By Sanjay Mewada

The Impact of IP on the Service Delivery Business Model

Next generation services have often been regarded as IP versions of last generation services. The advantages of packet-based networks are widely recognized and include: a converged infrastructure that supports data and voice services; the ability to share component technology with enterprise networks; increased application flexibility and programmability; and separation of services and applications from network infrastructure. Since their inception, packet-based networks have brought a host of advantages to Communications Service Providers (CSPs).

In addition to these technological benefits, IP has also created an opportunity to change the very nature of the service delivery business model on which all telecom has been based. The inherent flexibility in the new IP network architecture — the separation of media and control planes — means that services can be developed, owned, and deployed in a highly distributed way. In fact, CSPs can deploy their services over someone else’s network infrastructure, and multiple providers can collaborate by contributing service elements to make up a final end user service.

Collaboration: The New Service Delivery Model

The concept of multiple players collaborating to deliver next generation services is the new

service delivery model, and it’s the simplicity of IP that’s driving this fundamental change.

While most CSPs are not yet accustomed to this type of collaboration, industry evolution is forcing them to re-think their traditional approach to service assembly and delivery. Increasingly, they are moving from a vertical model where they provide all functionality to a service ecosystem model in which each contributor creates and sells functionality that leverages their particular area of expertise.

Collaboration and the Service Ecosystem

Telecom operators are beginning to harness the next generation IP network in a similar way — by exposing service elements to third parties and by using third-party elements to create their own services. This process of sharing service elements can be called “service syndication.” Service syndication is an activity that involves multiple contributors who, together, create a mutually beneficial service ecosystem.