László Árvay CEO of FlexiTon Ltd., Hungary

Cost Optimisation with FlexiTon

Mr. László Árvay talks to InterComms about the importance of and future for its ARIADNE product line

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László joined FlexiTon in 2006 as CEO. He has worked in the IT and telecommunications industry for almost 20 years. He started in telecom network planning and operation management for a Hungarian alternative wireline operator called UTI. That 10-years period was a very exciting and challenging part of the history of Hungarian telco industry due to the privatisation and market deregulation. Later he continued as CMO, COO and CSO for the company renamed as Vivendi Telecom after its acquisition by Vivendi France and later called Invitel after Vivendi sold the company to private equity group.

He is Hungarian and lives in the suburb of Budapest. He is Electrical engineer (Technical University of Budapest, 1977). He post-graduated at the University of Economic Sciences, Budapest in 1993.

Q: What are the key messages of FlexiTon for the telco market players?
A: On one hand, the Communication Service Providers (CSPs) are focusing on cash-flow as never before. On the other hand, the continuously increasing need for mobile data forces the CSPs to build LTE networks; significantly increase the speed and capacity of their backhaul network and building out into new areas. All these take new investment. At the same time, the decreasing ARPU and the challenges in monetising data forces the CSPs to further decrease their cost via improving the operational efficiency.

This is the point where FlexiTon comes into the picture: ARIADNE/Mobile is the right solution for:

• Network optimisation – to maximise the usage of the existing network capacities. The higher is the usage of the existing capacities that have already been installed and therefore have been paid the less is the risk of unnecessary investment into the network. Poor capacity utilisation is killing the Operators’ CAPEX and OPEX while reliable and efficient capacity management improves the operational efficiency.

• CAPEX optimisation – CAPEX constrains force companies to avoid unnecessary investments by building an over-engineered network. More reliable engineering planning leads to CAPEX optimisation.

In both cases the key is to OPTIMISE network planning and optimise available capacities. ARIADNE is an ideal tool for reaching operational excellence.

Q: What are the main features of this “magic” ARIADNE solution?
A: The key functions of ARIADNE products are network inventory, capacity management and transmission network planning with plan version handling in a vendor independent, coherent, single database that represents the overall network. That basis allows the operator to efficiently manage the capacity requirements, planning and executing changes in the network as needed either by the daily operation or by larger network extensions.

FlexiTon provides the right tool and services, offers strategic partnership for the operators to have an end-to-end view of their key assets.

Q: Do you integrate your solution into the overall OSS environment of your clients? If yes, how?
A: Of course, we do! The integration is the way how the network database can be kept updated after the initial data migration. We use the following method for integration: ARIADNE Mobile has its built-in Interface Framework Module. As part of the project delivery we develop those small interface plug-ins that are needed to connect our system to the different MW and cell planning tools and to the NMSs. The solution provides mainly automated partly semi-automated method for database synchronisation.

Q: Many operators decide to outsource their network operation. How does ARIADNE help these CSPs and their Managed Service Provider (MSP) partners?
A: Before an operator wants to outsource network operation it is essential to know what they own and what they hand over to their partner.

On one hand, ARIADNE database can be the technical base of an outsource negotiation.

On the other hand, after the agreement a platform is needed where up-to-date technical information about the complete network is available and modification data can efficiently be interchanged between the operator and the outsource partner. To get a complete view on a multi-vendor network a platform is required for the managed service provider where the complete network information is built up from the different vendors’ NMSs and other data sources. ARIADNE can be this platform for both parties.

Q: Is ARIADNE a real off-the-shelf product or rather a set of user-defined, tailor made developments?
A: ARIADNE/Mobile is an easily customisable off-the-shelf product. Years ago FlexiTon decided to move toward a standard product that on one hand provides standard functions to all customers but on the other hand flexible enough to meet certain specific customer requirement. We are sure, that this is the way to ensure long-term quality and stability for our customers. They get a certain level of unique services but also enjoy the benefits of global standards. Our development plans have always been based on the international trends – like technology evolutions – but usually fine tuned by our customers’ needs.

Q: How do you see the new and popular idea of cloud computing?
A: The cloud computing is primarily intended for different B2C or B2B2C applications. However, in our B2B world it has slightly different meaning but is still there. A CSP does not necessarily want to have its own internal IT expertise to run a fairly complex application. For CSP the cloud means “somewhere else”, similarly to an ASP model. The private cloud enables businesses to capture all the benefits of the cloud without loosing control of your IT and without increasing your risk. ARIADNE in this aspect is “cloud compatible” that means FlexiTon is ready and able to be such a service provider for our Communication Service Provider or Managed Service Provider clients.

Q: Does your company provide ancillary services as well?
A: Yes, of course. We believe that in a project delivery, the turnkey solution, which FlexiTon offers to its customers, is very important. They do not need to take care of several aspects of a project like data migration for example. FlexiTon just requests the contribution from them in those fields like network data collection. Moreover, FlexiTon has excellent support services of different categories such as level2, level3, 5x8 and 7x24.

Q: What about your recent successes?
A: Over the past two years, FlexiTon has had great successes both commercially and in terms of project execution in several countries over Africa, Middle East and Asia, besides Europe that is our traditional target. Emerging markets will remain in our focus for minimum two reasons. They like our solution and we like to work there. Overall, there are ARIADNE installations in 28 countries and we are negotiating the next projects to the 30th country across the Globe.

For more information please visit:
www.flexiton.com