The Revenue Assurance Caterpillar

Caterpillars are ugly. They crawl around and eat a lot. Butterflies are beautiful. They fly. Is revenue assurance in the process of transforming, from a caterpillar into a butterfly?

This is what Danny Dicks has to say, writing on the front page of Light Reading Insider today:

As operators increasingly mature in their use of revenue assurance (RA) processes, RA vendors have realized that their solutions can be reapplied to other analytical applications.

Some vendors are rapidly repositioning themselves as providers of business data analytics, deemphasizing RA in favor of a grander and more strategic vision.

Of course, transformation may not be good for everyone. It can open the door to new entrants in the market, and this would offset the consolidation amongst RA vendors seen in recent years.

Danny points out the following in the summary of his new report:

Revenue assurance vendors are on a potential collision course with suppliers from the IT world… an increasing number of IT suppliers are touting their systems as tools for RA — or at least as essential components of an RA solution.

In other words, there is a blurring of the distinction between what is a revenue assurance system and a system that happens to be used for revenue assurance, and could be used to meet other objectives too.

From the summary it looks like Danny’s report should make fascinating reading. It may also be uncomfortable reading for any vendors wanting to hold on to old-fashioned ideas about the role of revenue assurance within a modern telco. But if you want to be a butterfly, you have to say goodbye to the caterpillar.

Eric Priezkalns
Eric Priezkalns
Eric is the Editor of Commsrisk. Look here for more about the history of Commsrisk and the role played by Eric.

Eric is also the Chief Executive of the Risk & Assurance Group (RAG), a global association of professionals working in risk management and business assurance for communications providers.

Previously Eric was Director of Risk Management for Qatar Telecom and he has worked with Cable & Wireless, T‑Mobile, Sky, Worldcom and other telcos. He was lead author of Revenue Assurance: Expert Opinions for Communications Providers, published by CRC Press. He is a qualified chartered accountant, with degrees in information systems, and in mathematics and philosophy.

1 Comment on "The Revenue Assurance Caterpillar"

  1. Revenue Assurance is dead!! Long live Revenue Assurance!!

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