STEM applications and examples

Business models for solution marketing

Leading vendors are using models created with STEM (Strategic Telecoms Evaluation Model) to communicate the economic value of their solutions.

Modern network technology exists to create a seamless communications environment in which an operator can develop a broad portfolio of services tailored to individual groups of users. Vendors must focus their attention on the new services which their products enable, and the business models which make them attractive to their operator customers.

Creating consistent, reliable and adaptable business models

The market for broadband communications products is lucrative and highly competitive: product offerings may be differentiated through a consultative selling process which establishes a vendor as an operator’s strategic partner through the development of tailored customer business cases.

Business models of prospective service and network offerings are often modelled in a spreadsheet. These models are time-consuming to adapt to individual customer cases, due to the characteristic difficulty of re-using spreadsheet models in which structure, data and calculations are inextricably linked. In contrast, STEM models can be rapid-prototyped and are readily adaptable by virtue of the careful separation of data from calculation structure, most of which is generated at run-time.

WiMAX-DSL technology comparison Comparative business results

STEM wraps up core elements of telecoms business planning, enabling rapid and reliable, same-day development of business cases. Consistent structure and graphics provide a common language across divisional teams. Decision makers have greater confidence in models built on a reliable, standardised business-modelling platform.

A sales tool for broadband fixed wireless access (FWA)

We have worked with various vendors to develop sales models for their service-provider customers. In one such case, we created a model of our client’s FWA platform from the perspective of the client’s prospective operator customers in a specimen city. The model could demonstrate immediate business advantage to service providers, and thus helped the vendor engage with its potential customers.

Key inputs for the model were linked from Excel:

  • market size and backhaul options
  • base station access points
  • geography type
  • SME, large business and backhaul customers
  • comparative costs.

Key results were also linked back into Excel, which thus acted as the primary model interface:

  • service connections
  • equipment installation, capex and opex
  • revenue and gross margin by service
  • profit and loss, cash-flow and balance sheet
  • DCF, NPV and IRR.

When a customer wants to look into the detailed structure, the STEM Model Editor is ready:

  • clear development of concept in multiple views
  • access and traffic-based revenues
  • detailed bandwidth calculation for air interface
  • readily customised with scenarios.

Leading vendors create STEM-based sales tools for worldwide sales teams

One major vendor uses STEM for its most demanding and complex business case analysis, relating to a wide range of technologies including PSTN and next-generation networks (NGN). In most cases, various Excel modules are linked as the interface for each of the input categories – market, traffic, operation cost, etc. These spreadsheets are shared with client team members to allow them to gain complete understanding of the underlying business case calculation. STEM is used to deliver a clear presentation of the technical architecture.

Another global vendor has also deployed a number of standard business case models, including a mobile broadband application which is a comprehensive STEM model of its entire 3G product set, complete with a customer-friendly Excel interface. This model is used by its sales professionals in more than 100 countries for two distinct purposes:

  • to help a customer understand the architecture and implications of a 3G deployment
  • to explore a broad set of input parameters which are linked directly to an initial assessment of the likely cost – and revenue upside – of such an investment in 3G.

At a third vendor, STEM is embedded within customer business-case processes and tools across fixed, mobile and enterprise business groups and sales organisations worldwide. STEM accelerates the development process for customer business cases, reinforces standards and consistency, and makes it easier to distribute sales tools to those who need them.

Implied Logic provides experience and expertise

Implied Logic offers all STEM users free access to a rich library of reference models on topics including ADSL, GSM-UMTS, NGN and WLAN. These models have been created for marketing purposes at our own cost and represent only a fraction of the insight gained on commercial assignments for service providers and through our technical support contacts with other operators and vendors.

Sales tool development process

Implied Logic also offers a wealth of practical experience and examples from which to seed vendor-specific business-case logic. Our thought leadership and training workshops will kick-start the creation of a library of re-useable business-case components which can be shared through an intranet with sales-region staff.

We provide technical support to the technology leads who will drive this internal development forwards, building on direct experience and feedback from end users.

The level of contact and influence enjoyed by existing customers is clearly a major benefit, as we provide direct access to the opinion and output of one of the most experienced and suitably qualified software teams in the field of business planning worldwide.

Integrating communication with calculation

STEM is the ideal tool for evaluating different service propositions, comparing alternative technologies, and analysing varying roll-out scenarios. STEM has the power to communicate business logic, and to iterate model structures with speed and confidence.

The core STEM values – rapid prototyping of concepts, instant financial results, multi-dimensional scenarios, and scalability through replication – deliver major benefits:

  • The flexibility of the software means quicker delivery of news cases, increased productivity, and greater focus on key issues, not distracted by mundane spreadsheet maintenance.
  • The robustness of a STEM model will save hours of effort every time you alter the structure of the services or technology modelled, and will help to avoid costly mistakes.
  • The consistency of analysis allows for the effortless exploration of the new scenarios, which enables new insights, which are often too time-consuming to explore in Excel.

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