The analysis of responses of a survey of large service providers carried out by Qualitative Change in the UK, shows that that a representative operator could realise a revenue acceleration benefit of millions of euros within 2-3 years by shaving just 15% off the lead-time for new product introduction by using Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software.

The survey revealed that the current lead-time from product idea to product availability for new ‘medium complexity products’ ranges from 3 to 18 months.

A new ‘medium complexity product’ is defined as being one that is a different combination of and/or different set of options for services that have already been deployed in the network or sourced from partner providers.

Based on the survey response data, the number of new products of this type launched per year ranges from a low of 10 to a high of more than 100. In addition, on average 50 plus personnel are involved in planning, defining, and managing the product portfolio. The survey data highlights the significant opportunity for many service providers to accelerate revenues and reduces costs by cutting the lead times and streamlining product definition and launch processes.

PLM software solutions can reduce time-to-market and cost-to-market for new products. Analysis of the survey results by Qualitative Change and Ceon further demonstrated that a 20% reduction in the level of effort on product definition and management activities through use of PLM software translates into millions of euros of cost-reduction benefit. A PLM application that is integrated with a service provider’s selling, customer relationship management (CRM) and service delivery platform (SDP) software applications can deliver significantly more value.

Independent research analyst Marion Howard Healy comments: “The quantitative and qualitative survey findings show a significant gap between the actual time taken to develop and launch products and the aspirations of service providers to reduce new product introduction time and cost to market. To operate in rapidly changing markets, operators must be able to develop more standardised approaches to product management, be able to more quickly apply a core set of service elements to different offerings, and automate product definition and launch processes across the organization.”

Ceon VP, Yogen Patel comments: “As operators become more aggressive in launching new products, the long lead times are not sustainable in an increasingly competitive market – calling for the use of product lifecycle management systems. New business models need to be fast and new product ideas need to be executed in a matter of hours or days in a highly competitive market. Operators need to turn to PLM systems such as Ceon Product Control Center to cut new product introduction lead time and cost.”

Ceon will begin shipping its breakthrough Product Control Center (PCC) solution in November. PCC is the communication industry’s first purpose-built and standards-based system focused on enabling service providers to construct, manage, and deploy a catalogue of complex product offerings PCC manages the entire lifecycle of offerings, including handling the implications of changes in constituent components.

Product Control Center, will be demonstrated at Telemanagement World Americas 2006 Expo in Dallas (4-7 December) on stand 326, and stand C1 as part of the TMF NGN OSS Catalyst Project.

For a copy of the white paper on the PLM survey and research please contact eclat Marketing.

• PLM solutions reduce time-to-market and cost-to-market for new products.
• A time-to-market reduction can have a significant top-line impact by accelerating the collection of incremental revenue from new offerings.
• The number of new ‘medium complexity’ product offerings launched every year ranges from a low of six to a high of 100 or more – an average of 40 new offerings a year.
• The lead-time from product idea to product availability ranges from the low of just over three months to a high of 18 months - an average of 7 months.
• On average 50+ personnel are involved in planning, defining and managing the product portfolio

Ceon is the leading provider of proven product management and fulfilment software for dynamic and complex bundled product offerings. Ceon’s solutions speed-up and simplify new product introduction and product change management for communications service providers, and enable them to scale service offerings profitably and efficiently. Ceon’s breakthrough Product Control Center (PCC) solution is the communication industry’s first purpose-built system focused on enabling service providers’ product and marketing personnel to construct and manage a catalog of complex product offerings. Ceon software is based on open-access technologies and standards, such as J2EE, XML, eTOM, SID and OSS/J. Ceon’s component-based and Service Oriented Architecture solution is interoperable, scalable and future proof. The company’s customers include leading communications service providers in North America and Europe.