Page 456 - Handbook of Modern Telecommunications

Network Management and Administration 3-247

3.10.4.3 OSS/BSS Integration Functions
The OSS/BSS Integration area contains two distinct types of things. First, we have the definitions of the
business processes and policies that apply to the OSS, along with the definitions of the information that
needs to be shared across the different processes and applications. Second, we have the technology that
is required to support the integration and that is common across all the areas.

3.10.4.3.1 Business Processes and Policy
Since we want the business processes to drive the technology, and not the other way around, we clearly
need to capture the definition of the processes. This needs to be done whether or not the processes are
automated. By dealing with these up front, we can

• maintain separation between process and application, providing the flexibility to change one
without the other;
• have an easier understanding of the relationship between the OSS/BSS processes and other busi-
ness processes in the enterprise;
• model and simulate the processes, allowing for continual process improvement; and
• load the processes into process management engines for automation and monitoring.

In an analogous manner, we also need to understand the general business policies defined by the
enterprise in, and the specific policies defined for, the OSS; understand and model how high-level
policies are implemented through lower-level policies; and monitor the policies for compliance. While
policy-based management has been implemented in some specific areas, such controlling access to net-
work resources, the definition, management, and monitoring of policies in a structured and auditable
way is an emerging field. The Autonomic Communications Forum (ACF) is an industry and academia
group that, among other things, is working to understand this broader role for policies.
Finally, we need consistent information models for data that is common across processes or applica-
tions. As we will see later, common syntax and semantics are crucial for communication to take place.
By defining a consistent model based on specifications such as TMF’s Shared Information/Data Model
(SID) [GB922], information models can be easily extended and any process or application that needs to
use the information can easily understand it.

3.10.4.3.2 Integration Technology Layer
The integration technology layer provides the technology that enables common functionality and the
integration of the various OSS/BSS components. While some people may think that this would only be
a framework or middleware, much more is required here than those terms generally imply.
Operational support and readiness is the general set of functionality that supports the fulfillment,
assurance, and usage areas. Included here are functions such as workforce management, contract
management (which is needed for both customers and suppliers), and customer contact management
(allowing a common way to communicate with customers based on their preferences). Unlike the TMF,
which includes inventory as part of operational support and readiness, as discussed above, because of its
importance we split inventory into its own area: unified data management.
Unified data management is one of the most critical components of a successful NGOSS. In the IT
Infrastructure Library Version 3 (ITILv3), the IT industry has come to realize something that the OSS
industry has known for a while: a federated repository of the management information is the only way to
provide the necessary balance among completeness of information, access to information, and accuracy
of information while allowing the focus to move from technology to business outcomes. This move by
ITIL comes at an opportune time, allowing the network focus of traditional telecom inventory systems
to be enhanced with the application and services focus of IT Configuration Management Data Base
(CMDB) systems. By federating these together, it becomes possible to have a comprehensive view of the