IBM has teamed up with NETSCOUT to integrate the latter’s network analytics tools into its telecommunications analytics suite.

The move comes as telecommunications companies increasingly try to make use of network data to gain customer insight and reduce churn.

The agreement allows IBM to offer selected models of NETSCOUT’s ISNG probes, via a pure software model as a bundled offering.

NETSCOUT’s ISNG platform feeds user metadata to a wide range of analytics stacks for insights into service assurance, application performance management, cybersecurity and business intelligence.

It can be used to help monitor critical business services, mobile, fixed-line voice, residential triple-play, satellite and cable/MSO networks, converting high-volume network traffic into granular subscriber meta-data at the collection point.

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“Demand for proactively predicting customer behavior is on the rise, and along with it the need for flawless network performance in order to ensure the highest quality customer experience, which is critical to maintain loyalty and prevent churn,” Anil Singhal, NETSCOUT’s CEO said in a release on Tuesday.

Terms of the Deal

The deal is an OEM arrangement that essentially provides both NETSCOUT’s and IBM’s customers another channel to purchase NETSCOUT software along with IBM’s Telecom Analytics Solution as a bundled offering. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Mutual customers will benefit by feeding NETSCOUT’s Smart Data for voice, video, data and OTT services into IBM’s Telecom Analytics Solution, the two said.

Network Analytics Increasingly Crucial

Network analytics can be a major differentiator for those competing in an industry characterised by tight margins.

“Communications Service Providers need to leverage vast volumes of information, so they can make more intelligent decisions and assure both exceptional customer experiences and network performance in today’s dynamic environment,” stated Gary O’Driscoll, Worldwide Lead, Telecom Analytics Solutions, at IBM.

“This collaboration is part of a long-standing relationship between our two companies that focuses on a wide range of products including lab test equipment, field installations tools, and monitoring and troubleshooting systems. By working together, we are committed to providing more value to our shared customers.”