Enterprises face a simple truth: the connectivity function is no longer a support, but a strategy.
Mobile networks underpin every distributed team, IoT device and data-driven decision. Yet as mobile estates expand, so do the challenges of managing thousands of Sims, multiple networks and touchpoints.
For one leading technology expense management provider, that complexity had become a challenge and an opportunity. Their clients needed more than visibility into telecommunications spend. They needed real-time, network-level control.
The provider, already strong in data analytics and cost governance, realised something important: to truly deliver at scale, it needed infrastructure. Not more data, but smarter data and the right partner.
Enter MSB Micro Systems’ subscriber management platform (SMP), and the services that power it: AAA (authentication, authorisation and accounting) and PCF (policy control function). Together, these services extend the provider’s platform from analysis and passive visibility into active governance and action.
Build, buy or partner?
In the connectivity space, every service provider faces the same dilemma: build in-house capabilities, buy off-the-shelf or partner with a specialist. Each path comes with trade-offs and possible financial risks.
Considering associated costs is critical:
- Recruiting specialist talent in an already lean market, or training and upskilling.
- Infrastructure operational overhead.
- Opportunity costs, tied to time-to-market.
- Additional systems and associated API licensing fees, maintenance and customisations.
Building provides maximum control, but is slow, expensive and resource intensive. Buying brings speed, but at a premium, and rarely fits perfectly out of that box. Partnering often strikes the correct balance: fast time-to-market, shared risk, complementary expertise, predictable costs and lower overhead.
Practical timelines and costs illustrate the differences:
| Approach | Time to value | Cost | Key benefits / Goals |
| Off-the-shelf IoT frameworks | Weeks: 6-12 | Potentially high and complex to forecast: Multi-meter usage models and continuity overheads (security, observability, releases) | · Connectivity/ IoT is a supporting function
· Vendor-grade reliability, less internal effort |
| MSB reseller model | Weeks: 6-7 | Predictable: Affordable and transparent | · Supports both core and supplementary functions
· Provides a core network platform onto which differentiated services may be moulded · Vendor-grade reliability, less internal effort · Painless scalability |
| Custom build | Months: 6-24+ | Unpredictable: Requirement & capability-based | · A need for unique, differentiating features
· Full control over functionality and design |
The power behind the platform
A good example of what “build, buy or partner” looks like in practice comes from a Tems (technology expense management solutions) provider that recently partnered with MSB Micro Systems. This reseller had strong reporting and analytics capabilities, but lacked reliable, carrier-grade connectivity services under the hood.
Upon signing with MSB, the platform integration went live, and the provider was ready to commence billing customers within six weeks. Nothing needed to be replaced. Their existing systems were expanded with vendor-grade reliability, without complexities and hidden costs. Frictionless.
What the collaboration achieved
By integrating with MSB Micro Systems’ SMP platform’s AUTH and AAA services, this Tems provider gained real-time authentication and granular access control across its clients’ mobile estates. Only approved subscribers and devices can connect.
The MSB-SMP AAA service provides network-level usage data that feeds directly into the provider’s dashboards: every connection is tracked, and every byte is counted in near-real time, eliminating batch-processing delays and manual reconciliations.
SMP handles the back-end functionality, while the Tema provider continues to do what they do best: quota management and advanced cost analytics – a perfect match of expertise.
Danny Stemmet from MSB explains: “Our partners don’t need to become experts in what we specialise in. That’s the point of partnership.”
Shared risk, shared success
Partnerships accelerate delivery but also create shared responsibility. In this model, MSB provides the secure backend infrastructure that provides the managed connectivity, functionality and features needed to fuel the Tems’ core business. The reseller, in turn, manages first-line support, remaining in complete control of its customer relationships.
Support and escalation happen coherently. The SLA framework defines responsibilities and timeframes, facilitating collaboration and predictability.
Scale without the strain
The MSB-SMP platform is built to handle massive volumes. Another large MSB reseller manages in excess of 1.2 million Sims, illustrating the robustness of both the platform’s technology and the partnership.
Additionally, resellers can define service levels per client (business hours, or 24/7 support) without being boxed into a one-size-fits-all SLA. It provides tailored connectivity with a flexible customer-first approach.
Seamless by design
SMP’s design allows for seamless integration with reseller systems. A true plug-in rather than a rebuild, it promotes swift adoption, value and minimal disruption.
A more intelligent path to connectivity
At its heart, this story isn’t simply about a technology platform, but about how organisations choose to grow in a new age.
The build or buy debate has dominated enterprise IT since the start of the millennium. As complexities increase, “partner” has become a sensible third option. It’s faster, leaner and strategically sound, especially when a partner brings decades of domain expertise, proven infrastructure and a roadmap that evolves alongside your own.
For the Tems provider, this partnership changed everything. Connectivity stopped being a pure cost and started driving value. For MSB, it reaffirms that real progress happens when companies connect with purpose, not just through technology.