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By Erik Linask

Associate Editor,
Internet Telephony magazine

 

Technology today is evolving tremendously rapidly, but frequently, on their own, they provide little advantage to service providers as they look to gain an edge on the market.  The fact is simply that providers all have access to the same technology, and it ultimately comes down to how they incorporate and manage their technology investments to serve their customers.

 

In order to facilitate increased automation of business processes for service providers, Visionael Corporation has recently launched it IP VPN solution that is designed to allow service providers to easily automate service delivery, management, and provisioning tasks to ease new service rollouts and meet SLAs.  The high level effect, of course, is increased customer satisfaction, which is the real end game.

 

Visionael, a service automation and delivery management software and services developer, got started some two decades ago in the AutoCAD business.  It then rebranded and reincorporated in 1997 as a network management software provider.  Last year, it acquired OSS solutions provider Defero, which allowed the integration of workflow automation into the Visionael product set.  The new joint product set was designed to automate and optimize services across IP MPLS networks.

 

The IP VPN solution, though not an entirely new concept in the market, differs from others in that it includes VPLS and Pseudowire capabilities, according to Kristi Siple, Visionael’s director of product marketing.  In addition, Visionael has added to its IP VPN solution it VoIP automation solution, which, according to Stiple, “automates the extensive repetitive tasks that it takes to migrate from a PBX to an IP PBX (News - Alert) environment.”

 

In addition, Siple argues that Visionael has an advantage over others in the space because of its historical focus on IP, while others, like Oracle and Amdocs (News - Alert), have traditionally provided fundamental value to the transport business.

 

Many solutions developers today are intent on providing customized solutions, Visionael has adopted the theory it is best to include all features and handle customization through configurations.  Indeed, this enables the development of a single product, rather than custom products for each customer, and it also leaves room for future needs customers may have.  By including added features, Visionael ensures its software can accommodate future its customers’ future requirements.

 

The new IP VPN solution offers automated, scaleable IP VPN services, which are designed to enhance network operators’ ability to delivery new and existing services, using enhanced network data generated through the automated discovery and provisioning of devices and configurations. 

 

According to Siple, the main push right now with the IP VPN product is the managed or hosted services space, which is gaining momentum, as well as cable operators, which continue to compete with telcos.  She says there is also a wireless play with the product, especially now that wireless operators are increasingly needing to offer large data centers and are beginning to embrace the inventory and OSS space more.  She anticipates a number of major decisions in the IP VPN area will be made in the coming year or so by wireless operators.

 

“Our IP VPN solution will enable MSOs to drive SMB service growth, making this highly under-served market an integral part of their strategic management operations,” added Craig Nichols, president and CEO of Visionael.  “Now, operators can easily provide their customers with guaranteed end-to-end high availability and management of services.”

 

Visionael believes that network operators will increasingly differentiate themselves through the services they wrap around their technology offerings, which means the more they are able to automate their processes and support customers through a proactive approach, the greater their successes will likely be. 

 

“Price is only going to get them so far,” said Siple.  “The sooner they are able to break away from being technology providers to focusing on customer service, the sooner these providers will be able to differentiate themselves.”

 

To support this, Visionael has created a platform that is entirely technology agnostic, so that it can be deployed by nearly any service provider, including the more than 60 hosted service providers, telcos, cable operators, and government customers is currently has.

 

In addition to its IP VPN solution, Visionael offers a modular products set that includes its NRM (Network Resource Management) product, of which its Discovery Reconciliation Manager is an inherent part.  Together, they not only provide the repository and the modeling of information, they also enable automatic discovery to ensure network information is routinely updated.  Visionael also has created a Workflow Automation Manager, which provides a macro view of the workflow, which can then be combined with the automation solution for a complete package.

 

The entire set is designed to provide increased efficiency and accuracy for network operators, letting them leverage their technology to provide enhanced customer service.

 

“If you aren’t looking to automate your data-related processes and tasks, you’re not really providing much value from an OSS perspective anymore,” concluded Siple.

 

 

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