Compuware claims Vantage for Mobile improves subscriber visibility

Rating: All-you-can-eat stats on data users

Coming from a networking/IP background, network tool specialist - Compuware - has decided to target mobile network operators with its new Vantage for Mobile offering. It claims the software can drill down right to an individual usersto diagnose data network problems.

The company recently conducted a market research with 22 operators worldwide. This study confirmed that a lack of an ability to see what the subscriber experiences with mobile data services was the heart of the problem.

The survey highlighted the management challenges which included: - higher than expected network traffic; reduced profitability from IP data revenue>and the rising complexity of new devices. All of this is putting increased pressure on an operator’s call centre staff.

Compuware claims that existing management tools are network-centric and only provide metrics on network performance plus the aggregate view of subscribers. By contrast, Compuware says its product allows operators to understand an individual subscriber’s experience with mobile data services.

Ian Clarke, global director of telecoms strategy with Compuware claims the software is extremely powerful. It can tell the operator what problems an individual iPhone user is experiencing in real time.

There are also plenty of other opportunities for operators to indulge in ‘data mining’. For example, an operator with its own mobile music store can determine which other sites are proving more popular with its subscribers.

Besides marketing intelligence, Vantage for Mobile is designed to aid call centre staff. So they can bring up a customer’s records for the last 48 hours and see what’s happening. This kind of data allows agents to recognise the problem before the subscriber has even begun.

GoMo News asked Jerry Witkowicz , the product manager for Vantage for Mobile how the system can recognise an individual’s usage patterns and still not be intrusive. He claimed it meets all EU laws on data privacy, however.

With all of the marketing intelligence data which Vantage for Mobile appears to be able to offer, this product competes head on with traditional data analytics suppliers rather than with other network diagnosis tools.