“So if an OSS is the glue that allows a modern digital business to communicate, derive cross-department insights and deliver operational efficiencies, does having the “Operational” in OSS actually constrain our thinking into what our tools can actually be… MUST actually be?”
Friday’s PAOSS post.
So if the statement above is true, and we are to evangelise OSS as being able to add value beyond the operational teams, we need vastly greater functionality than if we continue to just service network operations groups. If we’re to be relevant to contact centres, CRM, sales, marketing, accounting, etc then we need cross-pollinate data. They’re not directly interested in the networks we manage (or those KPIs), but they will be interested in how the networks impact the KPIs that they’re measured against.
Okay, so we need more functionality, but as I regularly mention, we’re already too bloated with complexity and barely necessary functionality. Sounds like a dilemma, and yet it’s not… if we apply a different thinking approach.
Rather than trying to bake-in all the possible functionality the customer might need, it’s easier* to provide highly flexible solutions that have great customisation capabilities, without all the predefined insights. Omni-search is the most flexible solution I know of because it allows an operator to type, in readable form, what they are looking to find. The results may appear as lists, graphs, tables, text, etc if that is one of the functions made available.
Omni-search doesn’t restrict the user to knowing the format or sources of the data, just what they’re seeking to find.
This is something that I wanted to see years ago (take this blog as an example wish-list from 2.5 years ago), but search technologies are now starting to gain a foothold in OSS.
I’ll take a closer look at how this impacts the user experience tomorrow.
2 Responses
Hi Ryan
Nothing wrong with “operational” when properly defined and it’s made clear that the tool is there to support the business as a whole. I find “operational” is mistaken for “operations” and that’s where the problem lies.
Very valid point there Mark!
A question for all readers – Are marketing, sales, finance, etc all operational teams? To Mark’s point, they might not all be at genba but they do still contribute to the operation of their organisation.