4.7 Reducing support volume
Interoperability issues
Understanding interoperability issues between equipment
from different vendors can greatly increase the
chances of a customer’s service working correctly first
time.
This requires that equipment vendors, service
providers and other relevant parties co-operate. For this
to happen, there must be incentives for all involved in
the form of increased sales and reduced support costs.
There are some industry bodies that have been set
up to tackle this issue. This is discussed in more detail in
Bull and Harrison [4]. However, this area is still in its
infancy, and the potential for greater co-operation and,
hence, a significant reduction in demand for support
through increased industry collaboration, is significant.
Also, by providing known combinations of equipment
that work, the number of ‘I cannot get it to work’
calls will be reduced. This could be achieved through
bundling of products that have been tested together
and are known to be compatible, either into single