|
Operational and Business Support Systems (OSS/BSS) are required to support any significant
communications or e-business service if it is to be efficient, scalable and, above all,
profitable.
OSS/BSS cover all the areas of service management -
sales & order handling; provisioning & inventory; accounting, billing
& mediation; customer care & fault management; and configuration management &
service assurance.
OSS/BSS architecture is a key area of expertise for MorganDoyle, which is
backed by 15 years of experience extending from
hands-on detailed developments, through integrating sub-systems to architecting complete
systems for incumbent Telcos and new-age start-ups alike (see White Paper on
Mediation for Convergent Billing Systems,
for example). Specifically, MorganDoyle can:
 |
Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of your current
systems;
|
|
Propose a roadmap for non-intrusive improvements;
|
|
Select best of breed support system components and/or
integration of existing systems;
|
|
Undertake detailed analyses such as process definition,
information modelling and infrastructure component selection as described elsewhere in
this document;
|
|
Ensure conformance with ITIL best practices; or even
|
|
Architect a complete system for you from scratch.
|
The diagram shows the operational and business support systems required to deliver applications to an end customer
via a virtual service provider, and gives some idea of the complexity that underlies such systems integration.
Once you have committed capital expenditure to realise the service, an efficient OSS/BSS is
one of your most vital mechanisms for assuring a quality end-to-end service to your
customers and controlling running costs. Key business drivers include:
- Reducing time to market for introduction of new services;
- Maximising the number of "right first time" installations;
- Supporting the volumes defined in the business plan;
- Minimizing the lead time for service delivery to customers; and
- Delivering on your SLA.
In the Telco arena, OSS/BSS are dominated by large players who have carved out partially
overlapping territories for
themselves. The typical cost of an implementation for a new service provider can easily
run into tens of millions of pounds, the bulk of which will be spent on customisation. Indeed,
these systems have grown so big that it is doubtful that any individual has mastered all
aspects of them. Hence, we always advise entrusting this customisation to
specialists with expertise backed by a track record in a specific product.
In addition, incumbents do not have the luxury of starting from a clean sheet of
paper - they have existing, profitable services, often supported by piecemeal and
legacy systems. Merger and acquisition compound this. For these reasons, it is easy to
end up with islands of automation. There is no substitute for an overall architecture
and an independent design authority with no vested interest in any one of the components
if you want to realise your goal of seamless, integrated end-to-end processes. An
architecture will:
- Clearly define domains of responsibility, managerial as well as functional;
- Make all interfaces explicit with formal definitions;
- Map operational and business processes to supporting systems; and
- Be informed by a common information model.
|
