The Silo Problem

Over many years, it has been common practice for service providers to add a new OSS system specifically for each new technology or service. In the short term, this has allowed individual projects to be launched more quickly. Time to market is important, and the choice has often been made to move quickly rather than elegantly in terms of OSS architecture.

In the long term, this can lead to hundreds or even thousands of different systems, often custom built, actively in use to manage different aspects of the network. Often, these involve manual procedures, requiring staff to access different screens in a so-called “swivel chair” approach. Software maintenance can also become an issue, as staff move on. Interworking between different silos can rely on batch processes, script files which are difficult to adapt to change.

The result is that each new change becomes difficult, time-consuming and expensive to make. The cost and complexity of updating large numbers of legacy systems is significant in itself. The impact of potentially wasted network equipment, through overbuilding, incorrect configuration and inefficient procedures can be much greater.

With demand for new types of technology, new services and faster delivery continuing to increase, the OSS is seen as a critical part of the service provider’s business. A modern, efficient and effective OSS provides differentiation, both to the customer experience and to the bottom line.

Industry consensus is growing that OSS systems need to be upgraded to meet today’s needs, a process known as OSS Transformation. The debate has moved on from whether this is needed onto discuss how best to achieve the goal.

OSS Transformation is a process or a journey

When we talk about OSS Transformation, we are talking about a carefully thought through process to reform the vast and costly operational support systems infrastructure. Some might call it a journey because transformation may take considerable time to achieve and have many intermediate steps.

As with any journey, having a clear vision of where you are going and how you might get there are essential.

The outcome is an integrated, cohesive and enterprise-wide OSS infrastructure, enabling service providers to create and deliver new technologies, services and capabilities without needing to introduce new systems every time.

What’s involved?

Central to the concept are accurate data and automated processes.

Each OSS system may have its own copy of the data it requires. This can be held in a computer database, a spreadsheet or paper records. A common problem is that over time, these records can become inaccurate and inconsistent with what’s actually installed and configured. Such data applies not just to physical parameters, such as racks, cards and physical transmission cables but also to logical parameters such as device configurations, routes and bandwidth allocation.

An OSS transformation has to import, consolidate and verify data from various sources into a single consistent view of the network. Thereafter, processes need to be in place to ensure the data remains valid and improves in accuracy, which can be done by synchronization with network management systems and use of standard change procedures.

Business and engineering processes are also likely to have to change, otherwise the full benefits of the OSS Transformation won’t be achieved. This may include automating design and fulfillment processes, freeing up engineers and planners to concentrate on the more strategic aspects of their job.

The Benefits

With ARPU in decline, operators need new to be more adaptable and able to introduce new sources of revenue quickly. OSS transformation offers means of supporting their rapid introduction, fulfillment and assurance.

Once in place, further changes are dealt with through configuration rather than software development. New technologies, equipment types, physical products and even business processes can be added and changed by using simple offline configuration tools.

Plans can be made further ahead, with each new plan taking account of known network changes planned for the interim.

Customer interactions can be dramatically increased in speed and value, based on known facts of the capacity and capabilities available in specific cases. This allows a sale to proceed knowing when and how it will be implemented. Where only configuration changes are required, this would happen immediately.

These capabilities lead to benefits far outweighing the direct owners of the OSS systems:

• Capital investment in network equipment is targeted far more accurately, avoiding waste through overbuild and loss of business due to congestion. Capacity allocated on transmission links and other logical resources is accurately known, leading to reduced wastage
• Operational costs are reduced because the effort required to plan and implement each network change is much reduced. There are fewer wasted truck rolls, with engineers visiting site being equipped with accurate and clear information about what changes are to be made
• Revenue increases because new services and features can be introduced more quickly
• Increased customer satisfaction, resulting from more effective customer service, better capacity management and faster fault resolution

While OSS Transformation is by no means the only initiative that Service Providers need to take to adapt to their changing role, it is undoubtedly one of the most essential in order to remain competitive and meet customers’ expectations.

Let us now look at several different ways on how Service Providers can make the OSS Transformation journey…