Convergys, a worldwide leader in providing customer care and billing services, is reaping the benefits of an increasingly global partnership with Oracle, as both vendors team up to meet the needs of a rapidly changing industry.

Vendors of telecommunications-industry software are having to move fast to keep up with the rapid changes sweeping through their customer base. Traditional wireline operators must cope with the sudden arrival on the scene of providers of low-cost voice over IP (VoIP) telephony, while mobile operators are having to deliver new multimedia services to differentiate themselves from competitors.

Throughout the industry, pricing, billing and customer service have become critical issues. Voice telephony is now so cheap a commodity that wireline operators are starting to consider internet-style "all you can eat" pricing structures. No longer able to differentiate on price, operators are looking to customer service and value-added services to distinguish themselves from competitors.

In the mobile industry, the search is on for the killer apps that will attract and retain customers. With the advent of larger-screen smartphones and high-speed 3G data networks it's clear that multimedia content will be the next big thing, but getting the right mix of content, pricing and service is shaping up to be a big challenge.

Alastair Hanlon, senior director of product strategy at Convergys

For Convergys, a vendor of billing and rating software to the global communications industry, these transformations are bringing exciting new opportunities. "Our customer base is changing and expanding - for example we're now doing the charging and billing for a new breed of mobile virtual network operator, such as ESPN," says Alastair Hanlon, product strategist at Convergys.

Hanlon explains that while the big money in the mobile world today is in ringtones, in the future it will be in multimedia services. "ESPN, for example, wants to offer real-time sports news, and it will be a challenge to charge and bill for that content," he says.

Convergys is well placed to meet this demand, as its software can easily be applied to next-generation services like ringtones, mp3 downloads and broadband content. "In the past, operators used our software to charge for telephony events, but what we actually do is charge for transactions," says Hanlon. "It doesn't matter whether those transactions are for fixed-line voice calls or mobile content."

One of Convergys's key strengths is its ability to handle massive volumes of data, making it ideal for operators with large customer bases and high voice and data traffic. "We have customers with 50 or 60 million subscribers, and what we can do is give them a converged view of that customer base," Hanlon says. "Our ability to handle large customer bases, massive amounts of customer data and massive transaction rates, coupled with our contact centre expertise, gives us a big competitive advantage as the telco industry continues to consolidate."

The scalability of Convergys's Infinys solution is assisted by the underlying Oracle Database, which is geared for high scalability, security and availability. The next version of Convergys Infinys will support Oracle Database 10g, the world's first database enabled for massively scalable - but low-cost - Grid computing.

The two companies are also capitalising on the complementarity between their respective applications suites. Oracle has a large installed base in the telco sector for its ERP and CRM software, while Convergys has hundreds of customers worldwide for its Infinys suite. Integrating the two product sets has meant that customers get a ready-made solution for front-office, back-office and rating and billing, saving them much needed time and money.

The partnership between Oracle and Convergys not only pays off for mutual customers, but also for the companies themselves. "Oracle has different contacts in our target customer organisations, and they've started to pitch our software as part of an overall ERP and CRM pitch," says Ian Hutchinson, who manages the Oracle partnership at Convergys. "We're working on more joint bids, and we're able to recommend each other's software to our respective contacts."

It's a relationship that began in EMEA, but that is growing to become a worldwide partnership encompassing sales, marketing and development initiatives. "Our development people are now working directly with Oracle HQ, to ensure that we have a compelling joint proposition," Hanlon says. "Telecommunications companies are facing real business problems, and Oracle and Convergys are building a strong solution to help them overcome these challenges quickly and cost-effectively."

One of the ways in which the two companies are working together is to identify a specific need in the marketplace and to create a joint solution to address it. Currently, Oracle and Convergys are discussing developing a joint solution that allows providers to manage and bill for IP TV services. "This is a new market sector for us, and we need a strong partner to go to market with," says Hutchinson.

The partnership works, according to Hutchinson, because both companies are committed to it, and to meeting actual customer needs. "Don't be afraid to get involved with Oracle, because they will commit to you if you commit to them," he advises other software vendors. "Oracle is very partner-friendly; partnering is a strategic initiative for them, and it's very open in its partner relationships. But the real key is to focus on what your customers need and how you and Oracle can work together to provide what the market is actually demanding."