Let's start with the last one first - DBA. In the context of OSS/BSS, DBA has multiple meanings but I think the most relevant is Death By Acronym (don't worry all you Database Administrators out there, I haven't forgotten about you). Our industry is awash with TLAs (Three-Letter Acronyms) that lead to DBA. Having said that, today's article is about seven that are commonly used in…
Read More »I spent some time with a client going through their OSS/BSS yesterday. They're an Australian telco with a primarily home-grown, browser-based OSS/BSS. One of its features was something I've never seen in an OSS/BSS before. But really quite subtle and cool. They have four tiers of users: Super-admins (the carrier's in-house admins), Standard (their in-house users), Partners (they use many channel partners to sell their services),…
Read More »Network slicing allows operators to segment their network and configure each different slice to the specific needs of that customer (or group of customers). So rather than the network infrastructure being configured for the best compromise that suits all use-cases, instead each slice can be configured optimally for each use-case. That's an exciting concept. The big potential roadblock however, falls almost entirely on our OSS/BSS. If…
Read More »Back in the old days, Network Service Assurance probably had a different meaning than it might today. Clearly it's assurance of a network service. That's fairly obvious. But it's in the definition of "network service" where the old and new terminologies have the potential to diverge. In years past, telco networks were "nailed up" and network functions were physical appliances. I would've implied (probably incorrectly, but…
Read More »There's a famous Zig Ziglar quote that goes something like, "You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want." You could safely assume that this was written for the individual reader, but there is some truth in it within the OSS context too. For the OSS designer, builder, integrator, does the statement "You can have…
Read More »In earlier posts, we've talked about using Netflix's chaos monkey approach as a way of getting to Zero Touch Assurance (ZTA). The chaos monkeys intentionally trigger faults in the network as a means of ensuring resilience. Not just for known degradation / outage events, but to unknown events too. I'd like to introduce the concept of CT/IR - Continual Test / Incremental Resilience. Analogous to CI/CD…
Read More »Some of the world's leading OSS thinkers met at TM Forum's Digital Transformation World in Nice, France, this week. Were you one of them? I was unable to attend due to a date with a surgeon (no, not the romantic kind of date). If you attended, I'd love to live vicariously through you and hear your key takeaways from the event. Please leave us a comment below, either…
Read More »After Telstra's NaaS (Network as a Service) program won a TM Forum excellence award, I promised yesterday to share a post that describes why I'm so excited about the concept of NaaS. As the title suggests above, NaaS has the potential to be as big a paradigm shift for networks (and OSS/BSS) as Agile has been for software development. There are many facets to the Agile…
Read More »On Monday evening in Nice, TM Forum announced the list of 12 Excellence Awards for 2019. They also anointed Distinguished Fellow and Distinguished Engineer status on two of the industry's leading contributors. Huge congratulations to each of the following award winners: Business Transformation – Royal KPN, Vlocity and Salesforce IT Transformation – China Mobile & Huawei Operational Transformation & Agility – Netcracker Network Transformation – Telstra…
Read More »Over the years, I've been asked the question many times, "what's the difference between OSS (Operational Support Systems) and BSS (Business Support Systems)?" I've also been asked, albeit slightly less regularly, how OSS and BSS map to TM Forum standards like the TAM (the Application Map) and eTOM (enhanced Telecommunications Operations Map). To my knowledge, TM Forum has never attempted to map OSS vs BSS. It…
Read More »OSS projects are full of risks. We all know it. OSS projects have "earned" a bad name because of all those risks. On the other side of that same coin, OSS projects disappoint, in part I suspect because stakeholders expect such big things from their resource investments. Ask anyone familiar with OSS projects and you'll be sure to hear a long list of failings. For those…
Read More »For those who don't already know, one of the peak OSS industry events starts tomorrow in Nice, France. It's known as Digital Transformation World (DTW) and is run by TM Forum. OSS and BSS (and so much more) experts will be there, collaborating via multiple different methods - talks, presentations, demonstrations, industry proofs-of-concept, campfire events, etc. Leave us a comment below if you're attending and tell…
Read More »Back in the earliest days of OSS (and networks for that matter), it was the telcos that generated almost all of the innovation. That effectively limited innovation to being developed by the privileged few, those who worked for the government-owned, monopoly telcos. But over time, the financial leaders at those telcos felt the costs of their amazing research and development labs outweighed the benefits and shut…
Read More »All OSS products are excellent these days. And all OSS vendors know what the most important functionality is. They already have those features built into their products. That is, they've already added the all-important features at the left side of the graph. But it also means product teams are tending to only add the relatively unimportant new features to the right edge of the graph (ie…
Read More »Network operators spend huge amounts on building and maintaining their OSS/BSS every year. There are many reasons they invest so heavily, but in most cases it can be distilled back to one thing - improving operational efficiency. And our OSS/BSS definitely do improve operational efficiency, but there are still so many sources of friction. They're squeaking like un-oiled bearings. Here are just a few of the…
Read More »Yesterday's post talked about one of the many dichotomies in OSS - fast and slow data / processes. One of the longer lead-time items in relation to OSS data and processes is in network build and customer connections. From the time when capacity planning or a customer order creates the signal to build, it can be many weeks or months before the physical infrastructure work is…
Read More »The traditional telco (and OSS) ran at different speeds. Some tasks had to happen immediately (eg customers calling one another) while others took time (eg getting a connection to a customer's home, which included designs, approvals, builds, etc), often weeks. Our OSS have processes that must happen sequentially and expediently. They also have processes that must wait for dependencies, conditional events and time delays. Some roles…
Read More »Acquisition of Sigma Systems. Hansen Technologies Limited announced the signing of definitive agreements for the acquisition of Sigma Systems (“Sigma”). The acquisition is expected to close on 31 May 2019. Key Points: Founded in 1996, Sigma is a leading global provider of catalog-driven software products for telecommunications, media, and high-tech companies. Its software is designed to streamline complex product and service offerings and provide a faster…
Read More »Nobody is interested in you, your brand or your OSS. Well, that's a big negative and confrontational statement isn't it? You're probably thinking I got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning and took a big handful of emo pills. The reality is, all of our customers and colleagues are walking around tuned into radio station WIIFM (What's in it for me?), so…
Read More »FCC AUTHORIZES SPACEX TO PROVIDE BROADBAND SERVICES VIA SATELLITE CONSTELLATION. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved an application by Space Exploration Holdings, doing business as SpaceX, to provide broadband services using satellite technology in the United States and around the world. With this action, the Commission takes another step to increase high-speed broadband availability and competition in the United States. This is the first approval of…
Read More »Well, would you hire a furniture maker as CEO of an OSS vendor? At face value, it would seem to be an odd selection right? There doesn't seem to be much commonality between furniture and OSS does there? It seems as likely as hiring a furniture maker to be CEO of a car maker? Oh wait. That did happen. Ford Motor Company made just such a…
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