“IT networks are becoming nothing more than a common service,” he explained. “And being able to bundle and leverage that with other services to provide to a user is very important.” It provides an edge for a customer base, which for AT&T is largely leveraged on the real-life scenarios of its large subscriber pool.

Customers, he explained, expect more. They expect VoIP with their broadband package as well as their handsets. They expect data and business services to connect them with a global network. These expectations are what compose the growth, innovations, and challenges ahead for BSS/OSS providers.

“You want to make sure they’re integrated, number one, for a complete end-to-end user experience, he said.” Paradise says this is part of a holistic approach, one that isn’t centered from a network standpoint. Otherwise, you lose customers and revue to hand-offs and trouble-shooting isolation. “It makes for a poor quality product and a poor user experience.”

Part of this comes from standardization and other industry-best practices, but for Paradise there are a host of other issues to be discussed: the taxing new technology and varied layers of a network, the differentiation of classes. Which customers favor VoIP services on their handsets over data plans? What will be the operational expenses and reactions for these types of developments? What are some of the possible carrots for individuals who don’t utilize their data plans as much during peak hours?

These are a few of the questions that should be covered at the IIT VoIP conference, the 6th annual, where Paradise and Mayer will be joined by speakers and panelists from various governmental and educational institutions. More information can be found at www.cvent.com/EVENTS

“Hopefully,” says Paradise, “we can plant some ideas and provide some insight with technology.”