Business Intelligence for Video Service Delivery

By Kristen Raybould

In order to succeed and continue to see returns on their investments, video service providers (VSPs) need to deliver an overall branded experience to the customer with more perceived value than the competition. They will do this by providing more choice to the customer of the highest quality and by delivering the best viewing experience. If a customer does not perceive a difference in the video-product offering and service level then they will go for the best deal, relegating the VSP's video service to a commodity. 

Video service providers have the ability to build on the household relationship they currently have with subscribers and content providers to provide an offering that is substantial and unique. If done well, they will be able to connect with their individual subscribers in a personal way. By providing the best in- and out-of-home experience to the subscriber, video service providers will be able to engage directly with their customers and build a strong experience and relationship, therefore building loyalty and ultimately an advocate for their products and services.

Business intelligence is a necessary component to engaging with customers and achieving ROI on the network investment. To make comprehensive business decisions quickly and easily, management executives need video performance data and analytics that look at the entire health of the video network, including linear broadcast and over-the-top multiscreen content. The data needs to be easily accessed and consolidated to best identify issues throughout the entire video delivery network. A top-down approach enables operators to efficiently and effectively oversee the video quality of service (QoS), quality of experience (QoE), and manage their video delivery network to ensure a quality subscriber experience.

The capacity to store data is ever increasing and as a result, data sets are growing to a size that difficult to work with using relational databases and desktop statistics. A business-intelligence engine can help VSPs mitigate revenue and profit losses by correlating network events and identifying recurring issues that can lead to customer defection. It enables accurate forecasting of video resources and substantiates capital investments to meet seasonal, cyclical and organizational service demands. It also provides a basis on which to establish, measure and analyze key performance metrics, such as program availability, that drive operational excellence, control OPEX and increase subscriber satisfaction. A visual analysis into video quality with dashboards that relate data to the executive management team and integrates with an overarching NMS/OSS system offers a holistic approach to network management and introduces QoE and QoS metrics to data about viewer demographics, audience engagement, ad performance, content distribution, usage and geolocation. With the proper measurement, correlation and top-down analysis, VSPs will be able to offer that differentiated service to their customer base and create advocates for their products and services.

Kristen Raybould is a product manager at IneoQuest Technologies, focused on video service assurance solutions that meet the needs of multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) in the cable, telecom and broadcast space.