Our solutions

Mobile Financial Services

The mobile financial services sector (MFS) continues to grow, driven by the implementation of more favourable regulatory frameworks in several markets.

Now offered in more than 60% of developing countries, MFS occupies a strong position in the financial sector of many developing markets. They are becoming a major strategic challenge for telecom operators seeking diversification, new revenue and increased customer loyalty, and also for governments and international development agencies, because they contribute to the financial inclusion of unbanked populations and of disadvantaged people.

However, making a success of a project to launch mobile financial services is a challenge and profitability is a long-term objective: only 17% of Mobile Money solution deployments achieve their goal and a large number of active users (source: GSMA).

For several years, Sofrecom has developed strong expertise in the main areas of MFS. We support you in your mobile financial services (MFS) projects, regardless of their maturity. Our experts are involved in all stages of your project:   

Modelling, Regulation & Distribution  

• Analysis of market/regulatory environment
• Identification of business opportunities presented by changes in regulations
• Definition and deployment of a new Electronic Money Establishment model
• Definition and implementation of a launch strategy for a Mobile Money offering
• Optimisation of the Mobile Money-offering distribution network

Partnership Management 

• Development of a partnership model
• Drafting and negotiation of partnership contracts
• Assessment of new partnerships

Technical solutions for a Mobile Payment Platform

• Research into opportunities for the deployment of an interoperable payment model
• Assessment of options for the selection of an interoperable payment platform
• Benchmarking of technical solutions, gap analysis and recommendations
• Platform integration and management
• Deployment project management

KYC (Know Your Customer) Management

• Development of a subscription tool for a Mobile Money offering
• Overhaul of the customer onboarding process
• Research into partnerships with Fintech players

Organisation & Processes 

• Business process and organisation definition/optimisation
• Research into the cost structure and optimisation plan

The key success factors of an MFS project : 

• A diversification strategy valued and promoted at CxO level
• Financial assets: partnerships are fundamental to securing essential assets such as banking licenses, human expertise, information systems and processes
• A good time-to-market: it is only when a favourable regulatory environment combines with the explosion in mobile and digital usage that the conditions are met to launch a service
• An optimised distribution network: both physical and digital, it must be designed, trained and objectivised for MFS
• Leveraging the brand and customer base: success requires a substantial mobile customer base and the brand must embody trust and data security
• Strong technical expertise: the mobile experience is essential and relies heavily on technical options, both for the platform and the interfaces

Very High Broadband (VHB)

Communication networks are becoming increasingly essential for individuals and businesses. Facilitating the establishment of innovative and efficient networks is an issue of both competitiveness and regional development and is an essential means of access to information and public services.

At a global level, the Superfast Broadband rollout is one of the major projects currently underway. Its methods, and the maintenance of an effective pace, depend on the major challenges of innovation and economic attractiveness, as well as social and territorial development.

The challenges of very high broadband are indeed considerable, including economic growth, social development and the attractiveness of the territories.

Deploying a very high broadband network is an investment that requires extremely thorough strategic and technical planning in order to achieve optimal profitability and accessibility. Our experts are able to advise on and manage designs and deployments at all stages of your project, from market research to network operation and the services marketing mix. We take care of dimensioning and quality throughout the life cycle of your VHB project, regardless of its maturity or stage of development.

Anticipate future uses and plan projects

Objectives: To understand the potential of the market and design the network that will meet both the strategic goals of the operator and the expectations of its customers:

• Geomarketing research and market analysis
• Network and service strategy and planning
• IT and network master plan and technical architecture design
• Scenario, feasibility, and budget analysis

Reduce risk by selecting the most suitable suppliers

Objectives: To define the procurement strategy and effectively manage RFPs to select the most suitable suppliers:

• Sourcing and subdivision strategy
• RFP/RFI specifications adapted to the relevant business sector (e.g. public sector)
• Technical and financial analysis of offerings
• Optimisation of the TCO
• Support in negotiating and finalising contracts

Shorten the time-to-market and control costs 

Objective: To efficiently manage the deployment of networks to ensure smooth and fast delivery with the highest quality of service

• Swap project management
• Field inspection of installation work by contractors
• Revenue management
• Transfer to operations

Acquire new customers and build customer loyalty

Objectives: To maximise the network quality of service (QoS); to analyse and adapt the services marketing mix:

Analysis and optimisation:

• service catalogues, distribution
• operations and maintenance
• End-to-end QoS

Network adjustment

The key success factors for the deployment of very high broadband:

• Anticipate monetisation of services early in the project
• Assess geographical areas according to their business potential
• Strike the economic balance between a new deployment and reuse of existing assets
• Communicate with local elected officials, populations and building managers to obtain the necessary authorisations without delay
• Secure supplies
• Reduce time between the order and service activation by implementing production and sales information systems
• Train teams on proven methodologies
• Propose regulatory changes that encourage the development of new services

E-Government

All over the world, governments continue to invest in digital transformation initiatives to optimise public service costs, reform their administrative processes and improve the quality and efficiency of the service provided to their users. They are developing dematerialised public services, mainly in the areas of e-learning, e-working, e-health, e-environment and e-social protection.

E-government is defined by the European Community (EC) as “the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in public administrations, combined with organisational changes and new skills. The objective is to improve public services, democratic processes and public policies."

The digitisation of public services requires a strategic vision, governance and the acquisition of human capital to implement them. Whatever your progress, our experts and consultants are on-hand throughout your project from developing your strategy to identifying and developing e-services.

Build an e-government vision aligned with your public policies:

• Analysis and sharing of challenges between all government stakeholders
• Analysis of existing areas, e.g. legal, economic, administrative, technological, human, cultural, etc.
• Strategy studies, market studies, benchmarks (NB: link to Strategy and Marketing expertise)
• IT and network master plan (NB: link to Network and IS Infrastructure expertise)
• Economic evaluation of projects/business plans

Build the foundations required to digitise public services:

• Governance and organisation
• Legal framework
• Standards
• Telecoms & IT infrastructure

Deploy the solutions :

• Definition of specifications, management of calls for tender (NB: link to Network and IS Infrastructure expertise)
• Oversight and quality control of network deployments and revenue
• Development and implementation of portals and applications (NB: link to Development and Implementation of Services)
• Transfer to operations or Maintenance & Support

Manage change and build capacity:

Implementation of long-term transformation through the motivation of public officials and citizens’ ability to use new services :

• • Definition and implementation of communication initiatives with public officials and citizens
• Identification of digital skills to be honed, implementation of training programmes

E-government in less than 3 minutes :

Digital

An exemplary customer experience is a source of differentiation, additional revenue and customer loyalty. This experience must factor in all the contact channels offered to customers and take advantage of the opportunities that digital solutions present to improve the customer experience and reduce costs.

Given that 2/3 French customers encounter difficulties moving from one channel to another, the strategy and objectives of each point of contact must be defined upstream.

There are many digital touchpoints and they are becoming crucial components of the customer journey.

They are divided into 4 types, and mastering them is a key success factor for your digital development:

• Owned touchpoints: For interaction with your target market
• Managed touchpoints: For sharing
• Digital media: For communication
• Rest of the web: For listening, influencing

Sofrecom supports you with a personalised approach to your business, from strategy and operations execution to continuous improvement.

Digital strategy

• Research into opportunities, audits and strategic recommendations
• Support in designing digital systems
• Operational implementation

Increased web traffic

• Maturity audit and implementation of a POEM customer acquisition plan
• Generation of qualified leads
• Community management and content creation
• SEO and mobile optimisation

Digital customer relationship

• Definition of a digital customer relationship strategy and associated customer contact policy
• Creation and digitisation of customer journeys
• Support with assisted digital development (chat, messaging, social networks, etc.)
• Implementation of new contact methods: chatbots, voice assistants, etc.

Development of agile web and mobile applications

• Rapid prototyping of new digital journeys (schematic models, animated prototypes, etc.)
• Setting up an agile digital product development team (One Roof team, Design Thinking methodology, SCRUM, etc.)
• Scaling-up and industrialisation within our service centres

Operationnal Excellence

In the face of increasingly demanding customers in terms of speed, service and quality of experience, as well as developments and innovations, it is essential for companies and institutions to continue to develop new services and to maintain the quality of current services.
Telecoms operators and governments face 2 major challenges:

- Increasingly demanding customers in terms of speed, service and quality of experience

- Advancements in technology and innovation

Therefore, despite the reduction in ARPUs or available budgets, it is essential for them to continue to invest in new services while maintaining a differentiating quality user experience.

Reducing the costs of existing IT and network infrastructures, optimising investments and reducing energy bills are all avenues for freeing up investment capital.

We offer you a highly operational approach in order to meet these 2 challenges:

Development of an optimisation strategy

• Audit of infrastructure and current costs
• Identification of the most relevant sources of savings
• Optimisation recommendations
• Quick-wins and longer-term projects
• Estimations of potential earnings

Management of the implementation of recommendations

• Optimise your investments: thanks to optimised technical design (the ‘right-sizing’ approach) and our knowledge of market prices, we will enable you to achieve your business objectives while optimising your costs.
• optimising your current network and IT infrastructures: achieving an optimal design, reconfiguring and reviewing equipment with a view to replacing certain obsolete equipment with more economical and reliable models are all avenues that we will explore with you to reduce your maintenance and operations costs while improving the customer experience
• Optimise your energy expenditure (which may represent up to 80% of your ITN opex) by optimising the cooling system of your data centres, decommissioning unused equipment, or using renewable energies

Key success factors:

• Establish an omni-channel strategy and create a detailed business plan
• Organise your monitoring processes
• Train staff and improve their skills as regards use of new tools
• Find the service providers and tools best suited to your objectives
• Devise new products and services with an established launch process
• Measure quality and satisfaction using the right KPIs

IoT

Take advantage of new growth drivers by harnessing the power of connected objects. Revenues from mobile IoT and LPWA connections are expected to reach nearly $201 billion by 2025. Given that companies already consider telecoms operators among their top 3 preferred suppliers, this segment represents a growth driver with very high potential for Telcos, provided that they find the right positioning.

To help you meet these challenges, our experts work on 3 key areas:

Evaluating the potential to define your positioning

• Analysis of the market, competition and regulatory environment
• Research into opportunities
• Business Plan

Choosing the best network(s) for the services offered

• Research into technological opportunities and prototypes
• Network design and dimensioning
• Selection and integration of platforms
• Deployment

Developing IoT services for your customers

• Product development and launch
• Integration of applications dedicated to business sectors (logistics, transport)
• Distribution and go-to-market
• Related solutions: invoicing, data analytics

Our partner ecosystem: Live Objects from Orange Business Services, Actility, OCEAN, Business Insight, Opencell