Minimum Viable Data (MVD)

“A core component of Lean Startup methodology is the build-measure-learn feedback loop. The first step is figuring out the problem that needs to be solved and then developing a minimum viable product (MVP) to begin the process of learning as quickly as possible. Once the MVP is established, a startup can work on tuning the […]

IoT equals lower ARPU?

“Surprisingly though, wireless providers themselves are one of the largest hurdles for advancing IoT, with many resisting adding connectivity to new devices due to fears of lower APRU metrics. CSPs must band together and embrace future innovation before competition edges them out. Perhaps creating an IoT MVNO is the transition necessary for addressing lower ARPU, […]

Bridging the OSS chasm

“You don’t need to be better. You need to be different.” Chase Jarvis. PassionateAboutOSS.com and my book came into existence due to a distinct gap in the OSS market that I’d noticed again and again whilst on customer assignments. As represented in the diagram below, there was a major disconnect between the Technology Context and […]

15 Predictive analytics campaigns

“Ideally, analytics-driven telcos must have predictive analytics embedded in all their business processes, thereby moving away from decisions based on gut feeling or intuition. [The Figure below] illustrates the four phases of a telco customer life cycle – Acquisition, Relationship, Retention and Win-back. Each phase can have several embedded analytical models, which can enhance operations considerably and provide a […]

Hard!

“With more success comes greater problems along with greater ability to solve them.” Mark Victor Hansen. Paul Graham’s essays are a great read. There is something unique about the way he views his subject matter (usually startups) and then has the ability to break it down into highly insightful chunks of wisdom for his readers […]

Automating the Work of Hundreds

“Today, the FBAR service [Facebook Auto-Remediation] is developed and maintained by two full time engineers, but according to the most recent metrics, it’s doing the work of approximately 200 full time system administrators. FBAR now manages more than 50% of the Facebook infrastructure and we’ve found that services have dramatic increases in reliability when they […]

The Southwest Airlines analogy

“The airline industry is notoriously brutal. As Warren Buffett once wrote in a letter to shareholders, “[I]f a farsighted capitalist had been present at Kitty Hawk, he would have done his successors a huge favor by shooting Orville down.” Yet Southwest Airlines just recorded its 39th consecutive year of profitability—in a business sector where profits […]

Technology provides no benefits of its own

“Technology provides no benefits of its own; it is the application of technology to business opportunities that produces ROI.” Robert McDowell. Let’s have a look at the quote above in the context of CSP service offerings, technology delivery methods and customer experiences. Let’s start with POTS – Plain Old Telephony Service. The customer experience (ie […]

Just three things

“Start small, think big. Don’t worry about too many things at once. Take a handful of simple things to begin with, and then progress to more complex ones. Think about not just tomorrow, but the future.” Steve Jobs. This is a really interesting snapshot of Steve Jobs’ mode of thinking roughly 8-10 weeks after re-joining […]

The death of fibre

“It turns out that all Netflix streaming peak on Saturday night can fit inside a single fiber optic, which is the size of one human hair.” Reed Hastings. Whilst futurists talk about advances in wireless technology being the death of fibre, higher volumes of wireless traffic equals a larger number of fibre backhaul points… for […]

OSS flaws

“People are too eager to say “This legendary person had flaws!” instead of, “Wow, this flawed human being managed to do something legendary.”” Mishell Baker. Interesting perspective from Mishell above, one which I concur with. As usual, I have a take on this in relation to OSS. I think we often spend so much time […]

Forward scout

“So I’m going to tell you, it’s going to be a good year. There are good players all over this country, and it is our job as a scouting department to find them, draft them, sign them, develop them, and help us to continue to win championships. So it’s going to be a good year.” […]

Lowest common denominator

“…the term Lowest Common Denominator means appealing to as many people at once as possible.  There are varying interpretations on what this implies. Taking an upbeat viewpoint, it might be admirable; making stories that most people can relate to” TVropes.com It has been said that television programming caters to the intellect of an 8 year […]

Managing a third-party network

“We see customers as invited guests for a party and we are the hosts. It is our job every day to make every aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.” Jeff Bezos. An earlier post discussed value chains and the newer paradigm of value fabrics. Another post indicated how the value fabric can […]

An OSS ecosystem

“The Biblical world view sees Earth and its ecosystems as the effect of a wise God’s creation and… therefore robust, resilient, and self-regulating, like the product of any good engineer.” Christopher Monckton. Yesterday’s post highlighted Jon Parrish’s five questions for establishing uniqueness of a product. It also spoke of the fragmentation of the OSS market […]

Doing your Goo-diligence

“I now live by the rule of “Goo-diligence.” Whenever have a new idea or am asked for feedback on someone else’s, I won’t move forward without a quick search on Google. I hate to say it, but many of my “great ideas” have stopped before they ever started because of things I’ve found in less […]

Extend and expand

“What the early adopter is buying, is some kind of change agent. By being the first to implement this change in their industry, the early adopters expect to get a jump on the competition, whether from lower product costs, faster time to market, more complete customer service, or some other comparable business advantage. They expect […]

Chief Simplification Officer attributes

“Do you think that such a role (a Chief Simplification Officer or Project Simplification Officer) is justified? If so, what do you think are the essential traits that this person would need?” I posed these questions in a recent article entitled, “Chief Simplification Officer,” so rather than just leave you with an open question, today […]

Build learning into everything

“By seeking and blundering we learn.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. In the grand scheme of OSS and all its constituent pieces, no one person knows very much at all. That’s why we have to build learning (and teaching) into everything we do in OSS, as individuals, as organisations and as products. It’s for this reason […]

The Telco/Utility Model

“Something strange is happening in a rubbish bin in Milton Keynes. On his way to the bus stop, Alex drops a drinks carton into it. The bin’s sensor system detects that an item has passed the top ridge of the container. It sends out a signal that alerts local rubbish trucks. Before Alex’s bus arrives, […]