Ah, the 90s. They were wonderful, weren’t they? Nirvana released Nevermind, people started to go online, and everyone was sure that the Y2K bug was going to bring about the end of the world. Do you want to know what else was great? Computer games running on a 386 DX computer. The 90s produced some of the most inspiring, innovative computer games the world has ever seen. You may have played Age of Empires, which was a very influential real-time strategy (RTS) game in its time. And while that may have been so, we cannot ignore the fact Sid Meier’s Civilization came first, in 1991, with just one objective: to build an empire that can last.
In this game, the player takes on the role of the leader of a civilization, starting with one settler unit, and attempts to build an empire in competition with other civilizations. Along with the larger tasks of exploration, warfare, and diplomacy, the player has to make decisions about where to build new cities, which improvements or units to build in each city, which advances in knowledge should be pursued, and how to transform the land surrounding the cities for maximum profit.
At this point, the service provider has two options:
1. Upgrade “weapon” to a more updated version, e.g. the CSP begins with arches and evolves to a crossbow
2. Introduce a completely disruptive technology, e.g. where CSP opts for gunpowder or even nuclear weapons to exterminate their enemies
Either way, until you have the right weapon to defeat your potential enemy, the problem isn’t solved. But one thing is certain: war is an inevitable part of every fraudster’s game, even if you try to avoid it.
Like in Sid Meier’s Civilization, falling behind the curve with outdated software and hardware can put your company at a disadvantage; however, the thought of updating any critical system, especially fraud management software (FMS), can seem overwhelming. But systems that are too old to cope with new requirements and have grown increasingly inefficient simply aren’t doing their job and could be putting your business in significant risk.
There’s a reason people stick with legacy fraud management software: replacing their existing system rely on an expensive, complicated proof of concept. But at some point the positives outweigh the negatives.
Cloud technology keeps an FMS system up-to-date by rolling out regular software updates – including fraud detection rules and hotlist updates, so that fraud analysts don’t have to waste time maintaining the system to ensure it’s effective and accurate.
Telecom fraud management software has not traditionally followed this approach due to vendor’s hesitation to give their audience full access to their products.
CSPs can gain a large advantage if their fraud departments are the first to achieve a particular technological advantage (the secrets of Artificial Intelligence, for example) and put it to use in a “military” context. The whole system of advancements, from beginning to end, is a full speed technology ride.
So, is the fraud management market mature? Not if it is always open and rejuvenating. In other words, I would say that it “Smells Like Teen Spirit!”