IBM, Vodacom sign services agreement

In a move that signals the growing co-operation between IBM and Vodacom, the companies have signed a 36-month operational support and maintenance services agreement. In terms of the agreement, IBM will provide Vodacom with management and consulting services for the mobile operator`s value-added interactive voice services.

Rochelle van Niekerk, IBM`s telecommunications client manager, Vodacom Group, says: "Through this agreement IBM is able to leverage its extensive knowledge and experience in the area of voice services to assist Vodacom in its drive to improve efficiency and to deliver new offerings to the market."

Vodacom`s Executive HOD operational system support, David Dlamini, says: "The agreement not only ensures Vodacom is well and truly part of IBM`s roadmap, but it also means Vodacom has access to IBM`s development laboratories."

"Interactive voice systems are complex," says Bertie Jackson, IBM`s manager, midrange project services. "And when it comes to managing a site as large and complex as that at Vodacom, there are few companies that can compete with IBM. With our team on-site, we are ideally placed to leverage the knowledge and understanding of large-scale end-to-end voice systems to provide Vodacom with unparalleled service in ensuring the company is best placed to deliver on its value-added voice service promises."

Dlamini says interactive voice services are an increasingly important part of Vodacom`s offering as voice revenues flatten out. They allow the company to improve operating efficiencies through increased customer self-service channels, without requiring additional staff overheads. They also increase the company`s range of value-added services such as competition hotlines and information services.

"The benefits of interactive voice services have been particularly noticeable in the call centre area where the `self-help` channel has allowed the company to provide a more comprehensive service without requiring additional call centre agents," says Dlamini.

Vodacom`s interactive voice services include consumer-oriented services such as competition lines, call-in lines such as those for Big Brother and Idols, WeatherLine and matric information, operator logos and ringtones. Business-oriented services include Talktime - a service that updates users on their remaining free minutes - and Shareline which provides constantly updated share price information.

Chris Heunes, Vodacom`s value-added services support manager, says: "We chose to partner with IBM for this agreement because their offering provides us with the robust platform needed to cater for both mass-calling as well as business-oriented interactive services."

Simon Taylor, IBM system software specialist consultant working on-site for Vodacom, says: "There are approximately 560 active services offered through the IBM-supported platform which receives up to 11 million calls a month. With 30 distributed machines and that number of requests, managing the platform is a critical part of its success."

Taylor says the partnership between the two companies also provides IBM with a showcase for the company`s voice capabilities and skills.

Says Heunes: "The IBM platform provides the ideal robust environment for the development and deployment of client-facing applications and with operational support provided by IBM, the time cycle from development to deployment is minimised."

"By ensuring the availability of services through the proven IBM platform, Vodacom is freed up to pursue other objectives rather than pursuing maintenance work," says Jackson.