Sanlam Health chooses GlobeTOM convergent billing platform

In a market driven by unrelenting demand for bandwidth, data and consumer applications, network service providers (NSPs) are at the helm of technological development - often pioneering new and innovative products and services.

To retain existing clients, attract new subscribers and boost revenue streams, NSPs today also find themselves courting relationships with third-party service providers driven by the scent of a rapidly growing market for mobile solutions.

This, says Philip Stander, managing director of telecommunications solutions provider GlobeTOM, is where agile convergent billing platforms play a pivotal role.

“Without a secure pre- and post-paid convergent billing gateway, third-party service providers will find the revenue assurance aspect of the mobile market quite complex and challenging,” explains Stander.

The solution is a transparent billing system designed to track multiple billing transactions from various third-party providers.

“Convergent billing and revenue assurance in this sense is as important to third-party service providers and NSPs as a watertight tax collection process is to a government,” he says.

This was the challenge facing Sanlam Health when it joined one of Africa's largest NSPs to offer mobile health services to large, undeveloped areas in Africa.

To make the project viable, Sanlam Health needed a fair and transparent convergent billing platform to process detailed accounts. Its solution, after evaluating international offerings, was a pre- and post-paid convergent billing gateway called GP3, developed and rolled out locally by GlobeTOM.

“Although we initially evaluated many different and international convergent billing gateways, we opted for GlobeTOM because it has a strong and proven local presence,” says Charl Marais, Sanlam Health General Manager: Business Development.

“Apart from sharing our ethics and values, GlobeTOM shares our belief that mobile applications will shape the ITC industry over the next growth phase in the mobile environment,” he adds. “The company is also big enough to deploy a solution that is world-class, but small enough to look after us; they care about our vision and concerns.”

The implementation of the Sanlam mHealth billing gateway proceeds from an agreement signed with GlobeTOM earlier this year, to expand Sanlam's mHealth services into under-developed areas in Africa characterised by high mobile network penetration.

“Through 'close partnering', we were able to offer Sanlam Health a subscriber management and revenue assurance solution that met all their specifications and requirements - convergence, next-generation integration, a tight deadline and a local presence,” says Stander.

“We are, in that sense, future-proofing their convergent mHealth solution with a NSP billing technology abstraction service. It is the ideal solution for a variety of emerging green field services,” he adds.

Further billing gateway applications include services such as insurance and prepaid distribution.

“What they get is a single interface for their business service delivery billing irrespective of the network needed to integrate and deliver the service. The GP3 platform is network agnostic; an ideal platform for service delivery across co-existent but competing networks. It really is a win-win solution for all concerned,” concludes Stander.