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Overview
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Vendors have touted the advantages of convergent charging solutions for several years, but many carriers remain unconvinced about the business case. Their reservations have included, among others, the return on investment (ROI) of such a solution and the potential migration risks. The cost of making changes to convergent charging platforms can be high, because they are attached to the network. Many carriers prefer to run separate charging systems until they see a compelling business case for making a change. In the first part of this study, "Dataquest Insight: Technology Framework and Decision Criteria for Convergent Charging," we presented different approaches to the architecture of convergent charging solutions and suggested a decision framework for choosing such a solution. The second part of this study provides detailed information for each of the 21 vendors' convergent charging solutions. The goal is to provide carriers with an evaluation framework for the leading convergent charging solutions in the market. We refrained from performing a side-by-side comparison because each carrier's business and technology requirements are different. A solution that works well for one carrier might not be appropriate for another. Instead, we provide insights into each solution's features and functionalities and perform a summary evaluation based on these features and the vendor's position in the market. Each section of this report includes the following categories:
- Solutions architecture, including a functional diagram.
- Solution functionality and scope.
- Assessment of the solution.
This report covers Oracle. The other vendors covered separately are Alcatel-Lucent, Amdocs, Comarch, Comptel, Comverse, Convergys, Ericsson, Eskadenia Software, FTS, Intec, Integrated Telecom Solutions (ITS), LHS, Nokia-Siemens Networks (NSN), Openet, Orga Systems, Redknee, Tango Telecom, Telcordia, VeriSign and VoluBill.
- Convergent charging solutions come in two flavors:
- Behind the network, where the rating engine, account balance manager, third-party content manager, and so on are integrated to the network via a real-time mediation layer.
- Mixed architecture, in which all the applications are behind the network, with the rating engine integrated into the network.
- Many carriers will migrate toward convergent charging in a modular fashion.
- The convergent charging vendor landscape is crowded and ready for consolidation.
- Traditionally, network equipment providers (NEPs) provided the service control point (SCP) as part of the intelligent network (IN). Recently, client/server-based software solutions have emerged with improved implementation and the ability to make changes.
- Carriers should evaluate whether their current charging solutions are adequate to support future business needs, or whether they require a convergent charging solution to grow their business.
- Carriers should examine the following points before committing to a convergent charging solution:
- Internal traffic statistics.
- Current and proposed system architecture.
- Their ability to manage their customers.
- Their efficiency in operating their back- and front-office systems.
- The capabilities of their back- and front-office systems to evolve with their business requirements.
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Table of Contents
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List of Tables
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List of Figures
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Analysis
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Oracle's solution strategy for the telecom vertical is to provide end-to-end solutions that address the most critical business and operational issues of global operators. Oracle currently offers a broad range of operations support system (OSS) and business support system (BSS) applications for communications companies that can also leverage their enterprise software products in Siebel and PeopleSoft. Recent acquisitions, which include MetaSolv, Portal, Net4Call, HotSip and Netsure Telecom, have focused on broadening and delivering on their strategy. Oracle also provides a range of tools for managing business data, supporting business operations and facilitating application development. In recent years, the company has aggressively used acquisitions to expand its product lines, including the above-mentioned purchases of PeopleSoft and Siebel Systems, as well as Hyperion Solutions. In early 2008, Oracle announced that it had agreed to acquire BEA Systems for about $8.5 billion. In addition to convergent charging, Oracle's portfolio includes Oracle Service Fulfillment Suite, Oracle Communications Unified Inventory Management (UIM), Oracle Communications Mobile Subscriber Provisioning, and Oracle Service Delivery Platform. System integration, implementation and support services are provided through partner relationships. Examples of these relationships include Accenture, Capgemini, IBM, Tata Consultancy and Wipro Technologies. Representative clients include Telenor Mobile, Vodafone Spain, Vodafone Pacific, Orange Switzerland, Fastweb and Telefonica.
In 2007, Oracle had revenue of $18 billion. For convergent charging, the company partners with HP for the SCP: OpenCall prepay, and various network protocol and integration vendors. Oracle targets all global markets from Tier 1 to Tier 3 across Internet Protocol (IP), IN, cable, mobile and fixed-line operators. Table 1 gives an overview of Oracle's convergent charging solution.
Table 1. Oracle Convergent Charging Overview
Solution Name |
Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management |
Company Headquarters |
Redwood City, CA |
Average Deal Size |
N/A |
Prepaid/Postpaid Ratio |
50/50 |
Prepaid Customers (Number) |
50+ |
Representative Prepaid Customer Names |
Telenor Mobile, Vodafone Spain, Vodafone Pacific, Orange Switzerland, Fastweb |
Target Geographies |
Worldwide |
Convergent Charging Customers (Number) |
50+ |
Convergent Charging Customer Names |
Vodafone properties, Orange properties, Fastweb, Telefonica |
Target Geographies |
Worldwide |
Key Partnerships |
|
Product |
HP |
Services |
Accenture, Atos Origin, BearingPoint, Capgemini, CSC, Deloitte Consulting, HP, IBM, Infosys Technologies, Satyam, Siemens, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Value Team, Wipro, Enabil Solutions, PCCW, New Century and Marlexsoft |
N/A = not applicable, TCS = Tata Consultancy Services |
Source: Gartner (April 2008)
Oracle defines convergent charging as the ability to support both real-time (online) and batch (offline) events for any service (voice, data, content, messaging, and so on), for any payment method, for any network. This capability is wholly supported by Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management, which processes events either directly from the network, or in batch. The solution delivers performance-optimized interfaces for real-time and offline transactions, and provides a single graphical pricing tool for creating convergent rate plans for events. The system holds a single account record, with all the services, payments and balances. The system core is optimized to address the needs of a complete revenue capture platform. It is organized around the key requirements of the OSS and BSS, to deliver a fully convergent, single-platform solution. One optimization is a real-time interactive mode for time-critical, high-performance, always-available elements. For less time-critical activities, a high-performance batch processing interface is provided. For other back-office functions, such as customer management and financial reporting, the central revenue management functions are provided. These all use Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management's proven enterprise real-time platform, which provides a single customer view across all services, with full data integrity.
The architecture of Oracle's convergent charging solution is shown in Figure 1 and Table 2. Figure 1. Oracle Convergent Charging Architecture 
IMS = IP Multimedia Subsystem, IN = intelligent network
Table 2. Oracle Convergent Charging Architecture
Who provides the IN SCP for the fully convergent charging solution? |
The overall approach is based on presenting a Diameter charging interface to the SCP, which provides authentication, authorization and accounting services in a fault-tolerant, high-performance environment. Productized integrations currently exist with HP OpenCall. |
Who provides a softswitch or gateway, if required? |
Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management is designed to interface to the carrier's choice of IP softswitch via its online mediation layer. This comprises the AAA Gateway and Diameter Charging Manager, which includes support for RADIUS and Diameter. |
Who provides the IP DCP, if required? |
Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management is designed to interface to the carrier's choice of IP data control point via its online mediation layer, which includes support for RADIUS and Diameter. |
IN SCP = intelligent network service control point, IP DCP = Internet Protocol data control point, RADIUS = Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service |
Source: Gartner (April 2008)
Oracle provides most elements of a convergent charging solution. Oracle partners for IN service control. See Table 3 for details of Oracle's convergent charging functionality.
Table 3. Oracle Convergent Charging Functionality
IN Service Control |
IN service control is managed by the online mediation layer, which provides a core network AAA protocol interface to an external service control point. The online mediation function can be deployed in a fully redundant architecture, offering both carrier-grade resiliency and extremely high performance that supports single digit millisecond latencies. The preferred SCP interface is via the AAA gateway. |
Real-Time Rating |
The solution supports "best-in-class" real-time and discounting capabilities, and was designed from the ground up to support the charging and control of next-generation, highly interactive IP-based services. Features include support for friends and family/closed user groups, zone and location-based charging, and highly sophisticated discounting capabilities. The Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management pricing model supports various pricing scenarios based on an extensive set of parameters. |
Voucher Management |
Voucher manager provides support for the management of the full voucher life cycle, and the management of vouchers against account balances. This includes securely creating, ordering, processing and distributing voucher cards or virtual vouchers as a newly supported inventory, and payment capability items. It also includes the top-up API, which can be accessed directly by an external balance top-up environment. This manager is supplied with a separate GUI and includes additional extensions to the customer center GUI. |
Account Balance Management |
Fully extensible model for managing currency and non-currency resources, to collect for services rendered and credit resources, such as free minutes and loyalty points. This function enables expiration and rollover of non-currency resources, and provides credit limit monitoring, alerts and resource reservations. |
E-Commerce and/or M-Commerce |
The solution enables content providers to leverage the carrier's infrastructure for AAA, rating and customer management, through the content SDK. This enables the service provider to engage in creative partner relationships with complex revenue-sharing arrangements and create sophisticated customer pricing plans. Detailed event-level information can be provided on customer usage and remittance settlements. |
Customer Care |
Customer center manager provides a GUI application for managing subscriber accounts, including account setup and maintenance, service and product purchase and cancellation, A/R activities, and bill and payment set up. Oracle also provides pre-integration to the Oracle Siebel CRM, leveraging Oracle fusion and SOA application integration architecture. |
Billing and Settlement |
The solution supports the entire billing life cycle, with best-in-class flexibility for managing bill cycle and accounting activities, invoicing, disputes, settlement and collections. Oracle Billing and Revenue Management provides an up-to-date view of the business through real-time access to billing, financial and revenue information. It supports efficient and optimized revenue collection and tracking for auditability and revenue assurance. |
Other |
AAA Gateway and Transitional In-memory Object Store (TIMOS):
The AAA gateway is the interface to various network interactions, supporting Diameter, HP-OpenCall and other protocols, as required by customers.
The solution supports the entire network-to-charging relationship, and has a revenue capture architecture that helps communications service providers navigate through the path of IP-based services toward IMS and beyond. |
API = application programming interface, A/R = accounts receivable, GUI = graphical user interface, IMS = IP Multimedia Subsystem, SCP = service control point, SDK = software development kit, SOA = service-oriented architecture |
Source: Gartner (April 2008)
Oracle's convergent charging solution is a part of Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management. It has strong functionality that can include all aspects of a charging solution, as required by a particular customer. To integrate and implement the solution in a carrier production environment, Oracle Communications Business Revenue Management leverages both application programming interfaces (APIs) and the Oracle Fusion approach to service-oriented architecture (SOA) as an enabler. The Oracle architecture brings AAA gateway capability to the solution architecture, and the Diameter-based interface and other protocol capability to the carrier network. The solution has received strong acceptance in Europe, with a focus on IP-based services across wireless, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and IN networks. Oracle Communications Business Revenue Management leverages partners and alliances to deliver and support the solution. In many instances, operators may not require the AAA Gateway or Transitional In-memory Object Store (TIMOS) capability for this type of solution. Oracle can focus on global growth opportunities, especially in Asia, if operators are convinced they have local support for customization, delivery and maintenance. There is strong potential for Oracle to offer complementary solutions and expand the end-to-end footprint of their offerings within both existing and new carriers around the globe.
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Background and Context
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Carriers around the globe are implementing and evolving advanced networks, including IP, IN, fixed-line and wireless services. Business and industry shifts ranging from product and service diversification to mergers and acquisitions have introduced a host of complexities throughout operational and back-office systems. Critical business decisions now focus on new and innovative services, individualizing the customer experience, quality of service, and unique pricing models that will differentiate and define a service provider's brand. Convergent charging is at the core of providing the carrier with a comprehensive view of the customer and enabling it to offer its customers a consistent experience. A convergent charging solution includes a single system for rating, charging and account balance management for all services. Convergent charging is part of a wider "ecosystem" of business support system (BSS) and operations support system (OSS) solutions, including billing, order management, partner management and many others. Convergent charging helps carriers grow their business in the face of rapidly changing customer demands. In particular, it enables them to do the following:
- Satisfy users with quality, ease of use and access to all services in a consistent unified environment.
- Provide a single charging and billing capability regardless of service or payment method.
- Attract new subscribers and create loyalty.
- Stimulate consumption for new services regardless of payment type and usage.
- Start building convergence across networks and access.
- Follow network evolution with a flexible and scalable solution.
- Ensure compliance with evolving standards and technologies such as infrastructure management services (IMS), Diameter and Open Systems Architecture(OSA)/Parlay, as well as TeleManagement Forum (TMF) mapping and frameworks.
Table 4 gives details of the convergent charging implementations of the 21 vendors covered in this study. For a detailed definition of convergent charging, see "Dataquest Insight: Technology Framework and Decision Criteria for Convergent Charging."
Table 4. Convergent Charging Implementations
Company |
Number |
Representative Clients |
Geographies |
Number |
Clients |
Geographies |
Alcatel- Lucent |
180+ |
Bell Mobility, Telenor, KPN, Orange, Telemar (Brazil), Telefonica (Argentina), MobiNil (Egypt), Telstra (Australia) |
NA, LA, WE, EE, AP, ME |
110+ |
O2 (Germany), O2 (Ireland), Bell Mobility, KPN, EPT, Telstra (Australia), OPT (new Caledonia), TruMove (Thailand), Orange Group, Globacom, T-Mobile Group |
NA, LA, WE, EE, ME, AP |
Amdocs |
20+ |
CellTel Sri Lanka, Sentel, Econet Zimbabwe, Movicel Angola |
WE, EE, ME |
4 |
BMCC, Excelcom, FarEasTone |
NA, AP |
Comarch |
- |
Dialog Telecom Poland |
EE, NA |
- |
- |
EE, NA |
Comptel |
9 |
TeliaSonera, T-Systems |
LA, AP, WE, EE, ME |
6 |
Bharti, Qtel, Vodafone Australia, SmarTone |
WE, EE, ME, AP |
Comverse |
70+ |
Alltel (U.S.), Millicom (Latin America), MTS (Russia), Reliance (India), VimpelCom (Russia) |
NA, LA, AP, WE, EE, ME |
10 |
VOXmobile Luxembourg, Play Poland, Multilinks Nigeria, mTel Montenegro |
NA, LA, AP, WE, EE, ME |
Convergys |
8 |
Hutchison CPT (Indonesia), OTE (Greece), TMN (Portugal), VSNL (India) |
AP, WE, EE, ME, LA |
4 |
Telkomsel (Indonesia), Purtona (Australia), AIS (Thailand), BT Group (U.K.) |
AP, WE, EE, ME |
Ericsson |
150 |
Vodafone, Wind, Digicel, Batelco, MTN, Indosat, Bharti, America Movil, AT&T, Turkcell |
NA, LA, WE, EE, AP, ME |
30 |
Digicel, Etisalat, Casacom, Orange, MTN, Turkcell, Indosat, Vodafone |
NA, LA, WE, EE, AP, ME |
Eskadenia Software |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
FTS |
- |
- |
WE, EE, AP, ME |
6 |
Vox Mobile (Luxembourg), PT Mobile-8 (Indonesia), Multilinks (Nigeria), Sampoerna Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Indonesia), Euroset (Russia), Onatel (Burundi) |
WE, EE, AP, ME |
Intec |
- |
- |
- |
20+ |
- |
WE, EE, ME, LA, NA, AP |
ITS |
- |
- |
- |
3+ |
Zain properties (Middle East), Rogers Wireless |
NA, LA, WE, EE, AP, ME |
LHS |
- |
- |
- |
4 |
Wataniya Algeria, SFR France, Turkcell, Best Belarus |
ME, WE, EE |
Nokia Siemens Networks |
95 |
T-Mobile Group, Vodafone Group, Mobilink Pakistan, China Unicom, Zain Kuwait |
NA, LA, WE, EE, AP, ME |
4 |
Telkomsel (Indonesia), Guangdong (China) |
NA, LA, WE, EE, AP, ME |
Openet |
28 |
AT&T, BT (21CN), France Telecom, Hutchison, mobilkom, Omnitel, Orange Holdings (France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, French Caribbean), Mobistar Belgium, OTEnet, SaskTel, StarHub, T-Mobile, Tata Indicom, Telstra, VSNL |
NA, LA, WE, EE, AP |
28 |
AT&T, BT (21CN), BCGI, DutchTone, France Telecom, Hutchison, Macedonia Telecom, mobilkom, Mobistar, Omnitel, Orange Holdings (France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, French Caribbean), ORo, Mobistar Belgium, OTEnet, SaskTel, StarHub, T-Mobile, Tata Indicom, Telstra, TMN, VSNL |
NA, LA, WE, EE, AP |
Oracle |
50+ |
Telenor Mobile, Vodafone Spain, Vodafone Pacific, Orange Switzerland, Fastweb |
NA, LA, WE, EE, AP, ME |
50+ |
Vodafone (multiple sites), Orange Group (multiple sites), Fastweb, Telefonica (multiple sites) |
NA, LA, WE, EE, ME, AP |
Orga Systems |
20+ |
TIM (Italy), mobilkom Austria (Austria), Bouygues (France), Entel PCS (Chile), TIM (Brazil), TDC (sunrise) (Switzerland), Orange Spain, avea (Turkey), K'cell (Kazakhstan) |
WE, EE, LA, AP |
3 |
Astelit (Ukraine), undisclosed (Central Europe), undisclosed (Latin America) |
LA, WE, EE |
Redknee |
5+ |
MTC, Bakrie |
WE, ME, AP |
10+ |
Digicel Pacific, TSTT, APUA, Inmarsat |
LA, WE, ME, AP |
Tango Telecom |
14 |
- |
NA, LA, WE, EE, AP, ME |
2 |
- |
NA, LA, ME |
Telcordia |
20+ |
Oi, Tata Teleservices, Idea, Virgin Mobile USA, Taiwan Mobile, Swisscom Mobile, Base, Kajeet, Movida, Sprint MVNE |
NA, WE, EE, ME, AP, LA |
20 |
Oi, Tata Teleservices, Idea, Virgin Mobile USA, Swisscom Mobile, Base, Kajeet, Movida, Sprint MVNE |
LA, AP, NA, WE, EE, ME |
VeriSign |
32 |
- |
NA, LA, WE, EE, AP |
5 |
- |
NA |
VoluBill |
30 |
Orange (10 sites), Digicel (three sites), SFR (multiple sites), Djezzy, Wataniya, Mobilink, Mobinil, Bharti Airtel, Tata, Telemig Cellular, Orascom Telecom (multiple sites), Globe Telecom, Orascom Telecom (multiple sites) |
NA, LA, WE, EE, AP, ME |
6+ |
Telefonica Movistar, Telemig Cellular, iBasis |
NA, LA, WE, EE, AP, ME |
AP = Asia/Pacific
EE = Eastern Europe
LA = Latin America
ME = Middle East
NA = North America
WE = Western Europe |
Source: Gartner (April 2008)
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The Impact
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Carriers need to be meticulous when tendering requests for information (RFIs) and requests for proposals (RFPs) for convergent charging solutions. Only a few vendors provide an end-to-end solution in-house. Most suppliers partner with other vendors or else are the OEM for certain elements of a convergent charging solution. Carriers need to consider a number of categories when evaluating different suppliers. This study addresses each vendor's offerings along the categories listed below.
- Solutions architecture
- Functional diagram
- Who provides the IN SCP for the fully convergent charging solution?
- Who provides a softswitch or gateway if required?
- Who provides the IP DCP if required?
- Solution functionality and scope
- IN service control
- Real-time rating
- Voucher management
- Account balance management
- Ecommerce and/or m-commerce
- Customer care
- Billing and settlement
- Assessment of the solution and the overall vendor positioning in the market
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Conclusion
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Carriers should evaluate whether their current charging solutions are adequate to support future business needs, or whether they require a convergent charging solution to grow their business. Carriers should examine the following points before committing to a convergent charging solution:
- Internal traffic statistics.
- Current and proposed system architecture.
- Their ability to manage their customers.
- Their efficiency in operating their back- and front-office systems.
- The capabilities of their back- and front-office systems to evolve with their business requirements.
© 2008 Gartner, Inc. and/or its Affiliates. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction and distribution of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. Although Gartner's research may discuss legal issues related to the information technology business, Gartner does not provide legal advice or services and its research should not be construed or used as such. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.
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