Software Revolution
techweb.com
by Tim Wilson
The Trend: Tools for billing, provisioning, customer care, inventory control, order entry and service design-previously developed on a service-by-service basis and operated separately by function-are now being integrated through cross-platform programming languages such as Java, common object-oriented databases and Web-based user interfaces.
Why It's Hot: Many service providers' new business models call for delivery of multiple services, including voice, high-speed data transport, Internet access, wireless services and more, in bundled offerings. The problem is that most providers have traditionally built separate operations support systems (OSSs) and billing systems for each service. Now they're looking at offerings from software vendors that provide packaged, bundled OSS systems capable of providing customer care and management for many different services. These vendors include Lucent Technologies Inc., an OSS maker that purchased billing system vendor Kenan Systems Corp. (Cambridge, Mass.) earlier this year. MetaSolv Software Inc. (Plano, Texas), a smaller software developer, is also in the mix. It provides turnkey integration solutions that can be tailored to fit a particular service bundle.
Service providers are also reevaluating their applications environments with an eye on moving toward off-the-shelf and standards-based software, such as Microsoft Corp.'s Windows NT, Java and common object request broker architecture (CORBA). This could make OSS components easier to implement and integrate as multiservice infrastructures evolve.
Next Gen: The greatest promise may come from the same thing that created the need for consolidation in the first place: Web technology. Java and XML provide a common language for linking OSS, billing and other administrative applications, but the Web browser offers a common interface for everyone, including the customers. Self-service trouble reporting, provisioning and customer network management capabilities are all likely to come through Internet and Web applications technology.
Heads Up: In the past, many service providers saw their home-grown OSS technology as a competitive advantage. But if they're buying technology off the shelf and relying heavily on standards such as Java and XML, their competitors could be doing the same thing. Service providers should expect to see OSS technology that comes in easy-to-implement packages but can also be easily tailored to specific bundled offerings or a multiservice business model.
Trendsetter: "Billing and customer care is always the last to get designed in, but it's a killer to the technology if done wrong. In many of the new IP-based services, no robust standards have emerged for billing 'thought processes.' Whoever gets it right first will have an advantage in Internet time." - Charles Ansley, president of the Communications Industry Group at Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS, Plano, Texas)
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