The global policy management software market is anticipated to grow significantly over the forecast period. Policy management software is a key for compliance and good governance. Service creation and deployment for carrier network administrators, subscriber authentication access control are some functions performed by policy management software. A significant number of network operators have been using policy solutions to generate revenue from new services in the policy management software market. The market is set to witness growth rate in the near future, with increasing policy management vendors and new applications. Wireless market is one of the most popular segments. Due to network congestion and poor network management, need for bandwidth management is a major concern for most of the organization and network operators worldwide.
Increase in number of machine to machine communication in the coming years is expected to be a driving force for the market over the next six years. Policy management software is used by most of the network operators to launch new capabilities via secure API (application programming interface) networks with third parties. High implementation and maintenance costs are the restraints to the market. In addition, reducing churn and increasing value-added services and customer retention programs are affecting the market. The marketing team is increasingly brought into purchase decisions, creating a challenge for suppliers to build relations with the customers. Adjacent capabilities such as charging and subscriber data management are another key challenge for policy vendors. Innovative users of policy control capabilities, creating innovative programs, and using policy management to enable value-added services are opportunities in emerging markets.
The policy management software market can be segmented on the basis of application into cable broadband networks, fixed-line broadband networks, WiMAX, 3G broadband networks and long term evolution mobile networks. Key vendors operating in this market are Tekelec, Openet, Amdocs Inc., Ericsson, Nokia Solutions and Networks, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., and Intracom Telecom among others.