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Multi-Vendor Collaboration Is Key — There is going to be a tsunami of network build-outs over the next couple years that will make your head swim. Will you be ready? […]

Multi-Vendor Collaboration Is Key —

There is going to be a tsunami of network build-outs over the next couple years that will make your head swim. Will you be ready?

By employing successful collaboration strategies that leverage their data assets, Communications Service Providers (CSPs) and their fiber network vendors can create competitive advantages for new growth opportunities.

Cloud-based network management ecosystems, and the data they produce, are the hidden glue that makes potent collaboration successful. They can also directly impact return on investment (ROI).

Food for Thought from Our 2022 ICT Visionaries

Collaboration in the Build-Out Process

Data silos are the bane of executives, project managers and workers alike. Like most organizations, CSPs have department data silos, each with unique budgets, objectives, personnel, etc. As well, their engineering firms, lead construction companies and subcontractors, backhaul suppliers, and other vendors, have their own silos.

The challenge service providers have is to bring these disparate business processes from within and outside of the organization together so there is a single system of record that supports the processes. These environments enable the project managers to extract financial, operational, scheduling, and various other data from respective information silos into coordinated systems so everyone follows the same North Star.

When you have a network management ecosystem that allows project teams to create a software bridge between all of the collaborating partners, the output from a planning activity is immediately available as part of the design activity. Engineers, contractors, and subcontractors, can work from the same system of record where all the project data resides.

With it, they are supported with mobile apps tethered continuously to up-to-the-minute scheduling, design, marketing, shipping, financial, and other, data. Conversely, every documented text, photographic, and video activity, is captured in the field, delivered back to the platform, and relayed to the appropriate department.

This is critical because when looking for opportunities to streamline cost through collaborative efficiency, 10% of the overall project cost is in the engineering, and 90% is related to construction.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving: Data

As CSPs turn their focus to breakdown data silos that create inefficiencies and disrupt managerial visibility, they are looking to their vendors to collaborate more to help them meet their strategic goals. CSPs aim to leverage their data assets in order to create competitive advantages for their network expansion opportunities.

The tools needed for this should be able to:
LEVERAGE GIS capabilities throughout the entire technology environment.
OPTIMIZE with accurate designs created with automation.
MANAGE change risks through real-time field updates.
ESTABLISH the single source of truth based upon flexible API data integrations.
BREAK DOWN data silos by entering data once and letting it flow to all the stakeholders.

CSPs need to create an environment where multiple vendors collaborate to bring their best-of-breed products to address a single mutual business goal, such as speed-to-revenue. In terms of constructing and deploying a fiber network, a unified goal can be reached quicker when all vendors work with the same data.

By looking for every opportunity to have systems speak to each other, the company and its partners will be able design faster, build faster, and manage data more efficiently. All of these efforts will help network operations reach its transformation goals. This multi-vendor collaboration results in increased project velocity.

Authentic collaboration means the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The value of multi-vendor collaboration is that the collective data from the entire build-out process is available for downstream applications: provisioning, service assurance, and much more. When CSPs can share their data with all stakeholders, their network management ecosystem will be ready to generate long-term ROI.

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Co-Authored By Michael Measels, Justin Reid, and Kevin Wynne

Michael Measels, VP of Product Management, 3-GIS
Michael has more than 20 years of experience in GIS and telecom network management. For more information, please email [email protected] or visit www.3-GIS.com. Follow 3-GIS on Twitter.

Justin Reid, VP Sales & Partnerships, Vitruvi Software
Justin Reid has more than 15 years of experience in international consulting and delivering enterprise technology solutions. For more information, please visit www.vitruvi.cc.

Kevin Wynne, North American business, Comsof
Kevin Wynne leads the North American business at Comsof. He has more than 12 years of experience in strategic and business development roles with technology focused organizations. For more information, please visit www.comsof.com.

More Insights on Fiber Networks from 3-GIS:

White Paper: Grow revenue by deploying a fiber management platform to meet your business needs
Applying a method to your system for quality network data at every stage of deployment can provide the best operational and strategic value. Understand the hard and soft costs with this white paper.

Podcast: Real-Time Revolution: Achieve Faster Network Deployment Leveraging Geospatial Intelligent Ecosystems
Accurate, real-time data can provide the best operational and strategic value, but what does it cost to change? Get insights from two experts.

About the Author

Michael Measels

Michael Measels is VP of Product Management at 3-GIS. He has more than 20 years of experience in GIS and telecom network management. For more information, please email [email protected] or visit www.3-GIS.com.

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