Copyright Comarch 2012
M2M Billing
– Comarch Telco M2M Projects
Krzysztof Kwiatkowski
Head of BSS Product Management
2 Copyright Comarch 2012
Comarch Group – Facts and Figures
• Public company established in 1993
• Headquarters – Krakow, Poland
• 3500 employees worldwide
• Customers include over 50 CSPs, on 4 continents, in over 20 countries
• Over 3000 successfully completed projects
4 Copyright Comarch 2012
Outline
• M2M strategies
• Typical M2M platform
• Outsourced or own?
• Existing systems or separated silo?
• Billing challenges
• M2M projects
• Research activities
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Revenue trends versus strategiesR
evenue
Pure connectivity
Intelligent connectivity
Application Enablement
Maturity of the M2M market
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Sample Existing Systems
Retail
Billing System
Partner
Billing System
Network
M2M Platform
Service
Provisioning
Service
Monitoring
Service & Network
Inventory
IT Systems of
M2M Partner
M2M devices
CRM
Billing & Revenue Sharing
CRM – partner
management
Provisioning
connectivity
Inte
rfa
ce
Inte
rfa
ce
Inte
rfa
ce
Inte
rfa
ce
Monitoring B2B Gateway – web services
M2M
Dashboards
Order
Management
Data
collection
Device software
deployment
Triggers &
Actions
`
M2M Application
Application Enablement
Vehicle of Logistics Company
Vehicle of Logistics Company
M2M Application
Provisioning
Monitoring
Subscribers
Database
Ve
rtic
als
CS
P
AAASIM
Management
Policy
Management
Intelligent Connectivity
Product
Catalog
Management
Application
Enablement
Connectivity
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Additional modules
• MLR = HLR for M2M
• Device Management
• SCP (for voice services)
• Application Enablement
– Coming from the “cloud of verticals”
– On-site
– Coming from the telco world (MTC)
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Development of business models
• M2M platform is for managing the M2M connectivity aspects
• M2M application enabler is for enabling M2M vertical applications
• Cloud enabler is for enabling cloud applications
• We see a huge synergy between M2M business and cloud business of CSPs
• The same platform with single product catalog, CRM, B2B gateway (etc.) can manage
M2M and cloud offering
Management PlatformProduct catalog, billing, CRM, B2B Gateway,
Order Management, Dashboards
Cloud Enabler M2M Application Enabler
M2M Connectivity platformHosting Infrastructure
Sample Existing Systems
Retail
Billing System
Partner
Billing System
Network
M2M Platform
Service
Provisioning
Service
Monitoring
Service & Network
Inventory
IT Systems of
M2M Partner
M2M devices
CRM
Billing & Revenue Sharing
CRM – partner
management
Provisioning
connectivity
Inte
rfa
ce
Inte
rfa
ce
Inte
rfa
ce
Inte
rfa
ce
Monitoring B2B Gateway – web services
M2M
Dashboards
Order
Management
Data
collection
Device software
deployment
Triggers &
Actions
`
M2M Application
Application Enablement
Vehicle of Logistics Company
Vehicle of Logistics Company
M2M Application
Provisioning
Monitoring
Subscribers
Database
Ve
rtic
als
CS
P
AAASIM
Management
Policy
Management
Intelligent Connectivity
Product
Catalog
9 Copyright Comarch 2012
Choosing the best M2M platform delivery model
In-house development
+
• Low start-up costs
• Flexibility
-
• High costs of development in the long run
• No scale effect
Outsourced / Partnership
+
• Low start-up and operational costs
• Quick start-up
-
• No differentiation
• Unclear customer ownership
Ownership / Licensed
+
• Clear customer ownership
• Better differentiation tool
-
• Higher costs
• Slower start-up
Highest independence level
and flexibility
Model for CSPs looking at M2M
as an important, strategic
segment
Proven business models,
lower risk
For smaller CSP considering
entering the M2M but not as a
strategic segment
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Why separated M2M silo?
• Many differences between traditional telecom business and M2M, e.g.:– Type of partners and ways to cooperate with them
– Various verticals served
– Complex (and different) logistic processes
• Difficult to achieve a scale effect – M2M business line would be added to the existing BSS platform
– But almost everything will be different and configured separately
• Separate organization units for M2M
• Different cost calculations for M2M– Low M2M ARPU (but potentially good margin)
– Systems supporting M2M must be very cheap in maintenance and operations
(potentially more SIM cards/customers but less money)
• Difficulties with ROI when running M2M on existing B2C / B2B silos
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M2M Billing challenges
Customers
• International customers
• Customers and resellers (white labeling)
• Multi-country: multi-language, multi-currency, multiple time zones,
multiple tax regimes
Customer
Experience
• Final products are very personalized, defined during selling process
• Potentially hierarchies and split-billing controlled by customer
Revenue
Assurance
• Advanced limit control: per group or per SIM; for data or money; per
zone
Flexibility
• Flexibility and short lead-to-cash demanded by sales
• Flexibility also needed for finance departments: debt, credit notes and
advance invoices in any time
Convergence
• Billing for connectivity and non-telecom services
– M2M verticals in application enablement strategy
• Pre-paid model possible on SIM level or reseller level
Challenges• Deliver advanced and cost efficient billing services to M2M
departments in the organization
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Leading European M2M operator – Case # 1
• Target group & services:
– Automotive
– Retail & payment
– Logictics & transportation
– Consumer electronics
– Healthcare
– Industrial & smart business
– Security & surveillance
– Energy & utilities
– Smart city & smart home
• Key benefits:
– End-2-end processes supported
– Plaform for all users and groups
– Highly efficient and configurable
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• Challenges:
– Multinational platform – many companies, world coverage
– Migration of actual platform
– Complex hierarchy of users and customers
– Sophisticated triggering and alarming module
• Solutions:
– Platform supports multi-tenancy, multiple languages, multi-
currency
– Configuration of custom processes and APIs
– Different functionalities and GUI for different users
– Triggers & actions module for online and offline triggers
From challenge to solution – Case # 1
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Leading European M2M operator – Case # 2
• Target group & services
– Automotive
– Logistics & Transportation,
Fleet Management
– Healthcare
– Smart Metering (Energy &
Utilities)
• Key benefits
– Graphically advanced
and suited solution
– Integrated with complex
internal systems
– Configuration-based (no
hard coding)
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• Challenges:
– Time to market (fast implementation)
– Multi-country support
– SIM monitoring
• Solutions:
– Phases in implementation – division of functionalities
– Platform supports multi-tenancy, multiple languages, multi-
currency
– Rule-based monitoring on GGSN and HLR
From challenge to solution – Case # 2
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Research activities
• 3GPP TR 23.888 – Technical Report studies and evaluates
architectural aspects of the System Improvements for
Machine Type Communications requirements specified in
TS 22.368
• Key Issues addressed:
– Group Based Optimization
– Time Controlled
– Signalling Congestion Control• Malfunctioning, massive numbers of MTC Devices to attach/connect all at once, recurring applications that are
synchronised to the exact (half/quarter) hour, …
– Potential overload issues caused by Roaming MTC devices• Very little traffic per device but still generate 'normal' levels of signalling and occupy 'normal' levels of VLR
space. This "imbalance" might lead to the VPLMN operator being "unhappy".
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