InSide – The Project Management Tool Tailored for Telecommunications

By Yoav Danieli 5 min read

Network rollout projects are of vital importance to network operators. So when Ceragon found that existing third-party rollout tools were not up to the job, we developed our own unique solution, InSide.

Over 10 years ago, we built our InSide software tool from the ground up according to our own demanding network rollout requirements. Our goal was to develop a tailor-made tool for use by Ceragon personnel for our customers’ network rollout projects worldwide. We wanted a flexible tool that would cover network rollout planning, execution and follow-up, and an easy-to-use system that would make each rollout stage more efficient and manageable.

When developing our tool, we addressed a number of “pain points” associated with network rollout projects. We wanted an “all-in-one” solution that would allow us to manage all project aspects – such as accounting, QA, logistics management, vendor management and more – from one place. And all this without having to continuously access Excel and other offline documents.

 

We also desired a tool that would help minimize the amount of time our technicians spend in the field, speeding up project acceptance and time to revenues. Last but not least, we wanted a tool that would allow customized business intelligence (BI) reports on any piece of information, and tailored reports by project or region, as desired.

 

InSide is our advanced network rollout and project management tool specifically designed for the telecom industry. Integrating seamlessly with relevant network components, InSide supports rollout and other complex network-related projects.

For many years, we used InSide as an in-house tool, which provided us with a competitive advantage. But we eventually decided to offer InSide directly to our partners – both operators and subcontractors. The trigger behind this decision was demand from the field, with a number of rollout subcontractors and operators asking us if they could purchase InSide for use by their own personnel.

 

Today we provide InSide as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering hosted in a secure Azure cloud environment. As a result, the tool meets the highest security protocols, with no installation required at customer premises.

 

One key benefit of the InSide tool relates to first-time-right deployment. Inside raises the level of first-time-right site activities to 80%, compared to an industry average of 50%. This, in turn, improves service delivery efficiency, network rollout margins, and end customer satisfaction.

 

While the benefits of InSide’s remote management capabilities have been apparent for years, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted these advantages even more. Network operators and systems integrators (SIs) are increasingly interested in limiting the number of on-site visits by technicians in order to reduce costs and potential exposure to the virus due to long-distance travel.

 

The tool has evolved over time based on customer requirements, with the introduction of new features and functionalities, as well as the improvement of existing capabilities. The tool has also become more comprehensive, providing end-to-end coverage of the entire rollout project from planning to acceptance.

 

While initially tailored for microwave network rollout, our tool has evolved to cover many kinds of network rollout activities, including those for fiber and hybrid rollouts. Moreover, Inside has expanded into a more general project management tool, suited for a variety of operator projects involving milestones, such as installation and on-site activities unrelated to network rollout.

 

It’s important to note that we offer on-site support and training for InSide. Moreover, our global support center offers 24/7 after-sale support for the tool.

 

Leveraging Ceragon’s best-of-breed expertise and 20+ years of dedicated experience in wireless transport, InSide is currently used by some 1,600 users at about 20 operator networks in roughly 140 countries worldwide.

 

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