Experience Centric Managed Services puts the user in focus

Ericsson unveils its new Experience Centric Managed Services model with an increased focus on the user experience
Model aligns the management and operation of the network and IT environment to consumers' expectations and operators' business objectives
Creates opportunities for business differentiation, specialization and innovation
As a result of the rapid development of data services and the proliferation of smartphones and other mobile devices, consumers take connectivity for granted and tolerance for service disruptions or dropped calls is very low. If users aren't happy with their operator's services, they have an abundance of other brands, products and services to choose from. To reflect operators' increased focus on their users, Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) today announces the launch of Experience Centric Managed Services.

Traditionally, the aim of managed services is to create cost efficiencies, reduce the complexity of network operations, and manage network quality. These goals are then tracked and measured through a number of pre-set technical key performance indicators (KPIs). The relationship between vendor and operator is a typical seller/buyer one and a fixed price model is used.

By contrast, the new Experience Centric Managed Services model is designed to meet operators' evolving expectations for managed services, especially when it comes to ensuring customer satisfaction. Success is measured with the help of service- and customer experience KPIs in addition to technical KPIs. Examples of service- and customer experience KPIs include service availability, service accessibility, time for service activation and service response time.

Since Experience Centric Managed Services helps service providers improve agility and speed, it enables them to free up resources and increase their focus on specialization and innovation - to the benefit of the user experience and customer relationship.

Valter D'Avino, Head of Managed Services, Ericsson: "In the past, the main reason for an operator to sign a managed services agreement was to reduce costs. Now, Experience Centric Managed Services has the ability to play a vital role in operators' strategies by helping them to grasp new opportunities, re-evaluate their position in the market and ensure that consumer expectations are met."

The offering also creates value by supporting a people and culture strategy that fosters closer cooperation, proactivity and innovation. Experience Centric Managed Services is a partnership between vendor and operator that aligns both parties' business objectives with a risk/reward pricing model. In addition, it offers a holistic approach to managed services, covering both the network and the IT environment.

The two pillars of Experience Centric Managed Services are the customer experience and the managed services experience. The first consists of KPIs, user service assurance and best-in-class tools for tracking and measuring. The second consists of a joint strategic framework that aligns strategic choices and priorities through shared business scorecards, a value assurance component that measures, tracks and ensures the creation of business benefits over the life cycle of the engagement, and a business innovation component that unlocks value for business benefits.

During Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona, Ericsson showcases its combined technology and services leadership for the Information and Communications Technology industry. Our solutions deliver superior network performance in the field, enable complete customer experience management, simplify and automate operations workflows thereby leading to operational excellence. We show how the Networked Society comes to life - what it will mean for the industry and how it will enable our customers to capture growth opportunities.