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The need for connected and diverse global networks is skyrocketing. This creates competition amongst tele providers for providing the quickest, affordable, and better/ innovative services. But the problem isn’t competition right now. It’s about solving problems like managing large volumes of data, controlling costs, and developing new services. In short, telecom supports rapid growth through efficient operational processes. 

However, if you don’t have efficient information flows and a way to consolidate this data, one can’t work with this information overload. Let’s not forget that manually processing data can always result in costly errors, taking hours of employees’ time. Thus, stalling operations for hours. And that is not good, right? 

That’s where Robotic Process Automation (RPA) comes into the picture. It helps compile information that allows telecom companies to do things faster and consistently. RPA is a software technology that makes it easier for software robots to emulate humans’ actions.

For example, Finnish telecoms providers leverage this new technology to update their subscription database whenever there is a change. In fact, everyone will agree that managing back-office processes is enormously difficult. 

RPA allows companies to automate their primarily repetitive tasks, high-frequency, labor-intensive, and so much more. It could help telecom businesses overcome challenges to get a competitive edge. 

But, are you wondering why you should opt for RPA in the first place?

RPA For Telecom Industry: Why Should You Opt For One?

Telecommunication is one of the biggest industries. And as we mentioned before, the increasing amount of data is causing a stir in back-end operations. There are several ways it helps the telecom industry. Let’s talk about a few here!

Network management: 

Telecom operators often face issues related to capacity demands. This is because of the constant transfer of content between apps, devices, and users. However, with RPA, one can decrease the complexity of distributed networks. It helps navigate complex applications, retrieving huge volumes of customer-related information, which improves the efficiency of the network infrastructure. 

Purchase order processing:

There are multiple repetitive tasks in telecom operations. And RPA helps take these monotonous tasks away by making tasks more efficient and productive. It allows the companies to conduct regular maintenance work, monitor networks, and distribute emails. It helps employees save their valuable time and focus their attention on better and revenue-generating strategies.

Customer on/offboarding:

Implementing this innovative technology helps the providers to maintain robust clarity about their customers and their information. In fact, it makes it relatively easy for organizations to add customers whenever one joins or remove a client whenever they leave. Thus, it reduces any errors, costs, and time on such unproductive tasks. 

Respond Partner Queries:

RPA based tools help respond to simple queries, interpret emails, and redirect the questions to human counterparts. It helps customer support to automate call sharing and serve customers immediately. Thus, increasing work efficiency, increasing profits, and enhancing customer service.

Data Transformation:

This is another area where RPA in telecom can help bring significant changes. It helps transform the data into a structured format. And when combined with AI, it helps analyze predictive patterns, organizes databases, thus improving higher accuracy. 

Debt Collection:

Automating back-office processes of debt collection is one of the significant benefits of using RPA. It helps the organizations to identify or collect respective dues. For instance, it could be helpful with information updates, due dates, payment reconciliation, and so much more. Thus, making employees much more productive without worrying about these monotonous tasks.

But how to implement RPA in ongoing business operations? Let’s find out now!

Steps to Implement RPA in Telecom Industry

It helps in the following ways: 

• Detailed Business Process Evaluation

To extract the maximum benefit of RPA in telecom, they need to begin by evaluating a single task within the process based on their efficiency and remove the ones that have no value. The aim here is to redesign the entire process to increase productivity. 

• Identification of the Process:

When it comes to this industry, there are two significant parts of the process- transactional and decisive. The former part is more adaptable for automation. To identify that, use parameters that involve high volume, manual efforts, and rule-based working. 

• Developing an Automation Plan:

The next step is to redesign the process flows to maximize the scope of the automation. However, it must be designed to keep business structure in mind and customize it as per the process demands. 

• Choose a competent RPA service provider:

When it comes to choosing a provider, you must hire one with:

1. Good expertise in handling such projects.
2. Framework with golden standards to offer along with end-to-end process consulting.
3. Thorough understanding of the operational issues.
4. Tools that will bring RPA implementation for client applications. 

• Test and roll-out:

Understand the importance of the pilot phase, and then roll out the plan through combined efforts of the IT department, business unit, and RPA provider. Thus, enhancing productivity and customer satisfaction. 

Final Takeaways- Use RPA For Operational Efficiencies

Customer support, billing, order fulfillment are becoming so daunting and complex at the same time that manually doing such tasks can cause a mess. In fact, these repetitive tasks take them away from productive tasks that are important for revenue generation. Thus, it starts impacting customer experience, which no telecom operator wants, right? 

RPA in the telecom industry is a fantastic way to reduce errors or costs with respect to manual tasks. Plus, one gets flexible and adaptable in terms of implementation. And that too across the organization. All in all, this option appears to be an effective solution for the problems faced by the telecom industry. In fact, if you go by specific reports, this technology will be worth around $2.9 billion by the end of 2021. 

And why not when this technology is helping the telecom industry to simplify and handle operational tasks and generate lasting revenue streams? In fact, it is also enabling them to provide fast, high-quality, and cost-effective services. 

Isn’t that what the telecom providers look for when competing with one another in the market?