Dittberner's latest report: Telecom Risk Management: The Market for Revenue Assurance, Fraud, Credit and Cost Management Solutions.

This 192-page report examines the market for software and services that broadly serve the telecom risk management business, a federation of operational systems auditing and risk-reduction functions, particularly: fraud management, credit management, revenue assurance, and cost management.

Dittberner sizes the market at $531 million in 2005. Roughly 60% of the market is software (including customization, maintenance, and service bureau work) and the remainder is consulting, everything from helping a carrier establish a revenue assurance and fraud management organization to auditing operations and create effective business processes.

The report analyzes the forces shaping the risk management solutions  market and shows how you and your company can capitalize on the opportunities.  For instance, you'll learn:

• How next generation fraud management solutions are tackling VoIP and subscription fraud;
• Which software features are table stakes and which are the key differentiators in today's revenue assurance market?
• Why fraud management vendors are eager to sell combined fraud and revenue assurance solutions.
• What initiatives telecoms taking to seamlessly share fraud profiles with one another.
• What's behind the latest credit management technologies such as credit configuration changes on the fly and risk profiles that "adapt" to changes in customer behavior.
• What revenue assurance sectors are hot and where can software vendors learn a trick or two from consulting firms?
• Why margin assurance is likely to become a crucial assurance market in wireless and IPTV markets?

Whether you're a carrier executive aiming to improve your revenue assurance or fraud infrastructure or a vendor delivering these or related solutions, the Report will help you discover:

• What are the most important market priorities?. . .
• Which vendors have industry market share and are leading in specific niches?. . .
• Which players should you partner with?. . .
• What emerging trends can your company capitalize on?
• Which are the growing market sectors and which are in decline?

Please scan the executive summary and full table of contents below. You'll see why this report delivers the tactical and strategic information you need to fully understand where telecom revenue assurance is headed.

To access this market intelligence today, contact Dittberner's sales office.

P.S.  The  Telecom Risk Management study is one research module in Dittberner's on-going OSS/BSS KnowledgeBase covering the breadth of telecom software innovations on a yearly basis.

P.P.S.  To demonstrate to you the value of this report's intelligence, we're happy to arrange a briefing so you can personally preview sections of the report on-line.  Simply call Dittberner's sales offices at 301-652-8350. 

Table of Contents

A. Executive Summary (2 pages)

B. The Fraud Management Market (5 pages)
   1. The Function of a Fraud System
   2. Fraud and Next Generation Networks
   3. The Growth of Mobile Subscription Fraud
   4. Internal Fraud
   5. VoIP Generated Fraud
       a. VoIP Fraud -- The Pena Case
       b. ECtel's Solution for Managing VoIP Fraud
   6. The Fraud Management Services Business

C. Credit & Collections Management (4 pages)
   1. Customer Qualification and Acquisition
   2. The Technology Behind Credit and Fraud Management
   3. Collections at Business Accounts

D. The Revenue Assurance Market (4 pages)
   1. Background & History
   2. Market Drivers
       a. Recover Lost Revenue
       b. Fixing Billing & Provisioning Problems
       c. Large Organizations Create Large Assurance Problems
       d. Mergers Create OSS Chaos
   3. Organizational Issues Driving the Market
       a. The Revenue Assurance Carrier Organization
       b. Firemen Moving To Focus on Prevention

E. Revenue Assurance Functions & Applications (22 pages)
   1. Switch-to-Bill Reconciliation
   2. Revenue Assurance Problems that Lead to Under-Billing
   3. Order Entry and Management Errors
   4. Interconnect Billing Analysis
   4. Call Simulation and Testing
   5. Broadband & Data Services Revenue Assurance
       a. What makes Data Services Hard to Revenue Assure
       b. Typical Error Types in Data Services
          (Under-billing, Over-Billing, Stranded Assets, Ghost Assets)
       c. Solving the Network Crossword Puzzle
       d. Mapping Corporate Billing Hierarchies
   6. The Telco-to-Enterprise Billing Problem
       a. Audit Schedule: Whenever the Customer Complains
       b. The Scope & Root Causes of Billing Problems
       c. Pilot Study: Extent of Telco-to-Enterprise Assurance Issues
       d. Service Acceptance & Outside-of-Contract Issues
       e. Commission-Based Audit Firms & Chasing False Positives
       f. Bountiful RA Services Opportunities
       g. Global Estimate of Enterprise Customer Over- & Under-Billings
   7. Revenue Assurance for Next Generation Services
       a. Content & Video Distribution in Triple Play
       b. Service- & Device-Dependent Revenue Collection
       c. Partner Management
       d. Complexity of Bundles & Settlements
       e. Advertising
       f. Licensing and Royalties
   8. Profit Maximization Solutions
      a. Real-Time International Call Margin Management
      b. Usage Trending Analysis
      c. Content Partner & Profit Management Software
   9. Other Revenue Assurance Functions
      a. Network Leasing Cost Management
      b. Line Level Usage
      c. Construction Management
      d. Sales and Marketing Analysis
      e. CSR Credit Adjustments
 10. Reconciling Network Inventory/Provisioning
 11. Telecom Controls Software
      a. The Power of Telecom Controls in OSS/BSS Software
      b. Example: Controls in the Billing Cycle
 12. Margin & Cost Analysis - Power of Revenue Stream Visibility
 13. Custom Contracts and Profitability Analysis

F. Data Integrity (4 pages)
   1. Sources of Data Integrity Problems
      a. Manual Processes
      b. Billing errors
      c. Householding
      d. Product Management Complexity
      e. Contract Tracking Errors
   2. Systemic vs. Pervasive Data Errors
   3. Correcting Data Integrity Problems
   4. Business Process Modeling: The Manual Side of Data Integrity
   5. Business Process Management Tools

G. Evolution in Software & Consulting Delivery (3 pages)
   1. Revenue Assurance Borrows a Trick from Fraud Management
   2. Data Management Layer Advances
   3. Closing the Gap Between RA Software vs. Services
   4. Tool Vendors in the RA Consulting Game
   5. The Value Add of Revenue Assurance Consulting
   6. Should Consultants Provide Software to Clients?

H. Mergers & Acquisitions (1 page)
   1. Market Consolidations Abound
   2. Will Fraud and RA Merge?

I. Market Opportunities (3 pages)

J. Market Threats (1 page)

K. Carrier Recommendations (1 page)

L. Market Segmentations & Forecasts (6 pages)
   1. How Dittberner Develops its Market Segmentations
   2. Software Market Growth Forecast
   3. Revenue Assurance Consulting  
   4. Software Distribution Channels 
   5. Software by Geographic Region 
   6. Software by Service Provider Type 
   7. Software by Service Provider Size 
   8. Software Delivery Method 
   9. Revenue Assurance Software by Application 
 10. Revenue Assurance Consulting Services 

M. Case Studies (48 pages)
   1. Cellcom Wireless Revenue Assurance
   2. Vodafone UK Revenue Assurance
   3. Cable & Wireless: Building a Global RA Program
   4. TDC Denmark: Fraud & Customer Risk System
   5. Comcast Revenue Assurance

N. Vendor Profiles (102 pages)
   ACL Services
   BassetLabs
   CAPE Technologies
   Control Point Solutions
   cVidya
   ECtel
   Fair Isaac
   Hewlett-Packard
   Infogix
   KPMG
   Lavastorm
   Lightbridge
   Neural Technologies
   Praesidium
   PricewaterhouseCoopers
   Subex Azure
   Vibrant Solutions

Market Segments & Forecasts

Dittberner has also sized and forecasted the worldwide risk (fraud, credit, revenue, and cost) assurance market for software and services in this report.  Our forecast model is based on several parameters: Dittberner's historical tracking of the OSS market; Dittberner’s forecast of Next Generation Network (NGN) services growth; discussions with carrier experts; and interviews with software and consulting vendors.

The report provides 2005 base revenue and 2006 to 2010 forecasts for the global market in the following segments:

Fraud & Credit Management Software
- by Application: Fraud Management, Credit Management
- by Geographic Region:
      North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific, Latin America
- by Carrier Size:
      Tier 1 (>$10 bill. revenue), Tier 2 ($250 mill. to $10 bill.),
               Tier 3 (<$250 mill. revenue)
- by Channels of Distribution: Direct vs. Indirect
- by Service Provider Type:
      Circuit wireline, Broadband, Wireless, Cable/DBS, MVNO
- by Delivery Method:
      Software license, Prof. services (software related), 
          Service bureau/ASP

Revenue Assurance & Cost Management Software
- by Application: Revenue Assurance, Cost Management
- by Geographic Region:
      North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific, Latin America
- by Carrier Size
      Tier 1 (>$10 bill. revenue), Tier 2 ($250 mill. to $10 bill.),
               Tier 3 (<$250 mill. revenue)
- by Channels of Distribution: Direct vs. Indirect
- by Service Provider Type:
      Circuit wireline, Broadband, Wireless, Cable/DBS, MVNO
- by Delivery Method:
      Software license, Prof. services (software related), 
          Service bureau/ASP
- by Software Application:
       Network-to-Bill Assurance, Broadband Assurance, 
       Billing & Rating Assurance, Switch Trans. & Call Simulation,
      Traffic Routing Assurance, Margin Assurance, Other

Revenue Assurance Consulting & Auditing Services
- by Services Type:
      Enterprise Contracts & ICBs, Interconnect Billing Consulting,
      Network-to-Bill Consulting, Sarbanes-Oxley Related RA,
      Retail Billing Consulting, Margin Assurance Consulting, 
      Collections Consulting, Advertising/Royalties Consulting
      Other Consulting

Case Studies

1. Cable & Wireless: Building a Global Revenue Assurance Program

Cable & Wireless is one of the world's leading international communications companies. The International business unit operates integrated telecom companies in 33 countries offering mobile, broadband, domestic and international fixed line services to residential and business customers, with principal operations in the Caribbean, Panama, Macau (China), Monaco and the Channel Islands.

The plan was to deploy standardized Best Practices and technology through a centrally located Centre of Excellence and in doing so "push knowledge" to the far-flung regions through a generic RA controls model, corporate benchmarking and monitoring tools.

The case shows how C&W measured the revenue assurance maturity of  local operations, providing document examples of how leakage opportunities were identified and followed up on.

The case also explains how C&W's corporate RA team provided three levels of service to the global business units.  In addition, the challenges of knowledge transfer and local vs. central control are discussed.

2. Cellcom: Revenue Assurance & 3G Wireless

Cellcom is the largest mobile operator in Israel, serving 2.6 million subscribers in a nation of only 6.5 million people. 

Cellcom recognized the need to implement better controls on its billing and mediation systems. The company was growing fast, so the ad hoc relationships that existed between the billing, IT, marketing, and engineering departments needed to be better organized. A formal revenue assurance unit was needed with direct authority and one that did not rely on other departments for resources.

The case explains the typical problems a 3G operator faces in revenue assurance verifying interconnect bills, monitoring international roaming, and reconciling provisioned services with billing.

This case also makes a strong case for why revenue assurance software is essential for getting a wireless operator's revenue assurance program running smoothly with high morale among team members.

3. Comcast: Revenue Assuring Telephony and Cable Services

Comcast Corporation is the leading cable TV operator in the U.S. with 23.3 million cable customers, 10 million high-speed Internet customers and 1.6 million voice customers

Comcast entered the telephony business in 2002 when it acquired AT&T Broadband (the former TCI cable operation).  Data integrity problems were extensive in the AT&T Broadband business that Comcast acquired.  
Many consumers getting service were not being billed, in many cases billing codes were in error, and call usage records weren't flowing through properly.

This case walks you through the sources of revenue leakage as it shows the rationale for investing in a platform to automate the auditing of data and help prioritize corrections.  

The case explains how the RA team is organized across 40 divisions and how the tool is used to manage daily audits and track cases in circuit and VoIP telephony..  Also discussed are future plans to apply lessons learned in telephony to Comcast's video and broadband service lines.

4. TDC Denmark: A Combined Fraud & Customer Risk Management Program

TDC (formerly Tele Danmark) Group TDC is the leading provider of communications solutions in Denmark, the second-largest telecom provider on the Swiss market and has a significant presence in Nordic and Central European markets serving some 15 million customers.

TDC recognised the need to improve its credit and fraud management processes, which at the time were based upon traditional monitoring of individual customer entities, and limited to selected parts of the group's major business areas.

The case shows the steps the organization and software development program TDC went through to implement a combined fraud and credit management solution.

Details on the case explain the rationale for moving to a combined fraud and credit management program, the challenges overcome, and the resulting benefits and changes the new program brought to TDC.   

5. Vodafone UK: An Advanced Wireless Revenue Assurance Program

Vodafone Group plc is a British mobile phone operator and the largest mobile telecoms in the world with a annual turnover of $55 billion.  The  Vodafone UK subsidiary has roughly 17 million subscribers, 61% of whom are prepaid subs with an ARPU of $44 a month.

In its revenue assurance operation Vodafone UK had a dedicated RA organization since late 2003 and is currently staffed by 10 people.  While the company's own investigations led it to believe it had no systemic revenue leakage, it wanted a better program for taming revenue losses due to ad hoc incidents.

The case lays out the road map for an advanced wireless revenue assurance program, with milestones, challenges, architecture diagram, and plans for enhancements such as margin assurance.

Vendor Profiles & SWOT Analysis

Several software vendors and consulting vendors have established themselves in the telecom fraud and revenue assurance scene.

In this section, Dittberner provides in-depth coverage on 17 of those companies, analyzing each of them in 5 to 7 page profiles delivering:

• Historical expertise and background
• Significant investors
• SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
• Significant customers
• Major partnerships
• An explanation of key products

Dittberner's profiles deliver a highly compressed snapshot of vendors in a market place and each profile is organized in the same format so you know immediately where to go to find what you need.

The profiles also include a "Dittberner analysis" section, a candid assessment of where the vendor stands against its competitors and the suitability of its products or services for the needs of the market.

A detailed estimate of each vendor’s 2005 revenue market numbers is also supplied. A list of vendors profiled follows:

About Dittberner’s
OSS/BSS KnowledgeBase

Dittberner’s OSS/BSS KnowledgeBase is a market research service designed to help telecoms and OSS/BSS vendors track OSS/BSS innovations and companies.

The KnowledgeBase provides a sweeping view of the marketplace with analyses on everything from Billing and Middleware. . . to Provisioning and Service Assurance.

Dittberner feels it’s important for a telecom research firm to make the leap from market analysis (seeing all the parts) to true market synthesis (pulling all those parts together).

Our research goes beyond beyond discussing market trends to synthesizing those trends in the context of market opportunities, threats, and their strategic impact to your business.

Bottom line: When you finish reading Dittberner's research, you don't ask: "Ok, what's it all mean?"

Web Database and Desktop Analysis Software

Dittberner’s OSS/BSS KnowledgeBase delivers a fully organized body of knowledge and analysis across two interfaces: 

1. On-Line Database for searching the text and visuals of our analysis modules, case studies, and vendor profiles, and 
2. A desktop Software Application (using Visual Foxpro) with market segmentation and forecast data that you use to view customized data tables, graphs, vendor comparisons, and print documents.  Note: all data and forecast tables can also be downloaded to Excel and comma delimited files.

Below are some sample screens (NOTE: the examples show non-revenue assurance and non-fraud companies)

Search analysis in On-Line Database. . . 

Compare vendor market strength in grids. . .

View, modify, and print our estimates of company financials. . .

View market share graphs in international currencies. . .