Global IT services company SchlumbergerSema has teamed up with database and systems development company InterSystems to develop CIMS (Consolidated Information Management System), an SMS tracing and statistical measurement application for cellular network providers. Developed in SA using InterSystems` Cach'e technology, the application is one of the first of its kind in the world and is already generating substantial international interest.
SchlumbergerSema provides end-to-end integrated telecommunications software and solutions targeted at telecoms operators worldwide. Its messaging and enhanced services and solutions include SMS, multimedia messaging, unified communications, mobile e-mail and instant messaging. The company`s solutions are used by over 70 customers globally and support 15% of all SMS users worldwide.
"SchlumbergerSema is out front when it comes to messaging," says Philippe Caille, Chief Technical Officer of the South African subsidiary. "The company delivered the world`s first commercial short message in 1992 in the UK and it continues to provide high-performance SMS solutions to the world`s largest telecoms operators. SchlumbergerSema wanted a solution that would enable it to trace the delivery of SMSs and extract statistical information related to SMS messaging events.
"The company spent a considerable amount of time looking for the right relational database. Traditional databases proved to be too slow and too costly, and not quite flexible enough for the customers` requirements. SchlumbergerSema found that running its application on a traditional database would require it to spend as much on a CIMS hardware system as it has spent on primary SMS hardware.
"With Cach'e the hardware required for CIMS cost between 5% and 10% of the price of its SMS hardware. On comparable hardware, the Cache-based engine is between 10 and 15 times faster than traditional database systems."
InterSystems` Cach'e is a post-relational database offering a fusion of object and relational data in a multidimensional engine which runs on most major platforms, including Windows, OpenVMS, Linux and Unix. Cach'e`s unified data architecture supports a full range of object modelling paradigms and can expose Cach'e objects as Java, ActiveX, or C++ objects as well as ODBC and JDBC. Cach'e also supports XML and SOAP.
"This not only boosts productivity by allowing developers to use familiar tools, but also reduces time to market, offering an increased return on investment," says Henry Adams, country manager for InterSystems South Africa. "Its performance, scalability, reliability and openness make it an ideal choice for an application like CIMS."
SchlumbergerSema messaging solutions allow cellular network operators to offer their subscribers cost-effective, innovative services resulting in increased revenues, reduced churn and market differentiation. CIMS is another value-added solution for communication service providers striving to provide cellphone subscribers with competitive services.
CIMS integrates with SchlumbergerSema`s SMSC (Short Message Service Centre), a high-performance, scalable, resilient solution which is responsible for the receiving, storing and forwarding of short messages in a mobile network. SMSC supports mobile originating and mobile terminating text messaging in GSM, GPRS and IS-41 network environments.
CIMS` automatic tracing facility enables network operators` customer care departments to respond to queries from customers who want to know where an SMS has disappeared to, why it was late, or why the recipient received it twice.
The SMS delivery process is extremely complex and customers do not realise that many factors affect delivery: their SIM cards may be full, they may be out of the network coverage area, or the recipient`s cellphone may be switched off.
Customer care consultants must be able to respond to queries and explain to subscribers why their messages were not delivered, and they must be able to do this while the customer is on the line. CIMS enables rapid, accurate response to such queries.
At present, complex customer queries are redirected to network systems engineering and support staff and to operations departments, who are then obliged to query live systems. This not only has adverse effects on the systems, but also means that highly skilled resources are being used up. CIMS moves this function over to customer care consultants, freeing up valuable technical staff to concentrate on systems administration. The application is sufficiently user-friendly for customer care consultants who do not have to be highly computer literate.
Network operators also need the ability to perform finer system queries such as tracking the number of SMSs sent from one network to another, the number sent to foreign subscribers, and the different types of SMS traffic. SMS systems deliver several different types of messages, some generated from mobile devices, others from computers, vehicle tracking systems, WIG (Wireless Internet Gateway) and Infotext enquiries. It is important for network operators to understand the breakdown of SMS traffic on their systems. In the case of bulk messaging, networks must be able to inform their customers how many SMSs were successful and how many did not reach their destinations.
From a statistics point of view, network operators need to know an enormous amount of information about their SMS systems. They must know the amount of SMS traffic per day and per hour. This information is vital for scheduling promotions and advertising campaigns as these must be conducted in safe periods that will not bring a system to its knees. CIMS provides the functionality to meet all these requirements.
The application is in the trial phase at Vodacom. SchlumbergerSema is also targeting other networks in the country, as well as members of the Vodafone group and other international players, including other customers in the SchlumbergerSema group.
"The development of CIMS is a ground-breaking project for both companies," says Adams. "What is most notable is that we are making significant further inroads into the telecoms market with a product that has been developed in SA. This demonstrates the enormous development capabilities of local IT people."
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