Dear Broadband CFO - Your network is your business

mission impossible?

We've seen that broadband CFOs sometimes need help with decision-making regarding the value of the network and related technologies.  The problem seems to arise when the CFO lacks a deeper understanding of how the network and related infrastructure create the products and services the organization ultimately offers.  Without this insight, financial executives only focus on the customer bill and pricing, which determines a considerable part of the financial executive's concern:  CASH.   It takes talent and experience to master the finance and accounting domain alone, and it likely has taken an entire career.  So how could they be expected to have the technical know-how of broadband networks too?  While this is a story we sympathize with, it doesn't change that broadband CFOs would be drastically more effective executives if they had a deeper understanding of the broadband network.

IT'S all about the network

A few CFOs and finance types focus on the customer bill.  After all, other than the service the customer experiences, it is probably the only regular thing they experience.  Billing also drives most of the revenue, ties the customer to that revenue, and ultimately puts the cash in the bank that funds operations.  Kind of important stuff!  However, one scenario where this knowledge gap hurts is when migrating from a legacy billing system to a more modern one.  Broadband systems have come a LONG WAY in recent years, and much has changed.  In legacy systems, OSS operations tended to be disconnected from BSS billing, even with some pseudo "manual" integration in the background.  In the past, it was possible for the three groups, billing, outside plant, and operations, to operate somewhat independently without stepping on each other's toes.  While this had the advantage of sometimes avoiding compromise on business processes and data capture, it ultimately sets the stage for a shock when attempting to change to a modern billing system or upgrade other capabilities.  Data is the jet fuel in current systems.  Those with integrated and accurate data will lead the charge and win significantly more than those without.  Without it, broadband organizations will have expensive cars with empty fuel tanks going nowhere fast.

The migration to the new system is when some broadband executives (including CFOs) struggle to see the value of available and accurate OSS data.  They demand the best BSS data because it ties to the bill.  While BSS data is essential, the organization already had that in the old system.  One of the most significant benefits of modernizing is streamlining operations and synergizing billing with operations.  Integrated OSS data unlocks detailed profitability and analytical views into the network that can drive better decision-making at a more granular level.  The even bigger payoff comes from automation. Labor savings and efficiency on internal, technical operations processes and customer experience modernization are big wins.  With the accurate OSS data in place, there is no more siloed data between internal groups, forcing the organization to operate as one. Most modern BSS/OSS systems will not run effectively without billing, outside plant, and operations integrated with one other, and the organization will miss the bulk of the benefits if the data is underappreciated.

closing the gap

While it is clear that broadband organizations would benefit from more well-rounded financial executives, they can not be expected to know as much as their CTO counterparts and vice versa.  Given the speed of the industry right now, it seems this situation will remain a challenge.  As busy as technical managers are right now, we believe they are not in the best position to learn about the CFOs job as they are too busy putting fiber and other infrastructure into service.  We believe the best opportunity is for CFOs to learn more about operations.  Perhaps the best avenue is scheduling some one-on-one time between the financial managers and non-manager level operations (OSS) resources to have them explain the network structure and the different components.  Perhaps a high-paid consultant who understands both sides could arrange video calls to help the CFO get up to speed.   Attending more broadband expos and shows focusing on infrastructure trends, not just financial/legal ones.  Any knowledge advancement in this area will significantly aid decision-making when it comes time for systems change or ongoing decision-making about operations spending.  In addition, it will help executives see the vast opportunities (and margin impacts) there are by investing in OSS data as well as open up more granular views of profitability for different network segments.  It's a long-term value play and it is not always easy or cheap, but broadband organizations will suffer until the knowledge gap narrows and organizations work more as one.