onnectivity Traditional IP service service approach Figure 16.22 Typical billing principles in Telco and IP approaches Telecom Management - Operations As already said IP is now evolving towards an increasing use of call control, where the deployment of SIP may play a very important role. What will be the prevailing charging philosophy today remains an open question. The convergent environment may be particularly beneficial regarding billing and cus- tomer care processes. When all services are provided on one common platform it is easier to migrate customers from one service to another, both in terms of procedures and of phys- ical changes. It is no longer necessary to disconnect the customer from one network and reconnect her/him to another network. This is especially relevant to keep operational costs (OPEX) down, particularly when hands-on intervention is required on remote or no longer manned network elements. 16.7.2 DATA WAREHOUSING The term data warehousing means that lots of data are stored and post-processed to find many particulars about the subscribers and the network. As a strategic marketing advantage, modern marketing trends known as 'personalized marketing' or 'marketing one-to-one', collect information about customer activity on the network and use it to promote particular offers suiting end-user needs and personality. Examples are use of individual applications and their geographical distribution. Usually, most of the data originates from the CDR. CDR analysis can show many different things, ranging from the end-user call destinations and times (suitable to promote personalized telecommunication plans), to the existence of illegal practices like fraud. A lot is won if the operator can discover customer needs or act upon problems before the customers or competing operators discover them. This will prevent other operators from seducing the customers with an attractive personal proposal. This type of information, just as the customer database (customer management), is business critical. Therefore it i