Mark Hayward

Next-Generation OSS

The world of OSS has changed dramatically over the past decade. The process of moving from monolithic, single-vendor sourced, centralized systems to specialized, multi-vendor, distributed and integrated systems is well under way. This move from custom-built OSS solutions of the past to COTS-based solutions of present was largely driven by cost, time-to-market and flexibility reasons. The previous generation of OSSs assumed a fairly static world of mostly circuit-switched voice. The current generation of OSSs is greared towards providing flexibility where by the system can be configured and customized to fit a carrier’s need and can accommodate variations in products and services, network technologies and business processes.

The Future of OSS

The Internet infrastructure industry, and the communications industry as a whole, are evolving entities driven by constant improvements in technology, Internet dynamics an changes in regulatory environments worldwide. Technology improvements drive down the cost of providing service and make ever-increasing bandwidth available. The Internet and Internet-related technologies are driving the need for more bandwidth, the convergence of voice and data services and the expectation of greater customer flexibility and control over the Internet infrastructure. Ongoing regulatory changes challenge incumbents and provide new opportunities for up-starts to alter the status quo. All of this makes only one thing certain about the future: change will be constant.

Automating the Internet Infrastructure Supply Chain

Service delivery depends on the supply chain that supports it. IICs depend upon one another as buyers and suppliers of each other’s products and services. How well IICs can deliver services to each other and to end users depends on how well integrated and automated are their OSS platforms. In this competitive/cooperative environment, an IICs ability to effectively manage relationships with its suppliers and deliver tailored service packages to its customers is a critical factor for success. Therefore, automating the IIC supply chain has become a critical goal for the IIC industry. Time to market factors, increasing price pressure and competition for customers all make an automated supply chain, and thus an integrated eOSS environment, a necessity.

A Detailed Look at OSS

OSSs are traditionally categorized into specific functional areas, each representing various steps in an IICs business, service delivery and service management processes. As more integrated packages come to market, and tighter integration is achieved in IIC front and back offices, the boundaries between these functional areas break down. OSSs, though often developed and marketed as separate functional components, must be integrated to form a seamless, unified platform constructed from many smaller pieces. As we will discuss in Chapter 5, no single OSS vendor has been able to provide a complete OSS package in which every component can be considered “best of breed.” Similarly, few IICs choose to develop OSS platforms entirely from scratch. As a result, IICs seek to integrate those components best suited to their business, which they believe can provide them a competitive advantage.

The Enterprise OSS Platform

Now that we have looked at the business models, processes, systems and stratygy considerations, we can start to ask some detailed questions about our OSS platform. Since we are approaching this from a best-of-breed selection point-of-view, we must be careful in evaluating applications and application vendors. There are numerous considerations, from the functionality of the application and how well it integrates with others to evaluating a particular vendor’s partners. Applications range from “out-of-the-box” products to “do-it-yourself” toolkits and frameworks. There are numerous questions to ask about the vendor’s background and long-term viability, as well as the vendor’s track record for delivering and supporting its product.

Supporting the Life of an OSS Integrated Platform

Just when the IIC has survived the rigors of selection, implementation and integration, it faces another major challenge — maintaining the OSS platform. Caring for and feeding an OSS platform is no small task. Data centers and operations staff often become a large portion of an IIC’s IT budget in later stages of deployment. IICs must institute release management processes to formalize configuration and integration changes. Application support, maintenance and upgrades are all critical, on-going tasks that require proper funding and knowledgeable staff. To ease this burden, many IICs seek ways to outsource their maintenance responsibility, and even consider hiring ASPs or other hosting providers as potential solutions. An IIC’s ability to manage and maintain its OSS platform through new product or new geography rollouts, mergers and acquisitions or just routine support, can determine its operational success and will impact the bottom line.

Introduction to IICs and OSS

It is easy to take technology for granted. Many revolutionary inventions, such as the wheel or the transistor, have become such an integral part of our daily lives that most of us no longer ponder how they work, or if they will work—we simply expect them to fill our needs and meet our expectations. Though as much a phenomenon as it is an invention, the Internet now shapes the way many view and interact with the world. Whether it will succeed in changing everything from one’s daily routine to the ways global corporations conduct business is no longer a question. The Internet’s evolution is already to some extent being taken for granted, and most of its users don’t care to worry about how this evolution will occur. They are more concerned with what the Internet, as it develops, will allow them to do.

Integrating the OSS Platform

Building an integrated architecture that allows processes and data to flow seamlessly from one system to another is perhaps the greatest challenge IICs face when constructing an OSS platform. Beyond seamless processes and data exchange, an ideal architecture should also allow for systems to be altered, added and removed without requiring massive rewrites and conversions. A company’s integration technology and strategy decisions will ultimately determine the success of its OSS implementation, and thus its ability to compete effectively. There are many different approaches to systems integration, as well as a range of technologies designed to aid in the process. Technology can be an enabler, but as we will see in this chapter, integration presents as significant an analysis and testing challenge as it does a development tour-de-force.

Developing an OSS Strategy

An integrated OSS platform is nearly impossible to construct without a clearly developed strategy. There are many factors to consider extending far beyond the OSSs themselves. Every aspect of an IIC’s business — from its target customers, to its sales model, its network technology,its funding strategy, and its legacy systems base — will have some impact on the OSS-related choices it makes. Thus, a coherent OSS strategy is inextricably tied to an IIC’s overall business strategy. OSS strategy have been the difference between success and failure for many emerging IICs.