Down the street from the site of the Pipeline Innovation Awards which were held at the historic La Negresco, the TM Forum held its annual summer event, formerly known as Management World and TeleManagement World, at the Acropolis. Besides being renamed “TM Forum Live!,” the event brought some other surprises, most notably that TMF founder and long-time leader Keith Willetts was stepping down.

“Working within the TM Forum for the last 25 years and watching it grow and change has been a wonderful experience,” said Willetts. “It is a remarkable industry association, and today it ranks among the most influential organizations in the digital economy. Stepping back from the front line a bit will allow me to focus more on helping further development of the Forum in addition to writing, speaking and coaching.”

TMF vice-chairman, Michael Lawrey, who has an executive position with Telstra, is stepping in to fill Willetts' role.

“Keith has done an outstanding job in leading the Forum throughout its history and most recently transitioning to becoming the leading global industry association focused on helping its members meet the demands of the digital world,” said Lawrey. “From developing new strategic programs focused on customer engagement, digital services and agile business and IT, to transforming the Forum’s flagship events and conferences, to strengthening its renowned Collaboration program and more, Keith has made a significant impact on the organization and its members. We look forward to our continuing engagement with Keith, and also wish him the best of luck with his new endeavors.”

The announcement coincides with a shift in direction for the TM Forum. The organization is broadening its focus and is seeking to establish some territory beyond the telecom landscape. The Forum divides its endeavors into three categories: agile business and IT, open digital ecosystem, and customer engagement.  Notable announcements at TM Foum Live! included big data analytics portfolios from Ericsson and Amdocs, virtualized OSS and BSS solutions from most software vendors, evolved products that leverage or integrate the strengths of NFV and SDN, and the entry of Huawei into the commercial OSS market.

Consolidation

As the world of communications technology expands its borders into new markets and reaches new users; on the business side, market consolidation continues to typify the telecom space. Sprint is poised to purchase T-Mobile for a premium, AT&T is making a pitch to the FCC to buy DirectTV, MYCOM has acquired OSI, Cisco acquired Tail-f, and Nokia is enriching its radio portfolio with its latest acquisition. This isn't freak weather--expect more of the same in June and July!