BusinessWeek has a Q&A with Norte CEO Mike Zafirovski. Question number one is interesting:What are the strongest indicators that you are making progress in the turnaround of Nortel?
A: Two indicators are customer and employee satisfaction. Both are up dramatically in the second half of the year vs. the first half. The surveys we do indicate satisfaction was 20% higher in October than in April. So customers are getting much more satisfaction from Nortel products and service.
What about sales momentum? What are growing demand from carriers and cablecos for specific kinds of technology? Is there a strategy beyond Wi-Max right now? Those would be interesting answers.
Mark, I thought Nortel has been pretty clear on their solution direction for Service Providers. Service Provider solutions are all about helping a Service Provider drive new revenue streams (ARPU) at the best possible cost and efficiency (CAPEX/OPEX). WiMAX is just one of the solution offers.
VoIP continues to grow. Rogers is an example. It is more cost effective for a Service Provider to use VoIP so that the backhaul transport can ride on a converged network as a data packet.
IPTV is a new revenue opportunity that allows traditional wireline Service Providers to compete against Cable and Satellite providers. Nortel’s recent contract win with Telus is an example.
IMS allows Service Providers to tailor your individual services based on the device you choose to use. I think Rogers is also using Nortel IMS solutions.
EVDO/EVDO-Rev A allows wireless providers to enhance data delivery to you mobile device. I think both Telus and Bell are implementing EVDO solutions. This drives incremental revenue (ARPU) from their subscribers.
Metro Ethernet (PBT) then increases the backhaul capacity and access capacity within the Service Providers optical infrastructure. There is lots of work and interest in this solution. Light Reading has done a number of articles on this, including how BT has endorsed the PBT technology.
Granted some of these solutions are still in their infancy but it does represent a reasonable market direction (sales momentum) for the Service Provider segment.
Employee Sat…
Don’t know where the comments around Employee sat are coming from… I don’t believe that and I would be interested in seeing the “Customer Sat” up tic. I think another indication that is missing here would be partner satisfaction as that is how Nortel does their business.
Q&A with Mike Z.
BusinessWeek has a Q&A with Norte CEO Mike Zafirovski. Question number one is interesting:What are the strongest indicators that you are making progress in the turnaround of Nortel?
A: Two indicators are customer and employee satisfaction. Both are up dramatically in the second half of the year vs. the first half. The surveys we do indicate satisfaction was 20% higher in October than in April. So customers are getting much more satisfaction from Nortel products and service.
What about sales momentum? What are growing demand from carriers and cablecos for specific kinds of technology? Is there a strategy beyond Wi-Max right now? Those would be interesting answers.