In the law of cascading problems, let's say we have data sets where our data accuracy levels are as follows: Locations are 90% Pits are 95% Ducts are 90% Cables are 90% Joints are 85% Patch panels are 85% Active devices are 95% Cards are 95% Ports are 90% Bearer circuits are 85% That all sounds pretty promising doesn't it (we've all seen data sets that are…
Read More »"Companies often see the disruptive forces affecting their industry. They frequently divert sufficient resources to participate in emerging markets. Their failure is usually an inability to truly embrace the new business models the disruptive change opens up. Kodak created a digital camera, invested in the technology, and even understood that photos would be shared online. Where they failed was in realizing that online photo sharing was…
Read More »"Spectacular success doesn’t lead to deep introspection, which in turn leads to wrong conclusions. You see this all the time, right? Successful companies draw conclusions about how smart and good they are, and then a significant number of them fall off the cliff because they drew the wrong conclusions." Ed Catmull (of Pixar) here. The article above provides Ed Catmall's interesting take on how Pixar needs…
Read More »Ericsson extends commitment to OSS interoperability initiative (OSSii) with Nokia and Huawei. Ericsson has renewed its commitment to the OSS interoperability initiative (OSSii) by signing an extended memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Huawei and Nokia. Initiated by Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia in May 2013, the OSSii promotes interoperability between different OSS vendors' equipment. It aims to enable operators to simplify network operations, reduce overall integration costs…
Read More »Telstra to expand enterprise mobility footprint by acquiring MSC Mobility. Telstra announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire MSC Mobility (MSC), a leading provider of Enterprise Mobility solutions in Australia. Telstra expects the transaction to complete in the coming weeks. MSC provides mobile device management and provisioning services for large organisations, including providing devices and support to end users, and professional services, including strategy…
Read More »Ericsson and Inspur to work on cloud, media and IoT solutions. Ericsson and Inspur Group Co. Ltd (Inspur), the leading supplier of data center equipment in China, announced on July 1 they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU builds upon the existing cooperation between the two parties, which dates back to 2002, when Ericsson and Inspur established a joint venture to develop radio…
Read More »Telenor Serbia transforms customer charging and billing experience. Ericsson has been selected by Telenor Serbia to deploy the Ericsson Charging and Billing in One (CBiO) solution as the operator's new real-time convergent charging and billing platform. As a result of the deployment, Telenor Serbia can support a full range of charging and billing needs for residential, corporate, mobile and fixed subscribers. Ingeborg Øfsthus, Telenor Serbia CEO…
Read More »Early in my (pre-OSS) career I noticed that I had a different approach to designing solutions than most of my colleagues. My colleagues, when given an assignment, would tend to disappear into their office cubicles and prepare a solution in isolation, before asking for a review (for quality assurance purposes) once their solution was all but complete. I, on the other hand, would summarise my thoughts…
Read More »Netcracker acquires CoralTree Systems. Netcracker Technology announced that it has completed the acquisition of CoralTree Systems, a leading provider of converged solutions for European service providers. The acquisition includes CoralTree's technology solutions and highly skilled resources in systems integration, business operations support and other professional services. CoralTree's solutions also include technology assets in video activation, BSS and OSS which complement Netcracker's solution portfolio. Netcracker has seen…
Read More »"If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now.” Woodrow Wilson. Going for a run can be fun, but adding a clock/stop-watch changes the dynamic. A game of football is fun to watch (or play), but adding a clock makes it somewhat more interesting…
Read More »A very clever friend of mine made an interesting observation recently. He had noticed that one of his global markets, a developing region, tended to ask for a very different set of outcomes from his OSS than his customers in more developed regions. He has noticed that the developing regions are asking business level questions like the following: How many services do I have Where do…
Read More »I once heard a comment from a teacher that, "Sesame Street had a lot to answer for." Sounds strange on face value because this famous TV program has been educating children for decades. The teacher then went on to state that kids now all expect to be entertained, not just taught. Interesting perspective isn't it? If you look back at all the training you've received in…
Read More »"Nine in ten businesses (87 percent) face severe turbulence as they pursue digital transformation, according to research from Bizagi, a provider of digital process automation software. The global study of over 1,000 IT and customer experience professionals finds that businesses are rapidly embracing digital transformation, with 73 percent believing that failure to keep up will result in commercial downfall. However, the speed of change required, coupled…
Read More »There are many different breadcrumbs that contribute to any OSS. Business processes, organisation structures, data sources, hardware platforms, learning models, naming conventions, service offerings, communication methods, network topologies, equipment types, etc. The list is huge isn't it? There are so many immensely clever people in this OSS industry of ours too aren't there? It can be overwhelming, particularly to those new to a given environment. This…
Read More »Telefonica Business Solutions automates its global IP infrastructure. Telefonica Business Solutions, a leading provider of a wide range of integrated communication solutions for the B2B market, has selected Cisco’s NSO (Network Services Orchestrator), enabled by Tail-f, for automating and configuring its IP infrastructure and business customer premises equipment. The industry-leading Cisco NSO will significantly enhance the automation, agility and reliability of Telefonica’s network, while accelerating new…
Read More »Redknee Wins Policy Management with EMEA Tier 1 Customer. Redknee Solutions Inc. announced the signing of a new multi-million dollar contract to deliver its policy management solution, Redknee PCS, to a Tier 1 communications service provider (CSP) in the EMEA region with more than 55 million subscribers. Redknee’s policy management solution allows service providers to monetize their network investments by quickly launching new data plan packages…
Read More »Over the years I've seen many OSS presentations, often in the role of helping a customer make a decision on which OSS option to proceed with. There have been some good presentations and others that didn't go so well. I've even seen the best-fit products dropped out before short-listing because presentations were structured so poorly that customers couldn't see their merits. One of the things I've…
Read More »"Most of us are, by default, in automation mode. We are pattern-seeking animals, and there is immense comfort in the familiar...established systems help to preserve our energy and attention. Things are easier. The cognitive (and emotional) burden of trying to figure out what needs to be done, when and by whom, is minimal, Automation is a good state to be in, when it's working." Dr. Jason…
Read More »OSS tend to be created with CSPs in mind. But that's a small market. If we extend the data model to open it up to fit the data collection requirements of any organisation that relies on a network then we open up OSS to a much broader market. I call this style of OSS the "data bridge" model. I personally see the data bridge as the…
Read More »Makedonski Telekom signs managed services agreement with Ericsson. Ericsson has been selected as a Managed Services partner by Makedonski Telekom in Macedonia, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom Group. Ericsson will assume responsibility for network operations, second-line operations, field operations and operation of passive networks, as well as infrastructure maintenance services for the fixed and mobile networks of Makedonski Telekom. Under this agreement, the employees of Makedonski…
Read More »One of the biggest challenges for an OSS team is finding (and keeping) resources that know the industry, know their technologies and know why / how their OSS helps their customers (ie tripods). One approach is to get battle-hardened OSS resources from outside, put them into senior positions, and build teams around them. This approach might work in other industries, but is much tougher in OSS…
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