Netadmin Content Creator
When building a fiber network, it is important to budget for software solutions to ensure growth and efficiency for yourself and your customers. Make sure to include this in your calculations right from the start when constructing your business case.
When you build your fiber network, you will incur large expenses for things such as planning, backbone network, installation, connection of the property, sales, personnel, and more. Most often, these expenses make up the basis of your business case. When you’re planning for these expenses and constructing the business case, it is easy to overlook the need for software. You put your main focus on what is required in the form of materials and labor work for the customer to be physically connected, but the path to a customer being billed and starting to generate revenue involves several processes. These processes need to be efficiently managed and supported by software.
"The cost of software is a small investment in the big picture and pays off quickly"
Without adequate software support, you will find it much more difficult to manage your growth for two reasons:
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There will be more manual processes to oversee.
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The processes will become more vulnerable, increasing the risk of errors.
This could result in slower expansion and a bad customer experience, jeopardizing your entire business case. The alternative approach of adapting existing software through customization is very risky and uncertain.
Automated, highly integrated software can enable trouble-free operations and a high degree of self-service for your customers, including customer onboarding. It also positively affects your customers' experience because it speeds up their entire onboarding process, lowering your sales costs and solving their problems quickly and smoothly.
If you look at the cost per connected customer, software is an almost non-existent part of your overall costs if you compare it with excavation work, planning, design, sales, wayleave management, connection, and installation. It is not uncommon for the cost of software to be less than a few, and sometimes not even 1%, of the total cost of the connected customer. Looking at software as just an operational cost leads in the wrong direction because investing in software can help you dramatically reduce your cost of operations.
It is important to prioritize investing in software from the start when defining your business case. That way, you will have the chance to define your vision for customer onboarding, do the right thing from the beginning, and be able to handle rapid growth.
Looking at the big picture, investing an appropriate budget in software from the beginning will pay off both in the long run and rather quickly. Your investment in software should be seen as the competitive advantage that it is, as it will help you roll out the network quickly and efficiently. Furthermore, well-functioning software has several other benefits, such as higher customer satisfaction.
When defining your business case and setting the budget for your new network - do not forget about investing in software. It will pay off.
Start building your fiber network with Netadmin Nine.
