Last month, I talked about the professionalization of the Revenue Assurance function within telecommunications companies around the world. This month, it is my pleasure to introduce the ways in which we are professionalizing the GRAPA organization itself.

Until now, GRAPA has operated as a volunteer-only-based organization. Many people donated their time and energy to help us accomplish our initial goals in 2007. Today, the demand for GRAPA’s services has become so great that we must professionalize the GRAPA organization in order to meet the growing needs of our membership.

It is my pleasure to announce that we have added several people to the GRAPA team. Each of them will help us provide better service to GRAPA members and the revenue assurance community. I would like to take a moment to introduce them to you.

Membership Manager – The first recent addition to our team is Dustin Mattison. Dustin is an experienced consulting manager who has spent the past several years helping companies in China and other parts of Asia with their operations. Dustin comes to us to serve as our GRAPA Membership Manager. In that role, Dustin will be recruiting and working with the regional chairpersons, helping them to spread the word about GRAPA to the carriers in each area. Dustin will work to create a true identity for our professional community based upon the unique and collective needs of the members in each region. (dustin@grapatel.com)

Standards Administrator – Second, we are excited to announce Teresa Shepp as our newest team member. Teresa brings her training and HR experience with AT&T Wireless and other carriers to provide expertise and organization in our standards efforts. Her initial responsibilities will be to support Mohammad Azam (Chairman of the Standards Committee) with organizing, publishing, and approving our new GRAPA standards. Mohammad and Teresa are developing some exciting ideas for how to encourage participation and consensus among the membership. Membership participation is essential to creating reliable professional standards for the revenue assurance industry. We look forward to sharing more about their activity soon. (teresa@grapatel.com)

Newsletter Editor – Also added to our team is Jade Blackwater. Jade is an experienced editor and writer and has agreed to serve as the dedicated editor of the Consensus newsletter. February’s Consensus represents the first issue where Jade is running the show. We encourage you to send her feedback and suggestions for ways to improve the newsletter. If you have ideas for future articles or would like to submit an article of your own for consideration, please contact Jade via email. (newsletter@grapatel.com)

Membership Relationship Manager – Our dedicated team member, Carola Rusch, who many of you have already met via the telephone, has been promoted. Carola will now function as our Head of Membership Relationship Management in support of our growing organization. (carola@grapatel.com)

Please join me in welcoming these people to the GRAPA team, and please feel free to contact them with your issues, concerns, or ideas.

I hope you will help us keep up the momentum in 2008 as GRAPA membership continues to grow. Included in this month’s newsletter are links to new GRAPA marketing materials. Get involved; spread the word!

GRAPA members say they want up-to-date marketing materials to help spread the word about our organization. In January and February, GRAPA staff worked diligently to prepare much-needed brochures, inserts, and other marketing materials, which are now available online at the GRAPA website. GRAPA members are encouraged to review and share these materials with other professionals in revenue assurance.

To download copies of these materials click on the links above or visit the GRAPA website: www.grapatel.com and the website of the Revenue Assurance Academy: www.ra-academy.org.

GRAPA members enjoy access to training, certification, and networking opportunities including the online discussion forums at www.grapatel.com. By engaging in online forums and webinars, GRAPA members can contribute their voice to help shape GRAPA Standards for the revenue assurance profession. For those professionals with time to volunteer, we have opportunities available on functional and regional committees that help keep GRAPA vibrant and active in achieving our goals.

If you or a colleague would like to join GRAPA, here are some of the benefits you will enjoy:

• Educational opportunities and certifications

• Professional development and credentials

• Discourse on current revenue assurance news

• Professional contacts and networking opportunities

• Local/regional contacts, programs, and events

Put your GRAPA membership to use, and get involved today! Here are a few places to start:

• Join in our online forum discussions at www.grapatel.com/Grapa_Forum.asp

• Participate in upcoming webinars and questionnaires

• Volunteer with a GRAPA Committee or at a GRAPA event in your region

• Contact your Regional Committee Chair to see what’s happening in your area www.grapatel.com/Grapa_Regional.asp

• Volunteer to Chair or Co-Chair a Committee

• Contribute an industry article to the Consensus newsletter

• Spread the word: tell others about the benefits of GRAPA membership

Of course, members are always encouraged to join us at the Revenue Assurance Academy classes being offered around the world. It’s a great way to network and, remember, your tuition is what funds our organization.

The Standards Committee has begun the process of drafting, reviewing, and approving the new GRAPA Standards document. We are working with a clear project plan to help guide our progress toward a published set of GRAPA Standards. Fortunately, we have a great team of individuals to support this effort including Standards Committee Chairman, Mohammad Azam.

With our project plan in place, we now need your help. GRAPA members can contribute to the formulation of revenue assurance industry standards by volunteering and offering input. Volunteers are needed for Co-Chairperson(s) to help support committee functions in achieving GRAPA’s 2008 goals.

Members are encouraged to participate in one of the six upcoming online “town hall meetings” that will be scheduled in April 2008. These online webinars will introduce our first version of the GRAPA Standards for membership review, allowing us to solicit feedback and ideas from members to improve these standards.

Our goal is to have a full version of the GRAPA Standards ready in April to share with members before voting begins later in 2008. Look for announcements in upcoming issues of Consensus for future meetings and ideas for how you can get involved.

Sriram Dharmarajan is working on encouraging new GRAPA membership from carriers in his region. Sriram is especially focused on inviting members from carriers not currently represented in our membership. If you are a GRAPA member in the Indian Subcontinent region, Sriram needs your help reaching out to other carriers.

At a Glance: Indian Subcontinent Regional Committee Statistics
India: 62 members representing 10 out of 14 carriers
Pakistan: 26 members, representing 8 out of 18 carriers
Bangladesh: 4 members, representing 1 out of 8 carriers
Nepal: 0 members.
Maldives: 2 members, representing 2 carriers
Sri Lanka: 1 member, representing 1 out of 11 carriers

Peter Cimbak has been appointed as regional chairperson for the Eastern Europe Region (Romania, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, Poland, Albania, and Turkey.) One of Peter’s first goals is to prepare a list of carriers for his region and identify which carriers are not represented in the GRAPA membership.

At a Glance: Eastern Europe Regional Committee Statistics
We currently have 37 GRAPA members in the Eastern Europe Region representing 26 carriers.

Henry Whyte has been reassigned to the following countries in West Africa in order to better focus his efforts on this large and important area of the continent: Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. Like other regional committee chairs, Henry will be working on identifying which regional carriers are not currently represented in the GRAPA membership, and then focusing his member recruiting efforts among those professionals.

At a Glance: West Africa Regional Committee Statistics
We currently have 73 GRAPA members in the West Africa Region representing 13 of 19 carriers.

Andriady Indra is responsible for the countries of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Andriady will be focused on member recruitment from target carriers in his region.

At a Glance: Southeast Asia Regional Committee Statistics
We currently have 198 GRAPA members in the Southeast Asia Region representing 108 of 117 carriers.

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You can help GRAPA grow by recruiting members in your area or by volunteering to chair or co-chair your regional committee.

GRAPA still needs Chairpersons for the following Regional Committees:

1. Western Europe

2. South America

3. North America

4. Northern Asia

5. Australia/New Zealand

6. Southern Africa

7. East Africa

8. Caribbean

9. Central America

To get involved, contact your Regional Chairperson or our Membership Manager, Dustin Mattison (dustin@grapatel.com).

Sriram is currently Senior Analyst – Finance Operations with Colt Technology Services in Bangalore, India (a wholly owned subsidiary of COLT Telecom Group), handling Voice Trading for COLT’s EU operations. He tells us that working in the revenue assurance industry has been a wonderful learning experience, and it is no surprise that he likes a good challenge. Sriram holds a Bachelor degree in Physics and a Post Graduate degree in General Management. Comfortable with five Indian languages, English, and some Spanish, Sriram is an excellent representative for a growing global organization like GRAPA.

We asked Sriram about the greatest challenges and successes he has experienced while working in revenue assurance. He explained that among them are reconciling large volumes of data, and developing methods to solve queries without assistance from within the business organization. Sriram’s independence is likely a key element of his success. No doubt this initiative will continue to benefit Sriram as he works toward his goal to become a revenue assurance consultant.