 Pipeline
Publishing, Volume 5, Issue 7 |
 |
This
Month's Issue: |
Product Lifecycle Management |
|
|
|
Product, by Product, by Product:
An OSS/BSS Transformation Strategy
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
article page
| 1
| 2
| 3
| 4
|
master data store that was needed to improve accuracy and productivity.
The intrepid IT team and their frustrated DBA moved on to another task and hoped that one day the technology would become available to make their vision a viable reality.
Fast forward twenty years... By now, we've tried the Best of Breed, and the Best of Suite, Middle Ware, and Enterprise Buses, with not a lot of success. The system integration tax is still too high, too much money is spent on maintenance and not enough on innovation, and individual business units still spend too much time and money trying to keep duplicate views of information current and accurate. A few brave carriers have even tried to rebuild from scratch, but overall, few CIOs that I know are happy with how their OSS/BSS environments work.
Much has changed however in that we do have new technologies and new tools that can usher in the era of "loosely coupled," "data driven," "plug and play" that so many have been waiting for. SOA appears to be making a real difference. XML is definitely making a big difference. Low cost memory and processing power is certainly making a big difference. In this new world, Product Catalog can flourish – as a standalone electronic reference for all to use, and as an integrated element of a comprehensive and coherent set of 21st century business processes and policies.
Carriers like Telstra and Telekom Austria have tested the concept that Product Catalog is an excellent first step in the journey to Transformation of the OSS/BSS infrastructure (and of the business processes and policies they support). They are beginning to achieve the benefits anticipated from breaking up monolithic and inflexible OSS/BSS
|
|
It is now possible to choose one of several ways forward that each can lead to success. |
|
environments by inserting a centralized active Product Catalog, and found that it delivers some important benefits, like:
- Faster time to market for new services. The majority of new services introduced today are billing-based. New bundles that attract new discounts, or new usage-based or content-based services that don't need new hardware rolled out into the network can be defined, tested, and launched in days, not months, because Product Managers can access the Product Catalog and see exactly which products and product components exist, which rating parameters exist, which OSS/BSS applications are involved and they can then put together the best possible package available.
- Lower cost of ownership. Every group involved in delivering service to customers can pull the information they need from the Product Catalog. They don't need to maintain their own analysis and enhancement process; they can simply get what they need from the common centralized repository.
- Improved customer satisfaction. When the Product Catalog is linked to the Customer Self Service environment, customers can put together packages of service components to meet their needs – and can choose only from valid components. That means that when they finish building their product and hit "Order," their order is accepted, because only acceptable product models are presented to them.
- Accelerated Transformation. With the Product Catalog in place, the carrier can decide which systems to integrate with the Catalog based on pragmatic business drivers, since the Catalog can deliver immediate benefits even when standing alone. Logical projects to align with the Product Catalog implementation are changes to the CRM, especially customer self-serve functionality, as well as Network Inventory, Rating, Settlement, and Invoicing.
- When coupled with a SOA orientation, the acceleration can be achieved even more quickly.
What choices does today's carrier have to accelerate achievement of their Transformation objectives? ISVs, like Tribold, offer a Product Catalog suite designed for
article page
| 1
| 2
| 3
| 4
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
