Legacy configure, price, and quote (CPQ) tools are often blamed for slowing down CSPs, especially those operating on tight margins. Industry observers say traditional CPQs like Salesforce are built to manage leads and sales pipelines, not the rapid provisioning and precise SLA management essential for telecom and cable providers.
Automation and rapid enablement are widely seen as key to customer satisfaction for communications service providers (CSPs). Without those capabilities, CSPs risk delays in orders and revenue recognition, eroding margins over time.
For telecom workflows, CPQ must live in a broader ecosystem. Experts argue it should integrate seamlessly with enterprise resource planning (ERP), provisioning systems, inventory management, and revenue management to automate the full order-to-cash process rather than just quote generation.
In contrast, a telco-aligned CPQ—such as CSG’s CSP-focused CPQ—emphasizes understanding the network’s ecosystem and staying aligned with evolving industry standards and updates. Proponents say this focus helps CSPs move faster and reduce costly customization.
The discussion notes that Salesforce and other legacy CPQs helped spur SaaS and cloud adoption, but telecom deployments often require substantial customization to handle network complexity and traffic. As one executive put it, legacy tools “fall apart in the telecom and cable world” when applied without network-aware configurations.
The takeaway for CSPs is clear: investing in a CSP-specific CPQ that interoperates with ERP, provisioning, inventory, and revenue management can shorten time-to-revenue and reduce operating costs, improving the bottom line. Listeners are encouraged to subscribe to Broadband Communities for ongoing insights.
