best practices research - spatialbuzz · best practices research ... customers are tesco mobile,...

BEST PRACTICES RESEARCH

© Frost & Sullivan 1 “We Accelerate Growth”



Contents

Background and Company Performance ........................................................................ 3

Industry Challenges .............................................................................................. 3

Technology Attributes and Future Business Value ..................................................... 3

Conclusion........................................................................................................... 5

Significance of Technology Innovation .......................................................................... 6

Understanding Technology Innovation .......................................................................... 7

Key Benchmarking Criteria .................................................................................... 7

Best Practice Award Analysis for SpatialBuzz ................................................................. 8

Decision Support Scorecard ................................................................................... 8

Technology Attributes ........................................................................................... 9

Future Business Value ........................................................................................... 9

Decision Support Matrix ...................................................................................... 10

The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best Practices Awards ..................... 11

Research Methodology ........................................................................................ 11

Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching, Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices .......................................................................................................... 12

About Frost & Sullivan .............................................................................................. 13



Background and Company Performance

Industry Challenges

As a result of the exponential rise in the use of mobile phones, there has been a

surge in the number of mobile phone users. In the European market, mobile

network operators (MNOs) are driven to outperform others by differentiating their

product and service offerings by extending value-added and technology-driven

products and services at cost-competitive prices. Some operators acutely focus on

providing exemplary customer service to cement their market position.

Advances in technology like 4G infrastructure and network convergence create

challenges for mobile network operators, who are working to provide seamless

mobile services to keep customer satisfaction high. This implies that apt measuring

and monitoring of end user experience is critical to gain an edge over competitors.

Thus, companies that provide innovative technology platforms and services (as

compared to the conventional network probes and protocol analyzers) that enable

customers to proactively communicate with the operator in real-time, stand to

create a win-win situation for themselves even amid explosive customer demand.

These kinds of platforms and services eliminate user frustration and reduce

customer churn rates.

An additional concern that MNOs encounter is the difficulty in improving customer

service levels without much increase in operational expenditure (OPEX). To meet

customer expectations (with regard to best-in-class services), operators must

constantly invest to improve and upgrade their services; this is the key to superior

customer satisfaction.

Technology Attributes and Future Business Value

Industry Impact

SpatialBuzz has created a unique cloud-based customer experience management

(CEM) platform that provides seamless access to mobile networks through self-

service options. Until the introduction of this innovative platform, very little real-

time communication between customers and operators was possible. The company

has demonstrated unrivaled technological excellence by developing a highly

differentiated customer experience analytics and service monitoring platform,

created specifically to build strong rapport between end users and MNOs.

Resolving user concerns in a prompt and transparent manner whilst reducing OPEX

is truly an industry-disruptive feat. On par with the latest technological trends, the

SpatialBuzz platform has transformed traditional outlook towards network

performance management and made it easy for customers by providing insight into

network status and capability.



With easy access to customer touchpoints, this platform allows operators to get

information about the network on a 24/7/365 basis. This is a major transformation

of the CEM approach, with customers’ perspectives being given considerable

importance. Previously, with the help of probes and analysers, companies

communicated customer feedback to the operator, and had no way to promptly and

efficiently monitor and manage customer experience. SpatialBuzz’s best-in-class

CEM strategy, based on its sound technical understanding of networks and its drive

for innovation, undoubtedly has the potential to be regarded as an industry

standard, even amid stiff competition from prominent mobile operators, vendors,

and service providers.

Product Impact

The cloud-based customer experience monitoring platform designed by SpatialBuzz

is transparent, making network data communications between customers and

MNOs flawless. Unlike competitors, the company provides distinctive crowd-sourced

analysis of network performance (by readily sharing network data between

customer care and marketing teams), and also provides an early warning of

probable service issues. A live feed from customers and their communication with

operators is a feature that was not previously available in conventional CEM

platforms. By acquiring information from customers (mobile subscribers), it is

possible to centralise the use of cell phone platforms to re-drive a massive amount

of crowd-sourced data towards the operator, thus facilitating intelligent network

performance. Such an exhaustive value-added offering has driven elite Tier I

mobile operators in Europe to deploy SpatialBuzz’s differentiated platform,

consequently providing it with a key competitive edge.

The company recently added new customer engagement features to HDHealth,

SpatialBuzz's Web-based status solution. These features help customers track

alerts associated with a specific network location while also enabling direct-to-

operator feedback. With a direct communication channel, operators can better

understand customer needs and provide a superior customer experience.

“The introduction of these new features affirms our commitment to helping

operators expand their customer experience offerings,” said Andrew Blake, CTO of

SpatialBuzz. “The system can be monitored 24 hours a day, providing an operator’s

customers with an easy-to-use tool to be able to report or track faults impacting

their service in near real-time, thus increasing customer satisfaction levels and

helping the operators to significantly improve the efficiency of their network

management.” 1

1 SpatialBuzz Press Release - http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/spatialbuzz-introduces-new-proactive-customer-engagement-features-to-enhance-its-cem-platform-501036151.html



Visionary Innovation

The CEM platform built by SpatialBuzz has, in a short span of time, built a sterling

reputation for its unmatched innovation. By reaching out to customers and paying

attention to pertinent obstacles and challenges that they face, SpatialBuzz has

created a customer experience monitoring system that addresses the key industry

challenges today. Its transparent approach and prompt resolution, supported by the

digital self-service option that SpatialBuzz’s platform provides, helped capture the

attention of end users and consequently brought down the number of calls made to

the customer service department.

Customer Acquisition & Brand Loyalty

SpatialBuzz's unique CEM platform is in high-demand among customers. This was

largely achieved by generating awareness among end users about the impressive

functionalities of its customer-centric platform. Some of SpatialBuzz’s noted

customers are Tesco Mobile, O2, giffgaff, Telefonica and Eplus. With increasing

awareness of the extended return on investment by deploying this unique platform,

marked by the reduction in customer complaint calls by 35% and a 15%

improvement in the call resolution time, Frost & Sullivan considers this an ideal

solution.

As a good example of customer satisfaction, Telefónica Germany (which licensed

SpatialBuzz’s tools on 20 November 2012), after having deployed the SpatialBuzz

CEM platform, reported that its call centres have achieved network-related call

reduction of 49% on normal days and 72% during key incidents. This clearly

indicates an increase in overall operational efficiency and considerable decline in

customer complaints and frustration.

SpatialBuzz has acquired massive attention in a short span of time. The company

remains committed to its innovative approach and it consistently offer products

unmatched in terms of quality and overall value. To increase brand loyalty by

reaching out to a larger base of customers, SpatialBuzz has recently opened new

facilities in Toronto and Taipei. F

Conclusion

SpatialBuzz has achieved a strong position in the mobile communications space

through its technologically superior approach to addressing challenges and its

ability to satisfy increasing and ever-evolving customer needs. Its unique CEM

platform has redefined the data communications between operators and customers

by bringing down costs and enhancing efficiency for customers. Because of its

strong overall performance, SpatialBuzz is recognized with Frost & Sullivan’s 2015

Technology Innovation Award.



Significance of Technology Innovation

Ultimately, growth in any organization depends upon finding new ways to excite

the market, and upon maintaining a long-term commitment to innovation. At its

core, technology innovation or any other type of innovation can only be sustained

with leadership in three key areas: understanding demand, nurturing the brand,

and differentiating from the competition.



Understanding Technology Innovation

Technology innovation begins with a spark of creativity that is systematically

pursued, developed, and commercialized. That spark can result from a successful

partnership, a productive in-house innovation group, or the mind of a singular

individual. Regardless of the source, the success of any new technology is

ultimately determined by its innovativeness and its impact on the business as a

whole.

Key Benchmarking Criteria

For the Technology Innovation Award, Frost & Sullivan analysts independently

evaluated two key factors—Technology Attributes and Future Business Value—

according to the criteria identified below.

Technology Attributes

Criterion 1: Industry Impact

Criterion 2: Product Impact

Criterion 3: Scalability

Criterion 4: Visionary Innovation

Criterion 5: Application Diversity

Future Business Value

Criterion 1: Financial Performance

Criterion 2: Customer Acquisition

Criterion 3: Technology Licensing

Criterion 4: Brand Loyalty

Criterion 5: Human Capital



Best Practice Award Analysis for SpatialBuzz

Decision Support Scorecard

To support its evaluation of best practices across multiple business performance

categories, Frost & Sullivan employs a customized Decision Support Scorecard. This

tool allows our research and consulting teams to objectively analyze performance,

according to the key benchmarking criteria listed in the previous section, and to

assign ratings on that basis. The tool follows a 10-point scale that allows for

nuances in performance evaluation; ratings guidelines are illustrated below.

RATINGS GUIDELINES

The Decision Support Scorecard is organized by Technology Attributes and Future

Business Value (i.e., the overarching categories for all 10 benchmarking criteria;

the definitions for each criteria are provided beneath the scorecard). The research

team confirms the veracity of this weighted scorecard through sensitivity analysis,

which confirms that small changes to the ratings for a specific criterion do not lead

to a significant change in the overall relative rankings of the companies.

THE RESULTS OF THIS ANALYSIS ARE SHOWN BELOW.

Measurement of 1–10 (1 = poor; 10 = excellent)

Technology Innovation

Technology

Attributes

Future

Business Value Average Rating

SpatialBuzz 9.8 9.9 9.9

Competitor 7.2 7.0 7.1




Criterion 1: Industry Impact

Requirement: Technology enables the pursuit of ground breaking new ideas,

contributing to the betterment of the entire industry

Criterion 2: Product Impact

Requirement: Specific technology helps enhance features and functionality of the

entire product line for the company

Criterion 3: Scalability

Requirement: Technology is scalable, enabling new generations of products over

time, with increasing levels of quality and functionality

Criterion 4: Visionary Innovation

Requirement: Specific new technology represents true innovation based on a deep

understanding of future needs and applications

Criterion 5:Application Diversity

Requirement: New technology serves multiple products, multiple applications, and

multiple user environments

Future Business Value

Criterion 1: Financial Performance

Requirement: High potential for strong financial performance in terms of revenues,

operating margins and other relevant financial metrics

Criterion 2: Customer Acquisition

Requirement: Specific technology enables acquisition of new customers, even as it

enhances value to current customers

Criterion 3: Technology Licensing

Requirement: New technology displays great potential to be licensed across many

sectors and applications, thereby driving incremental revenue streams

Criterion 4: Brand Loyalty

Requirement: New technology enhances the company’s brand, creating and/or

nurturing brand loyalty

Criterion 5: Human Capital

Requirement: Customer impact is enhanced through the leverage of specific

technology, translating into positive impact on employee morale and retention



Decision Support Matrix

Once all companies have been evaluated according to the Decision Support

Scorecard, analysts can then position the candidates on the matrix shown below,

enabling them to visualize which companies are truly breakthrough and which ones

are not yet operating at best-in-class levels.

High

Low

Low

High

Fu

ture B

usin

ess V

alu

e


SpatialBuzz

Competitor



The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best Practices Awards

Research Methodology

Frost & Sullivan’s 360-degree research

methodology represents the analytical

rigor of our research process. It offers a

360-degree-view of industry challenges,

trends, and issues by integrating all 7 of

Frost & Sullivan's research methodologies.

Too often, companies make important

growth decisions based on a narrow

understanding of their environment,

leading to errors of both omission and

commission. Successful growth strategies

are founded on a thorough understanding

of market, technical, economic, financial,

customer, best practices, and demographic

analyses. The integration of these research

disciplines into the 360-degree research

methodology provides an evaluation

platform for benchmarking industry players and for identifying those performing at

best-in-class levels.

360-DEGREE RESEARCH: SEEING ORDER IN

THE CHAOS



Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching, Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices

Frost & Sullivan Awards follow a 10-step process to evaluate award candidates and

assess their fit with select best practice criteria. The reputation and integrity of the

Awards are based on close adherence to this process.

STEP OBJECTIVE KEY ACTIVITIES OUTPUT

1 Monitor, target, and screen

Identify award recipient candidates from around the globe

Conduct in-depth industry research

Identify emerging sectors Scan multiple geographies

Pipeline of candidates who potentially meet all best-practice criteria

2 Perform 360-degree research

Perform comprehensive, 360-degree research on all candidates in the pipeline

Interview thought leaders and industry practitioners

Assess candidates’ fit with best-practice criteria

Rank all candidates

Matrix positioning all candidates’ performance relative to one another

3

Invite thought leadership in best practices

Perform in-depth examination of all candidates

Confirm best-practice criteria Examine eligibility of all

candidates Identify any information gaps

Detailed profiles of all ranked candidates

4

Initiate research director review

Conduct an unbiased evaluation of all candidate profiles

Brainstorm ranking options Invite multiple perspectives

on candidates’ performance Update candidate profiles

Final prioritization of all eligible candidates and companion best-practice positioning paper

5

Assemble panel of industry experts

Present findings to an expert panel of industry thought leaders

Share findings Strengthen cases for

candidate eligibility Prioritize candidates

Refined list of prioritized award candidates

6

Conduct global industry review

Build consensus on award candidates’ eligibility

Hold global team meeting to review all candidates

Pressure-test fit with criteria Confirm inclusion of all

eligible candidates

Final list of eligible award candidates, representing success stories worldwide

7 Perform quality check

Develop official award consideration materials

Perform final performance benchmarking activities

Write nominations Perform quality review

High-quality, accurate, and creative presentation of nominees’ successes

8

Reconnect with panel of industry experts

Finalize the selection of the best-practice award recipient

Review analysis with panel Build consensus Select winner

Decision on which company performs best against all best-practice criteria

9 Communicate recognition

Inform award recipient of award recognition

Present award to the CEO Inspire the organization for

continued success Celebrate the recipient’s

performance

Announcement of award and plan for how recipient can use the award to enhance the brand

10 Take strategic action

Upon licensing, company may share award news with stakeholders and customers

Coordinate media outreach Design a marketing plan Assess award’s role in future

strategic planning

Widespread awareness of recipient’s award status among investors, media personnel, and employees



About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate

growth and achieve best in class positions in growth, innovation and leadership.

The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth

Team with disciplined research and best practice models to drive the generation,

evaluation and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan

leverages almost 50 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies,

emerging businesses and the investment community from 31 offices on six

continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com.

http://www.frost.com/

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