Empowering CSPs with NextGen Service Assurance

How can CSPs revolutionize their operations, reduce costs, and delight customers with Amdocs Helix SAS? Embrace cutting-edge AI/ML technology for seamless service quality and network performance. Transform your business now!

As communications service providers (CSPs) navigate the complex world of hybrid cloud and legacy systems, executing and maintaining services present a continuing challenge, leading to higher operational costs and customer dissatisfaction. Service assurance is crucial to addressing these issues. With its ability to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), the technology holds the key to streamlining processes, and improving fault, performance, and service quality management – ultimately leading to an enhanced customer experience. 

Major trends, challenges, and priorities

As technological advancements and shifting customer expectations drive a rapid evolution of the service assurance landscape, CSPs are responding by adopting revenue-generating services and embracing new business models. In doing so, they seek to optimize total cost of ownership (TCO), accelerate time to market, and provide enhanced customer experiences.

Let’s examine the key trends, challenges, and priorities:

• Deployment of 5G networks and hybrid environments: While these deployments aim to increase available data for analysis substantially, assurance teams still face the challenge of supporting new networks and services while minimizing costs and ensuring high-quality performance.
• Adoption of AI and automation: AI-driven analytics enable CSPs to predict network issues, optimize resource allocation, and improve overall network performance.
• Navigating complex ecosystems: CSPs navigate multiple vendors and technologies, prioritizing integrating diverse systems to enable effective service assurance seamlessly.
• Modernizing legacy systems: Since modernization can be both costly and complex, CSPs need to prioritize investments that enable them to remain both competitive and efficient.
• Enhancing customer experience: Service assurance is pertinent in ensuring reliable connectivity and seamless services in pursuit of this goal.

Amdocs Helix Service Assurance Suite (SAS)

To maintain competitiveness within this complex landscape, CSPs required a powerful solution capable of ensuring both reliable network performance and service quality, while navigating the intricacies of 5G and hybrid networks. Amdocs Helix Service Assurance Suite (SAS) was designed to meet these needs. Acquired from TEOCO and integrated into Amdocs Intelligent Networking Suite (INS), it offers next-generation, cloud-native capabilities such as closed-loop network automation and end-to-end service lifecycle management.

As a highly scalable solution that integrates seamlessly into dynamic network environments, the suite provides support for all major mobile and fixed network technologies. Key capabilities include end-to-end service monitoring, automated fault detection and resolution, performance management, topology discovery and visualization, predictive analytics, closed-loop automation, multi-domain support, real-time dashboards, and integration with OSS/BSS systems.

Continuously evolving technology

As their industry peers rapidly adopt new technologies, CSPs face pressure to deploy solutions that enable them to remain competitive over time. Amdocs Helix Service Assurance Suite (SAS) is continually evolving to meet these needs, with integrated building blocks that enable efficient management of dynamic CSP environments. These building blocks include Fault Management (FM), Performance Management (PM), Service Quality Management (SQM), as well as infrastructure, platform, and non-functional features.

The recent release of Amdocs Helix SAS 12.1 in particular, introduces several powerful features, with the infrastructure now automatically scaling libraries based on workload demands for optimal resource utilization. For instance, FM introduces pre-defined analytics workspaces for immediate investigation of AI/ML results, complete with validation tools for AI/ML Root Cause Analysis (MLRCA). In addition, PM capabilities now enable on-the-fly calculations of KPIs/KQIs from multiple hierarchies, supported by AI-driven adaptive threshold validation tools. SQM enhancements offer customizable views, efficient management, and improved data grouping in Sentinel. Additionally, CSPs can now choose the most suitable platform for their business, with a clear upgrade path from non-containerized software to the latest fully cloud-native version.

Cell C: An amazing success story

As an example, let’s take a look at Cell C, a South African communications service provider who recently deployed Amdocs cloud-native Helix Service Assurance Suite to transform their fault and performance management. The company sought the solution as a means of harnessing the power of AI/ML to streamline processes and enhance customer satisfaction through improved service quality. Today, the suite successfully achieves these objectives by providing significantly enhanced RCA capabilities using AI/ML-powered fault management, real-time network performance monitoring, and a notable reduction in Mean-Time-To-Repair (MTTR) for service-impacting issues. As a result, Cell C has been able to position itself more effectively to meet customer SLA commitments and deliver an elevated customer experience, while increasing both satisfaction and loyalty.

Awards & recognition

Still, Amdocs Helix Service Assurance Suite’s achievements extend beyond individual deployments. At FutureNet World 2024, it received the Network AI Award in recognition of being the most innovative AI solution to enhance network performance. According to FutureNet, the suite stood out as a “groundbreaking AI solution that enhances network performance.” Describing its value proposition, they further wrote, “This suite leverages AI and machine learning to detect and resolve network incidents end-to-end. By automating key processes, it has significantly improved mean time to detect, reduced event noise, and enabled zero-touch automation for incident journeys. The solution not only enhances network efficiency but also contributes to better customer experience and satisfaction.”

Empowering 5G networks and delivering customer-centric management

As the demands of 5G and cloud networks continue to intensify, CSPs must seize the initiative by deploying tools that efficiently manage and optimize their services. Amdocs Helix Service Assurance Suite empowers these players with the robust capabilities they need to meet these objectives, enabling real-time monitoring, rapid issue resolution, and seamless integration into complex network environments. Ultimately, by leveraging such strengths, they can be confident in their ability to be strongly positioned to deliver high-quality services, meet customer expectations, and stay ahead in our industry’s competitive landscape.