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
“What I’m suggesting is that we define services in a series of hierarchical modeling steps, with each step based on an intent model that offers a from-the-consumer-side abstraction of the service/feature being defined. For network services and features, we could assume the model had a standard structure, which defined FUNCTIONAL-PROPERTIES for the model, and INTERFACES […]
“I generally look at Google as a vast machine learning engine that’s been stuffed with data for a decade and a half. Everything that Google does is about reach for that underlying engine – reach to get data in and reach to surface it out. The legacy web search is just one expression of that, […]
“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 […]
“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 […]
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 […]
“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 […]
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 […]
“The CFO’s understanding of the balance sheet and what drives value, together with his or her growing influence in strategy setting and technology decisions, makes the CFO an ideal business partner and agent of change. CFOs that have this 360 degree view of technology enablement and processes will be uniquely placed to help the whole […]
“An awful lot of successful technology companies ended up being in a slightly different market than they started out in. Microsoft started with programming tools, but came out with an operating system. Oracle started doing contracts for the CIA. AOL started out as an online video gaming network.” Marc Andreessen. There’s a reason tech companies […]
“I’m sure I learned a great deal at University, and I can probably even recall an equation or two, but I will never forget Professor Collins’ 3 Principles of Engineering: 1. F = ma (The take-away is this: you can’t ignore physics) 2. You can’t push on a rope (You can’t ignore the reality of […]
“In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” Charles Darwin. An interesting thing happened when looking up the quote for this blog. The quote I was going to use was never actually spoken/written by Charles Darwin, even though it is perhaps the quote […]
“Braess’s paradox is a proposed explanation for why a seeming improvement to a road network can impede traffic through it. It was exposed in 1968 by mathematician Dietrich Braess who noticed that adding a road to a congested road traffic network could increase overall journey time, and has been used to explain incidences of improved […]
“The details are not the details. They make the design.” Charles Eames. Gaining consensus on an OSS document across multiple stakeholders can be a painful exercise. As we all know, each reviewer will have their own biases, agenda, preferences, etc. This is great when the reviews are picking up vital points, but can be detrimental […]
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” Henry Adams. Here on PAOSS, we’ve spoken before about the challenges of training (and retaining) a broadly talented, adaptable OSS workforce. Getting a resource up to productive speed on any given OSS requires an apprenticeship, not just a 2 day training course. But this […]
Today’s blog is all about you (actually they all have you in mind collectively, but this one encourages you to voice your specific obstacles to progress). In the world of OSS (or perhaps even beyond), what value can I add that goes beyond the generalities of a blog and will help you get what you […]
“Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn.” John Wesley. In the 1990’s and early 2000’s OSS were much more sexy than they are today. As such, they were easier to find funding for than they are today. Perhaps one reason for this is the imperceptible benefits that […]
“I demolish my bridges behind me – then there is no choice but forward.” Fridtjof Nansen. OSS are full of dilemmas aren’t they? We’ve spoken about many of them in the past haven’t we? Today we look at an interesting one in terms of product upgrades. For a vendor, their ideal situation is to have […]
“When you show deep empathy toward others, their defensive energy goes down, and positive energy replaces it. That’s when you can get more creative in solving problems.” Stephen Covey. OSS projects have been some of the most challenging projects I’ve worked on – with challenges of multiple layers coming at you from different attack angles. […]
“The second question to ask is: can existing assets be reused or recycled? In other words, can the investment be deferred? One of the most common claims used to support an investment case is that the investment is necessary because the network is congested. This is often correct; capacity upgrades are a fact of life […]
“Welcome those big, sticky, complicated problems. In them are your most powerful opportunities.” Ralph Marston. In previous blogs such as, “The marriage analogy” and “If people like you,” I’ve spoken about the perils of vendor lock-in. But today, I’ve decided to play out the polar opposite perspective for the purpose of curiosity. Please take a […]
