Memories from CUG Telecoms 2022 

What is the best memory of Comarch User Group Telecoms 2022? Definitely, that we could finally meet in person and share experiences and trends in the telecommunications industry. The last CUG was held in 2019, and was a cross-sector event focused on many industries, including telecommunications, finance, oil and gas and many more. 2022 was ours alone!

CUG Telecoms 2022 in numbers

The conference we organized lasted two days. Both were filled with a huge amount of knowledge and inspiration. There was also time for long talks and networking. The main part of the conference was held at the Comarch headquarters campus in Kraków. We wanted to show where we work, as well as the resources to which we have access.

It's hard to believe, but there were 190 participants in total. We are glad that so many people managed to visit us and spend time together. 
As many as 30 companies from three continents met during the event. Most of the guests came from Europe, but we also had participants from more distant countries such as Japan, Korea, and Ivory Coast. What a team!

Preparations for this conference took many months. We wanted everyone to have good memories of the event, and to look forward to returning for the next edition. This year, we were able to participate in 20 speeches presented by 25 speakers. It was a great pleasure to gain knowledge from such a group of experts.

The most memorable speeches during CUG Telecoms 2022

Comarch experts gave presentations during the event, willing to share their knowledge.  The speeches performed by the Comarch team were focused on many important topics for the industry, all given by visionaries with professional experience combined with technical background. The first day of the event was full of inspiring knowledge about:

• Simplification of daily business operations with Enterprise Portal
• OSS in the field: FSM Mobile App
• Combining target and legacy products in one billing platform
• What do B2B2X models need? Accessible connectivity, standardizing services and self-service portal
• Top trends in telecommunications – observations from bidding processes
• Automated resource placement: from data to efficiency

During the event, there was also the presentation of Comarch 5G LAB, which is an innovative space of future-proof technologies, where our experts can test how systems work in a dedicated environment. However, this conference would not have turned out to be such a huge success if it were not for the guest speakers:

Jinsoo Jang, Team Leader, NW Big Data Engineering Team at LG U+, presented a success story of the company during the speech entitled “How LG U+ is analyzing 5G network and solving problems”. LG U+ is one of the largest wireless and wireline carrier in South Korea, with approximately 18 million mobile subscribers. Jinsoo Jang was awarded as the first Korean to be Data Leader of the Year in Women in IT Awards Asia 2022.

Edwin Beverdam, Thema Lead Billing at KPN and Dennis Schröder, Product Owner at KPN, conducted a presentation about “Combining target and legacy products in one billing” which was a story about the cooperation with Comarch - how it was done, what lessons were learned, and the benefits and plans for the future. It covered our shared journey over the past 14 years

Kris Steegmans, CIO and IT Lead at Mobile Vikings, gave us an insight into the business IT area with the speech entitled “Bridging the gap between business and IT making sure your investments pay off”. He draws from his experience in building the bridge between business and IT: what works and what to avoid, the best practices to apply for success, and even more important - how to deliver real value.

There was also a panel discussion entitled “OSS architecture - current and future challenges”, during which the specialists could exchange their observations live. They included Gary Lewis, OSS Senior Manager - Architecture and Solutions at Three UK, and Michał Mędrala, Head of OSS Consulting at Comarch. It was a great talk about past, current and future challenges of OSS architecture of a tier 1 mobile operator. Listeners could learn, among other things, about the main pillars and principles for the best architecture for future needs within the current challenging environment.

Second day of CUG Telecoms 2022

The second day was not inferior in terms of the substantive dose of knowledge. Specialists, who appeared on the stage, presented their observations and conclusions on industry topics, based on their own experience and many years of professional practice. Day two was full of:

• Predictive maintenance using AI/ML for mission-critical services
• Flexible delivery through fixed processes – the project implementation perspective
• The managed services model in telco
• Connectivity in the world of medical devices and IoT
• Challenges and opportunities in IoT for telecom operators: market perspective
• Real-time schedule optimization with FSM
• BSS for non-telco verticals - the improved customer journey
• XL Axiata Device Club - an award-winning loyalty program run on CLM

What are we grateful for?

This year’s edition of CUG was an opportunity to meet in-person with a great many experts, not only from the telecommunications industry. The first day of the event was a chance to share experience in a more informal atmosphere. All the participants were invited to the Kraków’s historic Wierzynek restaurant, located in the heart of the city’s old town quarter.

Apart from the delicious dinner, there were many attractions, thanks to which smiles did not come off the faces of people gathered inside. Who could refuse a chance to win at the casino? There was also a chance to pose for a caricaturist who accurately noted the most important features of each person. And, for those who love high emotions, there was car racing on a simulator, a magic and burlesque show, as well as a great live music concert.

This year’s event was a great success, we have very positive feedback from our clients, and everyone was satisfied with the live meeting after such a long break. We hope that we will meet with such a large or larger line-up during the next Comarch User Group!