Integral Solutions helps Indonesian telco to reduce pre-paid churn

Integral Solutions has deployed a data mining solution to help Indonesia's second largest mobile operator Indosat to address the critical problem of churn in its pre-paid mobile subscriber base. Churn refers to the tendency of mobile phone subscribers to switch operators. The system, which was implemented earlier this year, automates the launch of marketing campaigns by discovering segments of customer which are likely to churn, and prompting the operator to package new promotions in order to retain them.

Mr Foo: We have a unique algorithm to generate a churn likelihood score.

Indosat currently has about 20 million subscribers, most of whom are prepaid subscribers. Mr William Foo, Technical Director of Integral Solutions, said the issue of churn is critical as prepaid churn is high in Indonesia compared to other countries in Asia.

Integral Solution's AIM@CRM for Telco solution, which was designed to support the whole process of subscriber management including acquisition, growth and churn, addresses this issue by providing operators with the insights they need to proactively fight churn and acquire new subscribers, as well as to grow their existing subscriber base.

According to Integral Solutions, predicting subscriber churn requires sophisticated statistical analysis and artificial intelligence algorithms to measure and profile subscriber behaviour, phone usage patterns and subscriber characteristics. "We use over 20 key performance indicators (KPIs) to identify customer segments that are likely to churn," explained Mr Foo. Some of the KPIs include call minutes, number of short message services and the number of unique calls.

Based on the predictive churn score, Indosat can identify subscribers who are likely to churn, and activate a marketing campaign to retain them. It can also identify customer segments based on the KPIs in order to package new plans or services for the selected segment or to cross-sell new services. In addition, a comprehensive lifetime value score helps the operator to identify high-value customers and to use the insights gathered to create programmes aimed at enhancing customer loyalty.

According to Mr Foo, about 70 per cent of an operator's typical requirements can be met with AIM@CRM for Telco, facilitating shorter implementation timeframes and lower project risk. The remaining 30 per cent requires some form of customisation that will be performed to meet the requirements of the operator's specific environment.

Integral Solutions (Asia) has over 15 years' experience in business intelligence consultancy and the implementation of advanced data mining solutions. It provides extensive data-mining services, turnkey solutions and enhanced customer support which includes training and comprehensive after-sales service. Its clients range from small and medium enterprises to multinational conglomerates. They include some of the most influential companies in Asia such as Singapore Airlines, Citibank, PSA Corporation, Chunghwa Telecom, Hong Kong Jockey Club, Seagate and Hewlett-Packard. For more information on Integral Solutions, visit www.datamining.com.sg.

The service leverages micronDR's forensic capabilities to retrieve data from flash memory.

Data recovery specialist micronDR has announced a non-destructive mobile application recovery service aimed at meeting the needs of the mobile generation. The service leverages micronDR's forensic capabilities to retrieve data from flash memory without opening up the mobile device. This ensures that the device is not destroyed when data is recovered. 

Established in Singapore, micronDR houses Southeast Asia's first certified Class 10 clean room in its laboratory and offers data recovery and business continuity services for all types of digital storage media - from tape and hard disks to thumb drives and iPods.

With this new service, micronDR is bringing its expertise in recovering hard disk drives to the mobile platform. "We understand the needs of the mobile generation and the importance of their mobile devices. Our mobile device recovery service is designed to help those whose devices have crashed," said Mr Tony Moeini, Director of Sales and Marketing of micronDR.

Today, many people carry a mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), MP3 player, digital camera, or other electronic devices. All these devices come with built-in digital storage for a multitude of files such as digital images, MP3 music, documents, calendar and contact details. In the event of data loss, micronDR's mobile device recovery service will help customers to recover information stored in their devices, giving them hope that their information is not altogether lost.

The micronDR service supports various operating systems (OS) such as the Palm OS, Windows CE, Pocket PC and RIM Blackberry OS, and various mobile phone technologies such as GSM, TDMA and CMDA. It enables users to recover data such as text messages, address books and call logs, as well as complete GSM SIM card information, including deleted data. MicronDR is at www.microndr.com.

UniSIM and Playware Studios will collaborate on interactive digital animation and computer games design.

Local game developer and interactive digital media company, Playware Studios Asia is collaborating with SIM University (UniSIM) to develop courses in games design and to embark on interactive digital media research and development initiatives. The tie-up is a response to the National Research Foundation's strategic programme in Interactive and Digital Media.

At the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between UniSIM and Playware Studios, UniSIM's Provost, Professor Tsui Kai Chong noted that the interactive and digital media (IDM) has great potential in transforming teaching and learning. "With Singapore gaining more prominence in the global interactive digital media scene and more local employment opportunities available, UniSIM sees great potential for its graduates who are competently trained in the development of games software."

Playware Studios' Chairman, Mr Gopinath Pillai, described games as a powerful tool that provide situated experiences in which students are immersed in complex, problem solving tasks. "Good games teach students more than just facts; they provide ways of seeing and understanding problems. We hope that through our Game Based Learning Lab and the partnership with UniSIM, many research initiatives will be generated to challenge educators to rethink fundamental assumptions about instructional design and to contribute to the design and development of pedagogically-sound serious games."

He added that the collaboration with a local player would enable UniSIM to have first-hand knowledge of the needs of the industry and incorporate that knowledge in its course development. "This will certainly raise the graduates' employability and at the same time give the market the type of graduates they really need," he said.

Under the collaboration, UniSIM and Playware Studios will jointly develop courses such as Interactive Digital Animation and Computer Games Design; jointly develop and host industry master classes on games design and development; embark on Interactive digital media research and development initiatives to generate new intellectual properties; provide opportunities for industry-based student internship; and share facilities such as UniSIM's human motion analysis and computer generated music facilities, and Playware's game design and development facilities. Playware Studios is at www.playwarestudios.com and  UniSIM is at www.unisim.edu.sg.