Pontis for VoIP Service Providers
Today, the internet can effectively carry communications such as voice and video streaming, providing many advantages for both users and service providers. The internet protocol is expected to play a major role at the core of next-generation communications networks, ultimately enabling fixed mobile convergence (FMC).

The lack of regulation around VoIP enables any service provider to offer voice communications, even if telecommunications are not part of its core business. VoIP is now used computer to computer, computer to phone, and phone to phone - and its popularity is growing among a wide variety of user groups.

New Opportunities, New Challenges
Due to the fact that so many communication service providers are offering VoIP, competition is intense. Most cable operators, Internet Service Providers (ISP’s), Virtual Network Operators (VNO’s) and even traditional network service providers now provide some kind of VoIP offering to their customers.

VoIP services, along with traditional voice services, have already turned into a commodity market. VoIP service providers are currently facing a number of challenges, including:

• Low barriers to entry.
• Lack of differentiation: There are few major quality of service issues, little intimacy with the customer and no obvious strategy for leading this fragmented market.
• Low margins: Most VoIP services are offered in flat rate packages or even for free. This affects spending on marketing and customer relationships.
• Little loyalty and low customer lifetime value: Many VoIP users do not even have a phone number. They may use VoIP as an outgoing service only from their computer or via a prepaid card. This facilitates switching service providers, and with the low margins, makes retention a problem.

Pontis Value Proposition to VoIP Service Providers
Pontis empowers VoIP service providers and provides them with differentiation capabilities in this challenging market. Pontis also provides cost-effective tools to drive market leadership. Pontis capabilities for VoIP providers include:

• Bundling and packaging. Pontis enables creative bundling of VoIP with other services. Pontis supports the entire lifecycle, from design to marketing and billing enablement.
• Communities and networks. Pontis enables creation of compelling communities that grow in value over time. For example, with Pontis it is easy to create Happy Hours, preferred rates, and more.
• Building customer relationships: Through interaction channels such as IVR, websites, electronic bill presentment and dialer software, Pontis supports real time cost effective interaction with VoIP users. These interactions can be used to promote targeted offers. Communications can be triggered by user behavior for maximal impact.
• Build loyalty: Pontis provides a wide variety of programs, including winback activities, community incentives, and top-up incentives.
• Agility: Pontis empowers marketers to change, test and deploy programs rapidly. To optimize effectiveness, Pontis provides analytics and access to data in near real time.
• Operational efficiency: Pontis helps VoIP service providers to decrease expenses on marketing and IT and to encourage customers to use services efficiently; For example, to use the network during off-peak hours and to use self-service facilities.

Partnerships: The Pontis Business Desktop can be shared with business partners, to enable them to bundle VoIP services with their offerings, define their own pricing schemes and deploy targeted promotions to customers.