Prop Up the Brittle Legs of OSS/BSS Systems

CSPs realize that to boost business they need to deploy new and better services, but every new service puts pressure on crumbling operation support systems (OSSs) and business support systems (BSSs). The solution is a "stepped" introduction of multi-industry IT integration standards. The J2EE platform application integration technologies exemplify this model. Such a solution would allow CSPs to retain old, telco-only systems while achieving greater agility with state-of-the-art IT.

Communications service providers (CSPs) looking to increase revenues in a brutal economy face a thorny problem: The only way to boost business is to deploy new and better services, which can increase income from current customers and attract new business at the same time. But every new service puts pressure on existing operation support systems (OSSs) and business support systems (BSSs), most of which are relics standing on brittle legs that may crumble at any moment. They should be replaced, but the cost of telco-only software is rising and it's difficult, not to mention pricey, to maintain homegrown solutions.

So what's a CSP to do?

According to "Backing the Right Horse," a telecommunications industry white paper by Peter Lambert, a well-known journalist who has been tracking and commenting on communications and computer trends since 1986, the answer may be for CSPs and independent software developers to adopt multi-industry IT integration standards.

Only One Entity Has 'Proven Ability'

The well-established OSS through Java Initiative — a group of leading hardware, software, and systems integrator vendors — is, writes Lambert, "the only entity with the proven ability to develop, test and publish a suite of inter-OSS application program interfaces."

Some in the telecommunications market say CSPs and vendors can't afford the spiraling costs of custom, telco-only OSS/BSS software development. The runaway costs and waning efficiencies of telecom support software are so serious that Xchange magazine recently published an article, entitled "Core No More," that proclaimed a gathering consensus that OSS development and integration should be outsourced.

"There is new recognition of the business value — even the survival value — of OSS/BSS among service provider executives," says Mark Basham, director of telecom OSS for RHK, a research and advisory services firm assisting telecommunications companies. But as carriers grow revenue, he says, "they don't want to see parallel operating and capital expenditure growth."

That is exactly what tends to happen, though. Many CSPs attribute half of their application introduction costs to in-house development of proprietary integration middleware, which scarfs up new revenue even before it's generated.

The solution is a "stepped" introduction of multi-industry IT integration standards. That, experts say, is the only course that can deliver the economies of scale afforded by off-the-shelf component architecture. The Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE platform) application integration technologies, already widely employed in IT shops across multiple industries, exemplify this model. Such a solution would allow CSPs to retain old, telco-only systems while achieving greater agility with state-of-the-art IT.

Agility Is Key

CSPs facing competitive pressure to develop differentiated services and shareholder pressure to show profit need all the agility they can get.

"It's quite clear to me that the financial success of telcos now depends on rigorous management of costs, both operational and capital, and that that principle must apply to OSS integration," says Phil Holmes, head of technical strategy and CTO for British Telecom's BTexact unit. "Reducing OSS integration costs can benefit telcos in two ways. The simple one is that they spend less on this activity. A more crucial advantage is that OSS integration projects can be postponed or canceled if they are overly expensive. If they are cheaper, the benefits in terms of reduced ongoing operating expenses can be achieved."

Among the most widely supported off-the-shelf enablers is the OSS/J Initiative, which has proved to be the only entity able to test and develop APIs that are available for free and are designed specifically for the telecom industry.

To ensure solutions that will work, OSS/J incorporates a Java Connector Architecture (JCA). In practice, says Paul Buckley, principal consultant in IBM Business Consulting Services, companies that want to integrate their legacy applications have two choices: build the integration themselves from scratch or download the relevant, freely available OSS/J reference implementation and test kit; add a JCA adapter to link to whichever proprietary technology they're using; and achieve integration.

"Broadband access is driving a groundswell of automation, because of new pressure to show real new revenues and profits," says Basham of RHK. "That is a pain point of opportunity for J2EE and an area in which the portability of Java technology can come into play for purposes such as self-service and availability of back-end data to front-end customer service reps."

In other words, solutions are out there for service providers — solutions that can save companies money and make the economic picture in these bleak times look much brighter

Additional Information:

Get the full story on OSS/BSS integration and the cost of relying on decaying legacy systems.

Read and download Peter Lambert's white paper on the OSS through Java Initiative. (PDF)

Discover the keys to successful, cost-effective OSS/BSS integration.

See why RHK recommends that carriers use OSS/J interfaces to cut costs and ease OSS integration.

Read why the Yankee Group says the OSS through Java Initiative is "crucial" for "all CSPs."