Providing all the required marketing, sales, and IT features to address APIs as products, fostering innovative business propositions and generating new revenue streams.
API Monetisation
CSPs have been witnessing two parallel-running phenomena for years, both of which challenge their modus operandi. First, CSPs’ core service revenues, the way they engage with customers and the product portfolio mix they offer are being affected by an increasingly saturated mobile market and the proliferation and establishment of OTT service providers. And second, big companies worldwide, from multiple verticals, are embracing a new way of doing business – building digital marketplaces – resonating with the API economy.
CSPs can set their own digital marketplaces up by developing a more flexible digital business model, firming cross-industry alliances or partnerships, and engaging them in an open environment - leveraging capabilities and services, promoting asset sharing and co-creation with business partners.
The digital marketplace secret recipe requires a key ingredient – connectivity. In addition, CSPs possess access to vast amounts of data due to their extensive customer base – data that is valuable to others and can become attainable through API exposure.
However, these integration points were primarily achieved using non-standard APIs, resulting in a myriad of unique interfaces. The creation of API Gateways, leveraged on TM Forum’s Open API standards, brings order to chaos and paves the way for the emergence of API Monetisation.
Celfocus API Monetisation
Celfocus API Monetisation is the solution for Telcos’ API business, providing all the required marketing, sales and IT features to address APIs as products - fostering innovative business propositions.
The solution for translating API usage into chargeable events can be coupled with any API Gateway. The process may be integration-ready or require some pre-processing.
Its design contemplates decoupling so it can be deployed in new ecosystems or along with API-exposing productive ecosystems, allowing revenue sharing with partners that expose APIs in Telco marketplaces.
Celfocus’s API Monetisation solution key features and functionalities enable a comprehensive approach to API usage charging and billing:
- Product Catalogue: providing the tools to develop the monetisation models;
- Account and Subscription Management: supporting the interfaces for other systems to create and modify accounts and subscriptions in the monetisation solution;
- Billing Processes: including Rating, Discounting, Taxation, Billing and Invoicing;
- Account Receivables and Collections: handling Account Balances and Debts;
- Document Production and Reporting.
Reference Architecture
Celfocus API Monetisation solution is leveraged on a Billing system that provides the key compliance features for all API Monetisation requirements. The solution produces the required documents and proof of customers’ debt with the service provider, focusing on transparency and trust.
A decoupled architecture minimally impacts CSP core architecture and provides the necessary flexibility for the API Monetisation solution:
For Account and Subscription Management and Inquiries and Collections, the API Monetisation solution integrates through EAI with the API Marketplace and other channels. The API Monetisation receives API usage records from the API Gateway, which are then delivered for billing processing. Finally, it generates invoice documents and other reports, such as journals, these documents can be digitally exposed to the Marketplace or other Channels and to downstream systems like ERP or Analytics.
Benefits
Celfocus API Monetisation solution can materialise any monetisation model devised for API exposure or be integrated with API exposure ecosystems that are already running.
In general, exposing APIs has advantages for API providers, consumers and end-users. It enables fast and seamless integration between applications from different companies, fomenting an excellent user experience and improved B2B relations.
- For API providers and consumers: direct communication; core competences monetisation & new revenue streams; bundling of APIs from different API providers; developer community creation and higher customer reach.
- For end-users: enriched service; empowered information and Increased convenience.