Getting Ahead
Service Management OSS Strategies for
the Emerging Telecom Market
by Deryl Rasquinha

Since the advent of deregulation in the North American telecommunications industry, competition has skyrocketed. Telecommunications service providers, particularly emerging carriers, are struggling for a foothold, and seeking the tools to surge ahead of the competition. Increasingly, they're relying on service management operational support systems (OSS) to differentiate themselves. By automating key service management processes, they can avoid the duplication of tasks and human error. Speedier and more efficient customer service is the result.

Emerging carriers have certainly realized the value of OSS: the average CLEC will spend 14% of its revenues on these systems (Yankee Group, 1999). But buyer beware. Choosing the best service management OSS can mean the difference between success and failure. Astute carriers should look for the key indicators that differentiate winning OSS solutions from merely mediocre ones.

---

The average CLEC
will spend 14% of its
revenues on OSS

---

To begin with, CLECs should look for OSS vendors who define their mission by the needs of their customers-telecommunication service providers. If they're not in the business to meet the product and business needs of their customers, they shouldn't be in the business.

The company for whom I work, Eftia OSS Solutions Inc., began by defining the common needs of CLECs. Reputable OSS vendors should do the same. Those vendors who are not focused on these requirements will create products that miss the mark. CLECs should look for OSS vendors with lots of telecommunications experience—those who know the business inside and out.

What CLECs told us

CLECs want to get in to business quickly. They are looking for prepackaged, out-of-the-box OSS solutions to support their service base. An OSS should offer embedded best-in-class workflows and professional services to help a CLEC get started.

CLECs want their OSS to be flexible. They want to be able to handle new customers, services, regions, partners and technologies, without the need for additional OSS. They also don't want to be encumbered by their OSS. CLECs want to be able to implement new services and technologies without being held back by OSS stovepipes.

CLECs rely on superior customer service to stay ahead of the competition. To this end, an OSS must monitor service level agreements, allow for customer self-service, offer proactive trouble management and automate service management to speed delivery.

CLECs want their OSS to be easy to use. Their job is delivering services to their customers, not figuring out complicated software systems. To make a CLEC's job easier, an OSS should provide graphical views, functional user views, context-driven help and prepopulated tables.

CLECs require an OSS that can be fine-tuned to their companies' unique needs. In other words, they want to be able to tailor their system. CLECs want be able to define their workflow, service offerings and service catalogs with relative ease. When trouble occurs, as it inevitably will, they want to define levels of escalation and jeopardy

CLECs want their OSS to be scalable from both a business and system perspective. In the rapidly changing arena of telecom, they cannot afford to be held back by their OSS.

CLECs expect their OSS to help them contain costs. Although their priority is superior customer service, they also expect their OSS to save them money. A centralized authoritative database; best-of-class, embedded workflows; end-to-end operations integration; and effective, efficient trading partner interfaces should streamline processes, thereby saving capital.

Defining superior OSS

If a service management OSS vendor has truly listened to its customers, crystallizing the defining features of their OSS should be relatively easy. Their OSS should provide carriers with four features: scalability, alignment, speedy service deployment and configurability.

Scalability
OSS vendors should provide customers with solutions that will grow with the business. A typical emerging carrier makes constant adjustments to both their infrastructure and processes. New service offerings are added every few months. Such carriers need an OSS that is scalable. To do this, the underlying technology and architecture of the OSS should be based on the most advanced telecommunications technologies, so that carriers will be able to quickly deploy service and service bundles with the confidence that their OSS will continue to support innovation.

Alignment
OSS providers should offer their customers service management solutions that are compatible with other systems. No single carrier owns the complete end-to-end service delivery chain. Serving customers means working with partners, suppliers and even competitors. OSS vendors should provide assurance that their OSS meets the standard technical specifications of the industry.

---

The best OSS in
the world cannot make
up for ongoing support

---

One indicator of such compatibility is membership in key standards organizations like the TeleManagement Network (TMN) and the Ordering and Billing Forum (OBF). Membership in standards organizations is a good indicator that a vendor's solutions are compliant with ongoing industry standards. These organizations forge common agreements on key strategic issues, and couple them with a range of business arguments and technical specifications that are comprehensive, yet practical.

Speed of service deployment
Emerging carriers require an OSS that enables them to get up and running immediately. With so many competitors in the market, emerging carriers require speed to beat the competition. An OSS vendor should be able to provide you with prepackaged solutions that offer core functionalities for immediate support of telecom service management operations. Telecom functionality and business processes should be built into the product.

Configurability
In today's highly competitive telecom market, emerging carriers must be able to adapt their offerings to rapidly changing market needs. They cannot afford the time or money required to customize each new product before launch. An OSS vendor must offer solutions that can be configured to meet changing business requirements.

Configurable OSSs enable customers to alter their systems without reprogramming. In short, it provides customers with flexibility. For example, a carrier with a configurable OSS can add new service templates without reprogramming.

Ongoing support

Once emerging carriers have purchased and implemented their OSS, it's tempting to think the job is done. Years of experience in the industry have taught me otherwise. The best OSS in the world cannot make up for ongoing support in the form of professional services and training.

Once your OSS is implemented, a reputable OSS vendor should be able to provide user training and documentation, in order to ensure ease of product use and to minimize the training burden. When problems occur, carriers should have access to on-call support. Finally, carriers should expect lifecycle support from their OSS vendor. The transaction never ends with the initial purchase.

Obviously, emerging carriers should choose their service management OSS vendor carefully. In today's increasingly customer-centric environment, the ability to meet customer needs with fast and efficient service is paramount. OSS vendors should build their mission and products around the needs of their customer, the emerging carrier. Those who neglect customer requests and requirements don't deserve the business. Look for an OSS vendor that can provide you with the full package: the product, the expertise, the partnership and the vision.

From Current OSS, Winter 2000, Vol. 1, No. 2. Published by Eftia OSS Solutions.