Accenture, Microsoft announce solutions for telecoms service providers built on .NET technologies

Accenture and Microsoft South Africa have introduced Accenture Communications Solutions .NET-connected, a new set of solutions built on leading Microsoft technologies to support cross-functional communication business operations for service providers. The news was announced at Accenture`s Global Convergence Forum, an annual gathering of CEOs, top business executives and industry experts from the fields of communications, media and entertainment and electronics and hi-tech.

Microsoft and Accenture have co-developed a Microsoft .NET-powered version of the Accenture Communications Solutions suite, a set of pre-configured best-of-breed OSS/ BSS applications for wireline and wireless carriers, Internet service providers, cable providers and other communications service providers. The applications support key operations including customer care, sales, billing, service delivery, enterprise management and business intelligence.

Combining Accenture`s expertise in telecommunications with Microsoft`s leading .NET technologies, the new Accenture Communications Solutions .NET-connected suite introduces a higher level of agility and real-time transactional capability through the use of Web services. The solutions enable service providers to run critical operations on hardware and software that is less expensive, faster and easier to deploy and maintain. Utilising leading-edge and cost-efficient technologies the solution additionally standardises processes across an entire network, enhances customer service capabilities and accelerates the roll-out of new services.

"Our joint solution combines seamless integration of end-to-end critical business processes with the power of Microsoft`s .NET Framework and Web services at the right economics. The objective is to better help network service providers lower their cost and risk of implementation while still providing a rich customer service experience and expand service offerings rapidly," said Sham Soobiah, Director at Accenture South Africa.

"Accenture continues to demonstrate its dedication and commitment to delivering innovative solutions and unlocking the promise of Web Services," said Cyril Belikoff, telecommunications industry manager at Microsoft South Africa. "Our joint solution marks a significant step for Web service technologies, providing leading-edge business value and agility in the communications service provider`s front and back office."

Since its introduction in 2001, the Accenture Communications Solutions suite, a collection of applications that combine integration and best practice configurations of commercially available OSS/ BSS software, has been implemented with more than 20 service providers globally. Each component of the solution can be implemented separately or integrated seamlessly with other components into an existing IT infrastructure, offering communications providers "plug and play" capabilities. By configuring repeatable telecommunication processes on the Microsoft middleware and platform offerings, the .NET-connected version of the joint solutions significantly reduces the time it takes to deploy new services. The solutions can be deployed in a heterogeneous environment leveraging advanced application packages, Microsoft Windows Server, SQL Server, and specific Microsoft BizTalk Server connectors.