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In this edition of the MEF Member Spotlight, we sit down with Maciej Simm, Head of Innovation at Enxoo, to delve into the potential of the Enxoo API Hub and the benefits it can bring for buyers and sellers operating in the wholesale connectivity space.
MEF: Welcome, Maciej. Can you introduce yourself and Enxoo? What makes your approach to digital transformation unique in wholesale telecommunications?
Maciej Simm: Thank you for having me. I’m Maciej Simm, Head of Innovation at Enxoo. Together with Enxoo, almost 10 years ago, we set out on a mission to help carriers with their digital transformation journeys. From the very beginning, we felt the need for change and to take action. Having worked in the comms industry and seeing so many failed digital transformation projects, the timing was right. Only recently, I came across a study by McKinsey, stating that nearly 70% of digitization initiatives fail to deliver promised objectives – as a collective we felt that there must be something we can do to fix this.
What I believe makes us different from other consultancies is that we’re a small group of entrepreneurial-minded professionals who spent their careers working on the wholesale side, knowing and understanding this industry from the inside-out. Over the years, Enxoo has productized many solutions that have proven successful making them almost ready-to-use, significantly limiting the pain of development and customization – which in my opinion, is one of the reasons why transformation initiatives often can fail.
Enxoo API Hub is a great example of one of these solutions where we’ve taken best-of-breed platforms from Salesforce® and MuleSoft® and equipped them with pre-built MEF LSO Sonata flows and APIs.
MEF: How does Enxoo contribute to the MEF ecosystem?
Maciej Simm (MS): Enxoo has been a MEF member since 2019, having joined just after the great MEF19 show which took place in Los Angeles. We realized after that event we wanted to be part of the standardization movement contributing towards a better connected world. We’re one of MEF’s LSO Solution Providers and focus on helping service providers to align their BSS | OSS environments with MEF LSO standards.
It’s actually not an easy task as some may think, in part because MEF LSO is not just about APIs. The challenge that MEF is trying to solve with LSO is to create a foundational architecture for automated networks where boundaries between service providers are invisible to the end user. In order to achieve this, we need to connect disparate business processes and break down silos that exist within the service provider organizations, and this frequently requires a major shift in mindsets.
In addition, Enxoo is active in the MEF standardization working groups, in particular in the Commercial & Business Committee and in areas related to Product Modeling and Product Standardization. Enxoo has worked with many service providers on their BSS | OSS transformations, building product catalogs and streamlining processes. Therefore, we can offer quite a broad perspective on how buyers and sellers transact in the global ecosystem.
MEF: What motivated Enxoo to develop the Enxoo API Hub?
MS: From a technology perspective, we’ve always been close to Salesforce, and are their implementation partner in the comms space. Salesforce is quite a popular solution and is used by many carriers, not only as a CRM but really as a platform to run BSS | OSS workflows. I’m talking about quoting engines, ordering flows, trouble ticketing applications for technicians and agents.
So the motivation for us was very much related to what I’ve been talking about at the beginning – by developing an API Hub, a pre-built and 80% ready solution, we’re trying to make it easier for Salesforce users to adapt their platforms to MEF LSO flows.
MEF: How does the Enxoo API Hub simplify connectivity for Network Sellers?
MS: The Enxoo API Hub enables service providers to expose their network assets to partners through an automated, self-serve, API-driven channel, replacing manual serviceability, quoting and ordering flows. It acts as an umbrella on top of existing BSS | OSS applications, making it easier for carriers to interface with external parties while ensuring compliance with LSO API standards.
MEF: What role do cloud technologies like Salesforce® and MuleSoft® play in the Enxoo API Hub?
MS: Salesforce® and MuleSoft® are instrumental in our platform-centric approach as they are proven, enterprise-grade tools. Let me try to explain it by analogy. Imagine you want to build a swimming pool in your backyard. First thing – you need to dig a hole and yes – you can do it with a shovel. But probably renting a mini excavator would save you a few weeks of work and a serious back pain.
Salesforce® and MuleSoft® make API development much simpler. With their declarative philosophy where APIs are created with clicks rather than code, you can not only save a lot of time, but you also don’t need to spend time on “hardcore” boilerplate topics like authentication, security, monitoring or load-balancing.
MEF: How do you foresee the Enxoo API Hub impacting the wholesale telecommunications industry?
MS: Well, Enxoo API Hub is the technology, and just one of the options Service Providers might consider when setting out on their API-fication and automation journey. However, we truly believe APIs are starting to become a critical competency in the modern interconnected world, something that in many cases might be a deciding factor in gaining a competitive edge. We therefore strongly suggest that it might not be a wise decision to outsource this competency to an externally.
Our API Hub and Enxoo expert services might be an interesting alternative for those who want to build APIs in-house, but don’t really know how to start.
MEF: In conclusion, what message would you like to convey to the wholesale telecommunications community?
MS: I’m just coming back from the GNE event in Dallas where I had many inspiring conversations and listened to presentations and panel discussions, with new and old acronyms like NaaS, APIs, LSO being present everywhere. However, a thought that’s struck me after the event is the following: Successful innovation can only happen if there is an entrepreneurial spirit of bringing together a small group of dedicated people, providing them with a contained environment and empowering them to make their own choices. So, if you want to transform your telco business and keep up with the competition – you won’t be able to do it in one month and most likely not even in one year or even three years. You need to take a leap of faith, find a starting point, ideally something small. You need to do one small step at a time, reflect on how it went, and only then make another one.
External consultants like Enxoo can help you by guiding you by taking some of the complexities off your shoulders. However, ultimately, you need to make the steps yourself, with companies who have proven experience.
This kind of approach is at the core of Enxoo’s DNA and we truly believe it’s a key prerequisite for a successful digitization implementation.
About the MEF Member Spotlight
The MEF Member Spotlight series offers MEF members the opportunity to share how they are leveraging MEF standards, LSO APIs, and certifications to expedite their innovation cycle, address critical issues for service providers, and offer value-added solutions to their customers.
In each Q&A session, members share their experiences, challenges, and successes, offering insight into best practices that result in a more collaborative and innovative MEF ecosystem.
Interested in participating in a MEF Member Spotlight? Contact us!
