TM Forum’s Customer Experience Management Summit Helps Service Providers Put Customers at the Heart of the Business

Experts from Celcom Axiata Berhad, Dialog Axiata, Globe Telecom, Oracle, Tune Talk and more deliver strategies to exceed customer expectations, enable vibrant, open ecosystem

SINGAPORE/MALAYSIA - November 26, 2012: Today, Asia is widely considered one of the major growth markets for the communications industry and as a result, service providers are saturating the region with their offerings. While many are focused on capturing new subscribers’ attention, they need to shift their mindset beyond customer attraction and transform their relationships through strategic customer experience management (CEM) programs in order to maintain those customers and increase long-term revenue. To help service providers understand the key facets of CEM, TM Forum, a global, non-profit industry association with over 130 members across Asia, opens the doors tomorrow to its Customer Experience Management Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where 30 speakers will address attendees from across Asia.

TM Forum’s Customer Experience Management Summit, which runs from Nov. 27-28 at the Prince Hotel, features a stellar line-up of CEM expert keynotes from Celcom Axiata Berhad; Dialog Axiata PLC; Globe Telecom, Inc.; Oracle Corp.; and Tune Talk Sdn Bhd. These speakers will explore how in today’s experience-driven market, a seamless and sustainable customer experience is vital and goes beyond network coverage and adequate customer service to include customer loyalty programs, social media interaction and more
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TM Forum chose Kuala Lumpur as the location for the Customer Experience Management Summit not only because of Asia’s reputation as a growth market, but also because of its strong technology, Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) and retail sectors. Indeed, TM Forum’s Summit addresses how all types of businesses can put the customer at the heart of their strategy by understanding their expectations and behaviors.

Jason Lo, CEO of Tune Talk, Malaysia’s fastest growing Mobile Virtual Network Operator, and one of the Customer Experience Management Summit keynote speakers, stresses the importance of CEM in the region. “The proliferation of smartphones and the surge of mobile broadband in Asia have created opportunities for over-the-top players to aggressively compete with mobile operators for consumer loyalty,” he says. “In order to remain relevant, service providers need to reevaluate their CEM strategies to focus on the full picture—including customer service, network performance, using big data to understand customer preferences, and targeting customers with services based on their usage patterns. Strategic CEM is crucial to success in Asia, where customer loyalty could be a real game changer.”

Aileen Smith, chief operating officer, TM Forum, agrees that the focus on CEM is an absolute necessity in the current competitive environment. “Subscribers are attracted to differentiating factors that sets one service provider apart from the rest. Historically, if the relationship with the provider is good, customers stay with that provider,” she says. “But today, proactive retention of customers, loyalty programs and mobile broadband performance for increased social media interaction, video and web browsing are all key elements in establishing a successful CEM strategy. Our Customer Experience Management Summit serves as a platform for all the players in the ecosystem to discuss challenges in customer management and develop strategies to move forward.”

According to Smith, CEM is one of the key elements for success in the new digital economy, and this summit is an important part of how TM Forum is working to provide guidance, best practices and practical tools that help businesses effectively deliver enterprise-grade digital services in complex environments. As a result, on Dec. 4, TM Forum will launch Frameworx 12.5, the latest update to its suite of best practices and standards, which includes important CEM tools such as a Customer Experience Maturity Model and Customer Experience Management Index. These tools ultimately help service providers build stronger CEM programs and measure their CEM efforts overall.

About TM Forum:
TM Forum is a global, non-profit industry association focused on enabling service provider agility and innovation. As an established thought-leader in service creation, management and delivery, the Forum serves as a unifying force across industries, enabling more than 900 member companies worldwide to solve critical business issues through access to a wealth of knowledge, intellectual capital and standards.

The Forum provides a unique, fair and safe environment for the entire value-chain to collaborate and overcome the barriers to a vibrant, open digital economy, helping member companies of all sizes gain a competitive edge by enabling efficiency and agility in their IT and operations. For more information about TM Forum, visit www.tmforum.org.

Axiata & Huawei Build Upon Operational Innovations Through Global Strategic Cooperation

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 28 February, 2012: Axiata Group Berhad, one of Asia’s leading telecommunications companies, is continuing its five-year strategic global framework arrangement with Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, to establish a streamlined procurement platform across five countries in the region that will result into cost savings for Axiata Group.

Further to Axiata – Huawei Strategic Partnership MoU extension for the proposed collaboration to explore innovative solutions in areas of innovation, procurement and financing, both Axiata and Huawei are working together to establish a streamlined procurement platform which will realise business efficiencies and competitive advantage through cash flow improvement and timely purchasing, better leverage on its volume and realise cost savings within the Axiata Group. The five countries in the region that stand to benefit are Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Cambodia.

“The Axiata-Huawei collaboration will see company-wide improvements in realizing business efficiency and a competitive advantage. Furthermore, access to financial facilities towards innovative financing structures and a flexible financing tenure will provide a solid base of long term growth,” said Dato’ Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Axiata.

The collaboration will continue to serve as a common platform for Axiata group of companies to purchase network telecommunications infrastructure products, including the provision of related works and services from Huawei. “We are committed to helping Axiata get the best out of their investment, and through open dialogue in providing class-leading innovations in allowing our customers to operate more efficiently,” said Jason Lijie, President of Joint Committee of Regions and Executive Director Huawei.

The framework agreement will create a common platform for Axiata group of companies to purchase network telecommunications infrastructure products, including provision of related works and services from Huawei. This cooperation which will improve engagement and further strengthen the relationship between the two companies, will involve the regular exchange of information on technical and technology areas relating to products, works and services purchased by Axiata and the Axiata Companies.