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NetworkMining releases new probes

NetworkMining announces the latest release of Probes. NetworkMining, today announces the latest extension of its probe portfolio. NetworkMining’s probes are pre-integrated adapters towards vendor specific network management systems and devices. The collected data is further processed, normalized and stored in NetworkMining’s configuration management database. NetworkMining introduces today MTNM probes for systems supplied by ECI and Huawei. These probes discover network resources via TMF-814 compliant, CORBA based…

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The two most common OSS tools

"John D. Rockefeller wanted to dominate oil, but Microsoft wants it all, you name it: cable, media, banking, car dealerships." Ralph Nader. As a friend of mine often says, "the two most commonly used OSS tools are Microsoft Excel 2007 and 2010." Whether it's design packs, address management, joint/splice schedules, asset lists, etc, etc, etc, spreadsheet tools are used within OSS workflows in almost every company…

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A user interface is like a joke…

"A user interface is like a joke. If you have to explain it, it's not that good." StartupVitamins. Very funny! I've seen lots of OSS interfaces that are like a joke. Some funny. Some not so funny. In general, OSS interfaces need more explaining than they should. In part that comes from interfacing with complex subject matter, but I still feel we can do a lot…

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Vendor selection using Gartner magic quadrant

"A lawsuit filed Tuesday (ed. 5 Aug 2014) in Connecticut Superior Court accuses tech analyst firm Gartner Research of demanding kickbacks in exchange for favorable placement in the company’s famous Magic Quadrant report. NetScout, a Massachusetts-based manufacturer of network performance management products, says in court documents that companies that pay for Gartner’s consulting services are ranked above those that do not, and that this is the…

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International mergers

"The world’s telecommunications market with its national fiefdoms, loose market deregulation, over-bearing government regulation and occasional fierce competition lends itself to M&A as a means of growing, and sometimes sustaining revenues, by accessing new markets. Whilst telcos still have cash they are better positioned to buy in foreign markets as their own markets may see M&A as anti-competition." Tony Poulos on BillingViews. Interesting article by Tony…

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A lot of moving parts

"A job with a lot of moving parts benefits from a brain that has a lot of moving parts." Nolan Bushnell. The quote above comes from Nolan's book entitled, "Finding the Next Steve Jobs," which I'm currently reading. It covers Nolan's personal experiences with Steve (he was Steve's boss at Atari and friend thereafter), but the book is more about innovation and creativity than Steve. The…

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Vodafone India selects Ericsson

Vodafone India selects Ericsson to transform prepaid charging system for over 75 million subscribers. Ericsson has successfully deployed its Charging System for Vodafone India. The Ericsson Charging System enables a host of new services like flexible refill, community charging and real time balance notifications among several other different voice and data offerings for over 75 million prepaid customers. These customers will now be able to adjust…

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Globe selects NCR Bill Pay

NCR Bill Pay solution allows Globe Telecom to improve in-store customer experience and store operations. NCR Corporation announced that Globe Telecom, a leading telecommunications provider in the Philippines, chose the NCR Bill Pay solution allowing customers to quickly pay their bills in a store without employee assistance. In the retail locations where the NCR Bill Pay solution has been installed, Globe Telecom has seen dramatic customer…

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Mediacom extends with CSG

Mediacom Communications Extends Contract with CSG. CSG International announced that MediacomCommunications Corporation, the nation's eighth largest cable television company, has renewed its strategic partnership with CSG to support the delivery of service differentiation and innovation to Mediacom's 1.3 million customers. CSG and Mediacom enjoy a relationship that spans more than 15 years. Under the terms of the multiyear contract extension, Mediacom will broaden the end-to-end customer…

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Branding your Lexus OSS

"It’s one thing to be a ahead of your time. It’s another to change the future." Lexus. Do telcos need differentiated prestige brands, in much the same way as Lexus is to Toyota? Do they need to differentiate their bit and byte businesses from solution integration and again from apps/content, etc? Telcos tend to be trusted providers of bit and byte and all manner of other…

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EMEA Group Operator signs Redknee

Leading EMEA Group Operator Signs $17 Million of Orders with Redknee. Redknee Solutions Inc. announced that a leading group operator in EMEA has signed multiple software and services orders totaling more than $17 million with Redknee. These new deals will support the group operator to deliver innovative data services faster to the market and maintain its market leading position across multiple countries. Utilizing Redknee Unified, Redknee’s…

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Land and expand!

"A smart manager will establish a culture of gratitude. Expand the appreciative attitude to suppliers, vendors, delivery people, and of course, customers." Harvey Mackay. Over the years, I've noticed an approach that is used by some OSS solution integrators / vendors but interestingly, not by others. It's what's known as "land and expand." It's when the supplier manages to develop a small OSS foothold and then…

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Telem Group Selects Centina Systems

Telem Group Selects Centina Systems for End-to-End Network Visibility to Improve Operational Efficiencies. Centina Systems announced that Telem Group is set to deploy its NetOmnia™ suite of solutions for real-time end-to-end visibility of the network and improved troubleshooting and problem resolution. Telem Group’s selection of Centina’s NetOmnia™ Fault and Performance Management and Service Vision solutions are to support the company’s entire infrastructure for cellular, DSL, VoIP…

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OSS Skunk-works

"Executive consultant at specialist software development consultancy ThoughtWorks Leslie Barry says the skunk works division becomes a safe place for experimentation. “You do that to attract a different culture that wants to try new things, get stuff done and get it out there faster,” Barry says. “It is about attracting smart, engaged people and giving them a space to work in. And they will almost hack…

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If big data is collected in a forest….

"If big data is collected in a forest and nobody is around to mine it, are any insights found?" Ryan Jeffery. To quote David Prior, "Big Data is Rubbish." Click on the link to find out why. Check out slide 42 in particular. Whether you want to call it BIIIIG DATAAAAA or just data, OSS are great at collecting lots of the stuff. Cool! But now…

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OSS Supply chain – Shift No. 6

"Shift No. 6: From Mass-Market Supply to Tailored Offerings. OLD QUESTION: How should we organise our company’s operations to serve the mass market efficiently while offering customised products? NEW QUESTION: How should we organise the supply chain to serve each customer or segment uniquely and provide a tailored customer experience?" Laura Ross Kopczak and M. Eric Johnson in the "MIT Sloan Management Review." At first glance,…

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OSS Supply chain – Shift No. 5

"Shift No. 5: From Cost Reduction to Breakthrough Business Models. OLD QUESTION: How can we reduce our company’s production and distribution costs? NEW QUESTION: What new supply-chain and marketing approach would lead to a breakthrough in customer value?" Laura Ross Kopczak and M. Eric Johnson in the "MIT Sloan Management Review." The old and new questions mark a fundamental shift in the relevance of a modern…

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OSS Supply chain – Shift No. 4

"Shift No. 4: From Single-Company Product Design to Collaborative, Concurrent Product, Process and Supply-Chain Design. OLD QUESTION: How should or company design products to minimise product cost (our cost of materials, production and distribution)? NEW QUESTION: How should collaborators design the product, process and supply chain to minimise costs?" Laura Ross Kopczak and M. Eric Johnson in the "MIT Sloan Management Review." Shift No. 4 in…

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SingTel signs up NetCracker

SingTel Selects NetCracker and NEC to Deliver Comprehensive Service Layer Transformation for its Enterprise Business. NetCracker Technology and NEC Corporation announced that Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel) has selected them to transform the backend systems for its enterprise customers. The solution will automate and enhance SingTel’s end-to-end service fulfillment processes to enable its Group Enterprise to bring new products and services bundles to the market more swiftly.…

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OSS Supply chain – Shift No. 3

"Shift No. 3: From Supply Focus to Demand Focus. OLD QUESTION: How can we improve the way we supply product in order to match supply and demand better, give the demand pattern? NEW QUESTION: How can we get earlier demand information or affect the demand pattern to match supply and demand?" Laura Ross Kopczak and M. Eric Johnson in the "MIT Sloan Management Review." OSS and…

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OSS Supply chain – Shift No. 2

"Shift No. 2: From Physical Efficiency to Market Mediation. OLD QUESTION: How do we minimise the costs our company incurs in production and distribution of our products? NEW QUESTION: How do we minimise the costs of matching supply with demand while continuing to reduce the costs of production and distribution?" Laura Ross Kopczak and M. Eric Johnson in the "MIT Sloan Management Review." This is a…

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