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Telecom Services

OSS/BSS: One World One Solution

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Voice&Data Bureau
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It is a converged world out there. And if not, it is fast happening. Look
around and you will see convergence all around. Mobile service operators are
providing landline services and vice versa. Voice and data convergence is no
more a pipe dream. Mobile operators like Reliance offers voice services and data
connectivity from the same mobile. SMS-based application are being increasingly
adopted by corporates to help their sales force work more efficiently. And for
the service provider CIOs, the madness is just beginning.

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Apart from 'efficient' management of fixed and wireless networks, he has
to assure service levels for customers and mediate usage data for billing
systems. And these are issues not only for mobile operators in India, CIO across
the globe share similar concern. These were the key concerns shared by CIOs from
the Asia Pacific region is the HP event held in Beijing, some time back.

As convergence becomes tightly knitted with mobile infrastructure, service providers are looking for solutions in which mobile services can be provisioned, monitored and properly billed

Source: HP

Until the end of 1980s, telecom and IT were distinct entities. Services were
limited and so were players. However, in 1990, as Internet gained favor, mobile
operators had to ensure that they look at providing a range of complex and
personalized services. Thus happened the big evolution in IT and Telecom. Both
these distinct entities started merging as service providers realized the need
and started fully leveraging the capabilities of wireline, wireless, IP and
broadband networks along with IT.

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A
Complete set of solutions
The HP offering: HP talks of providing
a complete, integrated, end-to end OSS/BSS solution. The solution is
comprised of three key elements:
  1. HP Services: The
    consulting services component offers a discrete set of
    workshops, including the Service Performance Assessment, which
    identifies business and implementation problems helping
    customers to reduce operational costs and improving
    profitability.

  2. HP ISM
    Integration Framework:     According to the company, this
    component is designed to maximize functionality and flexibility,
    reduce cost and risk, while minimizing time to deploy. The HP
    ISM framework is aligned with NGOSS and consists of a number of
    structured layers, Including business process and policy layer,
    shared information model, Service models, etc

  3. HP ISM Software: At the
    bottom is the HP ISM software-a broad suite of carrier-grade
    HP OpenView OSS Portfolio products along with partner products.
    The products include OpenView OSS Portfolio applications-Service
    Activator, TeMIP, Service Quality Manager, and Internet Usage
    Manager.

Since then, this has been a win-win situation for the SPs as they can offer
high-value services, drive additional revenue, and retain and attract customers.
Take a look at the desi Bharti Group. It started with landline and mobile
service separately, and with changing customer expectations, today it is
offering all the services as a package. And Bharti is not alone in this. Most of
the other SPs offer a complete range of services for the enterprises. And the
solution CIOs want, which was the key highlight of the event, is to increase
revenues, decrease costs, and deliver an outstanding total customer experience.
CIOs are looking at an end-to-end solution from the vendors.

With outsourcing, service providers no longer want to be attached to their
infrastructure as now services are at the center of all operational processes.
One of the companies which was discussed time and again in the event was Bharti.
Today Bharti is more of a marketing company as it has outsourced its IT
infrastructure to IBM and telecom infrastructure to Ericson.

Yograj Varma in
Beijing