Page 400 - Handbook of Modern Telecommunications

Network Management and Administration 3-191

There are some overlaps and duplications among these databases. In advanced cases, a powerful ERP solu-
tion can embed inventory and workforce in addition to the traditional CFO-oriented modules. Although
these databases can be physically distributed, logically they must be connected and synchronized.
Oracle has purposefully put a multilayer telco suite together. The company has acquired several sup-
pliers with very strong point products and used the Fusion portfolio to connect these products with each
other. The suite is composed as follows (TURI08):
Application infrastructure: Hotsip (SIP and Web applications). HotSip is a provider of telecom-
munications infrastructure software and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)–enabled applications for IP
telephony, presence, messaging and conferencing on new converged networks. With the addition of
HotSip’s technology, Oracle will be better able to build on its leadership in middleware and in carrier-
grade communications infrastructures.
Service delivery: Net4Call (Software delivery and distribution). The acquisition of Net4Call, a lead-
ing provider of Parlay/OSA service delivery components for the telecommunications industry, supports
Oracle’s roadmap to a comprehensive, standards-based service delivery platform (SDP) for the telecom-
munications industry.
The acquisition, combined with Oracle SDP, will help communications service providers, network
operators, and system integrators to evolve current silo-based network investments into a service-oriented
architecture and shrink time and cost to deploy new services on existing and next-generation commu-
nications IP networks.
The new Oracle SDP also leverages service-oriented architecture to help customers shrink the time and
cost to deploy new voice data and integrated multimedia services on existing and next-generation com-
munication IP networks. Enterprises will be able to extend their communication infrastructures with the
Oracle SDP, providing a strong foundation for new voice over IP, mobile, and real-time applications.
The Oracle SDP will embrace the convergence of IT and network technologies to deliver a scal-
able platform with carrier-grade reliability, real-time performance, connectivity to traditional and
next-generation IP-based networks, and interfaces to operational and business support systems
(OSS/BSS).
Business Support Systems: Siebel-CRM, PeopleSoft-CRM, Portal (Billing, ERP, and Business
Intelligence).
Operations Support Systems: MetaSolv Software (Provisioning, Inventory, Activation).
Network Management: Netsure (physical and logical network management). By adding Netsure,
Oracle extends the Oracle Communications Application Product Suite to include business intelligence
and analytics for the network domain. Netsure’s solutions are product based, and support open stan-
dards. Netsure’s product capabilities combined with Oracle’s network inventory, provisioning, and
financial asset management applications, are expected to enable service providers to improve proactive
network planning, modeling, and optimization, reducing operational costs and increasing the utiliza-
tion and efficiency of both leased and owned network capacity.
In particular, the BSS/CRM layer is strong. The likelihood is very high that targeted Tier 1, Tier 2,
and Tier 3 telcos had used Siebel, PeopleSoft, and/or Portal products for CRM prior to the acquisitions
of these companies by Oracle. This suite is especially strong when combined with ERP capabilities and
business intelligence applications.
The addition of BEA will accelerate innovation by bringing together two companies with a common
vision of a modern service-oriented architecture (SOA) infrastructure. Together, Oracle and BEA will
provide a series of complementary and well-engineered middleware products, allowing customers to
more easily build, deploy, and manage applications in a secure environment.
The acquisition of Hyperion makes Oracle the category leader in the high-growth enterprise per-
formance management (EPM) market. Hyperion’s EPM software coupled with Oracle’s Business
Intelligence (BI) tools and analytic applications form an end-to-end performance management system
that includes planning, budgeting, consolidation, operational analytics, and compliance reporting.