The power of OSS/BSS integration

By Richard Pappalardo - VP Business Development, Enghouse Networks

The rapid growth of today’s data-centric mobile market is driving forward-looking operators to improve the user experience of their customers by taking a more integrated approach to their Operational Support Systems and Business Support Systems platforms. 

As the telecoms industry evolves, operators have begun to pursue integrated OSS/BSS solutions. These provide them with a real-time understanding and end-to-end visibility of their networks and associated services, enabling them to optimise networks and rapidly deliver new services, while enhancing service quality and customer experience. 
However, operators are not just in business to provide services to their customers, they also need to increase profitability and effectively manage revenue streams. Operators’ billing and charging functions need to ensure that customers pay correctly for the various services they have used in different locations, at different times, and with optimised interconnect agreements.

The more efficiently network and customer data can be represented in real-time, the more effective network planning and operations processes become. A service provider using an integrated OSS/BSS will have access to real time network events, combined with an accurate network model for highly automated service quality management and network resource planning. This not only improves profitability, but it also plays a large part in keeping customers satisfied. 

Transformation through OSS/BSS automation

The sheer scale and complexity of today’s multi-vendor networks and their service offerings is astonishing. The handling and processing of data that needs to be analysed and converted into business intelligence that improves customer satisfaction levels and business performance crosses the expanse of both OSS and BSS for operators. 

Five to ten years ago, network operations and engineering centers were manned by a large number of staff who used extensive manual processes to undertake network management and planning functions. Today, advanced software applications have enabled the automation of many of these processes and substantially reduced the number of staff required. 
This has resulted in organisational change, so staff now focus on the services delivered by the network. Network operations centres have evolved into service operations centres and this transformation has enabled service providers to become much more customer-centric, with free flow of service and customer information throughout the relevant departments of their companies. 
For example, customer care agents are now able to be fully informed of service issues, anticipate customer enquiries before they happen, and be armed with the right answers to ensure customer satisfaction and reduction in the propensity of customers to churn. In fact, the merger of real-time OSS/BSS intelligence enables network operators to be much more proactive in their customer care initiatives. 

Choosing a well-planned OSS-to-BSS integration strategy is worth serious consideration. Contemporary architectures can include: 

Expected benefits to be realized by service providers include:

About Enghouse Networks:

Enghouse Networks integrated OSS/BSS solutions enable a complete and highly automated approach for service providers, helping them to meet today’s business challenges through the implementation of agile and tailored solutions that focus on a customer-centric and inherently profitable approach to building their business.