When it comes to OSS, are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?
I was listening to a group of telco experts on a podcast the other day. As they were talking, I kept picturing the image of Eeyore – you know, the donkey from A.A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh” stories with an overly pessimistic outlook on life. Sources: https://getwallpapers.com The podcast was just soooo gloomy. Channeling Eeyore, I’ll paraphrase: […]
Closing the OSS Buyer / Seller chasm – When the most expensive thing about your OSS product isn’t your price (part 7)
Earlier in the year, we wrote a series of articles about the chasm that exists between OSS/BSS buyers and sellers (pt1, pt2, pt3, pt4, pt5, pt6). “The chasm” is best exemplified by the situation where a buyer (eg carrier) desperately needs a new OSS and a seller (eg a software vendor) desperately wants to sell their OSS to the […]
A question for my OSS developer friends
Actually, maybe a few related questions. As you’ve seen from recent articles such as this, I’m increasingly interested in the cross-over worlds of comms and energy. They’re becoming increasingly linked, largely due to the current energy use of generative AI (I’ve seen estimates that GenAI searches consume around 10x the energy of equivalent traditional searches). […]
A novel OSS/BSS idea? Or is it?
I’d like to share an idea with you. I think it’s a novel idea. However, I’m still trying to work through the possible pros / cons / feasibility of it, so I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. I’d also love to hear whether it actually is novel or whether you’ve seen something similar […]
An OSS paradox: The split personality of being an OSS architect and writer
An interesting paradox struck me just recently. Having written nearly 2,750 articles here on this blog, I can probably lay claim to being a writer. Having done well over 50 OSS-related projects since the first one in 2000, I can probably also claim to be an OSS architect and consultant (although impostor syndrome does make […]
Partnership / Investment – A Strategic Opportunity for a Telco M&A Deal
Many of you will have already seen our Blue Book OSS/BSS Vendor Directory, which provides a view into the 500+ solutions that are available on the market. It’s been a real labour-of-love project, draining lots and lots of time and resources to allow us to keep shining a light on the many outstanding suppliers / […]
Can OSS manage comms networks, data centres and renewable energy sources?
Have you noticed that just a few people are writing about AI lately? No? None? Never seen an article about AI? Almost every article I read these days has strong undertones (or overtones) about AI. It’s almost as impossible to miss as when Sam Altman was abruptly ousted from his position by OpenAI’s board of […]
MacGyvering Your OSS Budget: A Contrarian Approach to Solving an OSS Cost Conundrum
There are many reasons why it’s hard to get an OSS transformation project off the ground. One of those reasons, a big one, is the catch-22 situation that arises when setting the budget for a project. How much does an OSS cost? How long is a piece of string? Some carriers, especially the smaller telcos […]
The Olympians of OSS: Unveiling the key attributes of our most elite OSSletes
Athletes from around the globe will soon be descending on Paris to compete for Olympic medals in a multitude of events. Olympic champions will be determined through a variety of performance attributes – skill, strength, endurance, speed and much more – with different attributes required for any given event. That made me wonder – What […]
From Telco to HellCo to HellNoCo
Late last week we published an article, “From Telco to HellCo: I’m the CEO of a large telco. I want to destroy it as fast as I can.” Based on all the feedback, you could say that it seemed to resonate! Using Charlie Munger’s Inversion Technique, we suggested 21 ways to kill off a large […]
From Telco to Hellco: I’m the CEO of a large telco. I want to destroy it as fast as I can
Many of the telco industry’s fittest and finest have just returned from a week in Copenhagen at TM Forum’s flagship event, DTW24. Iain Morris of Light Reading suggests in an article that Copenhagen is an apt location for the event because many industry representatives are “in little mermaid land.” The tone of his article is […]
How to plan the resources and budget needed for an OSS transformation project
OSS Transformation Resourcing Questions Have you ever had to wrestle with the conundrum of organisational change when embarking on a major OSS transformation? How many people will I need? What tasks will they do? What skills will they require? Who are the best people to get involved in the transformation? How much budget needs to […]
Our limitations as OSS match-makers
Are you looking for a role in OSS? Or are you looking for someone with skills in OSS to help fill an OSS role or on an upcoming project? At Passionate About OSS, we get asked about both sides of this equation on a regular basis. We regularly find ourselves trying to help as match-makers, […]
The Critical Importance of UI/UX/CX Optimisation in OSS/BSS Solutions
In the highly competitive domain of Operational Support Systems (OSS) and Business Support Systems (BSS), standing out isn’t just about offering a comprehensive set of features. It’s about delivering an exceptional user interface (UI), user experience (UX), and customer experience (CX). Despite this, it seems that the prioritisation of UI / UX / CX is […]
Can LLMs help us to reimagine what the OSS of the future looks like?
I love blogs. One of the amazing things about them is that it allows you to hear the wisdom of exceptional individuals who you’d otherwise never have access to or ever have the chance to meet. They’re the best mentors you never had. One example of that was in last week’s post from David Heinemeier […]
Monthly OSS / Telco In-Person Meetup
Passionate about OSS and Telco – Locals Lunch Held at Noon on the Second Friday of Each Month. Held at the Golden Hills Brewery – 25 Station St, Diamond Creek VIC (see map below) The doors open at noon. Join us for an informal meetup called “Passionate about OSS and Telco – Locals Lunch,” held at […]
Getting A/B comparisons running automatically in the minds of all your OSS evaluators
Are you familiar with David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH) and Jason Fried, the Co-Founders of 37signals (Makers of Basecamp and other software solutions)? As far as I know, they’ve never had anything to do with telco OSS tools, but I do love the clarity of a lot of the concepts they share on the 37signals blog […]
Steve Jobs Said 1 Habit Separates the Doers From the Dreamers
This article by Jeff Haden in Inc Magazine, “30 Years Ago, Steve Jobs Said 1 Habit Separates the Doers From the Dreamers,” has made me re-think the way I work, but also reconsider the way the OSS / telco industry works. “One of my least favorite things to do is ask for help. Not only […]
What types of training does the OSS / telco industry need? What do you need?
I’d love to get your perspective on something. In recent times, quite a few people have reached out to suggest that PAOSS should create a comprehensive OSS/BSS training programme because there’s nothing really suited to their needs available on the market today. A couple of these people have suggested that the TM Forum courses are […]
Listening to the Customer: How can we create more value for you?
We’ve just started an exciting new project in the last couple of weeks and have had some great workshops with the client’s exec & project teams. This client has an ambitious target of multiplying their revenues several-fold over the next few years. The systems transformation we’re planning will be a fundamental building block to help […]