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It is widely accepted that mobile operators are differentiating themselves through mobile devices, content and applications. Another fact is that smart phone penetration is increasing through both operator push for more profitability via rich application usage and also consumer pull for the need to have a single device that simplifies their life. With these trends comes an increasing level of pressure for operators to continuously launch new smart devices and applications and ensure the consumer experience is positive.
Most large operators have device testing departments with testing processes that start with Lab functionality verification and then progress to field testing within different infrastructure vendor-combination scenarios for new devices (or applications) before they are deemed acceptable to be commercially launched. The challenge operators face is being able to ensure device and app testing thoroughness while still meeting commercial launch schedules and staying under testing budgets. Any testing shortcuts or undetected problems will have a direct negative consumer experience. Case in point is the widely publicized iPhone 4G antenna issue, which if caught at the testing stage and rectified, would have eliminated millions of dollars of patch fixes and lost consumer goodwill. In other observed cases, insufficient testing and characterization of devices in terms of how they impact the network have led to network-capacity bottleneck problems.
So what options do operators have to ensure that they address the concerns of introducing the plethora of expected mobile and consumer electronic devices on their networks without negatively impacting either the network or the consumer? Software option exists that provide a smart testing framework (STF) that is capable of handling all smart phone devices and application testing for the major mobile operating systems that exist, namely Google Inc.’s Android, Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry, Apple Inc.’s iOS and Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile. The benefits of such a STF platform are to:
1. Reduce device or app test cycle time by 40-50%. This is accomplished by automation of test cases and has the net effect of being able to certify more devices or applications with the same resource assets, while minimizing chances for human error.
2. Characterize capacity-impact of devices/apps to the network. Different devices, with their embedded apps can be benchmarked to characterize capacity planning implications for an operator for the network.
3. Improve consumer experience by 20-40%. A study by NIL-Labs with a large consumer-based panel showed that 20-30% of problems experienced were device-bug related. If you factor in problems related to apps that are not tested with each device/OS/network combination, the problem percentage figure can easily double. A majority of these problems can be identified pre-launch and rectified.
In summary, millions of capital expenditure and operating expenditure dollars can be saved through developing a strategic goal of more diligent and effective pre-launch testing of devices and apps. With new STF or similar technologies available, there is minimal drawback of device launch-delays or budget overruns. An ounce of preventative pre-launch testing will indeed yield benefits in higher customer satisfaction and lower operating costs!
Sanjay Ambekar is the SVP and Chief Client Partner at Nil-Labs (www.nil-labs.com) and can be reached for comments or questions at sanjay.ambekar@nil-labs.com.
