2015 European Cloud Communications Price/Performance Value Leadership Award

Transcription

1 2015 European Cloud Communications Price/Performance Value Leadership Award 2015

2 Contents Background and Company Performance... 3 Industry Challenges... 3 Price/Performance Attributes and Customer Impact... 3 Conclusion... 9 Significance of Price/Performance Value Leadership Understanding Price/Performance Value Leadership Key Benchmarking Criteria Best Practice Award Analysis for Centile Decision Support Scorecard Price/Performance Attributes Customer Impact Decision Support Matrix The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best Practices Awards Research Methodology Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching, Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices About Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

3 Background and Company Performance Industry Challenges European businesses are rapidly adopting cloud communications and contact center solutions in order to gain a competitive edge through greater flexibility and more economical access to advanced functionality. Europe s cloud telephony and unified communications and collaboration (UCC) market is growing at 25 to 30 percent per year, both in terms of installed users and service provider revenues. A variety of domestic, regional and international service providers are looking to address customer needs for advanced capabilities and more flexible technology consumption models through innovative cloud solutions. However, as competition intensifies, providers are struggling to differentiate and sustain high growth rates in spite of accelerating customer demand. The cloud communications platform is a critical factor determining service provider success. Certain providers have developed their own cloud private branch exchange (PBX) and UCC platforms, mostly due to limited availability of feature-rich and reliable solutions in the early days of the cloud communications market. Today, most providers rely on third-party solutions. Working with a technology partner allows service providers to focus on customer acquisition and support rather than technology development. The functionality, scalability, reliability and security of the platform determine a provider s ability to deliver compelling cloud communications services. Providers also choose their platforms based on third-party vendor vision, technology development roadmap and ability to prioritize feature development based on evolving customer needs. Vendor ability to support flexible deployment models and cost-effective licensing also plays a key role in platform selection. A cloud communications platform vendor that excels in terms of price/ performance value is well positioned to grow and gain market share in the rapidly evolving cloud communications market. Service providers looking for faster time to market or a more differentiated feature set are likely to choose a platform that provides more economic scalability and unique functionality. Price/Performance Attributes and Customer Impact Centile stands out among cloud communications platform vendors with its entrepreneurial spirit and strong focus on technology innovation. Through unwavering commitment to service provider success and customer value Centile has established itself as a strong competitor in the increasingly challenging European cloud communications market. Functionality With its feature-rich, multi-tenant ISTRA platform, Centile enables service providers to Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

4 deliver compelling cloud communications solutions to business customers. The platform supports a broad set of UCC capabilities, including: PBX voic and unified messaging auto attendant away attendant audio conferencing instant messaging (IM) and presence mobility video conferencing desktop sharing call center interactive voice response (IVR) recording The platform s extensive features allow operators to address wide-ranging customer needs. Through flexible application programing interfaces (APIs), Centile ISTRA supports integration with third-party services and applications including Microsoft Lync / Skype For Business and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions such as salesforce.com. This allows providers to deliver greater value to customers by enabling them to communicate and collaborate from the interfaces of their choice. Designed as an Any3 user-centric value-added services (VAS) platform, Centile ISTRA supports any service over any terminal over any network. It can be deployed over mobile or fixed-line (Internet Protocol (IP) or TDM) networks. Service providers can deliver services using different numbers, including public switched telephone network (PSTN), public land mobile network (PLMN) and numbers. The platform supports SIP desktop phones, desktop PC/Mac soft clients, TDM phones and mobile devices. Unlike most competitor platforms, designed in cookie-cutter fashion, Centile delivers tailored ISTRA software to fit different service provider use cases. ISTRA SP is a SIP-based telephony and UCC solution for fixed-line networks. ISTRA Mobile allows mobile operators and MVNOs to provide business telephony and UCC features on users mobile devices. ISTRA FMC Router is a mobile integration component that allows providers to interconnect ISTRA SP or a third-party VAS platform with a mobile operator or an MVNO mobile service Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

5 to enable fixed-mobile convergence (FMC). Overall, functionality offered by the ISTRA platform effectively addresses a broad range of end user and service provider requirements. Ease of Use The majority of cloud deployments today are supported on highly scalable home-grown or third-party multi-tenant platforms designed specifically for service provider networks. More recently launched multi-instance architectures developed by PBX vendors are finding appeal among businesses with existing investments in premises-based solutions based on the same vendor technology. However, multi-instance platforms do not scale economically for businesses with fewer than 250 users and can present greater challenges with software upgrades and updates. Service providers continue to choose multi-tenant architectures for their cost-effective provisioning, including very small implementations; more flexible and economical maintenance and upgrades across the entire customer base; and tighter integration with service provider OSS/BSS systems. More specifically, about half of all cloud communications users in the world receive services enabled by third-party multi-tenant platforms. Using a third-party solution allows service providers to leverage platform developers technology expertise while focusing on customer acquisition and support. Centile ISTRA provides all the flexibility and cost-efficiency benefits of a high-density, multi-tenant platform. Designed from the ground-up for telecom operator environments it integrates with service provider OSS/BSS platforms through both APIs and single sign-on (SSO). Centile ISTRA enables multi-tier management, supervision and upgrades through multi-level portals. It also supports automatic device provisioning and remote management of SIP phones. As a turnkey solution with off-the-shelf portals and self-care tools, Centile ISTRA reduces service provider time to market with new cloud communications solutions. Unlike many competitor solutions, which require service providers to invest in end-user interface development, Centile ISTRA provides a complete user experience that reduces service provider costs and speeds revenue generation. The end-user and admin interfaces are also flexible and intuitive, which results in faster adoption as well as lower training and ongoing solution management costs. Prioritization of Features Cloud communications platform vendors continually enhance their solutions to help providers compete more effectively through differentiated services and greater customer value. Most vendors originally focused on replicating the most common PBX features before gradually adding voic , voic to , auto attendant, basic audio conferencing and other capabilities. Today, the technology innovation frontier has shifted to reflect growing customer demand for fixed-mobile convergence, contact center and Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

6 advanced collaboration tools. Few vendors have developed a comprehensive feature set to address all customer needs. Centile is one of the few. Centile provides a broad suite of UCC tools comparable to alternative solutions. However, it stands out with the prioritization of FMC capabilities as well as support for mobile-only users through native mobile PBX functionality. Centile has acknowledged growing demand for business-grade telephony and UCC features on mobile devices and is delivering solutions catering to businesses with a highly mobile workforce. Centile is uniquely positioned among cloud communications platform vendors with its ISTRA Mobile platform and ISTRA FMC router. For most competitors that are primarily focused on fixed-line operators and desk-bound workers, mobility has been an afterthought. Centile s innovative platforms, on the other hand, provide feature-rich and cost-effective business solutions for mobile-centric users and organizations. Going forward, growing business user mobility and increasing mobile device penetration in business settings will compel service providers to adopt a mobile-first approach. For this, they will require mobile-centric solutions that support both mobile-only users as well as users requiring a mix of integrated devices, including desktop phones, PC/MAC devices, mobile phones and tablets. Perceived Value Centile reports double-digit revenue growth rates over the past three years, 60 provider customers and 600,000 end users in production. These strong performance metrics show that both service providers and businesses see considerable value in Centile s nextgeneration platforms. Mobile operators are struggling to grow revenues in the highly competitive European mobile communications markets. Intensifying competition, continually declining prices and market saturation in the residential customer segment are compelling mobile operators to pursue new growth opportunities. In markets where mobile devices are increasingly deployed as primary communications endpoints in businesses, operators can deliver unique value to business customers through innovative mobile PBX and UCC solutions. Using ISTRA Mobile, operators such as Elisa in Finland deliver business-grade communications solutions natively on mobile devices, without the need to deploy additional network infrastructure or download clients on users mobile devices. ISTRA Mobile provides such operators with an additional revenue stream and an opportunity to differentiate from the competition. Fixed-line operators are also facing intensifying competition, declining TDM services prices, and customer base erosion as both residential and business customers increasingly adopt mobile communications and free voice over IP (VoIP) solutions such as Skype and discontinue their legacy services. Many fixed-line providers have already launched cloud communications offerings, yet few are integrating mobile devices with these solutions. Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

7 Centile ISTRA SP provides fixed-line operators with an opportunity to address diverse customer needs. It can support desktop devices, such as PCs and phones, as well as mobile devices. Through fixed-mobile convergence, ISTRA SP enables business users to conveniently make and accept calls on the most appropriate device for each use case and/or transfer calls to other devices if needed. A variety of service providers including VoIP pioneer Voz Telecom in Spain, hosting and IT outsourcing specialist Neurones- Intrinsec in France, and telephone equipment reseller OneDirect have deployed Centile ISTRA SP to differentiate and grow their business. Service providers can leverage Centile platforms to deliver next-generation residential or SIP trunking services, which provide further opportunities for differentiation and revenue growth. SIP trunking, along with cloud PBX and UCC services, allow operators to provide a one-stop shop for businesses with hybrid environments cloud services at some locations and premises-based systems at others. Through SIP trunking services, operators help customers reduce access and toll charges while benefiting from advanced features such as network-based FMC, including for sites with legacy systems. Furthermore, SIP trunking services help set such businesses on a migration path to fully hosted environments. Customer Purchase Experience Centile ISTRA rich functionality and architectural options present a compelling value proposition for service providers looking to deploy a new cloud communications solution. In addition, and unlike most platform vendors, Centile also offers several purchase options to its service provider customers. Most often, service providers purchase a right to use the platform with options to deploy it on their own networks or in a partner s data center. Monthly recurring charges include a software license, as well as support and maintenance with access to incremental and major releases. In addition to affordable upfront software access license fee (ranging based on type of platform and targeted volume), providers pay highly competitive monthly per-user fees, ranging between 0.50 to 2.50 euros (based on feature set and volume). The user licenses include features that are standard with alternatives as well as IVR, conferencing and FMC that entail additional costs with competing platforms. Only select features (e.g., contact center, systematic recording, fax server) require additional license fees with Centile ISTRA. Competitive usage-based software pricing allows providers to scale more cost-effectively, operate more profitably and pass some of the cost savings to end customers. Service providers also have the option to pay upfront for software licenses and recurring fees for support and maintenance. However, this option is less common as service providers choose the flexibility to more closely align costs with actual revenues through the pay-as-you-go model. Centile additionally offers a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) model, whereby the platform is managed jointly with a partner. For example, in partnership with Open IP, Centile provides Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

8 a PaaS solution for systems integrators that wish to offer cloud communications services for their customers. A PaaS scenario allows multiple parties to leverage their specific skills and expertise to deliver greater value to business customers. Thus Centile and its partners are able to launch services faster and offer better solutions to business customers. Centile ISTRA SP is available in two versions Compact Edition (CE) and Distributed Edition (DE). ISTRA SP CE allows providers to start small with a more economical platform, and ISTRA SP DE allows them to evolve and scale as their cloud communications business grows. The Centile ISTRA platform enables a compelling purchase experience for end customers as well. Through a modular design, the platform allows service providers to deliver tiered services packages tailored for different customer segments and user needs. A Light PBX package includes: 1 terminal, extension dialing, MyIstra desktop client, and voic notification. A Standard PBX package can include: 2 terminals, away attendant, boss/secretary filtering, queuing service, call-back on busy, call-back on no answer, TAPI connector, and MyIstra desktop + voice. A Premium PBX package can include: 3 terminals (including video), MyIstra multi-screen, call pickup, screening service, FMC, click to call + CRM, switchboard application, call recording, unstructured supplementary services data (USSD)/ short messaging service (SMS) callback. In addition to attractive feature packages and a differentiating mobile-first approach, Centile ISTRA supports one of the industry s broadest ranges of communications endpoints, including IP phones from industry-leading vendors such as Cisco, Gigaset, Mitel/Aastra, Panasonic, Polycom, snom and Yealink. Customers can choose phones based on features, price or other criteria. Flexible service provider deployment options, competitive pricing, communications endpoints choices, and compelling feature packaging for end customers enable a superior purchase experience for Centile ISTRA providers and business customers. Customer Ownership Experience Through continuous innovation, Centile ensures service providers can deliver the most advanced features and capabilities that their customers require. Additionally, Centile works with service providers to improve the platform s reliability and scalability and to address any potential issues. From an end customer perspective Centile ISTRA provides a number of benefits that ensure a satisfactory customer experience. A web-based MyTelephony portal empowers enterprise admins to conveniently manage solutions settings, users, devices, phone numbers, service plans and more. The MyIstra dynamic HTML5 self-care portal allows end users to see contacts (personal and business) and their presence status; view call, voic and IM history; access automatic call distributor (ACD), conferencing and CRM tools; listen to voic ; change personal settings (time-of-day call routing); and click- Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

9 to-call from Outlook or other integrated apps. Also important, MyIstra WebApp capabilities dynamically adapt to the logged user rights so MyIstra can become a switchboard app for receptionists (enabling more advanced call handling) and a call center agent interface for ACD agents. An away attendant feature helps route calls to substitutes when the user is unavailable. Other functionality ISTRA benefits include an advanced collaboration client with multi-party desktop video; call center; and CRM integration. One of the key ISTRA platform advantages from an end-user point of view is the ability to use the cloud communications service with any device of their choice: desktop IP or TDM phones, mobile phones or PC/laptop soft clients. Mobile users appreciate the convenience of a clientless mobile experience. They can easily set the device (using a web-based interface) to automatically show their business number during working hours and user s personal number outside of working hours. Alternatively, they can use a code such as *9 to switch from business to personal settings. When users are travelling, they can use desktop soft clients to communicate without incurring roaming charges. Overall, Centile ISTRA provides both service providers and business customers with a higher degree of flexibility than most alternative solutions, which resonates well in the dynamic and continually evolving cloud communications market. Conclusion With over fifteen years of technology development, a large service provider and business customer base and high growth grates, Centile has demonstrated the ability to deliver superior price/performance value and thrive in a highly-competitive environment. With its strong overall performance, Centile has earned Frost & Sullivan s 2015 Price/Performance Value Leadership Award. Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

10 Significance of Price/Performance Value Leadership Ultimately, growth in any organization depends upon customers purchasing from your company, and then making the decision to return time and again. A key component of customer retention is the delivery of a high-quality product at a reasonable price. To achieve these dual goals (customer engagement and price/performance), an organization must strive to be best-in-class in three key areas: understanding demand, nurturing the brand, and differentiating from the competition. Understanding Price/Performance Value Leadership Best-in-class organizations are particularly successful in two critical areas: first, helping customers to appreciate and enjoy the product at every price point; and second, ensuring that customers perceive a demonstrable difference in performance features at every escalating price point. Ultimately, this balance allows companies to profitably deliver a variety of product options to customers, differentiate the product suite, and compete at every level of the market. Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

11 Key Benchmarking Criteria For the Price/Performance Value Leadership Award, Frost & Sullivan analysts independently evaluated two key factors Price/Performance Attributes and Customer Impact according to the criteria identified below. Price/Performance Attributes Criterion 1: Functionality Criterion 2: Ease of Use Criterion 3: Product/Service Quality Criterion 4: Performance Reliability Criterion 5: Prioritization of Features Customer Impact Criterion 1: Perceived Value Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience Criterion 5: Brand Equity Best Practice Award Analysis for Centile Decision Support Scorecard To support its evaluation of best practices across multiple business performance categories, Frost & Sullivan employs a customized Decision Support Scorecard. This tool allows our research and consulting teams to objectively analyze performance, according to the key benchmarking criteria listed in the previous section, and to assign ratings on that basis. The tool follows a 10-point scale that allows for nuances in performance evaluation; ratings guidelines are illustrated below. RATINGS GUIDELINES The Decision Support Scorecard is organized by Price/Performance Attributes and Customer Impact (i.e., the overarching categories for all 10 benchmarking criteria; the definitions for each criteria are provided beneath the scorecard). The research team confirms the veracity of this weighted scorecard through sensitivity analysis, which confirms that small changes to the ratings for a specific criterion do not lead to a significant change in the overall relative rankings of the companies. Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

12 The results of this analysis are shown below. To remain unbiased and to protect the interests of all organizations reviewed, we have chosen to refer to the other key players as Competitor 2 and Competitor 3. DECISION SUPPORT SCORECARD FOR PRICE/PERFORMANCE VALUE LEADERSHIP AWARD Measurement of 1 10 (1 = poor; 10 = excellent) Price/Performance Value Leadership Price/Performance Attributes Customer Impact Average Rating Centile Competitor Competitor Price/Performance Attributes Criterion 1: Functionality Requirement: The product offers enhanced functionality to serve the broadest range of applications Criterion 2: Ease of Use Requirement: Customers typically feel that the products are easy to use to generate optimal performance Criterion 3: Product/Service Quality Requirement: Products or services offer the best quality for the price, compared to similar offerings in the market Criterion 4: Performance Reliability Requirement: The product consistently meets or exceeds customer expectations for performance over its life cycle Criterion 5: Prioritization of Features Requirement: The features that customers most value and expect are most commonly available and most aggressively priced Customer Impact Criterion 1: Perceived Value Requirement: Customers typically feel that they received more from the product or solution than they paid for it Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience Requirement: Customers feel like they are buying the most optimal solution that addresses both their unique needs and their unique constraints Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience Requirement: Customers are proud to own the company s product or service, and have a positive experience throughout the life of the product or service Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

13 Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience Requirement: Customer service is accessible, fast, stress-free, and of high quality Criterion 5: Brand Equity Requirement: Customers have a positive view of the brand and exhibit high brand loyalty Decision Support Matrix Once all companies have been evaluated according to the Decision Support Scorecard, analysts can then position the candidates on the matrix shown below, enabling them to visualize which companies are truly breakthrough and which ones are not yet operating at best-in-class levels. DECISION SUPPORT MATRIX FOR PRICE/PERFORMANCE VALUE LEADERSHIP AWARD High Centile Competitor 3 Competitor 2 Customer Impact Low Low Price/Performance Attributes High Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

14 The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best Practices Awards Research Methodology Frost & Sullivan s 360-degree research methodology represents the analytical rigor of our research process. It offers a 360-degree-view of industry challenges, trends, and issues by integrating all 7 of Frost & Sullivan's research methodologies. Too often, companies make important growth decisions based on a narrow understanding of their environment, leading to errors of both omission and commission. Successful growth strategies are founded on a thorough understanding of market, technical, economic, financial, customer, best practices, and demographic analyses. The integration of these research disciplines into the 360-degree research methodology provides an evaluation platform for benchmarking industry players and for identifying those performing at bestin-class levels. 360-DEGREE RESEARCH: SEEING ORDER IN THE CHAOS Competitive Benchmarking Availability of Capital Demographics Buying Behavior Growth Strategies Economic Trends Industry Expansion Industry Evolution New Vertical Markets GeoPolitical Stability Growth Implementation Technology Obsolescence Emerging Technologies CEO Sustainability Disruptive Technologies New Business Cultures Smart Cities Career Development New Applications Segmentation Industry Convergence Country Risk Branding and Positioning Crowd Sourcing Competitive Strategy Needs and Perceptions Capital Investments Emerging Competition Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

15 Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching, Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices Frost & Sullivan Awards follow a 10-step process to evaluate award candidates and assess their fit with select best practice criteria. The reputation and integrity of the Awards are based on close adherence to this process. STEP OBJECTIVE KEY ACTIVITIES OUTPUT 1 Monitor, target, and screen Identify award recipient candidates from around the globe Conduct in-depth industry research Identify emerging sectors Scan multiple geographies Pipeline of candidates who potentially meet all bestpractice criteria 2 Perform 360-degree research Perform comprehensive, 360-degree research on all candidates in the pipeline Interview thought leaders and industry practitioners Assess candidates fit with best-practice criteria Rank all candidates Matrix positioning all candidates performance relative to one another 3 Invite thought leadership in best practices Perform in-depth examination of all candidates Confirm best-practice criteria Examine eligibility of all candidates Identify any information gaps Detailed profiles of all ranked candidates 4 Initiate research director review Conduct an unbiased evaluation of all candidate profiles Brainstorm ranking options Invite multiple perspectives on candidates performance Update candidate profiles Final prioritization of all eligible candidates and companion best-practice positioning paper 5 Assemble panel of industry experts Present findings to an expert panel of industry thought leaders Share findings Strengthen cases for candidate eligibility Prioritize candidates Refined list of prioritized award candidates 6 Conduct global industry review Build consensus on award candidates eligibility Hold global team meeting to review all candidates Pressure-test fit with criteria Confirm inclusion of all eligible candidates Final list of eligible award candidates, representing success stories worldwide 7 Perform quality check Develop official award consideration materials Perform final performance benchmarking activities Write nominations Perform quality review High-quality, accurate, and creative presentation of nominees successes 8 Reconnect with panel of industry experts Finalize the selection of the best-practice award recipient Review analysis with panel Build consensus Select winner Decision on which company performs best against all best-practice criteria 9 Communicate recognition Inform award recipient of award recognition Present award to the CEO Inspire the organization for continued success Celebrate the recipient s performance Announcement of award and plan for how recipient can use the award to enhance the brand 10 Take strategic action Upon licensing, company may share award news with stakeholders and customers Coordinate media outreach Design a marketing plan Assess award s role in future strategic planning Widespread awareness of recipient s award status among investors, media personnel, and employees Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

16 About Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best in class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best practice models to drive the generation, evaluation and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages almost 50 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 31 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth