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
Last year, we published a series of articles about the chasm that exists between OSS/BSS buyers and sellers. “The chasm” is best exemplified by the situation where: A buyer (eg network operator) desperately wants a new OSS to improve operational efficacy and every seller (eg a software vendor) desperately wants to sell their OSS to […]
In our “chasm” series of articles, we’ve talked about the gap that exists between OSS buyers (eg carriers or network operators) and OSS sellers (eg vendors, integrators, etc). The buyers desperately want new systems to improve their business operations and the sellers desperately want to sell the solutions they create. Why then the 18 month […]
“One of my favorite things about designing software is designing the defaults. The defaults define the experience for everyone out of the box. And, therefore, for most people in perpetuity. Convention over configuration rules the day. To me, everything it could possibly do is less interesting than what it does right now, factory fresh. At […]
Have you ever been tasked with mapping out the processes for the telco you work for? Either as a way of documenting current state, or just to perform a first-time mapping for your company? It can be a lengthy exercise, and based on the regular feedback we get, a daunting task too. There are some […]
In the last week alone, I’ve had two potent reminders that the world of OSS is simply (pun intended) too complex. This manifests in many ways, but I’ll start with the standards that underpin our industry. The standards bodies do fantastic work. I’m a huge fan. Enormous credit should go out to everyone who has […]
I’ve just finished reading the book, “Elon Musk,” by Walter Isaacson. It’s a fascinating study of a fascinating, and highly polarising engineer. Polarising, but also inspiring (inspiring what to avoid as much as inspiring what one could/should/can do). Musk’s biography cites example after example of his ability to think big, but also think very small […]
My “best” OSS build was my first. Unfortunately the client shut it down after just over 2 years. Why? We’ll get to that. What did I learn? We’ll get to that too. I shouldn’t say “my” OSS or “I built” because it was a massive effort from a very special team and I’m not trying […]
In case you hadn’t already picked up on it, today’s title paraphrases Austin Powers, the flamboyant British spy and comedic character created by Mike Myers. What does a fictional British spy have to do with today’s article on OSS RFPs? It’s a bit of a tenuous link, but let’s give it a go anyway. Did […]
Standing out in a highly saturated and fragmented OSS market can be really difficult. We’re regularly involved in bake-offs where we see dozens of OSS compared against each other. We’ve recently been involved in one with 10 making the short-list for further analysis. All 10 are the best in class (for this client’s unique needs […]
One of the things I love about my job is all the vendor demos I get to see. Product demos are one of the four important steps in the “inverted pyramid” vendor selection process we follow with our carrier and utility clients as we go about finding a best-fit new OSS and/or BSS solution for […]
Have you read the book, “The 4-hour work week” by Tim Ferris? It was one of those relatively rare books that inspired a complete mindset shift and new ways of working for me. It’s one of the many books that have nothing to do with OSS (at face value), but have so many learnings for […]
Over the years, we’ve been involved in many OSS procurement events and have seen a variety of different pricing models proposed by vendors. Being software, most vendors have quite a lot of pricing flexibility (others, not so much!). Naturally, pricing models can significantly influence a company’s decision to select one vendor over another so I’m […]
I was listening to a group of telco experts on a podcast the other day. As they were talking, I kept picturing the image of Eeyore – you know, the donkey from A.A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh” stories with an overly pessimistic outlook on life. Sources: https://getwallpapers.com The podcast was just soooo gloomy. Channeling Eeyore, I’ll paraphrase: […]
Earlier in the year, we wrote a series of articles about the chasm that exists between OSS/BSS buyers and sellers (pt1, pt2, pt3, pt4, pt5, pt6). “The chasm” is best exemplified by the situation where a buyer (eg carrier) desperately needs a new OSS and a seller (eg a software vendor) desperately wants to sell their OSS to the […]
Actually, maybe a few related questions. As you’ve seen from recent articles such as this, I’m increasingly interested in the cross-over worlds of comms and energy. They’re becoming increasingly linked, largely due to the current energy use of generative AI (I’ve seen estimates that GenAI searches consume around 10x the energy of equivalent traditional searches). […]
I’d like to share an idea with you. I think it’s a novel idea. However, I’m still trying to work through the possible pros / cons / feasibility of it, so I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. I’d also love to hear whether it actually is novel or whether you’ve seen something similar […]
An interesting paradox struck me just recently. Having written nearly 2,750 articles here on this blog, I can probably lay claim to being a writer. Having done well over 50 OSS-related projects since the first one in 2000, I can probably also claim to be an OSS architect and consultant (although impostor syndrome does make […]
Have you noticed that just a few people are writing about AI lately? No? None? Never seen an article about AI? Almost every article I read these days has strong undertones (or overtones) about AI. It’s almost as impossible to miss as when Sam Altman was abruptly ousted from his position by OpenAI’s board of […]
There are many reasons why it’s hard to get an OSS transformation project off the ground. One of those reasons, a big one, is the catch-22 situation that arises when setting the budget for a project. How much does an OSS cost? How long is a piece of string? Some carriers, especially the smaller telcos […]
Athletes from around the globe will soon be descending on Paris to compete for Olympic medals in a multitude of events. Olympic champions will be determined through a variety of performance attributes – skill, strength, endurance, speed and much more – with different attributes required for any given event. That made me wonder – What […]
