Empirix (News - Alert) recently released a whitepaper looking at how service assurance monitoring data can be monetized.

Traditionally carriers have used network data to ensure proper performance and to quickly find and isolate any problems. Empirix decided to take a look at how companies can use service assurance analytics in network monitoring to increase revenue and reduce cost.

Using data companies can proactively prevent bottlenecks, spot trends and measure the quality of service before it impacts customers by using four methods.

Empirix suggests as the first step toward monetizing service assurance monitoring data is to increase brand value.

"The value of service quality metrics is directly related to their verifiable accuracy. However, obtaining truly accurate metrics is not simple, particularly for complex call flows that involve multiple calling parties, network segments, protocols, and/or transcoding schemes. With the right service assurance monitoring solution, a service provider can confidently measure these valuable, yet highly complex services," the report reads. "But measurement is not enough to effectively use service quality to increase revenue and brand value. To accomplish that task, you need powerful analytics to find the key "nuggets of information" that can be used as competitive differentiators."

The second suggestion is to reduce customer churn and to effectively do this a company needs to establish why customers are leaving - is it a service quality issue or a pricing issue, are the two most common reasons. Customers identified as being a high risk for church can be proactively contacted by customer care if the service assurance analytics indicate issues. The SAA will also notify operations staff of the problems and indicate what network elements are causing it.

Using SAA to predict customer behavior is another way that value can be gained from the data generated by a network. This can be particularly important when bringing a new product to market as it will allow a prediction at what point growth will begin to affect service quality and require investment in network infrastructure.

The whitepaper gives examples of SAA predicting future customer behavior as including:

Measure service take rates, for example traffic to a set of Application Servers

Assess service success against expectations, tracking usage and traffic patterns

Determine if any service quality issues exist; for example, excessive abnormal service terminations or network congestion conditions

Track if any recommended changes (pricing reduction, better marketing campaigns, or network configuration) can be associated with better service uptake

The fourth way SAA can be monetized, according to the whitepaper is by monitoring key performance indicators to ensure that contractual obligations to customers are being met and ensuring interconnected partners are meeting their obligations.

"Analyzing KPIs and creating customized reports gives an operator the best chance of spotting patterns and providing decision-critical information needed on a daily basis to support SLA commitments regarding network performance and their customer's experience," the report reads. "Furthermore, having confidence in the accuracy of SLA verification means a service provider can avoid wasting time playing the "blame" game when it comes to potential network problems. For example, having clear, definitive and shareable information on network and service behavior enables network peers to collaborate in problem resolution, making them true partners instead of simply an interconnection point or worse, an enemy."

To learn more read Empirix's whitepaper, "Four Methods to Monetize Service Assurance Monitoring Data."