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Network Management and Administration 3-243

understand the new IP/MPLS technologies and how the services are provisioned on top of them,
it also needs to make sure that the nondeterministic aspects of the network do not affect the cus-
tomers’ perceived service quality.
• Not only are the core networks converging, but the value-added services that are being introduced
rely heavily on a traditional IT infrastructure. This is driving a convergence between telecom and
IT. This introduces problems more fundamental than just needing the OSS to now manage IT
resources. The language and culture of the OSS world and the IT management world are not the
same; the NGOSS solution must be able to transcend the two domains.
• A specific difference between the telecom and IT worlds that needs highlighting is the difference
in process models. The telecom world tends to base its business process models on Enhanced
Telecom Operations Map (eTOM) from TMF since this was specifically defined with the telecom-
munications enterprise in mind, while the IT world tends to use the generic IT Infrastructure
Library (ITIL) approach.
• The distinction between fixed and mobile services is being erased as fixed–mobile convergence
takes hold. Not only can you no longer rely on a fixed service access point, the device the customer
is using and the capabilities it has may change during a session. The OSS is still responsible for
understanding the service levels delivered.
• The whole concept of differentiating OSS and BSS is disappearing, with many people already talk-
ing about B/OSS or even BOSS. To introduce further complexity, the new services are being built
using Service Delivery Platforms (SDP). The functionality provided by the SDP includes some
functionality that was traditionally considered the domain of the OSS or BSS. This drives the need
for the OSS to be able to tightly integrate with the SDP.
• The mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures trend continues. Since a justification for mergers and
acquisitions is reduced costs through consolidating systems, the impact for the OSS is clear: after a
merger or acquisition, the two separate systems will need to quickly converge and become one OSS.

3.10.3.2 Cost Reduction
While the OSS needs to step up to the task of managing this new converging world, it is also looked to as
a major contributor of required cost savings. All companies are under pressures to reduce expenses and
improve profitability. While telecommunications companies may have been an exception in the days of
telecom monopolies, this is no longer the case. The OSS needs to contribute to the cost reductions by
reducing the cost of the OSS itself as well as by reducing the ongoing operational costs.
Beyond contributing to cost reduction, the OSS is increasingly being looked to for improving profit-
ability. This needs to be achieved by making sure that the OSS has the necessary flexibility to allow new
services to be quickly introduced and reduce the order to bill delay.

3.10.3.3 Business Measures
In addition to understanding why we need an OSS, the business view also needs to consider how suc-
cess (of the OSS) will be measured. While each company will need to have its own specific measures
that reflect its unique business model, the measures need to be sufficiently broad to be able to provide
architectural guidance in properly balancing trade-offs. For example, there is a fundamental “balance
point” between operational spending and customer loss.
As part of its Business Benchmarking Service, the TeleManagement Forum has defined a Business
Metrics Framework (see [GB922] and [GB935]) that can provide the foundation for measurements that
can be used to indicate OSS success.

3.10.4 The Job of an OSS
Once we have a business view of a system and understand why it is needed, the next step is to look at the
functional view to understand what the system needs to do.