My experience has been that much of the attention surrounding Next Generation Networks (NGN) has been focused on the technical and marketing dimensions. For example, there has been extensive coverage and discussion focussed on Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile standards, under-sea fibre optic connectivity to provide access to an array of cloud services punted by the marketing folks - Streamed television, voice over Intenet Protocol (VOIP) etc.
However, telcos and service providers have access to the same network platforms and software technology. This means that a key leverage for strategic business differentiation lies in the service delivery domain: The systems that enable the ordering, billing and service assurance of these complex broadband services. It is the OSS/BSS systems that need to bridge the divide between evolving new generation networks and service delivery business processes.
In my opinion, the important story will become the re-appraisal of how telecommunications service delivery is conducted, more specifically – the processes and systems used in order to deliver service. This is a highly complex task that requires a unique combination of diverse skills and focused effort.
This view is shared by the TeleManagement Forum who argue that the majority of operational problems experienced by Telco’s stem from the underlying business processes, systems and data:-
“High operating costs, poor order-to-cash cycles, high levels of customer dissatisfaction driving high churn rates and long lead times for new products are not the hallmarks of a successful operator in a brutally competitive market” - NGOSS Distilled, The essential guide to next generation telecom management.Using a standards-based approach, our intension is to assist telcos in unfolding the opportunity to reassess their legacy service delivery systems and use them as a primary leverage points for quantum shifts in service delivery improvement. We see this as a collaborative effort - allowing our customer to focus on the bigger picture: end-to-end transformation of their entire network and OSS towards the target NGN & BSS/OSS architecture visions.
