Communication Network Engineering

Communication Network Engineering

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Ian Phillips, David Parish, Mark Sandford, Omar Baswhir, Anthony Pagonis, Architecture for the management and presesntation

of communication network performance data, IEEE Transactions on Intrumentation and Measurement 55:3, 2006, 931-938

Internet services

All aspects of performance measurement system integrated into coherent automatic system NETWORK PERFORMANCE Latency Loss

Ping traditionally used, but needed more accuracy

Needed single-way delays (ping only provided round-trip measures Internet control message protocol echo has to be processed at receiver

British Telecommunications PLC Large data network Services to subscribers

Negotiated fees for varying levels of service

Needed quick, efficient measures of degree to which agreements met

Wanted information of network saturation due to additional customers, how changes in

network would impact performance

Data Gather, Store

Information Intelligent processing, queries, display Knowledge Operational decisions

MONITOR STATION GPS Antenna

Connected to GPS in Timing Card System Bus

Connect Timing Software with DOS, Device Drivers To Timing Card (GPS), Network Adaptor, Disk Drive

MEASURES

Unexpected Delay Experiences

Spikes – short period of high delay, usually due to network fault conditions Steps – fixed changes to steady-delay measure, usually routing changes Changes in time-of-delay variation – increase during working hours

EXPERIENCE

System instrumental in identifying soft faults (not triggering alarms) Identification of interface card with degenerating optical interface Ability to understand impact of planned network changes Allows visualization of information not currently collected

Cases: Korea Telecom 2

Data Mining Mobile Web Customer Service

Shin-Mu Tseng, Ching-Fu Tsui, Mining multilevel and location-aware service patterns in mobile web environments, IEEE

Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics – Part B 34:6, 2004, 2480-2485

Wireless data available includes

 communication log of cellular phones  log of customer service requests

Past studies of mobility management focused on location tracking Recently more data mining

Especially association rule mining of user moving logs

Agrawal’s Apriori algorithm efficient for association rule mining IF user in Pusan THEN will go to Daegu

This paper presents algorithm capable of considering hierarchical levels Such as user movement, user service request

IF user in Pusan THEN request for airplane schedule

Data integrated

Association rules based on two parameters

Minimum support (minimum number of cases where condition and result true)

Minimum confidence (for pair, probability of this result at least some minimum level)

Algorithms:

2-DML_T1L1 – location and service hierarchies encoded Start at root, move to leaf

At each level find large itemsets

Iteratively find all itemsets in combinatory pairs across hierarchy

2-DML_T1LA – find all large-1 itemsets in all levels of hierarchy in first phase

Used simulation experiment

Evaluated performance under different conditions Setting minimum support has substantial impact

Less service patterns discovered if more network notes or service types More service patterns found if more services requested by users 2-DML_T1LA more efficient in execution time

2-DML-T1L1 more efficient in memory use (other finds pairs for all levels)

Cases: Korea Telecom 3

Data Mining for Mobile Business Marketing

Mark Ferris, Insights on mobile advertising, promotion and research, Journal of Advertising Research March 2007, 28-37

In developed Asian countries

Primary access to the Internet no longer PC or laptop, but rather mobile phone

CASE 1: Video Rental Store

Has large database of clients, with personal level information

Now over 4.4 million on-line users, 60 % who access through mobile phones Online service 24 hour tracking

Store relates this to behavioral data (what they rent, buy) Personalized marketing campaigns If buy Madonna album, e-mail to mobile phone of next album On-line magazine service deliverable to mobile phone

Track preordering activity – real-time development of new offers (Clickstream) M-reservations, preordering ability reduces churn

CASE 2: Opt-In Dining Club

Ability to block spam to mobile phones

Tokyo Internet-based dining club connected restaurants with those who like to dine out Needed database of promising customers

Used mobile phone peripheral – if user wanted to sign up, jab mobile into device –

transferred phone number & e-mail address, other information

Service queried preferences, get coupons, find restaurants with cuisine of choice Restaurants could issue coupons for slow times (in real-time)

CASE 3: Fashion Clothing Retail

Young casual wear, highly competitive

Formerly used flyer advertisements in newspapers – not reaching young people Implemented mobile coupons 2001

Membership encouraged through free ringtone downloads

Customers access coupon site via mobile phone, register, get coupons, weekly newsletter Company keeps individual database, sends surveys & information

CASE 4: Music Distributor

Needed information for feedback Mobile phones give more options

Can read 3D codes – can handle many types of data

Customers use phones to photograph, scan code, find website hosting survey Picture of barcode can lead to more information on products

CASE 5: Clothing Retailer

To increase store traffic, expand customer database, increase brand awareness, Charity concert featuring four bands popular with target demographic

Sweepstakes drawings offered for registering, including cell-phone photo e-mailed in

Cases: Korea Telecom

Knowledge Management System proposal

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Senthil K. Muthusamy, Ramaraj Palanisamy, Jonathan MacDonald, “Developing knowledge management systems (KMS) for

ERP implementation: A case study from service sector,” Journal of Services Research December 2005, 65-92.

Implementation of ERP a problem

 Has been cited as crippling several companies Knowledge management system should make it easier

Gathered data on a Canadian telecommunications company implementing an ERP in the 1990s

ERP Implementation problematic  Sobeys Inc. installed SAP R/3

o Store shelves empty

o Had to abandon ERP implementation

o Reverted to backup – lost $ million in 2001

Implementation Success Factors (aggregated from 6 studies)  Commitment by top management  Strong project management

 Organizational change management  Skilled implementation team  Technology fit

 Education and training  Communication

 Performance measures Others often mentioned  ERP selection

o Planning; Information search; Selection; Evaluation; Choice; Negotiation  Strategic goals; minimize customization; software testing

Cases: Korea Telecom 5

Knowledge

 Explicit – words, numbers, codified rules, formulas, regulations, policies

 Tacit – personal, context-specific, subjective, inductive (insights, intuition, experience)

Knowledge Management (KM)

 Rationale behind decisions made

 Get right information to right person at right time

o Gather relevant information o Organize by establishing context

o Refine information by discovering relationships o Abstract, Synthesize, Share

o Disseminate to those who can use  Core processes

o Knowledge identification o Knowledge acquisition o Knowledge development

o Knowledge sharing and distribution o Knowledge utilization o Knowledge retention

Knowledge Management Systems (KMS)

 Software to support knowledge creation, transfer, application

o Case-Based Reasoning

 Record successful solutions from past cases  Human-readable – Internet, intelligent agents

 Find case best matching current problem, apply old solution  Help/support desk; BPR

o Rule-Based Reasoning

 Knowledge is facts

 Machine learning – expert systems  Apply data mining

o Hybrid

 Integrate CBR & Rule-based

KM & ERP

 If applied ERP in the past, record lessons learned

Cases: Korea Telecom 6

Case Study – Canadian telecommunications company

 Cellular phones & service; Internet service; 2-way radios; pagers; satellite communications, accessories & servicing; website with daily information  4 companies in group

o Each had mainframe based legacy systems for general ledger, capital management,

payroll – data distributed

o ERP required consolidation of data

o Problems in getting information from mainframe for budgets as used Excel  1996-7 adopted ERP, driven by Y2K

 Considered SAP, JDEdwards, PeopleSoft – selected PeopleSoft  CHALLENGE: capturing tacit information

o Solved by hiring right people, tacit knowledge came with them

 Database access & design skills; EXCEL skills; Web skills

 Established learning management system – organize unstructured

information, convert tacit knowledge into explicit

 User training from external sources to acquire ERP skills

ERP IMPLEMENTATION

 Phase 1: general ledger, accounts payable, purchasing (all interrelated)  Phase 2: project module, assets module (5-6 months after phase 1)  Phase 3: inventory control

 Preimplementation strategies from PeopleSoft, Deloitte and Touche

LESSONS LEARNED

 User company would identify area needing replacement

 PeopleSoft modules occasionally didn’t provide value, but user forced to use as part of ERP system (creating fit gap)

 User team consisting of key stakeholders

 After testing, plans modified on several occasions  Slow response from ERP

o Problem data integrity, data structure o Hardware upgraded several times

o Hardware ultimately migrated to UNIX (mainframe, but client server processing) o Web based system – applications servers, database servers  Several interim modifications

o Business processes modified, requiring extra hiring

 Software upgrade held off to 3 years instead of vendor-suggested 1 year  Needed to change people’s attitudes

 Auditors tested internal controls, identified problems; PeopleSoft fixed  Payroll module could not be used

 Hired ERP consulting company to modify PeopleSoft

INFERENCES

 I don’t see how knowledge management system implemented  But idea of retaining lessons learned was applied

Cases: Korea Telecom

Multinational ERP Implementation

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David L. Olson, Bongsug Chae, Chwen Sheu, “Issues in multinational ERP implementation,” International Journal of Services

and Operations Management 1:1, 2005, 7-21.

Ireland (4 case studies of ERP in Irish manufacturing)

 Painful learning process, with change in how work is done

 Subsidiaries often have ERP imposed rather than participate in design

 Integrating data has effect of centralizing ownership away from subsidiaries

 IT support centralized (to reduce cost), but subsidiary responsible for data accuracy  ERP changes balance of power up organizational hierarchy

IMPLEMENTATION PROBLEMS

Four studies from literature – one unsuccessful, others partially successful

 Unsuccessful – supply chain ERP – cost overruns, delays, benefits below expectations  2nd: supply chain ERP – incremental & bureaucratic strategy more successful than participative

 3rd: Texas Instruments Web ERP – initial production dip, late deliveries, but ultimately inventory reduced 15%, output up 5 to 10%

 4th: Rolls-Royce – some data cleanup problems, training challenges, but successful

TECHNICAL ISSUES

Business Process Reengineering

 GreenPoint Financial Corp: It wasn’t Oracle that gave us savings, but BPR

o Elimination of systems, reduction of headcount, streamlining  Problems

o Anxiety of downsizing – mitigate by communicating o Scope creep – use project milestones

o Communication – use focus groups, Web, e-mail, newsletters o Lack of ownership, technical mindset – focus on business value o Lack of IT preparedness – hire good IT staff

o Initial productivity dip – planned for with consultant o Data cleanup – training

o ERP training – careful planning, focus on business value to get cooperation

Customization

 Vendor continuously upgrades software, drops support from older versions

 Customization is thus very risky (whatever you change you have to redo after upgrade) Multinational operations

 Federalization – a decentralized approach

o Works well in multinational environment – different needs, regulations o Different languages, cultures, management styles

Supply chain aspects

 Need more open systems to link vendors, customers, share information  Many successful implementations

 Security needs to be considered (systems exist to do this well)

INFERENCES: ERP offers many opportunities – but can financially destroy an organization

Cases: Korea Telecom CASE: ERP in Taiwan

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Chun-Tsai Yeh, Marcela Miozzo, Theo Verdubakis, “The importance of being local? Learning among Taiwan’s enterprise

solutions providers,” Journal of Enterprise Information Management 19:1, 2006, 30-49.

Large vendors (SAP, Oracle) emphasize standardization, planning, procedure

 Puts onerous burden of adaptation & reengineering on organizations in Asia

o Often have different business practices from Western organizations  Creates business opportunities for Asian ERP vendors

Taiwan’s industrial success

 Flexible, decentralized network of small-to-medium sized enterprises

o Export trade in consumer goods especially require agility, adaptability

ERP revolution of the 1990s

 Modular – can select portions appropriate to organization

 In practice, user organizations usually required to substantially reengineer their processes to fit the ERP package  Implementation difficulties

o Standish Group – up to 90% of ERP implementations have cost, schedule

overruns

o Failures – FoxMeyer; Hershey’s  Market saturation after Y2K

o Vendors moved to:

 New users – non-profit organizations, SMEs  New types of ERP – Web-enabled, CRM, SCM  New regions – India, China

 Less rigidity in systems – faster implementation, industry systems

Yeh et al. studied case involving 14 organizations in Taiwan

 3 global ERP vendors (SAP, Oracle, JDEdwards/PeopleSoft)  1 E-business product manager  1 CRM consultant

 4 domestic ERP vendors (DSC, ProYoung, IEMIS, Ching Hang)  1 ERP platform developer  1 ERP customization service  1 Integration service provider  1 ERP consultant (AdvancedTEK)  1 ERP association

 1 ERP user organization

Cases: Korea Telecom 9

Direct implementation – vendor implements systems for customers - domestic Indirect implementation – vendor trains consultants who implement ERP – foreign

Direct usual in Taiwan

 Relatively fewer reliable consultants available

 Consultants prefer foreign systems (more experience, more standardized, bigger market)  Domestic vendors face a competitive market, prefer to work with users directly

Product strategy

 Top-down (foreign)

o Universal best practices

o More expensive – market tends to be large firms  Bottom-up (domestic)

o Build ERP systems specific to user, standardization later

Market trends in Taiwan

 Move to hardware platform serving entire enterprise

 Shift from high tech manufacturing to traditional manufacturing  Shift from large enterprises to SMEs

 Shift from growth stage for ERP to mature stage

 Shift from internal information integration to external information communication

CHINA ERP market growing  Government support  Accession to WTO

 Enterprise need for competitiveness International vendors play the major role Domestic vendors more accounting packages Taiwan ERP vendor collaboration with China  R&D centers

 Distribution collaboration  Research consortia  Joint ventures  Investment

INFERENCES

 International vendor system rigidity creates opportunities for domestic vendors

o Need to serve user needs

Cases: Korea Telecom Comparison – Taiwan & US

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HsiuJu Rebecca Yen, Chwen Sheu, “Aligning ERP implementation with competitive priorities of manufacturing firms: An

exploratory study,” International Journal of Production Economics 92, 2004, 207-220.

Strategic and cultural issues – alignment of ERP to products and services  BPR aligns system to context – ERP becomes a way of doing business

o Information should flow seamlessly across organization

 Don’t want to sacrifice key competitive advantages from existing practices

CASE: 5 manufacturing companies in Taiwan, US  All multinational

 All have clear long-term vision and specific competitive strategies  All had ERP for 2 years or more

STRATEGIES

 Quality, consistency (2 firms – both operating in Taiwan & US)

o Make-to-stock

o High ERP implementation centralization

 On-time & fast delivery (2 firms – both Taiwanese operating internationally)

o Both MTO & MTS

o Decentralized ERP implementation

 Flexibility, fast delivery (1 firm – Taiwan and China)

o Make-to-order

o Mixed centralization/decentralization in ERP implementation

INFERENCES

 If compete with customization or volume flexibility, need more information sharing, higher local autonomy, easier accessibility in ERP

o Customized requirements lead to more software writing

o Emphasis on quality and consistency lead to focus on highly centralized,

standardized system

 National culture matters

o If international, strong inclination for decentralization to match local requirements o Governmental policy important – Taiwan & China

Cases: Korea Telecom ERP Outsourcing

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David L. Olson, Evaluation of ERP outsourcing, Computers & Operations Research 34:12, 2007, 3715-3724 Factors for outsourcing ERP Reduced capital expenditure – ERP software & updates Lower operating costs More flexible & agile IT capability Increased service at reasonable cost Expertise available unaffordable in-house Organization can focus on core business Continuous access to latest technology Reduced risk of infrastructure failure Manage IT workload variability Factors against outsourcing ERP Security & privacy concerns Concern about dependency on ASP Availability, performance, reliability concerns High migration costs In-house ERP expertise may be critical to organization success ERP systems tied to IT infrastructure Some key applications may need to be in-house ASP may not be more efficient than in-house Corporate culture may not work well with partners Replace obsolete systems CASES

Russ Berrie & Co. – gift retailing

1998/1999 spent $19.2 million with SAP

problems tracking incoming orders, some orders vanished from system, shipments delayed or canceled

Wrote off $10.4 million to end project, revert to legacy systems 2001 experiencing supply chain inefficiencies Big 5 consultants hired to evaluate options

Contacted 4 ERP vendors (Intentia International, JDEdwards, Oracle, PeopleSoft) Technical requirements set

Diverse set of users selected to include user involvement

Weighted scoring system developed for evaluation of proposals Iterative bids

Selected JDEdwards system (finance, order processing, human resources, procurement, others) by June 2003

INFERENCES: need to maintain control over key computing resources & security

General Motors

One of first to outsource ERP

Acquired EDS in 1st generation – felt they had no management control

1996 spending $1/5 billion on Internet applications to link with suppliers; 7000 legacy systems

Generation 2: Used combination of IT companies (one providing most)

3 were in 3rd generation: saving $1 billion/year less than in 1996; 2001 3000 systems

Cases: Korea Telecom

Risk Management: Mobile Telephones

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John Walls, Tim O’Riordan, Tom Horlick-Jones, Jörg Niewöhner, “The meta-governance of risk and new technologies: GM

crops and mobile telephones, Journal of Risk Research 8:7-8, 2005, 635-61.

Governance versus government in regulation of risks associated with new technologies

Governance implies stakeholder involvement, rebuild trust, deal with different value perspectives Nov 2002 UK Cabinet Office published report on handling of risk & uncertainty by British government

Genetically modified crops

Pressures from diverse groups, deliberate destruction of experimental crops

Polls say consumers doubt genetically modified products of value, little faith in governmental regulation

Industry formed association to counter

Mobile telecommunications technology

75% of adult British population had at least one mobile telephone in 2002 Public opinion went from indifference to acceptance to enthusiasm Dense network of base stations cover nearly entire UK

Digitally encoded messages sent by non-ionising, modulated radio-frequency radiation Population concerned about radiation

UK Department of Health has responsibility for health risk management

National Radiological Protection Board advises on radiation exposure limits (base stations and handsets)

Many decision making groups at national and local levels

MTT Business sector

5 UK operators (Vodafone, T-Mobile, O2, Orange, Hutchinson 3G) – Mobile Manufacturers Forum

Handset manufacturers – Mobile Manufacturers Forum

Opponents

MastAction UK, Powerwatch

Scientific uncertainty about health impacts

Public involvement, health authority involvement in future proposals Further research

ISSUE: How to cope with publicly sensitive risks

Cases: Korea Telecom

RISK DIAGNOSIS

Mobile telephone system

 EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

o Competitors o Legal o Medical o Markets

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 BUSINESS STRATEGIES & POLICIES

o Capital allocation o Product portfolio o Policies

 BUSINESS PROCESS EXECUTION

o Planning o Technology o Resources  PEOPLE

o Leadership o Skills o Accountability o Fraud

 ANALYSIS & REPORTING

o Performance o Budgeting o Accounting o Disclosure  TECHNOLOGY & DATA

o Architecture

o Integrity

o Security

o Recovery