OSS Transformation is all about managing change – organisationally, functionally and operationally during in-flight projects. This is the most commonly overlooked factor when planning OSS projects
Across this series, we’ve looked at fragmented AI investment, the rush to launch AI projects, the AI dependence on OSS and BSS, and the need for combined planning as more autonomous systems begin to interact. We’ve discussed coherent planning a lot throughout the series, which raises two obvious questions: If coherence matters this much, does […]
So far in this series, we’ve looked at fragmented AI investment (shadow AI), the rush to get involved in AI, and what happens when those AI initiatives start depending on the OSS and BSS environment. But there’s another “coherence” challenge as we move from AI that recommends (humans in the loop) to AI that acts […]
In the first two articles in this “Shadow AI” series, we looked at two problems: fragmented AI investment and the rush across organisations to get involved in AI before they feel left behind. Both are exciting and create plenty of activity. But sooner or later, it’s almost inevitable that the AI activity will to connect […]
In the first article in this series, about a $1.6m lesson, we looked at how AI can start to resemble shadow IT, with lots of sensible local decisions, but little shared enterprise capability. It’s not just Shadow AI that represents the risk here. There’s another force accelerating that problem. Right now, everyone wants to be […]
AI / AN / AO (Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Networks and Autonomous Operations) transformations create different challenges for different stakeholders, depending on where you sit in the org chart of a network operator. Business units, technology teams, operations, architecture, finance and governance all see the autonomy problem through a different lens. This week, I’ll be sharing […]
Our last article asked a simple question, “How much are you effectively paying to stay on the antiquated side of the Buyer-Seller Chasm?” Let’s be very clear here – the incurred cost (opportunity cost) of dated systems doesn’t stop while you’re deciding what to do next. Every month spent debating, aligning, lobbying, approving and re-approving […]
I’ve been trying to teach my kids a lesson lately that, if I’m honest, I’m probably not succeeding at (yet). Recently, it struck me that the same lesson explains an uncomfortable amount about the state of OSS and telco too. And if the message isn’t working on either, then maybe it’s me who needs to […]
I recently went to my chiropractor with wrist pain. I assumed it was from years of playing tennis and typing on keyboards. That seemed fairly logical but my assumption was wrong. It didn’t take my chiropractor long to identify the source of the problem. Not my wrist, but tightness deep under my pectoral (chest / […]
One of my favourite OSS books, that isn’t an OSS book at all, is Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple’s Success by Ken Segall Ken worked alongside Steve Jobs in the early days of Apple and cites many of the principles that drove its success. That triggered a thought: What are the core principles that […]
We invest heavily in production environments (aka Arnie) and in reactive network fault-fix measures. Most OSS teams think of non-prod (aka Danny) as somewhere to test releases and patches. But if our non-prod environments were true digital twins of production, their value could be far greater. They could become environments where we simulate proposed changes, […]
Telecom architects often jump to the conclusion that more capability means better performance. Add another feature, another platform, another integration, another automation layer and the system should become more powerful. But I wonder whether a Formula 1 engineer would immediately see that perspective as a problem rather than a solution? To an F1 engineer, it’s […]
As Daniel Priestley articulates well here, the disposable lighter is an extraordinary example of capitalism doing what capitalism does best – thousands of tiny improvements compounded over decades. A lighter can be manufactured, shipped and sold for almost nothing because decades of competition have relentlessly squeezed inefficiency out of the system. Yet OSS/BSS seems strangely […]
Given the topical theme of the World Cup final, we’ll go with a soccer story today. For the World Cup final, do you think Argentina ever considered replacing Messi with an attacking midfielder from a local Argentinian club simply because his wages are lower? Of course they wouldn’t. Not because the local player is useless. […]
For decades, scale gave large telcos purchasing power, infrastructure reach, extensive capability and millions of customers. It became one of the world’s most powerful and durable business models. But scale and complexity has created thousands of dependencies across OSS, BSS, networks, processes, vendors and people. Clay Christensen showed that disruption often begins with something that […]
Success in business, distilled to its simplest form, is often about arbitrage. The gap between supply and demand. The gap between value delivered and value received in return. In the OSS industry, we tend to view arbitrage through a technical lens – better automation, AI, features, use cases, architecture and transformation. But a recent trip […]
When it comes to OSS, the term Out of the Box (or OOTB) can be correct, incorrect and highly confusing all at the same time. Buying an OOTB OSS is a bit like buying a suit off the rack. It exists. It has structure. It has the pockets, buttons, sleeves and lining you expected. But […]
Since OSS were first built, they’ve been designed around the belief that more complete information creates better operations. That belief made sense when they were designed by Engineers for Engineers. When network, service, customer, inventory, topology and assurance data was scarce, fragmented and hard to access. The organisation with the best information usually had the […]
An OSS/BSS transformation often begins with excitement and urgency due to a desperate need for change. It also creates trepidation because the wrong decision could shape the business for years to come. There’s no doubt that there’s a long list of things to work through, but that tension can lead to procurement events that could […]
Daniel Priestley recently highlighted something as important for business owners as telcos seeking out their next OSS or BSS solution: “If I said to you, go and build your dream house, the first thing you’d do is imagine the finished product. You’d drive around beautiful neighbourhoods, look at the ones you wish you lived in, […]
In the the last month or so 8 different carriers, from a variety of places around the planet, have reached out to us to discuss their ambitions for reaching AN Level 4. There’s clearly a major groundswell behind it. The thing about AN Level 4 is it sounds like a clear destination. But it doesn’t […]
