How remote monitoring and management can help save the planet, reduce costs and keep customers happy

‍by William Hughes, Head of Product Management

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Today’s rapidly evolving landscape is providing more sustainable and cost-effective solutions to help streamline business operations. One innovation that has gained significant traction, partially fueled by the pandemic, is the use of remote monitoring tools to enhance service management for Pay TV and streaming providers. 

The traditional practice of sending engineers for on-site visits to address customer issues carries considerable environmental cost. Each visit contributes to carbon emissions through vehicle travel and resource consumption. The expenses associated with these visits, including transportation, personnel and equipment, can add up significantly over time. 

Enter the era of remote monitoring and service management. These tools not only allow video service providers to monitor and manage devices and services remotely, they also facilitate the ability to resolve customers’ technical issues remotely. This results in a number of very tangible and interconnected benefits: Reduced carbon expenditure and costs, while also providing better customer satisfaction and reduced churn.

Over the course of several years, we’ve been developing and enhancing Amino Engage as a cloud-based platform designed to maximize operational efficiency. Engage’s suite of tools is reshaping service and customer management by offering providers a better way to view, activate and manage devices.

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Real-time diagnostics for configurability issues

One of the most notable features of Engage is its ability to provide real-time insight into device status, history, firmware and other critical data. This empowers customer service representatives (CSRs) to diagnose and address problems remotely, even before they become noticeable to the end-users. 

One common use case is the subscriber report of a ‘black screen,’ which too often is diagnosed as a faulty set-top box (STB). With Engage, CSRs can see if the HDMI cable is plugged in, whether the port is active, or whether a HDCP handshake occurred, which will lead to ruling in or out a faulty HDMI cable. 

Remote monitoring with Engage can also verify if the STB is decoding video and identify installation issues such as low signal level on Wi-Fi connections or QAM. Using this type of platform, it is possible to rule in or out installation errors and configuration issues remotely through better real-time diagnostics.

In addition to remotely monitoring and managing services, Engage provides CSRs with the ability to see and control the remotely connected device. This functionality arms customer-facing representatives with powerful tools capable of resolving most configuration related issues during the first call.

Configuration issues account for 30% of truck rolls, and implementation of remote management solutions have allowed service providers to significantly reduce this figure.

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Reduced No Fault Found scenarios

The use of remote monitoring solutions can also reduce No Fault Found scenarios (NFFs) allowing comprehensive diagnostics in a customer’s home. In NFFs, devices must be returned, tested and returned to the consumer. This can lead to customer frustration and churn. A remote solution not only prevents the carbon expenditure and cost of this process, but also provides better customer satisfaction.

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Unexpected benefits

Because CSRs can take direct control of a subscriber session, they can diagnose problems quickly and accurately. This means less time on the phone for CSRs and subscribers, resulting in higher levels of customer satisfaction and lower support costs.

These tools also allow CSRs to work remotely, reducing the need for large office spaces and contributing to a more flexible work environment.

The journey towards a more sustainable and cost-effective future starts with innovative solutions like Amino Engage paving the way for a better tomorrow.

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See Engage in action at IBC 2023 (15-18 September) in Amsterdam, Hall 5 (C33).