Think Public Safety

Managed Services – Letting us take the strain Author: Gary Aitkenhead

Created Oct 31 2014, 5:00 AM by Paul Jeffs

Achieving a rapid, well coordinated response under mission critical conditions demands operational communications that are robust, resilient and always available. But with budget considerations remaining high on the agenda, how can agencies and organisations ensure the highest quality of communications while removing the risk surrounding acquisition and ongoing service management?

Managed Services are designed to help organisations plan, implement and operate their critical communications technology. At Motorola Solutions, our current Managed Services portfolio of offerings range from “Build, Own, Operate,” (BOO) to “Systems Operations & Management” to “Cloud Core.” As such, we can manage all, or part, of a customer’s communications network, including third party elements such as backhaul transmission. Essentially we manage the availability of the system to agreed service levels; the customers’ users can then simply use the services without concerning themselves with the technology and operations behind the scenes that are required to enable that service.

In this way we are already helping customers smoothly upgrade their technology over time, layering additional features and, if they are still on old analogue networks, supporting their migration to new feature rich digital networks where we can support further applications and services. We also ensure that customers retain control by offering a dedicated portal that provides an integrated view of the entire system, including overall system status, coverage predictions and incident tracking.

What is really attractive for the customer is that they do not require the technical skill, or have to worry about all the heavy lifting anymore. This is all taken care of by us on the customer’s behalf. We can manage and operate customer-owned assets, or introduce creative financing solutions if the customer does not want to own assets.

Flexibility is the key to a managed services solution, so we work hard to understand the specific customer needs and then tailor a solution to fit. And we have considerable experience. Through Managed Services, we already operate 20 customer networks globally that comprises more than 5,000 radio sites and 300,000 subscribers.

Looking forward, we are growing our experience globally as a network operator and provider of mission-critical communications services, rather than positioning solely as an equipment vendor. Managed Services can help build long term sustainable relationships through multi-year service agreements, establishing ongoing and predictable recurring expenditure. To achieve this we bring together the teams that run large network operations across all technologies (ASTRO25, TETRA, LTE, CAD and DMR), to align and deliver our market leading tools, processes and experience. This enables Motorola to both focus on existing managed LMR operations as well as evolving our delivery capability and financial models to support new PS-LTE operator model opportunities, some of which augment coverage using cellular carrier networks. Together these represent significant opportunities for our customers to adopt a controlled approach to enhancing their critical communications capabilities now and in the future.

We are already seeing the first of these opportunities. In partnership with Telstra, Motorola Solutions has recently signed a contract to design, build, operate and maintain Queensland’s Government Wireless Network (GWN) to improve communications for Public Safety agencies. Building on our proven track record for managing state-wide networks in Australia, this new AUD$457.3 million P25 network will be deployed under a 15-year managed service arrangement, helping to ensure emergency services agencies are better prepared for future disasters or emergencies.

To learn more about Motorola Solutions Managed Services, download the Managed Services for Mission Critical Communications Solution Brief.