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
I’ve recently been co-opted to lead the development of an “Inventory of the Future” transformation guide on behalf of TM Forum and thought you, the readers, might have some interesting feedback to contribute. I had previously prepared an “Inventory of the Future” discussion paper prior to being invited into the TMF discussions about a month […]
We’re excited to announce that we’ve just launched the eBook version of Mastering Your OSS. Click on the link above or here to read all about it.
I was reading an article by Chris Campbell that states, “In his book How to Rule the World, Brian J. Ford reveals the relationship between sophistication and complexity; what he calls “obscurantism.” In short, the more sophisticated the problem-solver, the more complex (and costly) the solution.“ Does that resonate with you in the world of OSS/BSS? Is […]
Our previous post talked about using the following frame of reference to think bigger about our OSS/BSS projects and their possibilities. It’s the multitudes of experts at Level 1 that get projects done and products released. All hail the doers!! As Rory Sutherland indicated in his book, Alchemy – The surprising power of ideas that […]
Do you know what it is that people like / love about your OSS/BSS?Why they buy it? Why they use it? What problem it solves? How it makes their life easier? If you do, how do you know?Do you speak with its users? Do you survey them? Do you spend time with them observing how […]
Back in the days when I first started using OSS/BSS software tools, there was no way any respectable telco was going to use open-source software (the other oss, for which I’ll use lower-case in this article) in their OSS/BSS stacks. The arguments were plenty, and if we’re being honest, probably had a strong element of […]
Last week we created an article that described how to use your OSS/BSS log data to generate reliable / quantifiable process flow diagrams. We’ve expanded upon this research to identify a reliable calculation of jeopardy metrics. Jeopardy Management is the method for notifying operators when an in-flight workflow (eg customer order, etc) is likely to […]
Have you been tasked with: Capturing as-is process flows (eg swim-lane charts or BPMN [Business Process Model and Notation] diagrams) Starting a new project where understanding the current state is important Finding ways to optimise day-to-day activities performed by your team Creating a baseline process to identify automation opportunities Comparing your current processes with recommendations […]
The video below, starring Martin Pittard, the Principal IT Architect at Vocus Group, provides a number of important OSS/BSS Transformation call-outs that we’ll dive into in this article. Vocus has embarked on a journey to significantly overhaul its OSS/BSS stack and has heavily leveraged TM Forum’s Open API suite to do so. One of the primary […]
We’re excited to announce the Launch of The Passionate About OSS Podcast. The first batch of five episodes can be found here, with new episodes to be released here on a weekly basis: The Passionate About OSS Podcast The aim of the show is to shine a light on the many brilliant people who work […]
Do you remember back in the old days of OSS/BSS releases into production? They were a little bit stressful…. especially for the Release Managers. I remember one Release Manager who used to set up the packages, type out the commands, then his hands would be poised above the keyboard, literally shaking. He would then position […]
We talked yesterday about the commoditisation of telco services and the part that OSS/BSS have to play in differentiation. We also talked about telcos retaining a few competitive advantages despite the share-of-wallet inroads made by OTT, software and cloud service providers recently. Managed services is one area where some of those advantages converge. Quite a […]
Since widespread deregulation of telecommunications globally, the passing of data has become a commodity. Perhaps it always was, but increased competition has steadily driven down dollar per bit. It’s likely to continue on that path too. Meanwhile the expected throughputs and consumption of data services is ramping ever-upwards, which requires investment in networks by their […]
Our Blue Book OSS/BSS Vendors Directory provides a list of over 400 vendors. That clearly states that it’s a highly fragmented market. This amount of fragmentation hurts the industry in many ways, including: Duplication – Let’s say 100 of the 400 vendors offer alarm / fault management capabilities. That means there are 100 teams duplicating […]
Introduction to eTOM Have you been tasked with designing process flows for a telecommunication network operator or setting up a business process management regime? Do these include end-to-end (E2E) processes that leverage one (or likely more) of your OSS/BSS tools along the journey? Perhaps you’ve even been tasked with setting a roadmap for OSS/BSS development […]
Have you noticed the recent up-tick in headlines around telco offerings by hyperscalers AWS, Google and Microsoft? Or the multi-cloud telco models, the middleware, supplied by VMware and Red Hat? Whilst previous generations of wireless connectivity have focussed on voice and data capabilities, 5G is architected to better enable consumer business models. Edge compute (both […]
One of the most vital, but underestimated aspect of OSS/BSS project implementation is ensuring momentum is maintained. These large and complex projects are prone to stagnating at different stages, which can introduce pressure onto the implementation team. As mentioned in yesterday’s post, the first in this week’s series, the test strategy and scheduling is regularly […]
As OSS Architects, we have an array of elegant frameworks to call upon when designing our transformational journeys – from current state to a target state architecture. For example, when providing data mapping, we have tools to prepare current and/or target-state data diagrams such as the following: Source here. These diagrams are really elegant and […]
Back in the old days, there was really only one OSS build model – via big milestone/functionality delivery. You followed a waterfall style delivery where you designed the end-solution up-front, then tried to build, test and handover to that design. The business value was delivered at the end of the project (or perhaps major phases […]
Wednesday’s post discussed how OPEX is forever, just like the slogan for diamonds. As discussed, some aspects of Operational Expenses are well known when kicking off a new OSS project (eg annual OSS license / support costs). Others can slip through the cracks – what I referred to as OPEX leakage (eg third-party software, […]
