Accenture Innovation Center for Broadband

Who We Are
With a team of 500 professionals with business know-how and technical skills in broadband technologies and Next Generation networks, our center delivers practical innovations exploiting the synergies arising from our implementation experience, the collaboration with leading-edge vendors and the development of innovative applications, demonstrations and proofs of concept.

Vision
Companies capable of driving high performance from information technology excel across two dimensions: execution and innovation. High performers in the broadband era will be those that are able to increase their rate of innovation and bring new, convergent services to market faster across the "three screens" of the consumer: television, personal computer and mobile device.

Offering
The Innovation Center for Broadband provides compelling solutions and direction in four main areas: Services and Platforms, Next-generation IT, Next-generation Networks and Customer / Consumer Management.

Workshops
To help clients explore the potential of broadband innovation, the Innovation Center for Broadband hosts customized workshops at its Rome location. Every year, more than 60 of the world's largest corporations attend our sessions. With an advanced technology infrastructure in place, the center can demonstrate more than 50 scenarios and proofs of concept.

Broadband Innovations that Drive High Performance
Accenture has packaged its broadband experience and distinctive knowledge capital—including assets, methodologies and delivery capabilities, as well as deep functional and technical skills in leading-edge broadband solutions—into the Innovation Center for Broadband. The center supports communications and content providers as they deploy innovative convergent services leveraging broadband technologies and next-generation networks.

A "think-and-act" Tank
More than a pure research lab or think tank, the center delivers practical innovations, exploiting the synergies arising from our experience delivering solutions for leading companies, our close relationships with vendors, and our track record applying innovation to develop applications, demonstrations and proofs of concept that can propel your company toward high performance.

Deeply-skilled Professionals
Led by an Accenture team of more than 500 professionals with extensive experience in broadband technologies, next-generation networks and value-added triple-play services and applications, the Accenture Innovation Center for Broadband is ideally positioned to help organizations seize the opportunities of the next digital revolution.

A Network of Innovation
The Accenture Innovation Center for Broadband in Rome is part of a portfolio of Innovation Centers strategically located around the world in cities including Warsaw (Poland), Murray Hill (USA), Bangalore (India) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).Together, these capabilities and resources constitute a distinctive capacity for practical innovation that helps Accenture's clients continuously stay on top of market, technology and business trends, enabling them to sustain high performance over time.

The center can effectively support broadband solutions related to different segments of the media industry, as well as the broader communications industry, including wireline, wireless, cable and satellite. We also support on-shore, near-shore and off-shore delivery models, depending on the type of approach most appropriate for a particular client's business goals.

Rising to the Challenges and Opportunities of Convergence
The convergence of digital communications, content, software and devices is changing industries and the way they provide valued-added services to businesses and consumers.

At the heart of convergence is the rapid take-up of broadband technology. Around the world, the number of broadband subscribers is now more than 300 million, a number expected to top 500 million by 2012. As the number of convergent services delivered over broadband increases, and as Web 2.0 capabilities give consumers more opportunities to interact, create content and participate in social networks, broadband is reshaping the world—the way we live and work; the way we communicate, shop and entertain ourselves; the way we conduct business; and the way we learn.

The rapid penetration and growth of broadband technologies is driving exciting and innovative solutions, but is also creating new challenges and complexities:

• Market Saturation
  The mobile market in many regions of the world is approaching saturation. In that environment, operators must increase their speed to create innovative services that improve average revenue per user by increasing usage.
  
  
• Strong Competition
  In the era of convergence, competition among cable operators, fixed-line incumbents and mobile providers is increasing the risks of investment. At the same time, cooperation among players in different converging sectors may also be necessary to provide market-leading solutions.
  
  
• Rising Customer Expectations
  Because of rising expectations and levels of sophistication among consumer populations, companies must increase their ability to deliver an excellent quality of service, a compelling user experience and superior customer service.
  
  
• Cost Pressures
  The drive to create new services through advanced networks and capabilities must be balanced against cost. Margins are shrinking and prices are being driven lower throughout most markets. Companies must become more cost efficient to achieve better margins while maintaining high levels of quality.
  
  
• Volatile Marketplace
  Constant change is now a given in the communications, media and technology industries. Companies must therefore create business and operating models that are as agile and flexible as possible.
  
  

Speeding Innovative Solutions to Market
Accenture's ongoing High Performance Business research has found that companies capable of driving high performance from information technology excel across two dimensions: execution and innovation. High performers in the broadband era will be those that are able to increase their rate of innovation and deliver new, convergent services to market faster across the "three screens" of the consumer: television, personal computer and mobile device.

To help companies meet these challenges and achieve high performance with practical and proven broadband-based solutions, Accenture has created the Innovation Center for Broadband, where tomorrow's innovations are applied to today's business opportunities.

Offering business know-how, implementation experience, technical skills, deeply knowledgeable resources and innovative applications, Accenture can help your organization develop a vision of your broadband future and then support the creation of innovative, practical, broadband-based solutions that can drive high performance.

Our center has extensive technological skills in the implementation of service delivery platforms, with proficiency in content delivery networks and digital asset management. We offer services and application solutions such as:

• Digital Video
• Connected Home
• Mobile Services
• Digital Enterprise
  
  

Customer/Consumer Management
We are entering a world more interconnected than ever before, where consumers want to communicate through different means of their choice. A wealth of data can be gained from online channels, and advanced analytics management is crucial to help faster decisionmaking.

This customer-centric revolution offers dramatic opportunities to connect more closely with customers at a lower cost and quickly acquire, retain and grow those that are most profitable. The Innovation Center for Broadband offers key capabilities that can help companies to create and deliver successful strategic objectives in areas such as:

• Customer Interaction
• Customer Service
• Next-Generation Sales
  
  

Next-Generation Network
Companies must use IP technologies and platforms to create and roll out differentiated, value-added services with increasing speed. At the same time, they must reduce costs and improve efficiencies wherever possible if they are to remain competitive in a challenging economic environment.

Creating a next-generation operations support system (OSS) is also critical, as it enables the industrialization of broadband products and services, bringing rigor, predictability and repeatability to IP-based service creation, control, fulfillment and assurance. The Innovation Center for Broadband can help companies to evolve toward an “IP over everything” model, with solutions for network operations, outsourcing and network transformation. This group of offerings covers domains such as:

• Next-Generation OSS
• Service Enablers
• Next-Generation Network
• Optimization and Quality
  
  

Next-Generation IT
As market dynamics change and the shift continues towards next-generation networks, ICT strategies must provide an infrastructure framework that ensures lower-cost services and greater IT agility, flexibility and scalability. Organizations need automated processes to optimize their computing resources and accommodate fluctuating demand and changing business needs.

Last, but not least, using the Internet and other networks outside the corporate firewall to provide open, distributed computing has considerable benefits, but can make companies vulnerable. Accenture offers innovative solutions to enhance enterprise infrastructure and security:

• The Cloud
• Next-Generation Workplace
• Next-Generation Datacenter
• Security

Each year on average, more than 60 of the world’s leading organizations visit the Innovation Center for Broadband to see innovations and brainstorm with our experienced professionals on the most valuable and promising technology-enabled business opportunities to pursue.

Workshops can be delivered in three formats:

At our Rome location
With an advanced technology infrastructure in place, our center can demonstrate more than 40 scenarios and proofs of concept.

Via telepresence
Our center has powerful and agile teleconferencing tools that bridge geographical distances and enable the organization of remote workshops with our experts.

At your site
Our experienced professionals can come to your site for a workshop and help you explore the business potential of broadband technologies and brainstorm innovations that can improve your business performance.