Client:
Our client was a Mobile Network Operator (MNO) that provides pre-paid wireless voice and data services within North America. As a rapidly growing MNO, its success was contingent on the quick and cost-efficient development of an IT infrastructure, operational support systems, and, most importantly, innovative value-added services to attract new customers.
The Challenge:
Given the competitiveness of the North American wireless industry, our client faced a unique set of obstacles. Our client needed to attract and sustain its own subscriber base with compelling mobile applications, exceptional customer service and reliable back-office functions. In addition, the project had an aggressive delivery timeline—only six months from concept to launch—and a budget that required careful investment to produce demonstrable return on investment (ROI). Our client contracted DonRiver to define their value-added service applications, rapidly develop cutting-edge handset applications, integrate key components of its BSS/OSS IT infrastructure, and provide ongoing support of DonRiver development applications.
The Solution:
DonRiver designed handset applications that helped our client to retain customers, achieve their targeted average revenue per user (ARPU) and set our client apart from its competitors. Within the limited time provided, DonRiver developed two industry-first handset applications that allow our client’s subscribers to perform a range of functions on their mobile device, including:
- Access and manage their pre-paid mobile account
- View balances and top-up in real time
- Transfer airtime minutes to friends and family members
- Monitor usage of family plan members
- Execute mobile money transfers within the United States, Mexico and Latin America
DonRiver also implemented a systems integration and service delivery platform that merged key systems within the BSS/OSS solution architecture. The platform implemented by DonRiver follows a service-oriented architecture (SOA) approach, developed using the BEA WebLogic Platform. The DonRiver platform managed numerous operations of our client’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), including:
- Web portal-based account access and management
- Service activation and lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) profile registration
- Rules-based authentication and application access
- Connectivity with pre-paid billing, mobile banking and network management systems
A major benefit of this platform is that it’s based on an extensible and flexible SOA architecture, which allows reuse of software components and the delivery of services across different channels. In addition, the interfaces exposed by the SDP were built as web services, allowing for instantaneous communication and transaction. Further, this web-services architecture enables our client to quickly integrate additional systems and plug-ins to provide customers with a broader range of services in the future.
Using the DonRiver delivery and support model, along with our skilled IT consultants and offshore developers, helped our client meet customer demand and reduce internal staffing costs. Our client experienced significant savings in application support and maintenance costs, while simultaneously improving its ability to serve customers.
As a cost-conscious MVNO, our client needed to minimize not only their IT development expenses, but also its ongoing application support and maintenance costs. To meet this objective, our client turned to DonRiver to implement newly defined application enhancements and manage defect resolutions and performance oversight for the integration platform and application, post-go-live. DonRiver supports our client by using a combination of global resources, which minimizes cost and yields 24/7 coverage.
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