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Lifecycle sees increase in billing customer base

Lifecyle Software has announced that its billing customer base has grown by over a third in just eight months.

Alongside the 36 per cent increase, the company also announced an increase in its headcount by almost a quarter (21 per cent) to support the sharp rise in demand for 5G enabling services, cloud-based platforms and flexibility. This has been a result of consumer demands and the impact of the cost of living crisis, Lifecycle said.

The company described its services as a ‘critical lifeline’ as MVNOs struggle with ongoing economic turbulence and connectivity demands during the 5G roll out, enabling them to serve fast-changing consumer needs.

With the rollout of EU roaming charges and MVNOs providing flexible billing contracts amid consumer requests for shorter terms, the launch of two new services have proven to be strong drivers of growth according to Lifecycle.

Responding to the growing need for more strategic, personalised experiences, Lifecycle launched new reporting features for online charging with the Converged Charging System (CCS) Analysis module.

It enables telcos to capture and leverage events from their network, including roaming country and device metadata. Operators use this information to trigger campaigns on change of country or handset changes, manage VoLTE, 5G and network updates based on device capabilities, and further segment and engage with the subscriber base.

Lifecycle also launched Event Intelligence which monitors network events using artificial intelligence (AI) and real-time decisions. Both solutions expanded on predictive analytics capabilities and optimized algorithms with AI to grow the enhanced campaign management functions to drive upsell and retention.

Mo Firouzabadian, CEO of Lifecycle Software, said that operators are increasingly expecting higher levels of strategic insight, innovation and readily-available flexible features – and are placing less value on customising the software themselves.

“With the demand for shorter-term contracts surging and greater pressure on the network, developing more advanced tools for monitoring customer moments has been made a priority,” Firouzabadian commented.

“Our service is focused on enabling telcos to break down billing to help increase self-service, decrease attrition and ultimately improve our customer’s experience across the Lifecycle.

“We are committed to innovating and knowing our customers' needs before they do. For example, MNOs see agility as key to embracing the possibilities of 5G and the B2B segment. Making that happen means equipping them with a cloud based, highly flexible platform, particularly as EU roaming charges are steadily being added back by UK operators.”

According to Kevin Chaffer, chief operating officer at Lifecycle Software, software providers should plan flexible offerings in Q4. He added that an increased awareness of fraud and security breaches will also be an industry-wide focus due to increasing levels of criminal incidents this year.

Looking ahead, there will be higher customer turnover rates as customers look for the best deals for their usage and the number of promotions in addition to cheaper tariffs to improve acquisition and retention, such as vouchers after three months of service,” noted Chaffer.