By Bernard Breton, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, Infovista
As you're likely aware, Infovista acquired RAN and backhaul network planning optimization provider Mentum last November, strengthening its presence within the mobile market. As a result of that acquisition, I have been ramping up as chief marketing and strategy officer, a new role at Infovista and one that I am thrilled to take on! Part of this new role is to define a unified strategy for these two complimentary companies and provide combined offerings to help operators better plan, operate, optimize and monetize their networks.
One area where I see great demand for these capabilities is in regard to the explosion of data demand across mobile networks. As I see it, mobile operators are stuck in a difficult position because they can't generate enough revenue from this increase in demand to offset the cost it creates — particularly when the data demand is generated by OTT services.
Consequently, the delivery cost per bit must be reduced, and mobile operators are looking for the best method to cost-effectively and efficiently manage their networks' capacity, quality and coverage. I don't believe that there is a silver bullet for this problem. However, by improving the efficiency of all functions associated with the delivery of network capacity — from planning to optimization — as well as improving the utilization efficiency of the infrastructure, mobile operators can take steps to address this multi-faceted challenge.
This means optimizing and effectively managing every inch of a network through the implementation of best-of-class methods and tools. It also means taking further steps to address areas where the demand exceeds bandwidth availability, such as implementing small cells and deploying new technologies like LTE. To maximize the return of these initiatives, operators will often put in place advanced service performance assurance systems across the all-IP mobile network, redefine their capacity planning approach and increase the level of automation, such as with the introduction of self-organizing networks (SON).
One week removed from Mobile World Congress, we can certainly say the event was a success for Infovista. We received valuable feedback from attendees about the relevance of Infovista's acquisition of Mentum in light of growing interest in service performance assurance, and wireless network planning and optimization. Keep an eye out for more exciting announcements from us in 2013 as we will continue to focus on delivering technological innovation that helps improve mobile network efficiency.
