SIMFONICS – HOW TO ORCHESTRATE AN MVNO SYMPHONY
IN SEARCH OF A PARTNER AND A PLATFORM
In spring 2006 two experienced executives from the mobile operator business came together over a mutual business mission: to facilitate the establishment of new Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) around the world. The vision was to create an international Mobile Virtual Network Enabler (MVNE) and all key services a new MVNO would need under a managed service business model. This became the foundation of Simfonics.
The Simfonics founders went in search of a solution provider and an MVNO platform that would be instrumental in realizing the vision.
- We saw how established mobile operators struggled with their legacy technology solutions. Their operating environments had been built and added to over the years with many applications from nearly as many vendors. We saw how lead times to launch new services and campaigns extended as system complexity increased, explains Dr. Siegfried Ergezinger, one of the company founders and now CTO at Simfonics.
- Building Simfonics we had this great opportunity to start from scratch. As we began to look for a vendor to partner with we wanted to make sure we got it right from the beginning, Dr Ergezinger emphasizes.
After a thorough evaluation process and in-depth discussion with leading telecom vendors, charging and messaging expert Symsoft was selected as the most suitable candidate.
- The Symsoft MVNO solution is ideal for what we wanted to create: a complete service delivery platform for serving operators and MVNOs on an international basis. Symsoft offered an integrated approach to everything needed to get started: GSM services, pre- and postpaid charging, SMSC, MMSC, IN routing and voucher management integrated in one strong platform, says Dr. Ergezinger.
A soLUTION FOR efficient bUSINESS INNOVATION
Since the beginning in 2006 Simfonics have supported the start-up of more than 10 new MVNO businesses around Europe: from business case development, concept testing and business processes definition to solution integration and commercial launch. Customers include established operators choosing MVNO services to expand their operations in to new markets or to complement a current service offering in an existing market. Other clients are new to the operator business, launching mobile services to diversify into new businesses.
The Symsoft MVNO platform provides the basis for a true multi-tenant solution where each of the Simfonics customers’ business is securely managed in a dedicated partition. Many of the benefits Simfonics offers are linked to being able to provide all services from one integrated service delivery platform.
Focus on total cost of ownership
Since customers of Simfonics pay for the service based on their usage, there is no need for an upfront technology investment. In this way, businesses that start out small get access to a cost-efficient, full service portfolio from day one. Tapping into the Simfonics MVNO managed service concept also means that costs and staff related to administration and management of the solution can be kept to a minimum.
- Symsoft’s integrated approach lets us offer cost-efficient services, without compromising on functionality or quality. Being able to manage a number of MVNOs from one administrative platform further strengthens our financial case, explains the Simfonics co-founder and now CEO Uwe Lührig.
Reducing time-to-market
Another benefit of offering services from an integrated platform is the possibility to cut time-to-market. With the managed MVNO platform Simfonics have assisted new MVNO-based operators from initial planning to commercial launch in only three months. The flexibility of the service delivery platform also allows for new service offers and campaigns to be created in minimal time.
- The Symsoft MVNO platform gives us the flexibility we need to support our clients in launching new services and developing their market offers with competitively short time-to-market, explains Mr. Lührig.
- Symsoft’s ability to understand what we are trying to achieve in the market place and what we need from a vendor, both from a business and a technology perspective, has been fundamental in the process. Symsoft is almost as passionate about our business as we are ourselves, Uwe Lührig continues.
new business ventures
Five years after the company was founded, Simfonics is an established player in the European MVNE market and has recently launched its first service on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. The company is also expanding the scope beyond traditional voice services into the emerging opportunity of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) data services. As a first proof-point Simfonics and Symsoft have jointly developed the MVNO platform to support M2M services for leading German operator E-plus. E-plus benefits from the possibility to launch a new service with minimal impact on the current infrastructure and service offering.
- After the successful launch of the M2M concept in Germany we will continue to develop our mobile data service offering. The market is growing and our ambition is to stay in the lead as the market develops. With the Symsoft MVNO platform we are confident that we have a solution that will allow us to capitalize on new opportunities as they emerge, concludes Simfonics CTO Siegfried Ergezinger.