News

Brussels, November 16, 2006 - IBM announced today that it is opening a Telecommunications Infrastructure Center for Business Support Systems in Montpellier. The new center is created for industry solution providers specialized in billing, customer care, service management and service fulfilment (BSS) and their customers. In the new center they will have easy access to the latest IBM technology, (virtualization, power 5, storage) and IBM telecommunications experts to test and perform benchmarks and proof of concepts that demonstrate their own capabilities, coupled with IBM’s world class technology. The new center completes the existing capability established in IBM's facility in Montpellier dedicated to the telecommunications industry and focusing on IMS and NGN benchmark and demonstration capabilities for the telecommunications industry.

The infrastructure of this new center is based on an IBM System p5-570, which is designed to be cost-effective, flexible server for the on demand environment. Innovative virtualization technologies and Capacity on Demand (CoD) options help increase the responsiveness of the server to variable computing demands. The System p5-570 includes IBM mainframe-inspired reliability, availability and serviceability features.

According to IDC, customer relationship management and billing are THE most critical element of telecommunications companies to enable them to be in a position to achieve long term growth. While carrier spending constraints have limited growth in the global telecommunications billing market over the last several years, advanced services and the need for a more rationalized billing infrastructure are creating new opportunities for billing vendors and will drive the value of the worldwide billing market to ($6.17 billion by 2010).

Operators are today facing a strong business requirement for the development and introduction of CRM and billing systems that will enable real time services billing which is today a defacto standard in the telecommunications industry and vital to retaining and gaining customers. At the same time, existing billing and customer care environments have been complemented over time by bespoke development to respond to new market needs (web services, web interface, real time query...), adding to the complexity of CRM and billing environments and limiting their flexibility to react quickly to changing customer needs.

The challenge therefore is not only to prove superior cost-performance running on IBM technology but also the ability to migrate associated programs that have complemented over time the initial investment to achieve competitive advantage. This approach is unique in the industry today and has for objective to lower the cost of ownership for the operator, simplify complex environments whilst improving performance and ensuring optimum consolidation. Telecommunication Benchmarks performed in Montpellier with industry leaders have already demonstrated superior performance more than any existing industry benchmark.

“IBM is committed to both our partner ecoscystem and customers to provide smooth migration from existing platforms to IBM’s open p5 technology” said Stephen Leonard, WW Vice President, System p Sales, IBM Systems & Technology Group “We are convinced that IBM’s technology coupled with world class industry applications will facilitate the transformation of the telecommunications industry”.

Mr. Leonard declared the center officially open in Montpellier today, during a short ceremony at IBM's Montpellier facility and with the presence of representatives of the telecommunications eco-system in Europe during IDATE 2006.