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Broadband & Mobile Featured Article
March 31, 2008
Openet Intros New Applications Supported by FusionWorks
By Susan J. Campbell TMCnet Contributing Editor
Transactional Intelligence solutions provider Openet (News - Alert) has announced to new applications supported by its FusionWorks Product Suite. The new Spending Limits and Credit Controls applications are designed to help service provides to ensure a positive customer experience, while also reducing the risk of unpaid bills by managing limits for voice and data transactions.
The Spending Limits solution was born of the limitless consumer demand for converged voice and data services on mobile devices. With smartphones dominating the market, new data content continues to become available and consumers are initiating more mobile data transactions than every before whiles also utilizing voice services.
To remain competitive, companies such as Openet must be able to offer solutions that balance the desire for this content with the reality of voice and data service plans and spending. The Spending Limits solution is designed to enable users to limit the data usage ceiling and set thresholds based on time, amount or cost of usage.
This solution also enables access to a customer self-care portal to view and set limits across individual services, while allowing customers to identify current balances in terms of money, minutes or bundles. It also pushes notifications of impending limits to customers and enforces cutoffs once the ceiling is reached.
In addition, Spend Limits allows continues access to emergency calls and services regardless of set limits. When a ceiling is reached, the user is directed to a screen or voice prompt stating that the limit has been reached and asking the user whether to end or continue the session – all without interrupting the transaction in progress.
Also adhering to pre-set voice and data limits, Credit Controls approaches the challenge from the service provider perspective. Customer dissatisfaction can bring bad debt and negatively impact the revenue stream. As such, service providers need a fail-proof solution on hand in order to mitigate this risk.
This solution enables real-time management of service balances, with configured limits to control customer spending. The solution also provides notification of impending service cutoffs with options to temporarily override these limits, which are set based on users’ credit ratings and rate plans for the services to which they subscribe.
From a service provider perspective, both applications reduce churn, lower customer complaints from “sticker shock” and reduce bad debt.
Openet’s FusionWorks Product Suite captures Transactional Intelligence that enables real-time management of Spending Limits and Credit Controls. As a result, when customers are approaching a limit, whether it is self-imposed or set by the carrier, operators can offer additional service packages to be purchased in real-time to fill the customer’s current need.
“By working closely with our Tier 1 customers to identify their needs and engineering our solutions to maximize service provider revenue through the use of Transactional Intelligence, Openet is enabling new services every day,” said Mike Manzo, chief marketing officer of Openet, in a statement.
“The Spending Limits and Credit Controls applications are the first in a series designed to meet consumer demands, protect service provider revenues and support the innovation of next-gen services.”
The Spending Limits and Credit Controls supported by the FusionWorks Product Suite are significant control options for the customer. While we all desire the ability to access data, information and voice services as often as we want whenever we want, we also don’t want to be surprised with a large bill at the end of the month.
Openet is offering service providers an option that allows them to extend control and convenience to the customer base. In doing so, these customers should be able to push additional service packages as they will be perceived as lower risk with better controls in place.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMC (News - Alert) and has also written for eastbiz.com. To see more of her articles, please visit Susan J. Campbell’s columnist page.
The Spending Limits solution was born of the limitless consumer demand for converged voice and data services on mobile devices. With smartphones dominating the market, new data content continues to become available and consumers are initiating more mobile data transactions than every before whiles also utilizing voice services.
To remain competitive, companies such as Openet must be able to offer solutions that balance the desire for this content with the reality of voice and data service plans and spending. The Spending Limits solution is designed to enable users to limit the data usage ceiling and set thresholds based on time, amount or cost of usage.
This solution also enables access to a customer self-care portal to view and set limits across individual services, while allowing customers to identify current balances in terms of money, minutes or bundles. It also pushes notifications of impending limits to customers and enforces cutoffs once the ceiling is reached.
In addition, Spend Limits allows continues access to emergency calls and services regardless of set limits. When a ceiling is reached, the user is directed to a screen or voice prompt stating that the limit has been reached and asking the user whether to end or continue the session – all without interrupting the transaction in progress.
Also adhering to pre-set voice and data limits, Credit Controls approaches the challenge from the service provider perspective. Customer dissatisfaction can bring bad debt and negatively impact the revenue stream. As such, service providers need a fail-proof solution on hand in order to mitigate this risk.
This solution enables real-time management of service balances, with configured limits to control customer spending. The solution also provides notification of impending service cutoffs with options to temporarily override these limits, which are set based on users’ credit ratings and rate plans for the services to which they subscribe.
From a service provider perspective, both applications reduce churn, lower customer complaints from “sticker shock” and reduce bad debt.
Openet’s FusionWorks Product Suite captures Transactional Intelligence that enables real-time management of Spending Limits and Credit Controls. As a result, when customers are approaching a limit, whether it is self-imposed or set by the carrier, operators can offer additional service packages to be purchased in real-time to fill the customer’s current need.
“By working closely with our Tier 1 customers to identify their needs and engineering our solutions to maximize service provider revenue through the use of Transactional Intelligence, Openet is enabling new services every day,” said Mike Manzo, chief marketing officer of Openet, in a statement.
“The Spending Limits and Credit Controls applications are the first in a series designed to meet consumer demands, protect service provider revenues and support the innovation of next-gen services.”
The Spending Limits and Credit Controls supported by the FusionWorks Product Suite are significant control options for the customer. While we all desire the ability to access data, information and voice services as often as we want whenever we want, we also don’t want to be surprised with a large bill at the end of the month.
Openet is offering service providers an option that allows them to extend control and convenience to the customer base. In doing so, these customers should be able to push additional service packages as they will be perceived as lower risk with better controls in place.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMC (News - Alert) and has also written for eastbiz.com. To see more of her articles, please visit Susan J. Campbell’s columnist page.
