Zain Iraq has signed up Nokia Siemens Networks, a leading global enabler of telecoms services, to develop its home location register and also provide integration and consulting services for its smooth operations in the country.

Zain in Iraq first provided its services in 2004 as MTC Atheer and after the acquisition of Iraqna, both companies were rebranded to become Zain-Iraq in 2008.

As per the deal, Zain Iraq is unifying its subscriber data, currently distributed across the network, into a single database using the Nokia Siemens Networks’ One-NDS platform.

'One-NDS enables real-time data access across multiple applications. It addresses Zain’s need for a resilient and high capacity subscriber data repository to meet its growth targets by introducing flexibility not found in legacy database architectures,' explained Dr Haidar Radi, CTO of Zain Iraq.
 
“The rapid increase in the number of subscribers and traffic volume demands an operationally efficient subscriber data management platform,' he stated.

Dr Radi said, 'NSN is allowing us to consolidate subscriber data, enabling us to develop real-time insights about the services being used coupled with knowing further customers’ needs so that we can introduce new, exciting and tailored services.”
 
By unifying fragmented subscriber data into a single logical database, Zain Iraq expects to target new services in a better manner as well as, lower churn rates and reduce subscriber acquisition costs, he added.

Nokia Siemens Networks said its open One-NDS platform allows greater reliability, availability and security of services to more than 12 million Zain Iraq subscribers.

Besides simplification of service creation and reduction in costs, the centralized subscriber data system is ready for handling converged services, utilizing different kinds of mobile and fixed access methods along with LTE, said a senior official.

“The extent to which the network operators can enhance customer experience is proving to be the emerging key market differentiator,” explained Ersin Durmaz, head of Zain Iraq customer team at Nokia Siemens Networks.

“This project provides Zain with the foundation to understand their customer needs, improve end-user experience along with operational efficiency.”