Sopra
Group Integrates Highdeal Transactive
in its 3G Lab for Telecommunications Operators
Paris,
February 6, 2004 – Sopra Group, a European consulting
and systems integration company, has integrated Highdeal
Transactive ® for partner relationship management (PRM)
in its 3G Lab. As a part of innovative information systems
for 3G operators, this tandem allows service providers to
effectively manage the particular partner settlement requirements
inherent to new data based mobile services.
Sopra Group set up the
3G Lab as a venue for developing and presenting innovative 3G
information system technologies to telecom operators. The Lab
integrates different back office systems that answer the particular
challenges facing operators with regard to new mobile services.
This platform allows Sopra to specifically address business requirements
such as differentiated billing for services, prepaid data services,
and content provider settlement.
For this particular aspect
of 3G business systems requirements, Sopra Group asked Highdeal
to integrate the Highdeal Transactive pricing, rating and settlement
system into the 3G Lab infrastructure to handle PRM. Transactive
allows operators to calculate partner settlements, manage partner
accounts and process settlement reports to complete the chain
of service management. These processes are key to the successful
launch of new services available over mobile phones and PDAs
that involve third-party content providers such as downloading
video and content, receiving email, and accessing company intranets.
As François Rabasse,
Deputy Director of the Sopra Group Telecommunications Division,
explains, “The Sopra Group 3G Lab is a showcase for our
technological and business know-how. It began when our mobile
operator customers and large service or content providers asked
us for access to our R&D labs. Through this arrangement,
we make our experts available to them in order to exchange expertise
and ideas in the field of 3G technology. This enables us to experiment
with 3G solutions, evaluate the best software packages available,
get a jump-start on the pre-integration of complex systems, and
work on prototypes or customized models for our clients. We
save time and avoid false starts through the experience gained
in the lab and we are happy to involve our software vendor partners,
such as Highdeal, in this opportunity.”
Eric Lavenir, VP of EMEA
Sales at Highdeal, explains the role of Highdeal in the Sopra
demonstration, “Within the rating scenario of service
usage, Highdeal is the financial component that will transform ‘consumer
service usage' into ‘settlement and royalty payments' information
to be reported to the partner. In the 3G Lab, Sopra used different
types of usage patterns and settlement plans. The advantage
of our solution is its flexibility and its capacity to handle
various dynamic pricing contracts ranging from the simplest to
the most complex.”
For operators launching
new services Isabelle Roussin, VP Marketing at Highdeal, addresses
the problem of adding rating capacity to existing systems, “Our
solution is based on open technological standards (Java and XML),
which guarantees a quick and cost-effective integration. This
makes it perfect for integration into an existing billing system
when operators need to fill in the missing link in their billing
chain for the deployment of new services. This capacity
to serve as an ‘adjunct' rating solution is a strong point in
our positioning.”
About
Sopra Group
Sopra Group offers a range
of consulting and information technology services to enterprises
throughout Europe. A major player in the field, the group employs
6,700 people and maintains sustained and close relationships
with its clients through an offering of customized and innovative
solutions. The Telecommunications Division of Sopra Group
devotes 80% of its activity to mobile operators and major ISPs.
Today, over 500 members of the Sopra team are dedicated to telecommunications
projects in France and in Europe.
About
Highdeal
In 2003 Highdeal became
the rating leader for multimedia mobile services when a
major equipment manufacturer bundled Highdeal Transactive into
its MMS platform. Combined with its strong expertise in value-added
IP and Internet services, Highdeal maintains its success with
a continuously increasing number of pricing and rating solution
implementations worldwide. The company is present in Paris, New
York, London and Munich. For more information go to www.highdeal.com
|
