Addressing Critical Shifts in OSS/BSS to Support New Customer Strategies

In today's environment, global communications service providers (CSPs) are recognising that Operations and Business Support Systems (OSS/BSS) are fast becoming 'part-of-the-service,' rather than just the back-end support functions that have defined them in the past notes research firm, Frost & Sullivan.

To address the myriad of innovative offerings and personalized lifestyle services that can be provided today, CSPs are progressively moving away from silo-styled back-office operations to more effectively focus on the customer experience.

Business transformation is a mantra that is affecting almost every organization as the shift to customer centricity continues. Critical to this effort is the retooling, and often consolidation, of OSS/BSS along with significant change in internal processes to meet new business needs. For most operators, this requires substantial capital outlay, especially for BSS functions, and a focus on essential business needs while keeping pace with a growing customer base.

As CSPs grapple with the challenge of providing customers a seamless communications experience, managing the new requirements that govern the entire value-chain are essential for long-term success.

"It's no longer just about the network," says Karl Whitelock, Senior Consulting Analyst at Stratecast's OSS/BSS Global Competitive Strategies practice. "Operators must now be generous in addressing customer needs while being mindful of cost and time-to-market factors that make for an improved customer experience.

"Through the aid of technology evolution, with the network, with mobile user devices and with convergence of the media, entertainment and advertising markets, customers today have choices about their services, about who provides these services and about how much they will pay for them," he adds.

The communications industry has traditionally been technology-driven, but increasingly, the focus on customers is essential for addressing changing market demands. Service providers are retooling their systems and processes with partner support, to assist them in achieving service quality through a flexible service management environment (customer care, provisioning, billing and assurance) that not only allows for cost-optimization, but for faster and more effective ways of addressing customer expectations.

Posted to the site on 28th February 2008