Simple sophistication

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci. l often speak about the urgency for simplification here on PAOSS and it has me wondering why it is such a challenge, for me included, within the realm of OSS. I suspect the ambiguity of simplicity scares many people as it requires us to think in terms […]

Skating on thin ice

“Imagine that it’s Winter, you’re walking in the forest, and you see a frozen pond with a hundred people skating on it. Now, imagine walking past the same pond with nobody, or just one person skating on it. Would you be more likely to go skating on the pond in the first case or in […]

Strategic / contingency planning playbook

“A contingency plan is a plan devised for an outcome other than in the usual (expected) plan.” Websters dictionary. This week we’ve used the metaphors of black swans, elephants in the room and boiling frogs to highlight some of the challenges that could be faced by the OSS industry. Once you’ve gone through your own […]

Strategic planning – boiling frogs

“The idea of ‘boiling frogs’ relates to the anecdotal frog that, in theory, doesn’t jump out of the pot if you raise the temperature very gradually and ends up being boiled alive. Apparently the latest biological research is that the frog actually would jump out, which is perhaps encouraging for him and for people trying […]

Telefonica Selects Gigamon

Telefonica Selects Gigamon to Gain Network Visibility and Optimize Customer Offerings. Gigamon Inc. announced that Telefonica Argentina, a subsidiary of the Telefonica Group, has selected Gigamon’s visibility solutions to help optimize its subscriber service offerings. Through the market-leading capabilities of Gigamon’s solutions, Telefonica Argentina is able to gain insight into the way its subscribers consume […]

Strategic planning – elephants in the room

“The ‘elephant in the room’ is something that everyone is well aware of, but they deliberately or subconsciously choose to ignore it. Sometimes we encounter clients who refuse to face the fact that their industry is declining or that something hugely impactful is about to happen.” Alan Iny. There are a number of elephants that […]

Strategic planning – wild cards

“A synonym for ‘wild cards’ in many ways is the Black Swan. We’re talking about unexpected, high impact things. We have to recognize that no matter how much data we have about trends and predictions of what’s going to happen in the future there will still be wild cards.” Alan Iny. OSS are responsible for […]

Strategic planning – wild cards, elephants and frogs

“A synonym for ‘wild cards’ in many ways is the Black Swan. We’re talking about unexpected, high impact things. We have to recognize that no matter how much data we have about trends and predictions of what’s going to happen in the future there will still be wild cards. This could take the form of […]

Frontier selects Ericsson

Frontier selects Ericsson agility suite to enhance customer experience. Frontier Communications has selected Ericsson to provide and integrate a next-generation OSS (Operations Support System) architecture to improve Frontier’s customer experience, capture new revenues and drive business efficiencies. Frontier will deploy Ericsson Order Care and Ericsson Catalog Manager solutions, part of the Ericsson OSS/BSS Agility Suite, […]

Synchronoss acquires Razorsight

Synchronoss Acquires Razorsight, Leader in Cloud Based Analytics Predictive analytics solution underpins Synchronoss’ mission to deliver fine-grained semantic profiling that improves security, user productivity, and mitigates risk for its Communication Service Providers(CSPs) and Enterprise clients.

Using external advisors: Outside knowledge combined with tribal knowledge

“It is unrealistic that any organisation, regardless of size, can have all the expertise they require in constant employ. Sometimes you need expertise or advice that is a little bit niche, or maybe you only need it for a short amount of time. It is just that you don’t want people like me running your […]

What problems are your OSS solving?

“Problem-solving becomes a very important part of our makeup as we grow into maturity or move up the corporate ladder.” Zig Ziglar. What problems are our OSS trying to solve? Have you ever pondered what problems they could be solving? Sometimes our answers to the first question show the day-to-day issues that we’re trying to […]

Alestra deploys NetCracker

Alestra Leverages NetCracker’s Revenue Management Solution to Support New and Innovative Offerings. NetCracker Technology announced that Alestra, a leading IT services company based out of Mexico, has deployed the NetCracker Revenue Management solution in order to leverage a modern and flexible billing system capable of supporting Alestra’s innovative offerings. Alestra is a Mexico-based information and […]

OSS product overhaul

“First, explore how to doubt everything you think you know, and remember that all your ideas, even the most successful, are hypotheses within you – and not set in stone. Challenge the boxes that determine how you perceive the world, and think creatively about how you’re defining the specific problems you’re hoping to solve.” Luc […]

Omnichannel

“Omnichannel describes a coordinated, consistent strategy for engaging and interacting with your customers, and potential customers. This can take place at any and every channel touchpoint in the customer journey as shown in the graphic. These channels can include: actual and online stores; kiosks; digital signage; broadcast, electronic and print media; email; gaming consoles; online […]

The two review technique

“As you work on your project (your presentation, your plan, your speech, your recipe, your…) imagine that it’s the sort of thing that could be reviewed on Amazon. Now, write (actually write down) two different reviews: First, a 5 star review, a review by someone who gets it, who is moved, who is eager to […]

Throwaway day – The new hackathon

“The day before yesterday, for the first time this attempt for us, we have conducted a “throw away meeting”.” Susumu Fujita (quote has been Google-translated from the original Japanese blog into English) [Another translation could be – “The day before yesterday, we held our first “throw away meeting.” This meeting was proposed in a recent […]

Movistar Argentina / Telefonica selects Comptel

Movistar Argentina Applies Advanced Analytics to Data with Comptel. Comptel Corporation announced that it has started the deployment of Comptel’s DATA FASTERMIND™ with Movistar Argentina, an operator owned by Telefónica Group, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world. With the advanced analytics solution, Movistar Argentina can now glean real-time insights from its data, […]

Your network is key

“The network is key. This is a large part of how you learn new things. Connect with smart people. Talk. What have you seen in last couple of months? What do you know? It’s not a go-and-read-everything strategy. You’d die before you could pull that off. Just exchange ideas with the smart people in your […]

Access One renews with IDI Billing

Access One Renews Agreement for Service With IDI Billing Solutions. IDI Billing Solutions announced that Access One has renewed its contract for services. IDI first earned Access One’s business in 2005 and has remained their preferred billing vendor for over 10 years. Access One will be upgrading to the latest release of CostGuard®, gaining access […]