TM Forum today announced the results of its latest Business Benchmarking study which uncovers a direct link between Communications Service Providers (CSPs) levels of unbilled revenue and the maturity of their revenue assurance programs. The study results are included in TM Forum’s latest Insights Business Intelligence Report, “Revenue Assurance: The Hidden Opportunity”, and includes observations from other recent TM Forum Business Benchmarks.

TM Forum, the world’s premier industry group focused on business effectiveness for the communications and media sectors, announced today the results of its latest Business Benchmarking study which uncovers a direct link between Communications Service Providers (CSPs) levels of unbilled revenue and the maturity of their revenue assurance programs. The study results are included in TM Forum’s latest Insights Business Intelligence Report, “Revenue Assurance: The Hidden Opportunity”.

The report, which includes observations from recent TM Forum Business Benchmarks, finds that CSPs who target Revenue Assurance holistically differentiate themselves through high performance, efficient operations, and improved bottom-line contributions. Revenue Assurance success is best represented by the percentage of revenue that cannot be billed, a measure that reflects ability to identify revenue leakage as well as to recover leaked revenue. In the highest-performing CSPs included in the benchmark, 0.0% of revenue could not be billed, whereas poorest performing CSPs could not bill 6.4%.

Key Findings
• Revenue Assurance performance is directly correlated with the maturity of a CSP’s Revenue Assurance program, making Revenue Assurance maturity an important investment. A strong Revenue Assurance capability is a core attribute of high-performing CSPs — a necessity and a differentiator.

• Mature Revenue Assurance departments can look like cost centers if measured solely on revenue recovery, especially if there is little leaked revenue to recover. A better measure of Revenue Assurance success is the percent of revenue that cannot be billed. This measure reflects ability to identify revenue leakage as well as to recover leaked revenue. In highest-performing CSPs included in the benchmark, 0.0% of revenue could not be billed, whereas poorest performing CSPs could not bill 6.4%.

• The best-performing CSPs had Revenue Assurance maturity metrics that were 0.50 to 0.80 points higher than the general survey population. The best-performing CSPs had highest maturity in Organization and People, followed by Influence.

• Charging and third party settlements are becoming more challenging as a result of increasingly complex service bundles that often include third-party service components, growing transaction volumes, and an increasing number of suppliers. Revenue Assurance organizations play an important role in preserving margin on new revenue streams, including tracking new transaction types through to correct billing and third-party fund allocations.

• The report analyzes the benefits of strong Revenue Assurance performance for CSPs at all levels of size and maturity. It includes observations from recent TM Forum Business Benchmarking Revenue Assurance benchmarks and Revenue Assurance Maturity Model surveys.
• The report also includes perspectives from CSP thought-leaders about the contribution Revenue Assurance makes to their corporate success, and views from key industry suppliers on current and future Revenue Assurance challenges.

• TM Forum’s Business Benchmarking Program manages and delivers metric-based benchmarking studies, surveys on qualitative aspects of performance, and business intelligence reports. Regular Business Performance studies are completed on Broadband, Mobile, High-speed Business, and Converged Services, as well as on Billing and Revenue Assurance Performance. Qualitative surveys and business intelligence reports span a wide range of hot industry topics.

• “Revenue Assurance: The Hidden Opportunity” is the latest in a series of TM Forum Insights Business Intelligence Reports that address CSPs strategic issues, available exclusively to TM Forum members.