Set top maker Pace in the UK has dramatically beefed up its service management platform, to open up an entirely new front in supporting large tier 1 players with everything from service quality management, availability and field technician support and analytics. Pace says it offers remote configuration, trouble-shooting, device management and customer analytics to reduce opex and capex costs and improve the subscriber experience.
The idea behind the service is to take complexity out of running a large installed base of TV services, but we see it as insulating the company from its long term reliance on the vicissitudes of set top pricing and it starts embedding the company more deeply in services which cross multiple device generations.
Its ECO Service Management platform, will be aimed at partners who use Pace or anyone else’s equipment for triple-play and connected home services. It is only a small step from here to provide full home management, not just in the triple play but in home automation and home gateway services, and this positions Pace well for supporting large operators as they bring out services in the Internet of Things.
The enhanced service management platform has built in support for other vendor equipment, and does not anticipate Pace equipment end to end, which is realistic. It will of course be rolled out at IBC next week.
The earlier versions of its ECO Service Management platform have been deployed at AT&T, Telmex, Bell Canada, Telstra, and BskyB and is largely based on industry standards such as TR-069 and SNMP. Pace hopes it will make it easier for these large operators to introduce new services and reward them financially with far fewer truck rolls.
The eight services falling within the ECO management platform include:
ECO Monitor ‘ Used by network operations staff to oversee subscriber service availability and quality
ECO Manage ‘ to oversee the management and support of services and devices
ECO Collect ‘ Assesses service quality and provides insight into subscriber experiences through the collection and analysis of subscriber and device data
ECO Connect ‘ Provides connected home applications with presence, location, message routing and transport services
ECO Assist ‘ Used by customer support agents to remotely troubleshoot and resolve complex subscriber issues
ECO Self-Service ‘ Allows subscribers to manage and resolve their own service issues
ECO Dispatch ‘ Used by field technicians to diagnose quality issues and verify installation
ECO Inquire ‘ Used by marketing personnel to gain insight into subscriber behavior, preferences and experiences.
According to Jon Cobb, Pace’s President of Software and Services ‘Service providers are under immense pressure from greater competition and increasing costs, combined with customer demand for richer functionality and support for multiple devices in the home. ECO Service Management helps address these challenges, whilst giving greater visibility, control and automation of devices and services to improve both the customer and operator efficiency.’