Tapping into new market segments, scaling the business model: 1NCE launches innovative cloud-native IoT platform
Connected the right way: 1NCE's IoT connectivity management platform focuses on advanced integration capabilities.
Challenge:
Scalable & cloud-native IoT platform for efficient connectivity management
Outcome:
Automated processes & real-time data for optimized customer services
Outcomes
Scalable connectivity management
through reliable data processing across high-performance platforms and flexible data streams for customer applications
Transparent data insights
through automated, real-time visualization of device and consumption data via user-friendly dashboards
Reduced operating costs
thanks to a significant reduction in end customer onboarding costs, simplified IoT management and intelligent billing models
Intro
1NCE in a Lifetime in the role of a Mobile Virtual Network Enabler: New platform for mobile operators for more connectivity, security and scalability
1NCE is one of the fastest growing companies in the Internet of Things industry and is the only software and connectivity company offering Lifetime IoT as a global Lifetime subscription in a total of 165 countries. More than 18,000 customers with more than 22 million connected products rely on 1NCE.
In October 2022, 1NCE decided to launch a new platform for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) in order to scale its successful business model even faster and more efficiently in the future. The timeline for this entirely in-house developed white-label solution was ambitious: The platform was delivered as a pilot to the first MVNO customer for testing purposes in November 2023 and subsequently presented to the industry at Mobile World in Barcelona in February 2024.
1NCE enlisted the support of AOE, a leading agile software service provider and telco specialist in Germany, for the development of important sub-areas. In co-creation with 1NCE, AOE focused not only on the design and development of the Operations Support System (OSS), but also on the customer-facing front-end application. AOE also connected the customer self-care portal to the Business Support System (BSS). Thanks to extensive experience in the telecommunications sector and the use of its own application framework “Flamingo”, all three core components were implemented in a very short time.
As a strategic consulting partner, AOE also assisted with the setup of cross-component, automated integration tests and release management. Additionally, AOE provided consulting services on software architecture, and in the area of cloud infrastructure, AOE was able to leverage its DevOps expertise in close collaboration with the client's DevOps experts, particularly for the integration of different authentication providers. The project emphasized a partnership-based collaboration and open communication between AOE and 1NCE developers. Thanks to the extensive experience of both companies in co-creation, agile methods, mindsets, and frameworks, the development teams were able to flexibly navigate critical changes throughout the project. The key reason for choosing AOE, aside from the fact that AOE could quickly and flexibly scale experienced agile Scrum teams for the project, was their recognized technological expertise in digital transformation. Additionally, AOE's deep industry experience in telecommunications, as a member of the TMForum, and its profound understanding of platform economies, modern cloud, and IoT architectures, played a crucial role.
Challenge
IoT is currently evolving into a massive market as it becomes an integral part of many businesses, infrastructures, industries, and technologies. The majority of this growth will be driven by the industrial market, but the number of IoT-connected devices for consumers is also set to rise rapidly.
This rapid growth is accompanied by ever-increasing demands on IoT connectivity, particularly because these are typically long-term contracts due to the extended lifespan of end devices.
By completely redeveloping a cloud-native IoT connectivity management platform, 1NCE aims to create a holistic digital customer experience that makes connectivity a component within the IoT supply chain. In the first step, the platform primarily addresses multipliers such as mobile virtual network operators as target customers and is infinitely scalable. A significant challenge, in addition to the high complexity and flexible objectives of the individual subprojects, was the short time-to-market.
Solution
The new OSS set up by AOE, which connects all operational infrastructure systems and covers numerous functionalities, was implemented flexibly on the basis of a modular microservice architecture. During implementation, “Flamingo” was used with the Go programming language and CloudEvents for asynchronous communication, saving time and resources.
In practice, the OSS allows SIM cards to be ordered, inventoried, activated/deactivated and individual authorizations to be assigned via interfaces with the manufacturer - for the most part completely automatically. Internet connectivity as well as SMS sending and receiving are controlled via the OSS. Thanks to compatibility at API level with existing systems (including BSS) and the operation of all core components in the cloud, the solution is scalable, stable and secure.
Previously, implementing and deploying new features within the existing technology stack required significant effort. Moving forward, the high-performance shop, where new customers can purchase 1NCE SIM products, will operate through numerous interfaces on a microservice architecture with a Flamingo-based Backend-for-Frontend and a React-based frontend. This setup enables easy and flexible adjustments and further developments. The component-based UI design, developed by AOE according to the style guide, offers an attractive, state-of-the-art customer experience, thereby enhancing the quality of the offering and increasing customer satisfaction. Cloud-hosted applications are orchestrated and scaled in containers using Kubernetes, creating automated deployment pipelines. This approach reduces costs while simultaneously increasing scalability and reliability.
AOE was also responsible for the planning and design of a self-care portal for customers that is connected to the BSS. The portal provides user-friendly dashboards for an overview of purchased SIM products, SMS quotas and data volumes. It enables the purchase of additional SIM cards, the creation of support tickets and the management of users, SIM cards and data streams. Thanks to agile methodology and early MVPs, the international team was able to carry out parallel tests and incorporate customer feedback directly into development in order to make the solution more efficient and customer oriented.
Quotes
AOE is a natural fit with our culture, and we’re excited to enhance our enterprise-grade software and the digital customer experience.
By focusing on transparency and discussions at eye level with 1NCE from the first sprint until today, the development team has succeeded in delivering a first MVP on time.
Business benefits
Holistic digital customer experience, more modern front end
Automated, cost-efficient solution for end customers through significant reduction in onboarding effort
Compatibility and seamless networking at API level with existing systems
Data transparency in real time
Management Summary
In October 2022, 1NCE decided to develop a new white label IoT connectivity management platform in order to better scale its own business model and easily process the constantly increasing volumes of data. The aim was to map an agile business model onto a flexible, integrative and cloud-based platform concept for MVNOs in order to expand 1NCE's services to other customer segments.
As a development partner for the OSS, frontend for the shop, and self-care portal for customers, 1NCE chose AOE, a software service provider with a deeply ingrained agile mindset and years of experience in the telecommunications industry. AOE supports 1NCE not only in development but also in advisory roles, including requirements creation for software architecture, release management, and integration testing. Additionally, AOE collaborates closely with 1NCE's DevOps experts to ensure secure and efficient operations, while the AOE UX design team ensures a seamless customer experience.
The successful collaboration is set to continue in the long term, with a planned rollout of the shop to additional countries. The frontend has already been designed to support multiple languages and tenants. Additionally, the redesign allows for the creation of new billing models. It remains essential to keep the overall project success in focus and to consistently work in an agile, user-oriented manner, enabling flexible adaptation to changing market demands.
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