A fulfillment triage gap

The concept of triage is commonly used by OSS to ensure that the most urgent problems are assigned the highest attention by resolver groups in the assurance domain. Less common is the concept of triage in fulfillment domains. Interestingly though, I believe that the concept holds great merit to improve overall OSS efficiency bet it […]

Wireless tools

“If you’re already doing everything online on your smartphone anyway, why pay for home broadband service? That seems to be the conclusion of a growing number of Americans, particularly Millennials. According to the Pew Research Center, as charted here for us by Statista, the percentage of U.S. adults with home broadband has declined over the […]

Suck in the knowledge

OSS play a part in many activities within CSP environments. Some of those activities are common, some rare, and others still require a large dose of human decision interactions. However, most of those activities will have been done before, more or less. This should mean that OSS have seen it all before (more or less). […]

I want to design better OSS

“Good design is as little design as possible Less, but better – because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity.” Dieter Rams: ten principles for good design. I’ve recently had the opportunity to design some OSS user interfaces (UI) again. Our customer […]

The IoT Security threat

“There is currently no reliable method for IoT system security managers to detect and garner timely, dynamic, valid and comprehensive awareness of all components connected to and/or affecting their infrastructure.” Michael Cooney in his article, “DHS says IoT security vulnerabilities are critical and need to be addressed.” The link above provides fascinating reading from a […]

I need automations now!

“…our research suggests that as many as 45 percent of the activities individuals are paid to perform can be automated by adapting currently demonstrated technologies. In the United States, these activities represent about $2 trillion in annual wages. Although we often think of automation primarily affecting low-skill, low-wage roles, we discovered that even the highest-paid […]

OSS user interface designs

As someone who is afforded the privilege of seeing many OSS when evaluating vendors, it strikes me that most OSS are designed by Engineers. It seems to me that if a developer hits on a user interface (UI) that can perform the required function then that interface layout will do. After all, Engineers in the […]

The weakest link

What does your OSS mean to your business (or your customer’s business if you’re a vendor / installer)? In the upper echelons of the business, OSS are often seen as being a significant financial burden but a necessary evil, a means to an end (or any other negative cliché you’d like to throw in). But how do […]

10 ideas – New technologies needed

“Which 10 technologies do we need that haven’t been invented yet?” In no particular order: Automated checking and correlation of outside plant (and any other data source that doesn’t have programmable interfaces) Order to cash tools for customers of CSPs, not just for the CSPs in the usual use of this metric Knowledge transfer between […]

10 ideas – nascent technologies

“Which 10 nascent technologies will impact and be impacted by OSS in the future?” Cloud delivery and related services models that allow carriers to reduce their OSS CAPEX load and outsource aspects of operations. The other important aspect of cloud delivery is web-scaling of infrastructure for efficient, but resilient OSS platform architectures Network virtualization for […]

10 ideas – getting better

James Altucher’s Idea Machine concept will form the basis of a series of upcoming posts. An earlier post, “Just 10 ideas” posed 10 questions, one being “What are the 10 things that you’d like to get better at?” From that question, and each of the other questions, I’ll attempt to generate 10 ideas. So, the […]

OSS Olympics

Yesterday I posed 10 questions, including the following, “What should be the first 10 events scheduled at an OSS Olympics?” This is a concept I’ve pondered for years – who are the best of the best in the world of OSS? It’s a tough one to determine though because one operator may be brilliant on one […]

Another 10 ideas

In yesterday’s post, “Just 10 ideas“, I talked about James Altucher’s “Idea Machine,” of coming up with 10 ideas every day, regardless of whether they’re good or not. I took a slightly different twist on the concept and posed a series of 10 questions, which in turn will probably have at least 10 idea responses. […]

Just 10 ideas

“You can’t trust the old style of thinking anymore. You have to come up with a new way of thinking. A new way of having ideas. A new way of interacting with the outside universe.” James Altucher. I’m currently reading James Altucher’s latest book. It has nothing to do with OSS but it has a […]

How big is loT?

“With an ecosystem of more than 1,000 channel partners and revenue from its IoT and telematics solutions totaling $495 million year-to-date, Verizon is generating one of the largest amounts of revenue from the Internet of Things of any company in the U.S.” This issue of Pipeline. Noting that telcos have been offering telemetry services for […]

Aaargh! Transformation

“A need to differentiate products and services in the market is forcing greater specialisation. Specialist organisations that do one or two things well will naturally rely more on partnerships. At the same time, other companies have little time to both develop similar expertise internally and keep pace with technology-driven changes in their own industry or […]

Skating on thin ice

“Imagine that it’s Winter, you’re walking in the forest, and you see a frozen pond with a hundred people skating on it. Now, imagine walking past the same pond with nobody, or just one person skating on it. Would you be more likely to go skating on the pond in the first case or in […]

Strategic planning – boiling frogs

“The idea of ‘boiling frogs’ relates to the anecdotal frog that, in theory, doesn’t jump out of the pot if you raise the temperature very gradually and ends up being boiled alive. Apparently the latest biological research is that the frog actually would jump out, which is perhaps encouraging for him and for people trying […]

OSS product overhaul

“First, explore how to doubt everything you think you know, and remember that all your ideas, even the most successful, are hypotheses within you – and not set in stone. Challenge the boxes that determine how you perceive the world, and think creatively about how you’re defining the specific problems you’re hoping to solve.” Luc […]

Omnichannel

“Omnichannel describes a coordinated, consistent strategy for engaging and interacting with your customers, and potential customers. This can take place at any and every channel touchpoint in the customer journey as shown in the graphic. These channels can include: actual and online stores; kiosks; digital signage; broadcast, electronic and print media; email; gaming consoles; online […]