Client background

Client: Leading mobile telecommunications service provider

Services: Mobile, broadband and TV services

Areas of operations: Asia and Scandinavia

Number of customers: Over 170 million customers

Challenges

The telecom major was finding it difficult to synchronize its multiple services across business units and drive a unified experience for its customers. The lack of an integrated IT ecosystem was leading to higher time-to-market to introduce new products and slower partner on-boarding process. This was resulting in a major customer churn for the telecom major and a drop in revenue.

The client realized the need for a robust integrated platform with an enterprise-wide API management strategy to deliver enhanced customer and partner experience and reach the market faster with its products but was facing these technology challenges in its adoption:

• Lack of API standardization made it difficult to maintain, adopt and consume APIs the same way across business units thereby increasing API implementation costs
• Absence of a centralized API catalogue or service discovery mechanism leading to duplicate development of APIs
• Inability to commercialize APIs and monetize their transactions
• Lack of API security standards made clients’ APIs, data and processes vulnerable to cyber-attacks
• Portability challenges of inbound applications that affected experience APIs
  

Solution

Wipro stepped in as a strategic partner for the telco major’s API transformation initiative and built an experience API layer for business units by implementing Apigee API management. A comprehensive API ecosystem adhering to TM Forum specifications was created and this involved:

• API standardization and centralized governance across business units ensuring API re-use and adherence to TM Forum standards
• Establishment of developer portals for self-service API publishing, API discovery and developer onboarding along with a centralized API catalog
• Identification of APIs which can be monetized through outside-in workshops for the customer
• Implementation of Apigee API management platform for 4 business units across geos industry standard security of OAuth2 for improved interoperability within and between business units
• Manage and govern operations using DevOps methodology and agile way of working
• Domain consultation from TM Forum Open API certified consultants
• KPIs reporting and trend analysis giving insights to business using analytics capabilities of Apigee
• Automation of API testing using an open source tool resulting in reduced effort, errors and re-testing
  

Business impact

• Around 450 APIs delivered to power client’s value added and customer management services for 4 operating countries
• Reduced time-to-market for APIs by adoption of policy re-use and shared flow implementation
• Reduction of partner on-boarding duration from 2 months to up to 2 weeks
• 50% cost benefit in API development and support due to adoption of DevOps and shared services model
• Created an API-led revenue stream adding over $11m every month to the client’s topline

Wipro helped the client build an integrated ecosystem using end-to-end API services and brought synchronization in operations of 4 business units across geographies. The client’s 150+ developer community is now empowered to use new APIs, reuse them, release new apps and support the modern application architecture. As an early API adopter, the client is now able to successfully support its partners to digitally transform.

Lekha K.K. Head - Integration Services,Wipro Limited.