Strategies for Optimising Telecoms OPEX and CAPEX World Forum 2007

Your opportunity to get to know your peers before the start of the conference and set a relaxed and informal atmosphere

• Examining mobile operators pressures in the two fields by considering
  • falling revenue per user - pressure on profit margins
  • investment in network evolution - market saturation
  • need to invest in multi media services - roll out costs
• Dealing with the challenges in different regions for a low ARPU and fighting for margin
  • debt - high infrastructure costs relative to revenue
  • lack of capacity of growth
• Coping with the rising demand for skilled resources

• Examining how the complexity that operators are facing with new IP projects is changing the relationship with vendors
• Increasing shareholder value by:
  • lowering costs
  • investment in maintaining and growing market share
  • being flexible and in touch with the market

• Examining the financing that can be used in emerging market telecom companies
• How to finance emerging market telecom growth
• How different are the financing models compared to the developed markets?

• To what extent can outsourcing be seen as a competitive tool for the technology department or a complementary factor?
• How can engineers differentiate their ways of working with the way the market is requiring?
• How will outsourcing introduce a new environment and process of working for engineers?

• The evolution of Outsourcing globally
• Developed and developing markets - what has changed over the last 12 months
  • what does the future hold?
  • trends and developments in the European markets
• Offshore - is there an appetite? Success stories and war stories
• Leading Outsourcing Indicators
• Business Process Outsourcing - the key areas for outsourcing?

• Examining the following factors in order to make an accurate decision
  • improving market and customers focus
  • resources for core activities
  • risk minimisation
• examining the range of in house skills to make the transition
  • availability of talent
• Evaluating your buying power

• Understanding the business case for point-to-multipoint solutions to provide mobile backhaul
• Determining the optimal combination of technology and network architecture to deliver the most cost effective solution, considering:
  • OPEX and CAPEX -scalability
• Leveraging operator in-house advanced traffic management techniques with the outsourcing provider to optimise backhaul

• Outsourcing as we understand it today and why it is effectively dead
• Next generation outsourcing: case studies
• The new models of engagement and their implications for suppliers and customers
• Business enablement - the key to delivering shareholder value
• Business Process Management (BPM) vs Network Outsourcing
  • what is the missing link in the evolution of outsourcing?

• Finding ways to simplify and streamline operations by bringing together different networks
• Achieving asset consolidation and management synergy in a converged world
• Minimising the cost and improving scalability reliability and security of a converged network
• Understanding how staff and business work in a network convergent scenario
• Will operators choose to install their own IMS architecture or decide to outsource it?

• To what extent can the network be core to the strategic direction of the Telco?
• What is defined as a core asset in the convergent era?
• What role is the transmission network now playing?
• What are the benefits of outsourcing in this context?
• To what extent is ownership of the network infrastructure offering a unique business value?
  • whose property should the network be?

• Discover and utilize your hidden financial resources from idle and used equipment
• How the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) requirements impacts and guides your asset reporting and disposal policies
• How to build, implement and sustain long term Asset Recovery processes
  • how to cooperate with the OEM’s regarding maintenance and sw licensing
  • how to calculate OPEX and CAPEX gains
• How to combine your own Asset Recovery with Outsourcing and Multi-Vendor collaboration
  • what will be your starting point?
  • what should be your key targets?
• How to record and spread the Active Asset Recovery knowledge throughout your organization

• Taking the vendor sourcing model further
• Assuming a supervisory role and deciding the degree of strategic control for each party
• How to manage a set of vendors running major areas of the operator operations
  • dealing with over 20 vendor's products and choosing a new technology
• Evaluating the new partnership for:
  • network quality problems - operational costs - customer service quality issues

• Assessment of the business case and economics of professional services
• Overcoming professional services market demand
  • sizing and projections
• Identifying likely areas of network operations and management for outsourcing
• Understanding operator criteria for selecting vendors for professional services
• Examining current and future keys to success as a services provider

This is a new Informa feature. Saving you time in going into different industry and leadership conferences we bring you innovative thinking strategies so you can fast speed the lessons from leading minds.

Human beings have different natural preferences for types of thinking, behaviour and working practice. AP has developed significantly over the last 15 years through the invention and use of MRI scans (functional magnetic resonance Imaging) alone we have learned that the psychologists/thinkers/social commentators of the past 2600 years have all been correct. Only their nomenclature has differed. This talk will clearly explain the latest research into the brain and the neo cortex, how we have preferred modes and/or ability to develop competency in any area of our brain. As professional business people the “human” dilemma in commercially driven activity remains how do we get the best out of our people given the spread of the global workforce, the introduction of 3 billion new capitalists and a flat world as it is becoming. During this presentation we will provide you with insights that will challenge your thinking about human productivity, different types of people/culture/society/offices and how to get the greatest return on investment from those we work with every day:

• Capital expenditure, operational expenditure and the human dimension
• Creativity and innovation in building partnership through strategic use of a managed external workforce
• Cultural considerations from our knowledge of the brain
• The strategic use of your human resources to create innovative approaches to OPEX and CAPEX

• Examining operational mechanisms and processes and developing complementary skills
• Benchmarking and performance indicators
• What should be measured?
  • carrier's ability to offer services to customers - greater profitability - revenue growth
• Enabling the operator to view the relationship progress at several levels
• Dealing with the change of measurement techniques
  • how will the responsibilities change?
• To what extent is one model scaleable to other clients?

• How can vendors assume a much wider and deeper role within a carrier?
• How can a vendor sales oriented behaviour change?
• What is the role of the operator in this new era?
• Are new vendor-operator partnerships to do with CAPEX or can they help in focusing on the operator core competence and therefore provide a much better customer service offering?
• Finding the best incentives around which to structure the partnership process
  • avoiding ambiguity and inconsistency at the outset

• Dealing with emerging markets with low ARPU
• How do you serve a subscriber in a low cost operator based?
  • transforming your cost base to serve very low ARPU
  • subscribers best practices in making the low cost operator strategy models work
• What are the challenges the operators have faced and how did they overcome it?
  • what were the procedures implemented?
  • what was the outcome?
  • did the bottom line performance improve? How much?

• Examining different approaches by considering:
  • region - carrier type - type of technology - desired corporate and strategic goals - number of suppliers in the network - level of existing relationships
• How and into how many domains should you divide your activities and support?
• When should you keep your strategy and engineering in-house?
• When should you buy the services for each domain from a single supplier?

• Developing risk mitigation strategies
• Allocating risk to the partner that can best handle it
  • network deployment risk - market risk
• Setting up a risk reward mechanism and agreeing on:
  • disaster recovery - response time - financial rewards
• Dealing with the outsourcing company not performing well and not having direct control

• Identifying operational mechanisms and processes that need to be evolved
• Dealing with the resources and time in sourcing new networks equipment
  • how long and how much saving?
  • how long does it take before seeing the benefits?
• Dealing with a variety of vendor equipment and solutions in an outsourcing scenario
• Driving down equipment prices and increasing the amount of attention that a carrier can demand from a vendor

• Examining your individual business case
  • analysing your own strategic needs
• Changing your company culture
• Moving away from network performance targets and move into a governance model
• How to place more emphasis on the business goals that the carrier aims to achieve
• Examining ways to tie in the equipment vendor's success more closely to the carrier's

• Understanding how the telecoms industry risks have become more complex
• Maintaining resources and managing risk in different countries
  • ensuring high quality and economical benefits with an outsourcing contract worldwide
• Identifying, attracting and retaining the appropriate specialist risk management
• Considering the outsourcing of various risk management functions
  • fraud, revenue assurance and security management

• Simon White, Technology & Outsourcing Group, Brown Rudnick (UK)