The importance of technical collaboration

Besides the necessary infrastructure investments, there is lot to consider in terms of software and services solutions that support fibre rollout. Growing operators will need to select tools for planning, building, documenting, and finally operating the network. In fact, each of these main lifecycle stages breaks down into further details, making the list of decisions even longer. In addition, the network operators need to decide how to run activities to support very diverse stakeholder needs, such as working with contractors, reporting to authorities, and protecting their network from accidental digging related damages.

Under the burden of many decisions to make, the growing network operators often find themselves in a situation where they need to select tools now. These selections will have a major impact on the future decisions that they can make. The market situation does not make this easier either – there are dozens of software solutions and providers to select from. This is reminiscent of piling up parts from various dealers and assembling a working car by yourself. We often hear operators asking: “Is there any way to reduce risks and costs deriving from all these decisions?”

To address the challenge and to make the life of a network operator much easier, forward looking solution providers have decided to collaborate. The key to collaboration lies in two main principles. Firstly, the solutions must be compatible. By compatible we mean that the solutions interoperate either in real time over an interface or share a common data format in a way that is perfectly understood and maintained at all times. Secondly, the solutions must come with customer service. No integration is perfectly suited to all situations out of box. There are always bits and pieces that need tinkering to satisfy a specific customer’s needs. The eagerness and ability to serve these customers under the time and budget pressure is what sets apart a true service from a mere a software product.

At Keypro we are proud to say that we have lived and experienced all of this. And we have a wonderful team of like-minded software providers to complement our network inventory and GIS (Geographic Information System) solutions. Our KeyCom GIS and network information solution is interoperable with Setics' automated planning solution, Vitruvi's field operations solution and PacketFront's active network provisioning and orchestration solution. And via our actively expanding JSON/REST API (Application Programming Interface) framework we are adding new team members as we speak.

We invite all fibre operators to join our team and get the fruits of the collaboration. That is, interoperability and dedication to serve your operations no matter which size you are and where you are located.