"Each of us guards a gate of change that can only be opened from the inside. We cannot open the gate of another, either by argument or emotional appeal." Marilyn Ferguson. lt's an exciting time for spatially-based OSS. The tools that underpin them such as GIS and CAD have moved off the desktop and onto mobile devices. Sensor networks, geo-positioning and augmented reality technologies are also…
Read More »Sri Lanka Telecom Goes Live with NetCracker Integrated Revenue Management, Interconnect and Active Mediation Solutions. NetCracker Technology announced that Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the leading ICT solutions provider and the National Backbone operator in Sri Lanka, has gone live with upgraded NetCracker Revenue Management, Interconnect and Mediation solutions. The upgraded NetCracker Revenue Management solution will provide Sri Lanka Telecom with a number of unique benefits, including…
Read More »"They (OSS) CAN allow a CSP to be more nimble. They CAN allow a CSP to deliver business insights to customers in real-time. They CAN add significant value to a CSP's customers. But for any number of reasons, the OSS that most telcos implement AREN'T nimble, insightful or small-business enablers." In yesterday's blog on "Peak Telco" we posed some of the challenges facing the global telco…
Read More »When it comes to the industry of CSP (Communication Service Provision), success has always followed the organisations that enabled small business (and residential, corporate, government, etc too for that matter) to harness the power of the network effect. The invention of telephony, followed shortly thereafter by telephone networks, enabled telcos to ride the network effect to profitability, because telephony provided enormous business value that organisations were…
Read More »AccessKenya Chooses Procera Networks' PacketLogic Platform for Next Generation IT Services. Procera Networks, Inc., the global Subscriber Experience company and XON, the Pan-African ICT group, announced AccessKenya, the leading and most reliable converged Communication and IT infrastructure service provider in East Africa, has selected Procera's subscriber management solution to replace an incumbent installation and deliver next generation subscriber experience management solutions to meet the region's growing…
Read More »Ericsson to acquire the assets of Guatemala-based Icon Americas, a consulting and systems integration company. Ericsson intends to acquire the assets of Icon Americas, a Guatemala-based consulting and systems integration company. Icon Americas specializes in providing application development and maintenance (ADM) services - specifically in the area of billing and charging - to leading telecom operators. Approximately 250 employees and consultants are expected to join Ericsson.…
Read More »TalkTalk Modernizes Operations with CSG Solutions. CSG International announced that TalkTalk Group, one of the United Kingdom's leading broadband, landline, TV and mobile providers, has selected key components of CSG's Total Service Mediation and Wholesale Business Management Solution (WBMS) suites. TalkTalk will deploy the latest version of CSG Intermediate, CSG Interconnect including Dispute Manager, and CSG Route, replacing a combination of bespoke systems as well as…
Read More »"Everyone is familiar with a technology that can be useful for the verification of messages in SDN and NFV, but not in the form they'd expect. Bitcoin uses what's called "block chaining" or (as one word) "blockchain" to keep a tamper-proof history of something. One could apply blockchain principles to SDN and NFV interfaces or control elements to keep a log of everything that happened there,…
Read More »Maxis Transforms Service Layer with NetCracker's Comprehensive Resource and Service Management Suite. NetCracker Technology announced that it has successfully delivered its Resource & Inventory Management solution to Maxis Berhad (Maxis), Malaysia’s leading communications service provider. The upgraded modules include the NetCracker Framework, Resource Management & Service Management modules. These capabilities will help Maxis to achieve better network utilization, faster deployment of services and ROI on its…
Read More »"Income follows assets" Daniel Priestley. In OSS-world what are our biggest assets? Apart from your customers, what are your biggest OSS assets? Products? Services? People? Intellectual Property? To put this another way, what is it that underpins your strongest revenue streams? If you're a product vendor then it's probably your products. lf you're an integrator, then it's probably your services / systems. If you're a consultancy…
Read More »AIS Signs Multi-Year Renewal for NetCracker Systems Integration and Professional Services. NetCracker Technology announced that Advanced Info Services (AIS), Thailand’s largest mobile phone operator, has agreed to a multi-year renewal for NetCracker’s Systems Integration and Professional Services. As part of the agreement, NetCracker will continue to provide a range of services, including Support and Maintenance, for the NetCracker Billing and Rating solution that AIS uses to…
Read More »"There is no accountability for results in the business. We are never able to follow up or measure the proper return on projects. Investments are open to so many different factors - it's too difficult to measure and wouldn't be credible so is felt to be a waste of time. For cutting edge/new tech projects we are under so much pressure to get to market ahead…
Read More »"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." Francis of Assisi. What inspires your OSS users/operators? What is it that makes them rave about your product? Is it having a flexible layout? Is it the colours and graphics? Is it the navigation and flow? The number of clicks in which they can achieve an objective? Is it the…
Read More »Bulgaria's Mtel and Amdocs Extend and Expand Multi-Year Managed Services Engagement. Amdocs announced the expansion and extension of its managed services agreement with Mtel through 2021. The new agreement will simplify operations and achieve synergies across lines of business to reduce costs, and improve business and operational performance levels. One of the largest affiliates in the Telekom Austria Group, Mtel is Bulgaria's leading mobile service provider…
Read More »Lightower to Enhance Visibility and Network Utilization by Implementing NetCracker Resource Management Solution. NetCracker Technology announced that Lightower Fiber Networks, a leading provider of custom, high-capacity network services in the United States, has gone live with a substantial upgrade to NetCracker’s Resource Management solution. By using the new solution, Lightower can establish greater visibility into its resources, reducing the time it takes to fulfill orders. Lightower…
Read More »I'm delighted to announce the arrival of PAOSS's latest publication, an eBook entitled, "OSS Masterclasses - Insights from Thought-Leaders in Operational Support Systems (OSS)." You can grab it via the link above or by clicking on the image below-right. SYNOPSIS: In creating content here on PassionateAboutOSS.com, I spend a great deal of time writing about all things OSS - technology, process, projects and beyond. It has…
Read More »"The Value Fabric: A guide to doing business in the digital world begins by addressing the questions, “How are multi-party, multi-industry business models represented in today’s digital world?” and “How should business be conducted in the digital world?”" John Reilly in the first paragraph of his new book, "The Value Fabric: A guide to doing business in the digital world." John has been kind enough to…
Read More »"Communications service providers (CSPs) need to move from a mentality of saving costs to one of creating new sources of revenue. Those can come from effective use of CSP data, greater exploitation of the customer relationship and improved agility and flexibility to introduce new services over virtualised networks." Marek Maroszek here on Vanilla Plus. I have to say up front that I'm completely against the sentiment…
Read More »"One of the main assets that CSPs have is their customer base but when you compare the level of engagement a CSP has with its customers, compared to a say, Facebook or LinkedIn, there’s no comparison. Is it fair to say that CSPs are not engaging with their customer base and therefore are at risk of ignoring their most valuable asset?" Marek Maroszek here on Vanilla…
Read More »"...if you’re trying to do creative work, you’ll actually have more luck when you’re more tired and your brain isn’t functioning as efficiently. This sounds crazy, but it actually makes sense when you look at the reasoning behind it... If you’re tired, your brain is not as good at filtering out distractions and focusing on a particular task. It’s also a lot less efficient at remembering…
Read More »"Complicated isn't clever. It just looks clever to stupid people." Dave Trott. Regular readers will have noticed how often l refer to OSS being complicated, too complicated. So if Dave Trott is right, and I do think he might be onto something, then OSS isn't as clever as l might try to persuade you. I recall an NMS solution that had enormous power (in theory) and…
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