3 network transformation opportunities – and how to make them happen

With digital transformation initiatives high on many organisations’ agendas and the impact of COVID-19 changing how most of us work forever, network transformation has never been more important.

And the truth is, there are a wide range of network transformation vendors to choose from. But most take a transactional approach to network transformation, delivering little value beyond the basic works carried out.

Rather than an “in and out” service, great network transformation relies on an end-to-end partnership-based approach, with your vendor working closely to understand all your requirements. It can also sometimes mean working across multiple lines of business and projects to deliver network transformation programmes at scale.

In working on multiple network transformation projects with one of our major transportation clients, there were some interesting opportunities we’d like to share. Here are three potential opportunities to be had by working with a network transformation specialist.

Opportunity #1 – Turn spare network capacity into additional revenue

For organisations with vast internal networks, there’s significant opportunity to commercially monetise spare capacity and offer greater flexibility to customers.

With a significant fibre network across its estate stretching tens of thousands of miles, our client realised that any spare capacity could be used for commercial applications to help generate additional revenue.

Using an end-to-end delivery process, we developed and launched a dark fibre service to help our client deliver connectivity as a service, in a way that was repeatable and efficient.

We kicked off the project by mapping out the client’s service lifecycle to identify any capability gaps. Once this was established, we brought together a selection of our client’s stakeholders virtually and ran interactive workshops to walk through draft processes, focusing on providing end customer service.

Following a successful service launch, several end customers now use our client’s services, with our client driving continuous improvements across the network. And we’re now working with our client to deploy the service across its wider network and develop a service model and approach for future deployments – allowing our client to develop its offering.

Opportunity #2 – Tackle customer complaints to strengthen relationships

In large organisations, it can often be a challenge to discover and resolve issues that directly impact customers. Following the regionalisation of our client’s legacy telecom assets, our client found that many of its asset managers were concerned about whether its legacy voice estate was fit for purpose.

Working with our client’s leadership team, we devised and managed a service improvement plan, which involved understanding the issues and what was needed to resolve them.

To help stakeholders mobilise the plan, we set up management reporting processes and acted as an intermediary between our client’s leadership and account management teams.

In just four weeks, we helped our client reach a resolution around its legacy voice estate, and moved the focus to other areas of concern – delivering improved service to our client’s regions.

Opportunity #3 – Dramatically reduce data centre costs

Outdated technology can be a significant drain on resources. And while it can be all too tempting to throw money and resources at the problem, this strategy can often cause more problems than it solves.

Our client had an ageing data centre infrastructure which was interfering with its ability to deliver a reliable service. What’s more, it was keen to ensure its mission-critical applications were always available. With its legacy technology approaching end of life and support, we recommended an infrastructure migration.

We worked closely with key stakeholders to create a test organisation at the start of the project to support the migration, helping our client build two new data centres with modern technology stacks.

Ensuring a thorough assurance process was used throughout to maintain regulatory compliance, we oversaw the design, implementation, and migration phases. And to confirm all programme deliverables were managed correctly, CACI developed a project management and testing platform using Jira and Zephyr.

By working closely with our client throughout the project, we helped the company save £40K and delivered the project two months ahead of schedule. Looking to the future, we’re now working with our client in an advisory role, helping it to shortlist an operating partner.

Network transformation: a world of opportunity

While network transformation opportunities can be wide-ranging and cover several lines of business, it’s important to select an outsourced vendor that also understands the importance of being a familiar point of contact.

Often embedded in clients’ teams for maximum impact, our end-to-end services allow our clients to benefit from a portfolio of skills and resources, helping them free up their teams to focus on more strategic activities.

To find out more about how we can help you design and implement network services – and even unite third party stakeholders – across your organisation, get in touch with our team of experts today.