Tailored solutions to navigate a changing industry
The global chip shortage that has been impacting industries from smartphones to the auto industry shows little sign of easing up anytime soon. The broadband industry is feeling the effects too. The chip shortage and resulting long lead times for the components those chips go into makes broadband innovation and hardware execution even more complex than it already is. Device manufacturers and service providers alike need to be very collaborative and flexible in the ways their hardware and software teams work together to ensure customers get the products they need on time.
That’s where AXON Networks’ business model for tailored CPE innovation solutions can help ISPs maintain their competitive edge, according to AXON founder and CEO Martin Manniche.
“The broadband industry, already incredibly dynamic, continues to change. Off-the-shelf, one-size-fits-all solutions are no solution at all in our current environment. Our customers need tailored solutions – designed and built collaboratively – that deliver precisely what they need.”
Martin MannicheAXON Founder and CEO
AXON’s consultative approach to serving its customers across the full product development and deployment spectrum is a defining characteristic for the company, Martin says.
“We don’t build just one product and then ship that same product to every customer. We work as a partner with our customers, getting engaged early in the process to understand precisely what they’re trying to achieve and then designing a custom solution to deliver on that goal.”
That solution could be building a router that delivers higher speed, better range and improved performance; introducing a great new design idea that can help the company’s marketing positioning; or helping the customer implement new business practices that help them reduce costs, increase margins, and improve their ability to compete. The end goal is to help the customer innovate faster, deliver a total networking experience, and provide a solution that sets them apart in the industry.
A collaborative process
The process begins with the AXON team working with the customer to define what it is they want to achieve and to develop the shared vision for a solution that will be unique to the customer and their audience. Then the team develops a comprehensive strategy and roadmap for getting there – from how the final product will work and look, to how the apps that run on it will look, to how it will operate within the customer’s existing ecosystem.
If it’s a hardware solution, AXON works with the customer’s approved manufacturers to define a proof of concept, select the right components, validate and test the product in the market, and execute the entire process as fast as possible with consistent quality.
“Timing and speed to market are everything in this business,” Martin says.
AXON also brings chipset vendors into the partnership – so the customer has visibility into details as minute as component costs – helping drive the costing process in a material way and positively impacting the customer’s OPEX and CAPEX costs. AXON also involves other vendors to ensure all service and feature integrations are seamless and easy.
Beyond the final product
But getting the product into the field isn’t the end of AXON’s involvement.
“We continue working with our partners via our AXON orchestration platform to give the customer visibility into their networks, use our AI-driven technologies to enable self-healing in the network, and provide extensive CPE data and troubleshooting support to reduce the number of customer support calls and truck rolls.
“We also work with their IT, operations or product teams to continue to issue releases with new features, and add functions, tunings and optimization to make the product continuously better. We basically become an extended part of the customer’s team.”
Martin says AXON’s approach to supporting its customers can include helping them build their product development, quality assurance, and procurement teams, and providing guidance to refine their purchasing and costing processes. In short, helping the customer become a different company. That may sound like a reach, but Martin says the proof is in the long-term relationships AXON has built with key players in the broadband and telecommunications industries.
“Instead of trying to sell them something, we focus on working with our customers to build a solution that’s the perfect fit for what they need and helping them evolve into truly customer-first companies. That’s a totally new approach for many operators but one that our customers have really come to value.”