Social network analysis (SNA) technology from KXEN features strongly in a new telecommunications market report from analyst and consultancy firm Frost & Sullivan. The study identifies two main groups of SNA providers for the telecommunications industry: those with an SNA-centric value proposition, and those with a broader data intelligence proposition which includes SNA. In the latter category KXEN’s SNA module, KSN, is ranked highest by number of reported commercial deployments and trials. The company is also highlighted in the report in a user case study.

Frost & Sullivan’s Exploring the Use of Social Network Analysis (SNA) in the Telecommunications Industry follows research among telcos and SNA vendors first begun in mid 2008. Author and analyst Saverio Romeo writes that SNA is moving towards a mature phase in Europe and for several mobile operators is an efficient tool for analyzing their subscriber base, delivering useful intelligence.

"This intelligence has led to a drastic improvement in terms of results for marketing campaigns and churn management," says Romeo in the report’s executive summary. "This success has been also driven by an increasing number of SNA providers able to offer solutions with different features, based on different business models and able to obtain positive results."

Underlining the strategic role of SNA in helping telcos reduce the costs of customer retention while at the same time increasing revenues, the report forecasts a market for the technology worth €40 M in 2010, growing to €160 M in 2014.

In the case study section of the report, KXEN’s role at the France Telecom-Orange Group owned Polish operator Telekomunikacja Polska is discussed. The case study details how KXEN’s KSN social network analysis module was used to build a social network from a dataset of 2.6 billion lines and 130 million links in just 75 minutes. The resulting information was then used to improve significantly the accuracy of a churn prediction model.

"The results were very promising and show how social network analysis can play a key role in reducing churn and building revenues," says author Romeo. "It is clear that SNA is set to become a critical intelligence tool for telcos and has a vital part to play in growing subscriber numbers and increasing profitability."

The Telekomunikacja Polska case study is available for download at http://www.kxen.com

More information about Frost & Sullivan and about the report is available at:  http://www.frost.com