VicTrack’s Digital Transformation Speeds Up Time To Market and ROI
The Challenge
For over 20 years, VicTrack has been keeping the Victorian public transport system running. With 3,000 kilometers worth of optical fiber, plus up to 700 kilometers of copper across the Australian state, the VicTrack telecommunications network is the backbone to Victoria’s public transport customer information, ticketing, driver communications and other network-critical systems.
While VicTrack remains a dedicated transport telecommunications business, their communications network does more than just keep the state’s rail transport moving. The network also enables a range of managed commercial telecommunications services within the wholesale market. VicTrack also provides various discretionary telecommunications products and services to transport partners, state government agencies and other telecommunications agencies.
As the network ages, however, there is an increased risk it will cease to sufficiently support the public transport system. The decades-old network required an upgrade and digital transformation to mitigate these risks, and this effort is under way through VicTrack’s Transport and Government Secure Network (TGSN).
However, the internal systems and processes at VicTrack also needed an upgrade to support this kind of transformation. These included changes to maintain the network’s usability and refine the suite of managed services. VicTrack launched an internal digital transformation project in tandem with a network upgrade to future-proof the telecommunications network for the Victorian public transport operators.
Network Challenges
Slow and expensive manual quoting, pricing and qualifying processes
an inability to take on multiple projects efficiently and cost-effectively slow time to market and low ROI an unsustainably high number of offerings
“We knew that we needed to develop a product catalogue…to help us standardize products that we wanted to focus on.”
— Andrew Peel, Group Manager, Commercial Telecommunications Group
Finding a Transformation Partner
VicTrack’s focus was on broad transformation, with a goal to establish a level of automation across their systems and upgrade and refresh their network. VicTrack sought to minimize manual work and provide faster, more efficient and more costeffective solutions to end customers. The original network setup included several disparate systems and a lack of productized and standardized services. Any transformation would need to simplify the process of taking new products to market over an updated, more robust and highcapacity network.
As a government agency, VicTrack had to follow certain procurement processes when looking for a transformation partner. In identifying the need for a quote-order-billing system, VicTrack put out an RFP as per the industry requirement. Proposals were assessed by cost, support, location and expertise in working with complex products. Across each of these factors, DGIT Systems outperformed the competition. DGIT Systems, which is now part of CSG, had local support and experience in simplifying complex products and processes. VicTrack found these capabilities attractive and distinct from other vendors they were considering.
Clear Goals and Unexpected Collaboration
The relationship between VicTrack and CSG was another important differentiator. The Executive General Manager of VicTrack Telecommunications, Bruce Moore, was surprised by how proactive
and engaged the CSG team has been throughout the process. He was impressed with the constant communication VicTrack received from CSG (and not, as can be the case with some vendors, communication only “when something goes wrong”). Due to COVID-19, the entire project had to be carried out virtually while maintaining a highly collaborative environment. The VicTrack team found this environment made the project easier, as they spent more time collaborating.
The VicTrack team went into the project with clear goals. These included:
Providing high-bandwidth backhaul services from across regional Victoria and utilizing existing assets
Providing 10 gigabytes, 100 gigabytes and beyond through their Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM)
Providing a genuine telco alternative within the government space
“Closing the digital divide” and improving telecommunication services and products in regional Victoria
Enabling wholesalers to leverage VicTrack to enhance the organization’s reach and provide a level of diversity or redundancy to their existing network
Providing the required level of service to the government and to public transport passengers, continuing to meet ever-increasing stakeholder demands in a costeffective way
“We had to commercialize our fiber network, and we could not have done that without a transformation. There was just no chance.”
— Andrew Peel
Amazing Outcomes—With More to Come
After two years of their digital transformation and partnership with CSG, VicTrack achieved these results:
Processes Are 30% Faster
The transformation and process enablement by CSG’s configure, price and quote (CPQ) and order management solution has cut process and deployment times by nearly a third. The process also allowed VicTrack to take stock of their offerings and make strategic choices on what is offered, and where the focus will lie going forward.
Products Culled From Hundreds to Just 26
This rationalization process is enabling VicTrack to consolidate their products from an unquantifiable amount to just over two dozen.
New Revenue Opportunities
As part of their wholesale service, VicTrack can wholesale any excess capacity across their network to other carriers to support them in providing services to the broader state of Victoria. Thanks to the automation that CSG provides, VicTrack can make their wholesale
practice cost effective, especially when it comes to Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN). These systems allow VicTrack to create new revenue opportunities through additional channels to market.
Streamlined Workflow
With CSG, even the ability to qualify services is faster for VicTrack. They have improved governance around processes and signoffs, which are now kept in a single solution, providing both CPQ and order management, that the team can refer to at any time. Plus, the workflow capabilities of CPQ and order management have streamlined processes for the VicTrack team.
“All the carriers should be leveraging each other’s networks rather than building more and more fiber. That’s the opportunity, and we’re there to help the other carriers rise to it.”
— Andrew Peel“Customer perception is everything. You’re not going to survive unless you put the customer at the forefront of everything you do.”
— Andrew Peel
Faster Response and Delivery
VicTrack now has a traceability capability that makes change clearer and more traceable: discounts, approvals, solution sign-off, changes in terms and more. This in turn allows VicTrack to respond to more tenders. Delivery timeframes have also significantly improved.
A Network That’s Ready For Anything
Moving from a very manual environment to automation has its challenges. The VicTrack team knew what they wanted to achieve, but
it was partnering with CSG that provided the expertise to ensure success.
VicTrack will use CPQ and order management to quote and order communications services for delivery on its Transport and Government Secure Network (TGSN). That information will provide a starting point for the new network, give VicTrack visibility over that network, and ensure that the services it executes are part of the product catalogue.
Throughout their transformation process, VicTrack has also shifted to centralizing their processes
around their customers. Previously, VicTrack was forced to focus on their internal processes, and they are now more geared toward looking outwards to identify what the market needs.
Digital transformation is a difficult but necessary process, and finding the right partner is a critical step. Putting transformation on the back burner won’t make the process any easier; providers need to be willing to transform, as the industry is constantly evolving. VicTrack, with the support of CSG, can be ready for anything.
“This
is more than a transaction, it’s a partnership. CSG has gone above and beyond by guiding the use of CPQ and Order Management.”
— Bruce Moore, Executive General Manager, Telecommunications
About CSG
“We
wanted organizations which had a track record of actually delivering and working with the customers, which is what drew us to CSG.”
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