The Future of Mobile Customer Care? DIY On-Device Self-Care

21.09.2011    
Mobile Device Management (MDM) leader Mobilethink urging network operators at Berlin device management forum to adopt intelligent and scalable solutions to improve falling ARPU

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Customer care used to be the domain of call centres. But as call centre costs rose, care moved to the cloud. But the next tsunami in customer care is very likely to be DIY on-device self-care, according to Thomas Yde Frederiksen, Mobilethink’s product manager.

Frederiksen will be delivering this keynote message to delegates attending the Mobile Device Management Forum, which opens in Berlin next week (19th-21st September). Mobilethink is a gold sponsor of the industry forum and all the major network operators, device management vendors and manufacturers will attend.

The Mobilethink product manager will discuss the real-world issues facing mobile operators related to MDM in the next couple of years, the solutions for device configuration and investments that need to be made now to develop best-practice operations in a rapidly changing and fragmented mobile landscape.

“Smartphones are changing the way operators must provide first line support,” says Frederiksen. “With such a diversity of smartphone operating systems now available, the cost of customer care has become an unbearable burden on the finances of mobile operators.”

The product manager acknowledges that several OS/OEM initiatives have been taken, notably the introduction of support tools such as AppleCare and LogMeIn as well as integrated device management solutions such as FindMyiPhone and MobileMe ... all to develop business advantage and to reduce the number of returned devices.

“But these initiatives are not enough,” adds Frederiksen. “These are non-scalable reactive-fix solutions, provide limited device support and are resource heavy. The operator industry must turn to scalable out-of-the-box mobile device management solutions to improve ARPU and customer retention rates.”

Frederiksen will stress that operators must focus their forward network investments on lightweight cross-OS device management solutions and that they cut operating costs by expanding the self-care interfaces with the customer. These include introducing troubleshooting FAQs that are able to compete with just “Googling It”. The basis of any successful solution must also be to ensure the presence of an intelligent automated solution (ADC) for 1st line configuration and collection of device intelligence data.

“Network operators must also consider the potential of cloud-based add-on services and investigate community-driven self-care. But there is absolutely no doubt that the future of customer care will be On-Device Self-Care,” adds Frederiksen.