DELIVERING END-TO-END SERVICES

IN A HYPER-CONNECTED WORLD

November 2015 | www.tmforum.org

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3www.tmforum.org INSIGHTS RESEARCH

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Page 4The big picture

Page 6Section 1Betting the business on digital services

Page 9Section 2Service providers speak: Why the Internet of Everything needs new business models

Page 15Section 3Shining the spotlight on business challenges

Page 20Section 4Navigating the operational roadblocks

Page 24Section 5Creating a global ecosystem

1Section 6Make it happen: Six strategies for delivering digital services – and a ready-to-go toolkit

Page 38Sponsored features

This report is free for all employees of TM Forum member organizations to download by registering on our website. To purchase this report, non-members should contact [email protected]

Report author:Nancee RuzickaPresident and Founder, ICT Intuition [email protected]

Senior Director, Editorial:Annie [email protected]

Managing Editor:Dawn [email protected]

Editor, Digital Content:Sarah [email protected]

Manager, Content Production:Paul [email protected]

Business Development Director, Research & Publications:Mark [email protected]

Director, Solutions Marketing: Charlotte [email protected]

Senior Director, Content:Aaron Richard Earl [email protected]

Advisors:Nik Willetts, Deputy CEO & Chief Digital Officer, TM ForumCraig Bachmann, Senior Director, Open Digital Program, TM ForumRebecca Sendel, Senior Director, Customer Centricity Program, TM Forum

Report Design:thePAGEDESIGN

Published by:TM Forum240 Headquarters PlazaEast Tower, 10th FloorMorristown, NJ 07960-6628USAwww.tmforum.orgPhone: +1 973-944-5100Fax: +1 973-944-5110

ISBN: 978-1-939303-88-2

DELIVERING END-TO-END SERVICES IN A HYPER-CONNECTED WORLD

4 www.tmforum.orgINSIGHTS RESEARCH


Welcome to TM Forum’s first-ever Insights Research report focusing on the delivery of end-to-end services in digital ecosystems made up of many partners.

There is a distinction to be made between modernization, which is necessary for any business to keep current, improve its products and grow revenue, and transformation, which is a once-in-a-generation fundamental change to the identity of the business.

By 2020 the digital world will consist of tens of billions of devices, with an unlimited variety of applications delivered over highly scalable, virtualized infrastructure using distributed intelligence.

The move from communications service provider to digital service provider is transformational, and the ability of all digital service providers to configure and deliver end-to-end services seamlessly to millions of users accessing billions of devices will determine future success.

Communications have evolved from convenience to necessity. For customers, there is no longer fixed or wireless, voice, data or video – only devices and applications. Televisions, handsets, vehicles, sensors and any variety of ‘things’ are the devices, while voice, text, video, banking, spreadsheets, payroll, supply chain and more are applications in the cloud. Connectivity is transparent, and delivering reliable digital services requires the seamless integration of multiple partners and technology suppliers worldwide.

This report examines the progress and challenges associated with delivery of complex digital services in the Internet of Everything (IoE). While many efforts are underway or under consideration, very few digital service providers have completed the heavy lifting required to establish the foundation for digital services, nor have they defined a global ecosystem strategy or developed the necessary relationships with partners. All-in-all the delivery of end-to-end digital services remains a work in progress, but one that is ripe for innovation.

Transforming in a hyper-connected world

No longer just nice to have

The big picture


We hope you enjoy the report and, most importantly, will find ways to use the concepts and recommendations detailed within. You can send your feedback to the TM Forum editorial team at [email protected].

Read this report to understand key issuesfor delivering end-to-end digital services

Read this report to understand:

What a digital service provider is.

Why the alternative business structures needed to sustain global ecosystems and partnerships are difficult to initiate and even more difficult to execute correctly.

What the most significant and difficult changes to the business and to operations will be for communications service providers transforming into digital service providers.

What the current state of play is in the IoE and the challenges associated with delivering the complex digital services required to make IoE successful for customers in any industry.

The role partners play in delivering IoE connectivity and how much progress has been made in developing partnerships.

Why security is so important.

What this means for you. What actions should you take now, and which tools will help you get there?



SECTION 1

Betting the business on digital servicesMany industries are reinventing themselves by connecting users, customers, locations and things to move their organizations forward. Transportation, shipping, energy, healthcare, retail, safety, government, financial services and other verticals are anxious to embrace the opportunity the Internet of Everything (IoE) presents. To do this, they need solutions for digital communication.

Network technology has crossed the threshold from being value-added to mission-critical in most businesses. Business domains, supply chains and distribution have become even more diverse and far flung. That leaves business leaders to answer an important question: “Do we continue to invest in the

infrastructure and skills necessary to build, operate and maintain the required global critical infrastructure, or do we rely on digital service providers, some of whom have been making these investments and innovations for more than 100 years?”

BUILD OR BUY?

Enterprises can build their own global infrastructure

buy digital services from vetted providersOR


Business as usual is almost impossible, given the number of products customers are demanding

For communications service providers, fundamental changes in infrastructure, competition and costs have always been the catalyst for restructuring the core business, but no change is more significant than the move to digital services.

Given the number of products that customers are demanding, the complexity of delivering and supporting each, combined with the need to ensure quality, ease-of-use and support, makes business-as-usual nearly impossible.

To that end, network operators are implementing business and technological changes to accommodate digital services business models.

Simultaneously organic, or native, digital service providers (companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and a fast-growing number of Internet of Things startups) are delivering services directly to end customers over existing communications networks.

The number of devices connected to the Internet is soaring, although how quickly depends largely on which forecasts you believe. See the infographic below for a sampling of the predictions some companies are making about the proliferation of connected devices.

Forecasts for revenue from connected devices are equally bullish, with companies like Machina Research1 predicting that between 2014 and 2024, a total of $1.3 trillion in Internet of Things (IoT) revenue will be available to companies that have sophisticated monetization capabilities, a big part of the total anticipated revenue opportunity of $4.3 trillion.

Conversely, Beecham Research2 believes these numbers to be “unrealistic” and “potentially damaging” to the industry.

A tale of two digital service providers

Hype or real opportunity?

“There is no doubt that the M2M and IoT markets are moving quickly and there are great new business opportunities, but with unrealistic predictions around the growth of connected devices, there is also the risk that companies will run out of time and money before they see a return on their investment. We know that today, excluding mobile phones and general purpose devices like tablets, there are significantly less than 1 billion connected devices worldwide… We need to get real here. The total GDP of the United States – the biggest national economy in the world – is currently 18 trillion dollars annually. To suggest that new revenue from IoT will approach even 10 percent of this over a five to 10 year period is unrealistic and unhelpful.”

Robin Duke-Woolley, CEO, Beecham Research

1http://inform.tmforum.org/strategic-programs-2/open-digital/2015/11/successful-monetization-of-the-internet-of-things-iot-a-1-3-trillion-opportunity/2http://inform.tmforum.org/strategic-programs-2/open-digital/2015/11/industry-urged-to-get-real-about-iot/

Predictions for number of connected devices by 2020

25 billion 30 billion 38.5 billion 50 billion 75 billion

http://inform.tmforum.org/strategic-programs-2/open-digital/2015/11/successful-monetization-of-the-internet-of-things-iot-a-1-3-trillion-opportunity/

http://inform.tmforum.org/strategic-programs-2/open-digital/2015/11/industry-urged-to-get-real-about-iot/

http://www.cisco.com

http://www.emc.com/en-us/index.htm?fromGlobalSelector

http://www.gartner.com/technology/home.jsp

http://www.morganstanley.com

http://www.juniperresearch.com/home



Many service providers recognize that their current operational mindset is closer to that of a utility than a retailer. Their business is not built to compete but rather to deliver ubiquity, consistency and quality. Every customer gets the same service the same way, and quality is universally high, regardless of cost. Changing that culture to one of tiered quality, service level agreements, product variety and one that accepts that “the customer is always right” in a competitive global marketplace is a lot to overcome.

We’ll discuss this more in the next sections, where we provide the detailed results of our research.

Despite the discrepancies in market projections, it’s clear there is a huge opportunity for both native digital service providers and communications service providers looking to become digital providers. The native providers have an advantage because their businesses are already software-defined and operating in the cloud. This means they can create and retire services rapidly, and increasingly they are controlling the relationship with the customer.

In an effort to compete more effectively, communications service providers are divesting the product business from the regulated infrastructure business. Structurally separating this new end-to-end services business from the core network infrastructure business, centralizing product management and aligning product development efforts across the business will improve time to market for new services, reduce costs and improve customer experience.

How to become a digital service provider

“Expanding expectations and rapid delivery, all while maintaining a long-term competitive cost structure in a perceived commodity industry, requires transformation. Growing threats from traditional, non-related industries present long-term challenges.”

North American communications service provider

of respondents to our survey are considering or completing the creation of a separate digital services business

82%


SECTION 2

Service providers speak: Why the Internet of Everything needs new business models

Details of how we conducted our primary research for this report and with whom

WHO?

40 SERVICE PROVIDERSWhile the majority of companies were telecommunications service providers, we also have included responses from enterprises that represent connected car, digital health, retail, social media and IT services.

HOW?

ONLINE SURVEY AND TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS

WHERE? TYPE OF SERVICE PROVIDER

Source: TM Forum, 2015

LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN EUROPE/RUSSIA

GLOBAL NORTH AMERICA

ASIA/PACIFICMIDDLE EAST/AFRICA

68% Telecommunications

20% IT

5% Online retail

3% Media & Social media

2% Connected car

2% Digital health



To describe their digital services organizations, respondents were asked to characterize them as one of four types:

n End-to-end digital service providers offer products that include devices, connectivity, content and support services (for example, TV programming, eBooks, supply chain management, home health monitoring, energy management, telematics), often delivered using partners and a retail ecosystem. Retail solutions can also include exposure of fulfillment, assurance and billing/settlements functionality for self-care and channel/partner support.

n Digital enablers offer integration of connectivity, infrastructure, hosting, content, applications, integration or professional services that enable others to become retailers of end-to-end digital services. This includes one or more components of an end-to-end digital service but cannot be sold as turn-key and requires components from partners.

How do you deliver services?

End-to-end digital service provider

n Digital suppliers provide components, bandwidth, rack space, collocation facilities, power, cooling, switches, security, operations, maintenance and data center infrastructure that are often accompanied by strict service level agreements, performance and quality requirements. Service providers that sell only bandwidth services (vLAN, carrier Ethernet) and data center or hosting facility operators are here defined as suppliers.

n Digital global alliance brokers maintain arrangements and negotiate settlements with global suppliers for access, connectivity, payment processing and physical presence in markets worldwide.

Digitalenabler

Digitalsupplier

Digital global alliance broker

47.5% 42.5% 25% 15%

TM Forum IoE survey respondents fall into four categories


Most service providers are starting with connected vehicles, homes and smart energy

The majority of survey respondents serve fewer than 5 million customers which is indicative of the market overall (see Figure 2-1). In addition, some of the largest network operators in the world, which are making great strides in delivering digital services, also provided their input. The individuals surveyed represent executives, marketing, technical and business leaders who are working to define, market, deliver and support end-to-end digital services for their retail and business customers.

As we outlined in Section 1, the IoE opportunity for digital service providers is potentially huge. We asked survey respondents which Internet of Things or machine-to-machine services they offer now and which they intend to offer in two years’ and five years’ time. The results are shown in Figure 2-2.

Service providers are prioritizing delivery of IoE services based on their specific customers, regions and expertise. For the early services including energy, connected home, smart city and digital health, the number of service providers delivering services to each sector now, versus two or five years from now, is evenly split. This indicates the varying priorities of providers.

While not all digital service providers are entering every market, most are starting with connected vehicles, connected home or smart energy. As with any product, digital services require a valid business case, quantifiable revenue opportunity and review of risk.

They are delaying going to market in areas like smart agriculture, telematics for insurance and wearables while they wait for demand to increase, the variety and cost of unique devices to drop, and/or the standardization of interfaces so that delivering services becomes less risky and costly.

Figure 2-1: Number of customers served


Smart energy

Connected home

Smart city

Digital health

Connected vehicle

Wearables

Insurance telematics

Smart agriculture

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Now Next 2 years Next 5 years

Sizing the service providers

Which smart services do you offer?

Figure 2-2: Deployment of IoE services


Waiting for a market

Fewer than 5 million 5 million to 25 million 25 million to 50 million 50 million to 100 million 100 million to

150 million More than 150 million

42.5%

25.0%

17.5%

2.5%

5.0%

7.5%

Making connections

NOW

Connected vehicles

LATER

Connected home

Smart energy

Smart agriculture

Telematics for insurance

Wearables



For communications service providers, offering digital services requires a change in operating processes, systems and likely even personnel. They need to shift from an approach that delivers the same service to every customer to a strategy that delivers a unique product to every customer.

The daily operation and management of the infrastructure, service and partner assets required to deliver thousands of unique digital services will become a continuous challenge to ensure quality of the service, product performance and customer satisfaction. Efficient operations and economies of scale dictate that standardized processes, applications, networks, data models and interfaces be adopted.

Customers are unique

Business priorities today include changes to organizations, processes, services, partner relationships and operations

Execution and optimization

Figure 2-3: Progress on execution and optimization


Business leaders are currently emphasizing the execution of their digital services strategies, and they are re-engineering processes and implementing back-office systems to support delivery of digital services. Our research shows that more than 80 percent of service providers are either considering or doing both (see Figure 2-3).

Process changes are especially risky for digital service providers since many have not focused on process in the past and are often ill prepared to engage in the type of overarching analysis and mapping required to define an entirely new process. Existing functions are so embedded in the culture and operations of their businesses that it becomes very

Done

In progress

Seriously considering

Considering

Not now

7.5%

Execution of digital services strategy Process re-engineering/optimization

7.5%

12.5%

22.5% 50.0%

7.7%10.3%

15.4%

23.1%

43.6%


Systems implement processes and incorrect processes prevent change

difficult to step out of the tactical world and suddenly become strategic. However, as leading digital service providers know, systems implement processes and if they get the processes wrong nothing will change.

AT&T recognizes this, which is why the company has embarked on a multi-year transformation3 of its operational and business support systems (OSS/BSS) to support network virtualization and the IoE. AT&T is using TM Forum’s Frameworx4 suite of tools and best practices (see page 29) along with some of its own frameworks and processes, to transform the entire software delivery lifecycle from service concept through to measuring customer experience.

Transformation at AT&T

“The goal is to provide reduced cycle time to the end customer with new market offerings. More than anything else, it’s about providing them features and services – fast. A lot of the work we’re doing internally is to automate provisioning, service assurance efforts, ticketing, fault detection. Those are all software IT projects. If we can do them faster, we can actually provide the end customer reduced cycle time for obtaining services from AT&T.”

Sorabh Saxena, Senior Vice President, Software Development and Engineering, AT&T Services

We asked survey respondents to indicate what kinds of business changes are underway to support new business models. The results are shown in Figure 2-4.

As we noted in Section 1, a large majority of communications service providers (82 percent) are either already separating or considering separating the expensive, regulated network business to compete with over-the-top (OTT) providers.

Companies with trusted brands can design, sell and bill for connected products, professional services, secure transaction processing and content, while remaining competitive with companies without expensive network infrastructure.

Out with the old

Figure 2-4: Changes to support new business models


3http://inform.tmforum.org/features-and-analysis/featured/2014/10/technology-transformation-att-sets-stage-virtualization/4https://www.tmforum.org/tm-forum-frameworx/

Align product development across internal & external assets

Centralize end-to-end product management

Create professional services groups

Create industry-specific sales and support groups

Create global partner strategy for industry-specific solutions

Create new business unit/structural separation

Create global partner strategy for support

Create global partner strategy for infrastructure

Create global partner strategy for content

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Not now Considering Seriously considering In progress Done

http://inform.tmforum.org/features-and-analysis/featured/2014/10/technology-transformation-att-sets-stage-virtualization/

https://www.tmforum.org/tm-forum-frameworx/



Transformation requires disconnecting online and automated order management, customer care, and support from specific silos of systems to enable management of relationships with global partners and suppliers.

Engaging with partners that provide infrastructure, content and support needs service providers to implement and optimize end-to-end processes for product development, order management, customer support, service delivery, billing, settlements and assurance. They must also make the on- and off-boarding processes simple and secure.

For example, nearly 45 percent of communications service providers we surveyed have already forged or are in the process of creating global infrastructure partnerships, and another 20 percent are seriously considering it. More than a quarter have also started building global partnerships for customer support and content, although close to 40 percent of respondents said they are not yet working on or considering content deals.

It takes two to tango

Delivering Internet of Everything (IoE) connectivity and complex digital services requires pre-integration of partners and applications. To that end, companies are taking steps in their local markets to align product development across their internal assets and those of their partners. Close to 60 percent of respondents said they have already or are working on aligning product development, while another 20 percent are seriously considering it.

Toward this end, service providers also are establishing professional services organizations and creating sales and support groups with the unique knowledge and skills required to target specific industries and customers.

B2B2X Step-by-step Partnering Guide5

Learn about the 5 stages of building and scaling partnerships

Pre-integration is required

5https://www.tmforum.org/open-digital-ecosystem-2/#b2b2x

Grab your partner

Most service providers are already creating or seriously considering global partnerships for

64% Infrastructure

57% Support

Content 51% While a majority of the service providers surveyed want to pursue centralized digital services business strategies and 30-40 percent are actively implementing changes, the data also shows that less than a quarter have actually completed their efforts. And when the discussion turns to global strategies for infrastructure, content and support partnerships, only 5 percent or fewer have defined those strategies and relationships. But the efforts are well underway and are starting to deliver some results.

We’ll examine the role of partnerships in more detail in Section 5.

Streamline for simplicity

aligning product development internally

50% establishing professional services

creating industry-specific sales and support

47.5%

57.5%

https://www.tmforum.org/open-digital-ecosystem-2/#b2b2x




SECTION 3

Shining the spotlight on business challenges

Native digital providers already operate in the cloud, and virtualization technology is now enabling network operators to evolve from traditional suppliers of separate, network-dependent services into cloud providers. But the transformation comes with significant challenges, most of which are business and operational roadblocks rather than technological.

We asked survey respondents to indicate the most significant business challenges they face in executing their strategies for defining and delivering end-to-end digital services. The results are shown in Figure 3-1.

Given that the majority of survey respondents are communications service providers, it’s not surprising that culture and mindset tops the list of challenges. In fact, only 10 percent of respondents said culture is not an issue.

It’s also not surprising that defining a digital services strategy is perceived as a challenge – nearly all respondents cited it as a significant or potential issue – since this is a new world for network operators.

Moving to cloud-based technologies and virtualization brings challenges, mostly operational and business

Figure 3–1: Business challenges in the Internet of Everything


Culture/mindset

Security/privacy

Standards (or lack of )

Cost

Process/organizational changes

Definition of digital services strategy

Regulatory

Organizational/cultural issues

Leadership and ongoing support

Availability of technology and support solutions

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Not an issue May be a concern Significant challenge



Number two among the challenges in our survey is security, which also is no surprise. The need to develop secure software and components becomes even more apparent with IoE and cloud, where multiple third-party providers work together to deliver mission-critical services.

Financial services, hospitality, and retail businesses are still the primary targets of data breaches because of their wealth of information and also due to their wide physical distribution. However as other industries begin to deploy connected devices across large geographies, there will be millions of new access points for hackers to exploit.

To address security, controls must be designed into components, devices, operations and applications. There are methods for including security in all these stages of development. However, go-to-market urgency and short-term cost savings often mean that security is overlooked until late in the day. This must change so that security is designed in from the ground up.

One key consideration is which traffic gets filtered. Most enterprises filter only the traffic coming into the organization, not outbound traffic. Yet if a remote device has been compromised and is being used to collect unauthorized data, it can be detected by monitoring outbound traffic and stopped. Millions of connected devices will have predictable traffic patterns, which should make anomalies easy to spot – so long as someone is looking.

Closely related to the issue of culture is leadership. When the economy is booming and revenues abound, leadership is less critical to the perceived success of a business. However, when a service provider is faced with a perfect storm of large and start-up competitors, exploding demand and a challenging economy, strong leadership is essential.

Some companies believe they already have the necessary leadership to transform to digital service providers, while others are bringing in new blood from other industries including retail.

For example, BT has tapped technology and business leadership from the finance and

Worries about security Security and privacy in the Internet of Everything

The importance of leadership and support

A recent TM Forum Catalyst project6 showed how to design security into a hybrid or virtualized environment

6http://inform.tmforum.org/features-and-analysis/featured/2015/06/catalyst-unified-api-enables-operators-to-offer-security-as-a-service/

Taking the lead

92.5%say security is a significant challenge or may be a concern

67.5%say leadership is a significant challenge or may be a concern

http://inform.tmforum.org/features-and-analysis/featured/2015/06/catalyst-unified-api-enables-operators-to-offer-security-as-a-service/

http://inform.tmforum.org/features-and-analysis/featured/2015/06/catalyst-unified-api-enables-operators-to-offer-security-as-a-service/


Each digital service provider will find its own way, but foundational efforts must come from leaders

manufacturing sectors, while T-Mobile USA hired a CIO who worked for retailers like Avon, Barnes & Noble and Chico’s.

Although each digital service provider will find its own way through the transformation minefield, there are long-term foundational efforts that must originate in the executive suite. Without strong leadership in these areas, the transition won’t be successful.

Investment and planning: The clearest indicator of commitment to transformation is the allocation of budget and definition of a strategic plan for change to every part of the business. As executives develop digital service strategies and set investment priorities, it is critical to communicate that change is coming and that everyone is obligated to make it happen.

Teaching the message: Communicating the intent, plan, successes, failures and progress is critical to changing the culture. Training that reinforces key strategies and intent is important, as is ‘practicing what you preach’. And any product or service innovation that is offered to customers should be used internally.

Relentless execution: Leadership has a tendency to lose focus once a major effort is underway and projects are being executed, but that’s when executives need to remain engaged. The CEO of a large North American digital service provider conducts monthly reviews of projects to ensure that each stays on track and delivers the intended customer and business benefits. On- and off-boarding partners will be a continuous challenge and one that digital service providers must continuously refine and manage.

In addition to concerns about culture and strategy, there are organizational challenges associated with the structuring of the business, as well as the processes

3 key leadership roles

and staffing required to develop innovative solutions and execute the sale and delivery of new digital services to a variety of customers.

Service providers, like every other business, are facing a shortage of critical skills as the demand for experienced developers, data scientists and engineers is increasing.

For companies venturing into adjacent and connected industries like automotive or healthcare, there is also a need for personnel with experience in those industries who understand the unique needs of the business and which services are valued at what price.

Lack of critical skills

The skill sets required to configure, operate and maintain existing products and infrastructure are very different from what is required to deliver complex digital services. Automation is essential to reduce costs, ensure accuracy and improve time to market.

Alternatively, outsourcing of legacy infrastructure or product management might better control the costs associated with operating and maintaining legacy products. However, demand for the highly skilled engineering, IT, operations and support personnel required to deliver transformation remains unsatisfied and is cited as a significant risk by nearly half of the digital service provider executives included in this research.

“Culture, skill set and a willingness to work on each are the major challenges that face our industry.”

Asian communications service provider

Staffing and skills shortages are an issue for IoE

87.5%say the shortage of skills is a significant challenge or may be a concern



While digital service providers spend a lot of time and money to support the volume of traffic, devices, users, data and applications in today’s networks, the explosion in mobile data only hints at the problems that will be magnified by virtualization and the IoE.

Tons of transactions: Service providers already handle trillions of transactions and millions of health and status events from network elements, IT elements, customer devices, services, applications and users. In ten years, the number of IoE devices is estimated to be ten times the number of existing mobile devices, which means the volume of data, number of connections and operational events increase by orders of magnitude.

Not just the network: To support the IoE, OSS/BSS also has to scale – not only to manage hundreds of thousands of subscribers but also to accommodate hundreds of unique service instantiations. When millions of end-point devices, servers, storage and applications are added that must be delivered in a secure multi-tenant fashion, scale and complexity are multiplied.

Deliver the data: In the IoE, data will be collected and delivered to a wide variety of applications that can make use of it. There will be many variables associated with delivering data for each customer, including collection frequency, volume, storage, parsing and correlation. Policies will have to be applied to dynamically direct when data is collected, how often and where it is sent.

Signs of things to come

Big changes to operations

Nobody rides for free: Each participating provider, partner and business will want to be paid. The challenges that exist around accurately collecting transaction data, billing multiple parties, reconciling payments to numerous providers, revenue assurance and fraud are monumental. Existing OSS/BSS are rapidly being replaced and upgraded to add flexibility, but not all solutions will be capable of meeting the demands of multi-tenant digital services across various industry verticals.

We’ll look at operational challenges in more detail in the next section.

Volume equals complexity, and digital service providers are managing more connections, more transactions and more users across a larger variety of networks than ever before. This translates to rapidly rising costs when it comes to support calls, training, maintenance and operations – costs that could quickly outpace any revenue gains.

Manage your money

Escalating costs associatated with IoE

92.5%say the escalating cost of delivering digital services is a significant challenge or may be a concern

KG


Ensure capital expenditure contributes to the success of the digital services strategy

Willingness to invest in transformation and ensure that each capital expenditure contributes to the digital services strategy is critical for demonstrating commitment and ensuring success. Executive oversight is required to maintain the vision of transformation and reinforce the desired corporate culture.

To reduce operational costs – and to meet the demand for connectivity in the IoE – automation must become the norm. This is something native digital providers like Microsoft already understand.

“Extreme automation is required. In 5G, there’s no way we can do this unless everything is completely automated – everything has to be software defined… When you’re operating at hyperscale, there is no choice.”

Eric Troup, Chief Technical Officer, Worldwide Communications and Media Industries, Microsoft

To read an interview with Troup about the Operations Center of the Future, visit TM Forum Inform7

Finally, the availability of virtualized network functions and standards-based OSS/BSS solutions capable of supporting the rapid creation and retirement of digital services is also a concern for service providers. In fact, the lack of standards, which we will discuss in more detail in Section 5, ranked third among challenges in our survey.

The right tools for the job

7http://inform.tmforum.org/strategic-programs-2/customer-centricity/2015/10/microsofts-eric-troup-automation-is-crucial-in-the-opcf/8https://www.tmforum.org/strategic-program/apis/

Availability of technology & support solutions for IoE

Today, many suppliers’ solutions remain proprietary or rely on legacy processes and silos. And while OSS/BSS vendors are making strides toward implementation of open interfaces and standardized platforms, too much variety still exists.

Cloud platforms are proprietary to each vendor and do not interoperate. Multiple mobile operating systems cannot seamlessly share data and proprietary versions of application interfaces are everywhere.

Data collected from IoE devices is ideally intended for use by multiple applications and business units, which also means that interfaces must be open, available and secure across the user’s organization, not just the digital service provider.

API Zone8

TM Forum offers 10 open, REST-based APIs (with 11 more under development) to manage services end to end and throughout their lifecycle in a multi-partner environment

82%say availability of technology and support solutions is a significant challenge or may be a concern

http://inform.tmforum.org/strategic-programs-2/customer-centricity/2015/10/microsofts-eric-troup-automation-is-crucial-in-the-opcf/

http://inform.tmforum.org/strategic-programs-2/customer-centricity/2015/10/microsofts-eric-troup-automation-is-crucial-in-the-opcf/

https://www.tmforum.org/strategic-program/apis/



SECTION 4

Navigating the operational roadblocks

Many operational challenges threaten to derail the emerging Internet of Everything (IoE). From defining services to delivering and supporting services unique to multiple industries, the integration and interoperability challenges that service providers have been working around or avoiding for years are exposed.

Defining and delivering end-to-end services for IoE require process efficiencies and automation that enable:

n first-use provisioning; n over-the-air software updates; n seamless network handoffs between operators; andn interoperability from the device to the cloud

then the network, and back again, regardless of infrastructure.

We asked survey respondents to indicate the most significant operational challenges they face in executing their strategies for end-to-end digital services. The results are shown in Figure 4-1.

Figure 4-1: Most significant operational challenges for IoE


Security management and assurance

Definition of digital services technology strategy

Product/service definition & management

Partner ecosystem management

Cost

Customer care

Billing/revenue assurance

Product/service delivery

Product/service assurance

Sales/marketing

Virtualization

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%



It is not surprising that security, the number-two business challenge (see page 16), ranks as the top operational challenge. Partnerships bring a great deal of added complexity to security and privacy, and it’s clear that for the foreseeable future figuring out how to ensure both end to end operationally and how to deal with breaches contractually will be focuses for digital service providers. We’ll discuss this more in the next section on partnerships.

Defining a digital services technology strategy also ranks high as an operational challenge. Close to half the respondents cite it as a significant challenge and another 40 percent saying it may be a concern.

Delivering turn-key, end-to-end IoE services requires the implementation of a centralized, data-driven architecture which relies on integrating the component-based catalog and automated fulfillment.

Creating operational efficiencies needs operational and business support system (OSS/BSS) functionality to bridge the gaps between existing systems, new virtualized solutions and partners’ platforms to deliver end-to-end services.

In the end, it’s all about automation and creating a single view of the customer and services across the business.

Service definition is a significant challenge or concern for almost 83 percent of respondents, but there are steps service providers can take to address this issue, from creating consistent views of subscribers to tracking the progress of orders.

IoE services demand a centralized, data-driven architecture, reliant on integrated catalog and automated fulfillment

Developing a technology strategy

Defining a technology strategy for digital services

Instant help with managing NFVTo learn more about what it takes to deliver end-to-end services in virtualized and hybrid networks, see our Extra Insights primer NFV: Can it be managed? 9

9https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/nfv-can-it-be-managed-blueprint-for-end-to-end-management/

Defining and delivering digital services

1. Create a consistent, horizontal view of the subscriber across customer relationship management, infrastructure and OSS/BSS

2. Reduce the time it takes to define a new offer, including mapping and testing, by implementing a data-driven, rather than process-driven, strategy

3. Give customers the flexibility to customize offers using self-care

4. Apply rules, policies and thresholds to ensure the accuracy of orders and reduce fallout levels across all order and fulfillment channels

5. Track the progress of the order through fulfillment, activation and initial use

5 ways to improve the development of digital services

85%say defining a technology strategy for digital services is a significant challenge or may be a concern

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/nfv-can-it-be-managed-blueprint-for-end-to-end-management/



Virtually speaking

Interestingly, virtualization does not present nearly as big a challenge as service delivery for respondents. This may imply that virtualized functions have been isolated from existing operating processes, which does not bode well for defining and delivering end-to-end digital services at scale.

Alternatively, it may be that the integration of virtualized functions into existing networks and services is not underway or that virtual functions have not been activated to an extent that it affects operations. In either case it is important to integrate virtualization with existing solutions and operations platforms under a single management umbrella to enable end-to-end service delivery.

Customer-facing functions are also proving problematic as support personnel need specialized industry knowledge and training to support critical business customers. Likewise, service level agreements (SLAs) for connected applications and infrastructure become much more stringent and the penalties much more severe.

You need a planFor more about how service provider plan to develop a single management umbrella, see our Extra Insights primer Building the Operations Center of the Future10

10https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/building-the-digital-operations-center-of-the-future/

Quality is the top task

65%percent say virtualization is as a significant challenge or concern,

Only

90%

95% say service delivery is

while

of survey respondents say service assurance is either a significant challenge or concern,

Close to

79% percent cite customer care as a challenge or concern

and

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/building-the-digital-operations-center-of-the-future/




Even though Internet of Things (IoT) devices typically use the mobile network, unlike mobile phones, dongles and tablets, the devices themselves may not move. As mobile networks are not as reliable as fixed networks, this creates a challenge. For example, a sensor on a storm sewer pump cannot go around the corner to get a better signal in bad weather.

Digital service providers must deliver SLAs to ensure reliable connectivity and diversity for critical devices under adverse operating conditions, which might mean hard-wired access. The more stringent the SLA, the more expensive for the business – but losing contact with a critical sensor during an emergency would be infinitely more costly.

Providing guaranteed availability is difficult and expensive, but is something that enterprise customers are willing to pay for, based on the value of the asset, and the importance of its safety and security.

How to get better performanceFind out more about how service providers plan to ensure quality in virtualized and hybrid networks in our Quick Insights report Virtualization: How to manage performance11

IoT devices present challenges for service providers when it comes to ensuring service level agreements

If digital service providers are to implement the increasingly complex processes and automation required to deliver advanced digital services, a new layer of expertise and staffing is required to support customers. Customers like self-care, but the self-care portals have to empower customers to achieve their goals, rather than just display billing information.

A collection of apps to monitor home security or remote systems isn’t enough either. At some point customers want a consolidated view of their services and apps, regardless of provider or partner.

If digital service providers are to implement the complex processes and automation required to deliver advanced services, a new layer of expertise and staffing is required11https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/virtualization-how-to-manage-performance/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/virtualization-how-to-manage-performance/




SECTION 5

Creating a global ecosystem

From the smallest to the largest, digital service providers recognize that they need ecosystems of partners and a wide variety of business models to deliver competitive services efficiently and profitably.

Simply put, digital service providers cannot do this alone. The complexity and overhead associated with owning the network, building the services and supporting customers is too much for any one company, but suppliers, enablers and retailers can partner to expand and become stronger businesses.

We asked survey respondents about the role partnerships play in their strategies (see Figure 5-1).

As systems are upgraded, modified or replaced, service providers believe they will be in a better position to work with partners over the next two years, and that partners’ roles will become more

Figure 5-1: Role of partners now and in the future

Source: TM Forum 2015

Partners will play a substantial role

Partners will play a primary and critical role

Partners will play a minor or ad hoc role

Partners will play no role

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Now Next 2 years Next 5 years


51% say partnerships will play a minor role or no role in five years

substantial. There is a shift at the five-year mark, however, that seems to indicate a possible move away from partnerships.

Possible reasons for reducing reliance on partnerships in the future could include:

n Differentiation – digital service providers may initially go to market with partners but intend to acquire or make exclusive arrangements with those who provide popular or revenue-generating services and differentiation.

n Specialization – digital service providers cannot be all things to all customers. As Internet of Everything (IoE) customers demand higher and higher levels of integration and complex features, service providers may need to focus on a specific industries or sectors to deliver desired levels of service.

n Security – always at the top of the list of concerns, security to many digital service providers means closing the door to partners once the desired application, feature or functionality can be brought in-house.

n Standardization – as standards for interfaces and data structures are put in place either intentionally or by default, there will be a natural consolidation and fewer partners to consider.

n Cloud and platform strategies – digital service providers and partners are defining cloud and platform strategies to make interfaces and interactions with partners more transparent. As with standardization, the end result will be fewer unique partnering arrangements.

n Inability to predict – so many changes are underway at once, resulting in acquisitions, divestitures, mergers and other business and operational challenges, that predicting what will happen in five years may simply be too difficult.

We asked respondents whether they have defined an ecosystem platform for global partnerships and developed the necessary integration standards. Less than 9 percent have done so, but most are working on it (see Figure 5-2).

Developing the ecosystem platform

Figure 5-2: Progress on defining platforms and standards for global ecosystems


Yes

Working on it

No

60.0%

8.6%

31.4%

More than one third of companies surveyed are working to deliver a partner-friendly environment; more than half are developing partner channels for sales, shipping, delivery and support. Overall, a majority have either completed or are in the process of completing much of the foundational work to transform their businesses from that of communication service provider to digital service provider.

Digital service providers cannot build entire ecosystems on their own – they need partners



67.5% Organizational restructuring/organizational changes

59% Operational leadership changes

55.3% Implementation of virtualized environments

57% Digital service strategy execution

51.3% Product development emphasis

57.5% Talent and skills development/acquisition

59% Implementation of back office to deliver digital services

How respondents are building the foundation for digital services

It won’t be easy

In the near term digital service providers must establish alliances that enable them to deliver seamless global services, much like airlines have created global alliances to help passengers travel wherever they want to go under one umbrella. But doing so isn’t easy.

Operators that own networks are regulated by the countries where they operate and/or are restricted to regions where they are licensed. Each faces considerable regulatory and legal restrictions, which creates a minimum requirement for infrastructure partners.

Some IoE services are based on GSM networks while others use CDMA. Widespread LTE or Wi-Fi infrastructure might help overcome those differences, but many offerings will rely on older, widely deployed 3G and even 2G networks. Upgrading them will need massive investment. In addition, devices or sensors on the move – such as on trucks, containers and packages – will involve network handoffs to stay connected. Some companies could deliver a global virtual private network, but they too would have to rely on multiple networks run by many partners.

Some companies could deliver a global virtual private network, but they too would have to rely on multiple networks run by many partners


When asked specifically about partnership challenges, security unsurprisingly tops the list again (see Figure 5-3). Beyond that, however, are the practical and tactical challenges associated with finding the right partners and integrating them into operational processes.

There are instances where service providers are trying to delay the introduction of partners. This is not because of competitive concerns: The biggest obstacle for digital service providers is that current business processes, practices and systems cannot meet the dynamic requirements of on-boarding partners, product and order management, settlements, assurance and security.

Service providers are used to contract management, but moving from contract to settlements is a different story. Adding partners to the product development process and including third-party components in the product catalog is difficult if the catalog is not open or flexible enough to accommodate a wide variety of complex elements, rules and workflow.

On the customer-facing side of the business, partners need payment without introducing opportunities for fraud or security breaches. Also, partners’ products or components must be included in the product catalog, sales and care processes.

If a customer is having a problem with a partner’s component, the service provider still has to take the call, find the problem and fix it. That puts additional pressure on customer relationship management (CRM) and care systems, and on the training and supervision of support personnel – all of which raises costs.

Transforming processes

Respondents see integration issues as a significant challenge or concern

For product catalogs

For billing and settlement systems

For CRM

86%97%94%

There are instances where service providers are trying to delay the introduction of partners

Highlighting the difficulties Figure 5-3: Challenges for partners


Security

Identifying the right partners

Integration into billing, settlements and revenue assurance

Integration into service delivery and fulfillment

Integration into CRM, sales and customer care

Integration into product development and product catalog

Contract management

Performance management

Interoperability with existing infrastructure

Cost

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%




n Provide open interfaces for rapid network, IT and OSS/BSS integration

n Offer fair pricing and automated demand management to monetize capacity

n Ensure security as user information is shared globally and the number of mobile financial and business transactions explodes

n Support standards that encourage network sharing, spectrum availability and global alliances

4 ways to be a better partner for digital services

Operating physical, virtual, cloud and partner components securely across geographies and systems is a task service providers are just starting to understand

Implementing a component-based environment in which to create products enables digital service providers to independently model products, connectivity and even changes. By using pre-defined components, processes, rules and workflows, products are consistently defined and delivered across the business, regardless of the underlying systems or partners.

On the activation side, by basing the automation of the fulfillment workflow on defined product components greatly reduces the time needed to deliver a new product or service.

Even once a partner’s product is included in the catalog and integrated into a service offering, there is no guarantee that it will work with existing infrastructure, service delivery or fulfillment processes and systems. As CRM, sales, order and offer management are aligned with partners and providers, the bottleneck moves to fulfillment.

Activating and operating physical, virtual, cloud and partner components securely across geographies and systems is another daunting task, which digital service providers are only beginning to understand.

Many potential partners do not have the IT staff and/or in-house expertise to put a partnership with a digital service provider in place. Certifications and testing must be performed once the necessary interfaces and integrations have been completed. And, once completed, every change or update to applications or infrastructure elements must be verified with regression testing. This typically results in modifications to partners’ software or systems.

To make partnerships profitable using virtualized infrastructure to deliver complex digital services, digital service providers need an end-to-end strategy, architecture and operational processes. There is no shortage of technology; proper implementation of the right technology is what will make all the difference.

From components to fulfillment

Ensuring services end to end


As we discussed in Section 4, there are big operational challenges associated with delivering digital services, and partnerships magnify them. Close to half the respondents to our survey are in the process of implementing the necessary OSS/BSS platforms to handle services delivered through partnerships (see Figure 5-4).

A horizontal OSS/BSS architecture that abstracts infrastructure from services, services from customers and customers from products creates a more open environment for partners. A layered approach that is vertically integrated will deliver timely and consistent information throughout the business and implement end-to-end processes while enabling automation across service areas and silos.

For all their efforts, service providers recognize that OSS/BSS transformation cannot and will not occur overnight. Billions have been spent on existing systems, and critical data is scattered throughout the business. Orchestration layers abstract functionality from systems and infrastructure while enabling digital service providers to leverage existing infrastructure, OSS/BSS solutions and data.

In addition, development of global ecosystems for delivering digital services may well be delayed while providers identify industry and corporate standards for IT and OSS/BSS solutions which can be consistently applied worldwide.

Best-of-breed deployments are giving way to global platform standards and ecosystem solutions that enable digital service providers to specify infrastructure, system and integration standards that ensure consistency and interoperability. However, those solutions are not imminent and agreement on global standards is even further behind.

In the interim, digital service providers must rely on solutions that accommodate existing processes, systems and data while providing the additional capabilities foe delivering reliable and secure digital services anywhere in the world.

Billions have been spent on OSS/BSS and critical data is scattered across the business

Preparing the back office

Standards need work

92.5% say lack of standards is a significant challenge or may be a concern

Figure 5-4: Implementation of OSS/BSS for digital services

Source: TM Forum 2015

Done In progress Seriously considering Considering Not now

48.7%

5.1%

15.4%

20.5%

10.3%



You’re not aloneFor more details about the Forum’s vision for the digital ecosystem including a look at Catalyst projects addressing the challenges, see our Extra Insights publication Collaborate to Innovate12

Figure 5-5: TM Forum’s vision for partnering


TM FO

RUM

DIG

ITAL B

AC

KPLAN

E

DEVICE

STORE

COMPUTE NETWORK

12https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/collaborate-to-innovate-a-universal-approach-to-winning-in-the-digital-world/

How to ensure provisioning or settlements across multiple providers’ networks and partners’ systems is far from certain. The number and variety of systems and interfaces in use makes rapid activation, billing, revenue assurance and automation of global end-to-end operating processes extremely difficult.

Fundamental problems include:

n defining and implementing common infrastructure, n virtualization, n application and service element interfaces,andn common data models and common operating

procedures across the business and aligned with partners.

By consolidating OSS/BSS, participating in standards bodies and insisting on implementation of specific transformational processes as part of OSS/BSS procurements, they will be able to ensure that OSS/BSS, IT, infrastructure and integration system suppliers deliver operational solutions that meet service providers’ requirements.

TM Forum has defined a vision for how best to represent the necessary elements of an open digital ecosystem and enable definition and implementation of a global digital services strategy (see Figure 5-5).

The service realization layer at the top represents where services are delivered to and experienced by customers.

The middle layer is the services platform and can be seen as an extension of the platform as a service, cloud-based model that is sold as a service to other businesses to enable them to offer their own services to customers. This layer ultimately shapes the digital ecosystem as it affects what partners can offer.

The bottom layer comprises infrastructure providers

that deliver and support compute, storage, network resources and devices. Those involved in the infrastructure layer are facing the biggest technological and organizational upheaval in a generation in the form of virtualization.

Some elements of this proposed architecture for the digital ecosystem run across all three of the layers forming a ‘backplane’. These backplane functions contribute the foundational assets, models and definitions that allow ecosystem partners to interact in a standardized way, enable scale, deliver a common view across the processes and simplify integration.

The qualities that service providers have built into the network – scalability, reliability, availability, performance and quality – must now be built into the IT infrastructure, applications, customer portals, care centers, retail outlets and devices that are the foundation for IoE partnerships and a connected economy.

A starting point

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/collaborate-to-innovate-a-universal-approach-to-winning-in-the-digital-world/



Separate digital service offerings from expensive,regulated network construction and operations

SECTION 6

Make it happen: Six strategies for delivering digital services – and a ready-to-go toolkitIn the burgeoning Internet of Everything (IoE), digital service providers of all kinds must develop partnerships to deliver the complex services customers are demanding. No single company can do it alone.

Communications service providers in particular face numerous and difficult challenges as they transform their companies to compete in a hyper-connected world. They are faced with changing their culture and business processes, all while managing costs, complying with regulations and turning a profit.

Following are six key takeaways from this report that will help digital service providers succeed in an increasingly connected and competitive world.

Over-the-top providers like Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft have built very successful businesses without operating networks of their own.

Communications service providers need to follow their lead and separate digital services offerings from expensive, regulated network construction and operations. This will allow them to compete around products rather than bandwidth, coverage or speed.

The result is that companies with trusted brands can design, sell and bill for connected products, professional services, secure transaction processing and content while remaining competitive with

1. Go over the top



companies that are not encumbered by expensive network infrastructure. Separation of regulated network infrastructure encourages infrastructure deployment because the amount of capacity deployed will be based on demand, rather than competition, and suppliers will be rewarded equally.

We’re all consumers and the concept of becoming a retailer is not foreign to individuals, millions of whom sell through Alibaba, Amazon and eBay. However, a company needs substantial cultural and mindset changes to become a digital retailer.

Our survey data reveals that business challenges are of the greatest concern to digital service providers. The people who recognize these challenges must initiate business adjustments, so that service providers’ business and operating strategies, and solutions can deliver end-to-end services to customers regardless of industry, location, application or device.

Some of the issues around moving into retail were explored in the recent TM Forum Omnishop proof-of-concept Catalyst project (see page 31).

Culture, mindset, organizational structure and leadership are all critical to making end-to-end, global digital services work. Business leaders must clearly communicate that digital services transformation affects every single part of the business and all staff.

Continuous communication of IoE strategies, their progress, future plans and expected results will make the changes less disruptive and promote cooperation.

This communication of expectations combined with relentless execution of a clearly defined strategy are essential to achieving the fundamental business transformation to make digital services flexible and profitable.

Transformation is seldom neat, and establishing global ecosystems and collaborative platforms for end-to-end digital services are no exception. Successful initiatives usually start as small proof-of-concept tests or lab

67%of service providers are restructuring or making organizational changes

Making changes

2. Become a retailer

90%of those surveyed are concerned about culture and mindset

Culture and mindset concerns

3. Leaders must lead

4. Commit to change and stay engaged

Continuous communication of IoE strategies, their progress, future plans and expected results will make the changes less disruptive and promote cooperation


Potential benefits to service providers from this retail proof of concept include dynamic partnerships

Catalyst13 projects are TM Forum’s rapid-fire proof-of-concept projects, aimed at tackling real-world problems and finding pragmatic solutions for their adoption. The Omnishop Catalyst was demonstrated at TM Forum’s Catalysts InFocus event, held in Dallas at the beginning of November 2015.

The Catalyst was championed by Liberty Global and led by Infosys, with participants from Salesforce, IBM, Zira and ESRI. It showcased a reference implementation for ‘shop’ journeys which span call center agents, other customer-facing, and dealer-facing channels.

The team is leveraging and extending TM Forum standards, tools and best practices from its Frameworx suite and the Omnichannel Introductory Guide14. The Catalyst is taking an innovative approach, which abstracts the back-end complexities, federates information from diverse back-end ecosystems, and offers consistent capabilities across channels. This facilitates seamless transfer of context from one channel to another, in real time.

Benefits to the service provider inlcude:

n enabling omnichannel experience at reduced cost by reusing service providers’ existing and legacy IT systems;

n facilitating new dynamic digital partnerships by allowing third party channels to integrate to the Omnishop commerce framework;

n supporting business agility (evolving offerings, business models, partners, and channels); and

n simplifying customer experience by allowing customers to buy bundled offers of any service, in a simple,flawless transaction.

The demonstration included some use-case scenarios which showed how to realize an omnichannel shopping

experience, looking at how traditional and digital-age products from different service lines and partners can be bundled together. It also showed how these defined use cases apply to different channels, such as call centers, kiosks, online, social media and others, based on business rules.

The Catalyst demonstrated the concept of omnichannel merchandising where the customer can use various channels to act on a campaign,

Concepts such as federated catalog and order management are realized through an omnichannel enablement layer.

Subsequent phases of this Catalyst will explore a mechanism to replace ‘saved’ shopping carts to improve the conversion rate. The next step would be to incorporate feedback and learnings from the demonstration, and extend a solution to other business processes and service delivery scenarios.

Selling the retail concept

13https://www.tmforum.org/collaboration/catalyst-program/ 14http://bit.ly/OmnichannelIntroGuide

browse the offer,

create a shopping basket,

interact with customer service rep,

place an order, and

fulfill the order across different back-end stacks/partners.

https://www.tmforum.org/collaboration/catalyst-program/

http://bit.ly/OmnichannelIntroGuide



trials that gain critical mass rapidly, often with little regard for interoperability or security standards.

Digital service providers can ensure that the digital services coming to market deliver on the promise of a connected economy by selecting and validating platforms against industry guidelines, establishing friendly partnering policies and promoting capabilities to potential participants.

The are real opportunities to increase revenues, reduce costs and better serve customers –provided that the development, planning and execution of strategy are undertaken with the focus on business outcomes.

Complex digital services must not appear complex to customers. Automation, interoperability and clear interfaces and operating processes between partners are required to ensure that end-to-end services are defined, delivered and supported securely, accurately and profitably.

When the integration of infrastructure, systems and partners seems overwhelming, it becomes even more important to remember that they are just tools to implement strategy and process.

Finally, service providers of all kinds must collaborate to develop the global platform standards and ecosystem solutions that will enable them to ensure consistency and interoperability in the IoE.

TM Forum is defining a vision for how best to represent the necessary elements of an open digital ecosystem and enable definition and implementation of a global digital services strategy.

This work is detailed in our Extra Insights publication Collaborate to Innovate15. We also offer many other tools digital service providers can use to build partnerships, transform operations, virtualize networks and ensure customer experience.

While strong leadership and many business and operational changes are fundamental to delivering digital services end to end, many service providers are definitely making progress. As our research shows, they are, indeed, setting up the necessary partnerships to serve customers in a hyper-connected world.

Perhaps the most worthwhile thing we can do now is to ‘keep calm and carry on’, never losing sight of the business outcomes we are striving to achieve.

5. Build products customers want

6. Collaborate to innovate

In summary

When the integration of infrastructure, systems and partners seems overwhelming, it is even more important to remember that they are just tools to implement strategy and process

15https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/collaborate-to-innovate-a-universal-approach-to-winning-in-the-digital-world/



TM FORUM TOOLKITS

AGILE & VIRTUALIZED

REST APIsTM Forum offers ten open, REST APIs (with 11 more under development) to manage services end to end and throughout their lifecycle in a multi-partner environment.

End-to-End Virtualization Management: Impact on E2E Service Assurance and SLA Management for Hybrid NetworksThis information guide looks at the challenges and impacts on end-to-end service assurance and management of service level agreements in a hybrid physical/virtualized environment.

ZOOM NFV Security Fabric OverviewThis information guide outlines the TM Forum view on where the security fabric needs to be to support virtualized services.

OPEN & PARTNER EFFECTIVELY CUSTOMER CENTRICITY

Digital Services ToolkitCurrently under development, this toolkit will help companies rapidly address business problems using a collection of interlinked assets based on Frameworx.

Online B2B2X Step-by-Step Partnering GuideThis guide explains the five stages required to build a partner relationship. Each stage provides key concepts, strategy and approach, worksheets, examples and exit criteria to enable streamlined and repeatable implementation.

Customer Experience Management Solution SuiteThis set of tools consists of six components: a guidebook, more than 550 metrics, a maturity model, a lifecycle model, more than 10 implementation use cases and an ROI model.

Big Data Analytics Solution SuiteThis set of tools includes a big data reference model, a guidebook containing 65 use cases and 1700+ pre-defined metrics.

RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS

Extra InsightsCollaborate to innovate: A universal approach to winning in the digital worldBuilding the Operations Center of the FutureNFV: What does it take to be agile? Transforming operations for the digital ecosystemNFV: Are you prepared? Operations and procurement readinessNFV: Can it be managed? Blueprint for end-to-end management

Insights ResearchCustomer experience and analytics in a digital worldVirtualization: When will NFV cross the chasm?

Quick InsightsVirtualization: How to manage performanceDigital services: Developing successful business models and roles

TM Forum toolkits help service providers build successful digital partnerships


https://www.tmforum.org/resources/standard/ig1127-end-to-end-virtualization-management-impact-on-e2e-service-assurance-and-sla-management-for-hybrid-networks-r15-0-0/



https://www.tmforum.org/resources/standard/ig1124-zoom-nfv-security-fabric-overview-r14-5-1/

https://www.tmforum.org/digital-services-toolkit-2/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/standard/tr211-online-b2b2x-partnering-step-by-step-guide-r15-0-0/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/standard/tr211-online-b2b2x-partnering-step-by-step-guide-r15-0-0/

https://www.tmforum.org/strategic-program/customer-experience-management/

https://www.tmforum.org/strategic-program/customer-experience-management/

https://www.tmforum.org/strategic-program/big-data-analytics/

https://www.tmforum.org/resource-type/research-and-analysis/extra-insights/



https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/nfv-what-does-it-take-to-be-agiledevops-transformation-framework-for-the-digital-ecosystem/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/nfv-are-you-prepared-operations-and-procurement-readiness/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/nfv-can-it-be-managed-blueprint-for-end-to-end-management/

https://www.tmforum.org/resource-type/research-and-analysis/insights/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/customer-experience-and-analytics-in-a-digital-world/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/virtualization-when-will-nfv-cross-the-chasm-2/

https://www.tmforum.org/resource-type/research-and-analysis/quick_insights/


https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/digital-services-developing-successful-business-models-and-roles/



Since February 2015, hundreds of individuals from nearly 300 member companies have used TM Forum’s agile collaboration and development platform across 13 distinct projects to deliver the new features in Frameworx 15, working within the Forum’s three strategic programs: Agile Business and IT, Open Digital Ecosystem and Customer Centricity.

Agile Business & ITTM Forum’s Agile Business and IT Program helps enterprises continuously optimize their IT and business operations. New features come from the ZOOM (Zero-touch Orchestration, Operations and Management) project which has identified and verified the key transformation drivers and challenges – validated by studies and Collaboration Community reviews. They include:

n A novel, dynamic policy-based approach to end-to-end SLA management for hybrid operations, underpinned by the world’s first information model for the hybrid environment.

n A catalog approach to creating services through internal (make) service components and external (buy/rent) activities, supported by a federated catalog model, a comprehensive UML catalog model in the Information Framework, as well as DevOps and agile product lifecycle management. This enables service providers to assemble a wide range of services across the digital ecosystem with maximum commercial flexibility.

n A Procurement Survival Kit based on procurement patterns, ecosystem partner management, NFV procurement packaging, federated catalogs and maturity models.

COLLABORATIVE R&D MAKES DIGITAL BUSINESS REAL WITH FRAMEWORX 15

Open Digital EcosystemTM Forum’s Open Digital Ecosystem Program helps service providers, enterprises and technology suppliers create and manage complex, innovative services by establishing the right tools, APIs, standards and best practices. Key features from this program in Frameworx 15 provide organizations with the actionable information needed to accelerate R&D and time-to-market while reducing risk:

n Global, cross-industry collaboration efforts have produced end-to-end assets that can support any organization in any digital business. They include components such as partnership best practices (B2B2x), service platform architecture (DSRA), and APIs. Based on contributions from BT, Ericsson, Huawei, Microsoft, Orange, NBN Co and others, these assets have been validated by in-depth use cases for smart energy, digital health, smart city and Internet of Things (IoT), among others.

n The Digital Services Toolkit provides a structured methodology and process to map business contexts to Frameworx assets including APIs, customer experience management, metrics, data analytics, SDN and NFV, and third-parties’ assets. Users create ‘recipes’ from which to design, develop and deploy digital services while reducing risk, improving time-to-market and increasing business agility.

Customer CentricityIoT, ‘smart everything’ and virutalization all have big impacts on customer centricity and the use of analytics. This program is building the foundation for a common language, tools and resources to enable the transition to an omnichannel, customer-centric digital future:

The latest version of blueprint for digital business success, TM Forum Frameworx™ 151, contains new toolkits, best practices, guides and reports. They empower companies across multiple industries with actionable information to thrive in the digital economy. The Forum’s diverse global membership, which includes more than 90 percent of the world’s largest service providers, can make use of them immediately

https://www.tmforum.org/strategic-program/more-agile-virtualized/

https://www.tmforum.org/zoom/

https://www.tmforum.org/collaboration/



https://www.tmforum.org/resources/technical-report/tr244-tm-forum-information-framework-enhancements-to-support-zoom-r15-0-0/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/technical-report/tr244-tm-forum-information-framework-enhancements-to-support-zoom-r15-0-0/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/standard/ig1129-product-lifecycle-management-comparison-of-traditional-and-virtualized-plm-r15-0-0/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/standard/ig1129-product-lifecycle-management-comparison-of-traditional-and-virtualized-plm-r15-0-0/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/standard/ig1133-nfv-procurement-survival-kit-r15-0-0/

https://www.tmforum.org/strategic-program/more-connected-to-partners/

https://www.tmforum.org/open-digital-ecosystem-2/

https://www.tmforum.org/open-digital-ecosystem-2/


https://www.tmforum.org/digital-services-toolkit-2/

http://www.tmforum.org/Frameworx


Frameworx is adopted by 91 percent of the world’s largest service providers

n The Customer Experience Management (CEM) ROI Calculator defines a methodology for measuring return on investment and so supports better decision-making around investment.

n Updates to the Omni-channel Introductory Guide include a new maturity model and an additional set of more than 70 requirements to accelerate discussions internally and with suppliers to create a seamless customer experience across all channels.

n The 360-degree view of the customer explores how a repeatable approach and common language streamlines the creation of better and more personal interactions between consumers and their service providers.

n Eight new business-oriented use cases for data analytics, bringing the total to 59, for service providers and their suppliers to simplify and speed up data analytics projects.

Security & PrivacyTM Forum’s Security & Privacy Program aims to bring security and privacy to the forefront of organizational thinking. They run across all projects in the strategic programs outlined above and new features include:

n In the initial blueprint for a Privacy dashboard, the Privacy Management project (led by Orange), identifies the aspirations of the individual and the organization to regional variations in legislation and pulls together a model to demonstrate how privacy can be addressed to the satisfaction of all parties.

n Privacy management is now integrated into the Frameworx Engaged Party work, which to date includes the Information Framework and Business Process Framework, with the Application Framework to follow next.

TM Forum’s Security & Privacy Program also focuses on the ability to orchestrate security functions end-to-end across virtualized services and has been progressed through the Catalyst project Security Functions in NFV.

Core FrameworksSeveral updates were also made to the core frameworks within Frameworx 15 widening their applicability to digital ecosystems:

n The Supplier/Partner concept in the Information Framework has evolved the Engaged Party work to reflect the wider range of partnerships, relationships and models needed for multi-industry digital ecosystems.

n The Application Framework is more granular to so that common functionality can be more rapidly and accurately identified to maximize their re-use and consistency. This also simplifies procurement of applications.

n Assets from the Security & Privacy and Customer Centricity programs have been embedded into Frameworx 15 resources and assets, so they can be more easily deployed across a range of industries.

Frameworx Conformance CertificationFrameworx is used by 91 percent of the world’s largest service providers. It continues to be the most widely used blueprint for effective and efficient business operations. In fact, 82 percent of service providers in TM Forum’s 2014 Frameworx adoption survey now mandate Frameworx in many or all requests for proposal and 85 percent say Frameworx conformance has an important influence on their solution and product buying decisions.

More than 85 products, solutions and implementations from more than 30 companies – most recently including service providers Jawwal and Tunisie Telecom and technology suppliers CoralTree, Ericsson, Intraway and IST – have been certified as conformant to Frameworx through TM Forum’s Conformance Certification program.

For further information, both the Case Study Handbook 2015 and Perspectives 2015 showcase the role of Frameworx in helping companies across multiple industries make digital business a reality.

1www.tmforum.org/Frameworx

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/standard/gb962e-customer-experience-management-roi-calculator-user-guide-r15-0-0/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/standard/gb962e-customer-experience-management-roi-calculator-user-guide-r15-0-0/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/standard/ig1125-omni-channel-introductory-guide-r15-0-0/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/standard/ig1134-360-degree-view-of-a-customer-r15-0-0/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/standard/gb979a-big-data-analytics-use-cases-r15-0-0/

https://www.tmforum.org/strategic-program/security-privacy/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/standard/tr243-privacy-management-r15-0-0/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/standard/gb922-engaged-party-r15-0-0/

https://www.tmforum.org/information-framework-sid/

https://www.tmforum.org/information-framework-sid/

https://www.tmforum.org/business-process-framework/

https://www.tmforum.org/application-framework/

http://inform.tmforum.org/features-and-analysis/featured/2015/05/learning-how-to-orchestrate-security-in-the-virtual-world/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/suite/gb922-information-framework-sid-r15-0-0/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/standard/gb922-engaged-party-r15-0-0/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/suite/gb929-application-framework-r15-0-0/

https://www.tmforum.org/tm-forum-frameworx/adoption/

https://www.jawwal.ps/index.php?langid=2

http://www.tunisietelecom.tn/

http://www.coraltreesystems.com/

http://www.ericsson.com

http://www.intraway.com

http://ist.com.gr/

https://www.tmforum.org/conformance-certification/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/case-study-handbook-2015/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/case-study-handbook-2015/

https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/perspectives-2015/


IoT Gets Down to Business

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As industry leaders and service providers collaborate to create a more fully digital world, the revenue opportunity presented by this enormous – and growing –network of connected people and things numbers in the Trillions. So it only stands to reason that with those stakes on the table, the focus is on imagining, trialing, configuring and delivering services that can be extended easily to reach millions of users, or devices, or both.

That’s why M2M/IoT use cases abound. Plans have been widely discussed for how to embed intelligence, sensors, and network connectivity into everything ranging from an aircraft engine to a generator to a pill. It’s already possible to connect most consumer goods in the typical U.S. household: appliances, locks, power plugs and electrical outlets, utility meters, vehicles, clothing, and even people through fitness devices, smartphones and tablets, and myriad personal health and monitoring apps. And the IoT covers an array of enterprise and industrial use cases too – from connected vehicles and logistics applications, to industrial lighting controls and agricultural sensors – each with its own unique features and requirements.

Because the IoT space is still in the early phase of the technology life cycle, it makes sense that the focus is on the exploration, definition and testing of the viability of the devices and services themselves. But as these mature and become widely adopted, other

aspects of the business model – notably optimization of the marketing, disruption model and monetization – will follow. And this is where IoT is getting down to business – the business of enterprise that is.

Serving the Digital Enterprise Enterprise connectivity and communication services have long delivered significant revenue and margin to CSPs. However to be relevant to the evolving enterprise, CSPs must partner with these businesses as they transform into the digital age.

The evolution of any enterprise, large or small, naturally changes their demand for information and communications technology. To enable their staff, a digital age business needs tools that enable the worker to:

n Work whenever and wherever they are, in the conditions they choose;

n Collaborate with flexible teams, small or large, distributed in any location;

n Provide ready access to work-related information and content required to do their jobs and serve their customers

n Execute business processes anywhere and on any device

n Share knowledge with the firm’s subject matter experts, peers, executives and the entire organization as appropriate

By changing how employees work and interact – both with each other

and the tools at their disposal, the corporate enterprise in the digital age is better able to:

n Manage costsn Pursue innovative ways to win and

serve customers n Expand and simplify systems, vendor

relationships and partner ecosystemn Adopt new technologies for both

workplace processes and new product development, including cloud connectivity for its customers and IoT embedded technology to expand customer offers and enhance customer experiences

For any business, a network of digital application and services is rapidly becoming table stakes, and this is good news for the CSP, who has unparalleled expertise in digital networks. To best serve its business customers, the CSP must provide the tools to enable the digital evolution of any business, of any size, in any segment. The CSP must guide them not only to the what of the digital world but also the how:

n Deliver capabilities to automate and make transportable their business processes, through cloud applications including compute and store

n Support analysis of usage and process efficiency

n Enable them to reach their customers across devices and channels

Exercise trackers, smart refrigerators, and connected home thermostats aside, success in this digital world of connected people and machines—that we’ll collectively refer to as the Internet of Things (IoT) — is all about getting down to business.

By Monica Ricci, Executive Director, Global Marketing & Strategy, CSG International


So for CSPs their challenge is two-fold; first, to enable the digital enterprise customer through its current portfolio of connectivity and digital services; second, to supply the underlying connectivity for innovations the enterprise may seek to implement such as IoT and leverage this into a greater value play. And to do this CSPs have to be able to manage technology and relationships from end-to-end.

Monetizing IoT: The $64,000 Question!Even at great scale, on its face, IoT isn’t necessarily a very exciting proposition for a CSP. The connectivity itself is a commodity. With connectivity between any things as a given, evolution of digital services enabled by these networks, therefore, is about the use cases. In this early stage of the technology life cycle, monetization is understandably not a top priority for industrial M2M/IoT applications. At present, the ecosystem players – including the industries, the DSPs, the users and the regulatory agencies – are more focused on other service attributes:

n Technical feasibilityn Availabilityn Usabilityn Utilityn Securityn Establishing supply chains

For the time being, relatively simple recurring charging mechanisms will be sufficient to generate and manage a revenue stream for these services. To manage these simple charging mechanisms, it is enough to count devices and their status. But ultimately, in the most mission-critical of these applications, more complex characteristics of service management, and charging, come into play. These include managing availability of the connections, health checks on the devices and communications, security and service guarantees, and the efficient management of the supply chain, including data and revenue sharing among players.

These processes, including resource lifecycle management, inventory management, performance, fault and

test, have long been the purview of the CSP and now must be extended seamlessly into how these M2M/IoT services are managed, delivered and monetized in an industry ecosystem. It may not be easy, but CSPs are equipped to accomplish this as they have been at the forefront of developing customer management processes and can lead their business customers by extending these capabilities to their operations, including customer information management, customer self-care, and charging, billing and settlement capabilities.

Creating Value through New Revenue Models Industry players are jumping into the connected world with both feet, looking to embed intelligence, sensors and communications and connectivity into their offerings to deliver a better customer experience and/or a more effective product. Whether it’s enabling real-time monitoring of a patient’s condition that drives more effective care or monitoring cargo location and

The most effective CSPs will attract and manage an ecosystem of partners using end-to-end capabilities that provide marketing opportunities, customer analytics, multi-party revenue sharing, and timely and accurate settlement.

temperature to improve safe handling, across industries there are numerous enterprises turning to CSPs to be their partner in understanding how best to embed and manage connectivity. And this is where the need for end-to-end service platforms derives: for the DSP to partner with industry players to create, deploy, monitor and better monetize those services.

The CSPs which are farthest off the blocks have been focused on the areas where they can offer a differentiated customer experience, including enabling an ecosystem of providers to create bundles that join third-party content with quality of service, and enabling a broad set of sponsorship and funding mechanisms that came of age in the telecom space: prepaid, postpaid, capped usage, shared accounts, spending alerts and the like. The most effective CSPs will attract and manage an ecosystem of partners using end-to-end capabilities that provide marketing opportunities, customer analytics, multi-party revenue sharing, and timely and accurate settlement.

Furthermore, they may provide capabilities that enable new revenue models to be developed; for instance, helping to enable the data capture and analytics to transform real-time sensing data of how a piece of farm machinery is utilized and its current status so that provisioning and charging for that equipment can be done on a per-use basis rather than a capital cost to the farmer. To be able to leverage IoT capabilities and ecosystems to seamlessly transform any business into an as-a-service enterprise could be a game-changer.


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IoT Gets Down to Business


CSPs have invested in numerous systems and relationships over the decades to enable seamless provision and charging for their traditional services. Applying the same thinking to offer equivalent end-to-end services optimized for the digital realm, CSPs can help transform enterprises that are using IoT for their own business, or as a business service to other enterprises. On the cusp of a Trillion dollar opportunity—where devices outnumber individuals and network events and records have relatively little (to no) value but in aggregate have significant value, and in which many parties including device manufacturers, maintenance and insurance players, regulators must be managed in a well-oiled ecosystem—it is the DSP who can bring it all together so that IoT means business.

CSPs can help transform enterprises that are using IoT for their own business, or as a business service to other enterprises.


Don’t Punish Your Partners

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Telecommunications is a live sector and changing rapidly so operators must remain responsive in order to keep up. In a hyper connected world where billions of devices are connected to each other and transmitting huge amounts of data, there is no alternative but to partner. Digital service providers (DSPs) need partners for infrastructure, partners for services, partners for sales, partners for delivery and partners for support.

To satisfy all these partners and profitably deliver complex new services to market, DSPs need agile and flexible technology solutions that can rapidly and securely manage partner product components and agreements in an automated and cost effective manner. Implementing new technology for the definition and delivery of E2E services that include partners is one of the biggest challenges facing up and coming DSPs and the most flexible and adaptable solutions will win.

Location, Location, LocationConnecting everything from cars to home appliances anywhere in the world will require local support and infrastructure. Customers expect DSPs to sell, maintain and support the machines that speak to each other anywhere in the world. Applications that are hosted in the cloud require backups and often localization to meet regulatory requirements. Ensuring access to a global network and IT infrastructure has to come from an alliance that is scattered across the globe.

As the number of connections grows exponentially and the demand for industry-unique applications escalates,

the number and location of partners increases as well. New applications and content must be brought into the product catalog. New access networks and cloud infrastructure must be included in the service catalog and new devices and virtual functions become part of the resource catalog. And all of these assets must be associated with products, partners, customers and payments. As digital services are turned on and off; the partner components must also be turned on or off. Every one of those transactions affects other parts of DSP operations and unless the catalog is driving the process; data can be lost, partners confused and customers angered.

Don’t forget that the data is also used for finding relevant statistics about customer experience that need to be shared with partners providing local support and sales. Adequately supporting customers worldwide is easier if consistent data is readily available to those partners and employees that need it.

Managing the Partner LifecycleDeveloping new services and strategies requires DSPs to identify the right partner and implement a common approach to interact with that partner. Without automation and data-driven processes, each partner has to be handled individually and often manually which creates a tremendous bottleneck and expense. Developing a partner strategy that addresses the full partner lifecycle from on-boarding into the catalog, provisioning and billing; to service delivery, settlements and off-loading requires careful planning and agile systems.

With all the new service rollouts happening and changes taking place, operators must be sure to control the costs of the current solutions so they can invest in what’s coming next. Developing scalable services now can help manage future costs and enable DSPs to react rapidly to market changes. Orchestration across multiple internal divisions and external partner value chains requires an end-to-end strategy and systems that are inclusive of partners from the start.

Preparing for PartnersImplementing solutions that enable DSPs to manage the definition of complex services and the inclusion of partners requires new thinking and a life cycle strategy.

CPQ Automated configure-price-quote (CPQ) functionality is no longer an option. Multidimensional interactions across multiple channels, partners and business lines requires differentiated pricing, dynamic offer management, business rule configuration, advanced pricing and service plans. CPQ functionality with a powerful product catalog makes all of that possible while ensuring the accuracy and integrity of offer creation, quoting, and order decomposition.

Dynamic Order Management A centralized catalog management solution that will facilitate end-to-end delivery of integrated DSP, virtual and partner services from order entry to order orchestration and fulfillment across multiple OSS/BSS processes and a variety of channels.

Chun Ling Woon – Etiya International CEONihan Tuncay – Etiya International, Solution Manager


2-sided Business ModelsProviding greater offer and business execution agility for the rollout of new services and to deliver a consistent (branded) high level customer experience by active “catalogs” with partner/supplier on-boarding and settlement processes that extend beyond configure-price-quote (CPQ).

IoT FrameworksAs DSPs need define global end-to-end architectures and services to deliver IoT, there is a need to position vendors within that framework that ensure the shift toward business- and process-driven operations. Pre-integrated end-to-end OSS, BSS and CRM solutions that enable

new IoT- and M2M- driven business models are required to engage with global partner ecosystems.

E2E Customer ExperienceEnd-to-end digital services require an end-to-end customer experience. E2E order management across all channels using a single source for product and offer definition, providing customer access via portal, trouble management and support all rely on a centralized product, service and resource catalog not complex systems integration and interfaces.

Partnering to deliver advanced digital services is both necessary and complex. Setting the stage for digital

services requires that DSPs align internal processes and systems to enable the definition, configuration, quotation and fulfillment of services that include multiple components and partners. Adjacent execution of these processes in runtime through the catalog, are critical requirements as CSPs transition to DSPs.

As a solution provider Etiya has convergent OSS/BSS solutions with a centralized product catalog management with CPQ functionality for big scale businesses dealing with millions of customers and transactions with the support of powerful integration platforms for E2E service delivery.


Unleashing the potential of ‘Connected Things’Address challenges and avoid pitfalls in IoT Solutions Delivery

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The digital revolution keeps expanding at lightning speed and fundamentally disrupting all aspects of our social and business life. It was like yesterday when we first encountered the prediction that “everything that can be digital, will be”. A tick of the clock afterwards and we now have moved on to the certainty that “everything that can be connected will be connected”. Myriads of devices with distributed intelligence already interact with each other and give rise to never thought-before applications and innovative services across diverse business verticals.

Internet of Things (IoT), the predominant term for referring to the hyper-connected digital world, originally emerged as one of the hottest buzzwords in the global digital industry. Today, IoT has already entered our lives promising profits and market dominance to those digital ecosystem players who embrace it with the right approach. Application developers, hardware equipment manufacturers, connectivity enablers, system integrators, service providers and resellers are some of the numerous and diverse contributors that are involved in a common IoT use case.

Among these players, Communications Service Providers (CSPs) are ideally positioned to play a key role in the emerging supply model and many of them have established, or plan to establish, a distinct business unit to deal with IoT. Not only do CSPs enjoy the trust of potential customers and maintain direct access to the target market but also possess the necessary knowledge, experience and infrastructure to deliver the IoT service end-to-end and effectively manage the entire value delivery partnership.

Nonetheless, claiming a stake in this up-and-coming IoT promise, presupposes effectively addressing three fundamental challenges when deploying arbitrarily complex end-to-end IoT solutions: rethinking business models, mixing & matching technologies and decoupling IoT business from infrastructure.

1. Rethinking Business Models. More often than not, IoT solutions employ a complex mesh of interacting digital ecosystem partners, each of them following fundamentally different approaches in selling, delivering value, charging and supporting their customers. Because of this heterogeneous ‘value fabric’, the traditional business models previously applied in linear value chain setups are not always adequate for IoT and will have to be reexamined based on the new reality.

2. Mixing & Matching Technologies. The plethora and diversity of technologies available to support IoT solutions usually yields plenty of options. Yet, the lack of widely acclaimed best practices on selecting from and combining technology components can be tricky. Overabundance of technologies can easily lead to an increased risk of making potentially suboptimal choices, eventually resulting in degraded performance or unnecessary cost burdens.

3. Decoupling IoT Business from Infrastructure. Service providers (SP) typically include in their portfolio, IoT solutions applying to customers from multiple and diverse business sectors. Maintaining and operating separate, vertically-bound platforms/solutions,

is both ineffective and inefficient for the SP. What is missing is a kind of ‘horizontal’ infrastructure that would offer common abstract functionalities and integration capabilities to, virtually, any business vertical.

The above three challenges are key reasons why only few actually come close to delivering optimal end-to-end IoT solutions, despite any claims to the opposite. Although there is no single approach, it probably makes sense viewing such solutions in terms of an overall conceptual framework that brings together components, functionalities and actors potentially involved in them. Let’s review and visualize some key concepts that such an IoT framework might comprise, bottom-up in the subsequent diagram.

Subnets of Things constitute clusters or ‘islands’ of connected devices comprising sensors, meters, indicators, wearables, smartphones or other smart equipment pertinent to one or more applications or verticals.

Things are communicating with each other using different Connectivity technologies (e.g. LTE, WiFi or LPWA).

Horizontal IoT Enablement & Monetization is responsible for controlling and monetizing IoT applications from different verticals and includes all components and integration points for service realization. It also offers strong partner, alliances and customer (corporate and individuals) management.

IoT serves a vast range of Industry Sectors including, but not limited to, Retail, Public Infrastructure, Transport & Logistics, Healthcare, Utilities, Industrial IoT via numerous Applications. Under

Nikos Tsantanis, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Intracom TelecomVangelis Foukalas, Head of IoT Monetization, Intracom Telecom


Healthcare sector, for instance, one may consider deploying applications around Remote Diagnostics, Assisted Living, Vitals Monitoring and so on.

Finally, the vertical ‘tubes’ illustrate, in an abstract form, how end-to-end IoT services are being delivered across horizontal layers.

Even though this framework may look quite straightforward, it actually entails a significant inherent complexity realized when one moves from concept to implementation. It is for this reason that a number of considerations needs to be taken into account.

n Leverage available assets by examining how existing ‘horizontal’ components (e.g. core network, databases, O/BSS) can be reused to serve one or more verticals; only then fill any gaps remaining.

n Ensure seamless communication of Things and protection of sensitive data by designing and implementing end-to-end security policies.

n Cope with the huge stream of IoT-generated data in a scalable, efficient and technology agnostic manner by building upon the latest technological advances such as Cloud, Big Data and Network Virtualization.

n Achieve effective IoT service monetization and seamless management of the complex partnerships & alliances by introducing IoT-oriented O/BSS systems such as Revenue Management and Big Data Analytics.

n Increase the IoT value for the business customers by providing ancillary services (e.g. training, integration, consulting) to facilitate the smooth

blending of IoT applications with the current operating environment.

Intracom Telecom is an international systems integrator and solutions vendor with extensive know-how and a proven track record in the telecommunications market, serving more than 100 renowned customers in over 70 countries.

Among others, the company develops, maintains and enriches a broad range of advanced solutions in areas such as Energy Management, Smart Metering for Utilities, eHealth and Telemedicine. Furthermore, Intracom Telecom has

built own IoT solution components, powered by state-of-the-art technologies in Revenue Management, Cloud and Big Data Analytics.

The substantial in-house expertise in all aspects of large O/BSS systems implementation & support, in conjunction with a dedicated team of professionals combining Business and IT skills, designates Intracom Telecom as the ideal partner towards addressing IoT challenges and deploying complex, revenue-generating solutions.

Contact: [email protected]


Spirent InTouch CNA: Enabling Service Providers to Monetize the Internet of Everything

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The Internet of Everything is nearing the peak of inflated expectations as per the Gardner hype cycle. Over time, it will likely reach the trough of disillusionment and finally the slope of enlightenment and peak of productivity. Service providers are working to ensure that they are well positioned to thrive throughout this ride. They have good reason to be optimistic: Many enterprises place service providers high on their list of trusted partners for deploying and maintaining large scale, secure, reliable networks.

However, handling the diverse array of enterprise verticals and their unique needs, while still delivering the performance and reliability mentioned above, is a challenge for service providers. More specifically:

n Closed solutions are not practical: IoT is too diverse and evolving too rapidly for operators to rely on traditional vendors and their closed analytics solutions. Waiting months for vendor developers to code new applications for new use cases isn’t practical. A self-service approach is needed where operators can use flexible tools to rapidly develop new IoT apps for their enterprise clients.

n Newer “Big Data” platforms require more customization than anticipated: Some operators are embracing a fully “do-it-yourself” approach to building IoT applications using Spark, Hadoop, and other technologies. Unfortunately, this path is often more costly and time consuming than the one above due to the immaturity of underlying tools and scarcity of human capital trained in using them. Ideally, operators would like the openness and power that

these tools provide without the costly customization they often demand.

n The need for differentiation: Service providers need to differentiate themselves as enterprise IoT solution providers. Why should GE work with AT&T and not IBM? In many cases, the strongest area of differentiation will be the network itself, and its ability to provide IoT services that are highly reliable, secure, and QoE enabled. This differentiation should be ensured and reinforced by analytics. Specifically, service provider IoT application should enable enterprise customers to see how the network is enabling differentiated IoT performance. This entails a merging of telco and IoT data models. Unfortunately, these two worlds are often disconnected today.

InTouch CNA: A unique approach to IoT application enablementSpirent InTouch is an operational analytics platform that enables service providers

to develop and monetize IoT applications for high value enterprise customers. It was tailor made to attack the challenges raised above. Specifically:n Open, self-service platform: InTouch

CNA is designed to be a platform for self-service application development. It enables operators to quickly ingest new data sources using the InTouch data mediation toolkit, develop new IoT metrics and actions, and build best-in-class applications using InTouch and embedded BI visualization tools.

n Mature, robust platform: InTouch offers the best mix of performance and economics of any solution in the industry. On the price front, it runs on commodity hardware, scales linearly with traffic, and is far cheaper than typical proprietary RDBMS solutions. On the performance front, it utilizes massively parallel processing and in-memory analytics technologies to handle the real-time needs of IoT use cases and high velocity & variety of their data.

Operator Big DataArchitecture

InTouch IoTApplication

DevelopmentPlatform

� Network load and performance� Inventory/topology� Trouble Tickets� Maintenance logs� Provisioning data

Enterprise IoTApplications

� Direct or aggregated sensor measurements� Sensor inventory and health

“Network Data”

“IoT Data”

Internal Operator IoTApplication(s)

“IoT Data”

Figure 1: InTouch IoT enablement platform situated within a broader Big Data architecture


n Fusion of telecom and IoT data models: InTouch CNA is deployed by some of the world’s largest operators to assure the customer experience on their 2/3/4G and IMS/VoLTE networks. It features a best-in-class telecom data model that enables those operators to

Context: n Large tier-I operator offering SLA-based

network services to a range of Fortune 50 enterprises

n Enterprise IoT and M2M devices span connected cars, e-vending machines, automated bank teller machines (“ATMs”), home alarm system, and more

n Operator struggling to avoid or rapidly troubleshoot SLA violations

Solution:n Operator utilized InTouch to:

• Collect and model datasets:– IoT measurements, alerts, and

inventory information– Network load and performance

data– Enterprise CRM and ticketing

information– IoT provisioning data

• Analyze IoT performance– Generation of IoT service

accessibility, retainability, quality, other metrics

– Correlation of IoT issues by device, software, network, regional, other factors

Case Study: IoT SLA assurance

identify and troubleshoot issues. This data model is now fused with an IoT data model, which enables rich insights to be discovered and operationalized across IoT and network datasets. For example, InTouch enables operators to link IoT connectivity issues to

broader network connectivity problems and their root causes (maintenance windows, etc.). It can also connect these performance issues to associated customer care (trouble ticket, etc.) and marketing datasets.

– Triangulation of enterprise trouble ticket, IoT performance, and network load/performance datasets

• Reporting and alerting– Discovery-oriented ad hoc

reporting via Tableau– Operational dashboards,

drilldowns, and workflow aids– Alerts and diagnostics

n Impact• Reduced SLA violations by 23%• Reduced average handling time of

IoT related customer care trouble tickets by 9 minutes (estimated value of $9/ticket)


Catalogs and APIs converge to support end-to-end service providers

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New generation Digital Service Providers need to be able to plug in partners and immediately create products to compete in this new hyper-connected world. Services that include cloud, NFV, IoT and traditional access components are all becoming part of the expectation.

When did this happen? Governments are investing in networks, enterprise IT is moving to the cloud, network functions are being virtualised and all manner of devices for measurement and control are becoming network-connected. Markets are changing faster than many service providers think. Communication service revenues are declining, while demand for bundled services is increasing: from small bundles like an Internet service with an NFV-based security appliance, to large bundles like a smart city!

The seemingly impossible taskTelcos already have a reputation for long and costly IT projects in support of their communications business. As a new-age Digital Services Provider, you must bundle if you are to transition from being a declining old-world telco. Service bundling pushes complexity to new levels: more interfaces, more partners, more flexible products, more automation. A fundamentally different approach is required if service providers are to succeed.

The way of the Internet will prevailMost web APIs now use REST. REST is an architecture which uses the web’s existing protocols and technologies.

We all know the brands that have led the way with the use of these APIs, including Google, Amazon, Facebook and Twitter. REST operations are meaningful verbs from HTTP (www protocol): GET, POST, PUT and DELETE. Data within the messages is in JSON format, which is compact and easy to work with. For those of us with networking backgrounds, the move to REST bears many similarities to the replacement of NetBUI and IPX by TCP/IP. Clearly, REST-based integration will progressively penetrate deeper into enterprise IT.

Move forward, don’t waste your time re-inventing the wheelFrameworx provides a reference architecture to apply to the service provider problem. Technology has dramatically improved, but seasoned architects will tell you that there have only been incremental changes to the actual problem. A layered approach should be applied to the management of products, services and resources as defined in eTOM and SID, along with the use of catalog, party and metadata patterns from Frameworx. We do this to prevent projects becoming multi-million dollar re-inventions and to provide long-term interoperability between platforms.

Catalog meets metadataAt DGIT Systems we have remained true to Frameworx, but made our catalog universally applicable. In run-time, catalogs are used to associate entities – for example, products which are to be offered to parties. In this case, a product is defined in metadata, including rules and

relationships with process and service or resource entities. It goes further; Telflow is a truly metadata-driven system and will consult a catalog for almost everything it does: which process? Which task? Which service? What products?

The rise of the catalogNot long ago, catalogs were limited in function by the performance limits of real-world systems. A configurable system would store all the configuration in SQL data. Data-driven screens or system messages would then place computing load on the back end as fields were rendered, and rules and behaviour were applied. If you made everything configurable, the system would simply be too slow. Consequently, high-volume old-generation systems all have significant “hard wiring” and their catalogs can only manage limited entities.

Around six years ago, new technology for managing metadata started to emerge as a part of the “big data” revolution. Supporting data in a highly scalable way without the need to adhere to a traditional database structure, this technology allows catalogs in high performance systems to manage many versions of many different “things”. This fundamental shift in agility and performance is a game changer for the Digital Service Provider.

To take advantage of this new technology, DGIT Systems made the bold move to redevelop Telflow Fulfilment from the ground up, guided by the TM Forum on architecture, applying all the best new IT technologies, and even testing it in Catalyst projects along the

Greg Tilton, CTO & Founder, DGIT Systems


way. Many of our fellow TM Forum members will have noticed us win awards for our Catalyst projects, as well as the 2015 Excellence Award for our Telflow product.

Big things are built from smaller partsAnd these smaller parts need to be “pluggable”. The TM Forum API program has solutions here. Forum APIs are “dynamic”, which means sharable metadata governs the message payload so you can reuse the same standard interface. With NFV, cloud and traditional telecommunications, one should adopt a platform-based approach. A platform would use TM Forum standard APIs to expose services. The product layer can then combine these services to form products to offer customers. Yes, if your platform components are small, you may call them micro-services.

An interesting observation here is that standard mechanisms for communication between catalogs are useful, but the real value comes from standardising the metadata model. DGIT Systems has had great success using the metadata patterns of the SID and has made a number of contributions to help guide others, including the recent TR 245 Dynamic API Technical Recommendation.

Your catalog is my catalogIf Service Providers and their suppliers adopt standardised, catalog-driven APIs, they can plug in many different types of services without coding new integrations, saving money and achieving more. For this partner integration case there are some additional non-functional aspects

to look after as well as onboarding, but essentially operational integration is the same as the internal platform case.

With many using the same APIs, new innovators can enter an ecosystem as suppliers and have a ready market to plug into. If you have a smart system sequencing traffic lights or processing waste, or predictive analytics on video images to provide alerts, then service providers can plug you in.

Come play in my sandpitDGIT is getting right behind standardised catalog-driven dynamic APIs. TM Forum members, service providers and vendors alike will be invited to test APIs in the “universal sandpit”, a service which DGIT Systems is providing in support of 2016 Catalyst projects and other future initiatives. The universal sandpit will be

operated as a perpetual service to help us all work together and achieve these common goals.

The universal sandpit provides a platform with a set of test scenarios that can support demonstrations. The sandpit also includes a catalog, set up to drive dynamic API payloads. This catalog is extensible and is anticipated to grow over time.

Members can use the sandpit to support demonstrations and Catalyst projects. By extension, members can also use the sandpit for onboarding between trading partners and marketplaces, or as a living interface contract.

We hope to put an end to needless divergence from TM Forum API specifications by helping these specifications become the easiest path to follow.


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IntroductionThe nature of service delivery is changing. For many years, communications service providers (CSP) have approached service delivery with the assumption that the network was fundamentally central to the delivery of services. They also assumed that CSPs would continue to largely control service creation and delivery end-to-end. The complex nature of large multi-layered networks composed of elements distributed over a wide geography required communications service providers to develop highly specialized capabilities to deliver voice and then data services over those networks.

The operations and maintenance requirements of network resources and telecom services have, until recently, remained very different than those of IT data center resources and their applications. The network side of service delivery management gradually became organized around concepts like Service Delivery Platforms designed to optimize service creation and real-time delivery processes. The service provider’s IT infrastructures including Business Support System (BSS) and Operation Support System (OSS) that needed to run the business gradually, started becoming organize. The underlying IT software and compute resource management processes became organized in accordance with the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL).

Implementing solutions based upon frameworks takes discipline. Often the cost of implementing a framework based solution requires extensive cooperation between organizations beyond the current boundaries of individual projects and their budgets. As a result, many

IT projects, including implementations of Business Support Systems and Operations Support Systems (BSS/OSS), often took expedient shortcuts to get projects delivered on time and at budget. Ultimately, the CSPs ended up with complex, inflexible, and often redundant BSS/OSS organized around silos of products or groupings of technologies.

Over the years, standards evolved that has enabled telecom voice and data services to work seamlessly over multiple service providers’ infrastructures. Originally, a mobile user was able to receive service only when physically connected to their service provider’s network. Today, mobile users are scarcely aware of the network they are actually connected to. Both the business issues of charging and billing as well as the technical issues associated with roaming wireless voice and data services were successfully addressed. The CSPs developed very effective capabilities for Provisioning, Assurance, and Charging/Billing of network infrastructures and associated services end-to-end. To support both wholesale and retail operations involving multiple service providers, they also developed the service provider to service provider B2B interfaces necessary to support provisioning, service assurance, and charging/billing processes spanning two or more service providers.

While the introduction of web services began to break down some of the barriers between the IT and network worlds, it is cloud computing that is completely disrupting the former status quo. The cloud pulls together a number of disrupters accelerating the convergence of IT and Telecom. Some of these key disrupters include:

1. Maturity of web services standards 2. The adoption of IP and SIP in telecom

and cable networks 3. Growth of mobile devices routinely

connected to 3G/4G/LTE or WiFi networks

4. Increasingly ubiquitous and higher speed broadband

5. Proliferation of cloud platforms for IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS

While SOA and virtualization has contributed to the transformation of massive “applications” into “services” hosted on virtualized and network infrastructures, cloud computing creates the reality that the majority of services available for composition and consumption are not all contained within the boundaries of any one company or enterprise.

So with the rapid growth of cloud computing and that too in the virtual world, the IT trend towards services and content created increasingly at the edge, the exponential growth of Web Services APIs, and increasingly mobile endpoints the original goals of the SDF initiative have never been more relevant. So, Customers, developers and partners will find the concepts for Multi-Cloud Service Delivery and that too in the virtual environment that can help them accelerate their Service Oriented Architecture implementations leveraging cloud, network, and enterprise resources while delivering significantly better user experiences, better end-to-end operations management capabilities, and greatly improved developer efficiencies.


But the management of the services is not the only thing to look after in such a situation. The need to look up a solution by which CSPs can become a service broker where by investing less on the physical assets and network, delivering the services (which are not only by the CSPs but also from 3rd party) in a virtual world and that too end to end. This means that Vendor solution providers should focus on a multi-tenant cloud or virtualization solution.

In a nut shell, delivering software as a service (SaaS) has gained a lot of momentum. One reason this one-to-many delivery model is attractive is that it enables new economies of scale but this does not come automatically; it has to be explicitly architected into the solution. A typical architectural pattern allowing economy of scale is “single instance multi-tenancy,” and many Independent Software Vendors offering SaaS have moved to this architecture, with various levels of success.

There is, however, another means of improving efficiency which have not adopted with the same enthusiasm: the use of an underlying Service-Delivery Platform (SDP). Adoption has been slow, mainly because service-delivery platforms optimized for line-of-business applications delivery are still in their infancy. But both existing and new actors in the hosting space are quickly building compelling capabilities.

Challenge of E2E Service Delivery in the Virtual WorldService delivery today often requires two or more service providers working together efficiently. The reality today is that no service provider owns all

the services that make up total value being delivered to a customer. There are several reasons for this. One important driver is associated with core competencies and the economics of delivering services at scale. Customers, however, often want solutions that require including at least one competency outside of the core competency of the primary service provider. Meeting customer requirements can be achieved most economically by combining the best services exposed by several different providers into new value added service chain.

Communication Service Providers are actively seeking to replace traditional services with newer next generation network services combined with new cloud hosted services. To drive this business, CSPs are recruiting developers to build applications that will leverage telecom network capabilities via a Service Exposure Layer. These 3rd party applications can include a service logic component, possibly hosted on a cloud infrastructure, accessed via a client application marketed via the appropriate Application Store or via an HTML5 web browser user interface.

It is extremely important to understand that the challenges of end-to-end service management exist regardless of whether the business relationships follow a formal Service Syndication model or an Over-the-Top (OTT) model.

But this introduction of new models have given the CSP’s some challenges to overcome and biggest among all is end to end service delivery in a multi-tenant cloud so that to help the CSP’s to become Service Brokers.

Challenge of VirtualizationIf the focus is service delivery then the challenge is delivering services across integrated virtual and physical elements. This integrated service delivery concept then leads to the vision of a cloud service broker. Cloud applications rely upon virtualized compute and virtualized network resources that can both dynamically change their configurations in response to external policies and load conditions. It is useful to look at cloud resource management from the point of view of the lifecycle management of a cloud service. Each service must be acted upon by traditional business processes associated with Provisioning/Configuration, Service Assurance, and Charging/Billing/Settlement as it passes through it lifecycle.

In the simpler case of an application that resides on a single cloud infrastructure, it becomes dependent upon two distinct layers of virtualized resources. There must be a mechanism provided by a Management Support System and Infrastructure Support Systems to maintain awareness as to which logical and physical resources are actually relevant to a specific instance of a specific application at any given point in time.

Although the elastic cloud infrastructure provided by IaaS and PaaS can configure additional resources to handle changing application demands, there are additional requirements for dynamically reconfiguring underlying network configurations and routings in response to changing resource allocations at the cloud compute resource layer.

Another issue that arises is the division of responsibility between an internal


Defining E2E Service Delivery in Virtual World with ZTEsoft Vision

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cloud virtualization management layer (IaaS and PaaS) and an external OSS. Although the cloud virtualization layer can typically manage its own physical and logical resource allocations for supported applications, an external OSS may be required to dynamically reallocate resources in a coordinated fashion across all three layers or to track and have knowledge of those changing relationships.

So, apart from the management of the services, the actual challenge is to come up with the an end to end solution for delivering the services which are now from multi-operators including CSPs and others like OTT and IT players over multiple clouds.

ZTEsoft visionThe Vision of ZTEsoft’s is to help a CSP become a cloud service broker. Initially managing and delivering the services over the multiple cloud and then do the

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API Management

Platform

Sales & Marketing Services

SaaS (SFA, Email, ERP, Social Media)

Applications

Cloud Virtualized Resources

Network Virtualized Resources

Applications

Logical Virtualized Resources

Network Virtualized Resources

PaaS CRM

Public Cloud Private Cloud

Telecom Operator

Management System IaaS

(OCS, PCRF, OSS)

Content Delivery with QoS

Management Path

management of the services with the help of API management platform in between.

According to ZTEsoft’s understanding not every operator apart from the big ones will go for full digital ecosystem. Therefore, CSPs will be requiring a flexible architecture to fulfill their digital needs and requirements so that to become digital players in the entire ecosystem. These requirements from the CSPs are helping and guiding Vendors like ZTEsoft to think for different types of cloud architecture. ZTEsoft aims to become vertical cloud provider before and then later likes to cover the horizontal industries.

As it is also clear from the picture that to start up with Vertical Cloud will have less industries but they will be across multiple vertical applications when it comes to the management of the common applications like sales, Email, & finance etc. All these common applications can be used as SaaS and

these can be made available over the Public cloud. Whereas applications like OCS or PCRF etc can be categorized as IaaS and these applications can be made available in the private cloud of the operator as these can be very specific and may differ from operator to operator. Finally some of the other BSS applications Billing & Invoicing and especially for CRM domain including PRM, Contact Center, Eshop, etc can be made as PaaS and these can be available over public or private cloud as according to the requirement. All these services can interact with wach other with the help of the introduction of API platform which will help the management of all the applications and also provides interface to different CSPs and that too over multiple cloud architecture. The picture below explains the vision and aim of ZTEsoft as a cloud service provider and too in a multiple could solution which will help the CSPs to become Service Brokers.


ZTEsoft Approach of realizing the VisionZTEsoft takes several steps to become a vertical cloud provider and thus has already taken the steps accordingly. In order to fulfill the vision ZTEsoft adopts Bi-Directional Cloud strategy

so that to cover the agility at one end and standardization like NFV on the other end. The picture explains the same concepts. For covering the PaaS and SaaS applications like Marketing & Sales along with Product Domain and

Customer Management Domain on one end for covering the customer side and covering the NFV concept on the other end when it comes to Service and the resource domain hence covering the network side.

But even then ZTEsoft adopts step by step approach for accomplishing the vision by step wise bringing the application under the category of SaaS, PaaS and IaaS and shown in the figure.

Initially ZTEsoft is taking applications like Sales Force Automation (SFA) or Email etc for several industries like telecom with power or electricity etc to the Public cloud as SaaS. Then in the 2 step taking OCS and PCRF to the cloud as IaaS and finally applications like Eshop, Order Management, Contact Center or Billing & Invoicing to cloud as PaaS hence covering the end to end Service Delivery in Virtual world. In a nutshell following picture depicts ZTEsoft vision for end to end Service Delivery in the virtual word as SaaS, PaaS or IaaS.


CSG International is a market-leading business support solutions and services company serving the majority of the top 100 global communications service providers, including leaders in fixed, mobile and next-generation networks such as AT&T, Charter Communications, Comcast, DISH, Orange, T-Mobile, Telefonica, Time Warner Cable, Vodafone, Vivo and Verizon. With over 30 years of experience and expertise in voice, video, data and content services, CSG International offers a broad portfolio of licensed and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based products and solutions that help clients compete more effectively, improve business operations and deliver a more impactful customer experience across a variety of touch points.

www.csgi.com

Etiya is the only Independent Software Vendor providing comprehensive Telco CRM, Catalog-Driven B/OSS, Social CRM, and Big Data Analytics. Etiya exclusively focuses on providing CSPs&DSPs with innovative products and a rapid implementation within 90 days. With its award-winning products and its end-to-end implementation capabilities from consultancy to managed service, Etiya provides the most complete offer in the market. These products have been successfully implemented and proven in large incumbent CSPs. Etiya has become the fastest growing software company and largest B/OSS provider in Turkey with more than 500 employees in its offices in Canada, Singapore, and Turkey.

www.etiya.com

Intracom Telecom is a global telecommunication systems & solutions vendor operating for over 35 years. The company invests significantly in R&D developing cutting-edge products and integrated solutions. Intracom Telecom offers a competitive portfolio of revenue-generating telco software solutions and a complete range of ICT services, focusing on big data analytics, converged networking and cloud computing for operators and private, public and government clouds. Moreover, the company innovates in the area of wireless access & transmission, having successfully deployed its packet radio systems worldwide. Over 100 customers in more than 70 countries choose Intracom Telecom for its state-of-the-art technology.

www.intracom-telecom.com

Spirent’s CEM business unit is focused on end-to-end customer experience assurance. Its flagship solution, InTouch Customer and Network Analytics (CNA), enables operators to proactively identify and quickly resolve quality of experience issues at the subscriber level. It has been deployed by operators around the world to assure and troubleshoot 2/3/4G and VoLTE services, assure SLAs tied to high-value enterprise & M2M customers, and proactively resolve performance issues with newly launched devices. InTouch CNA is unique amongst analytics solutions in its ability to leverage and correlate a wide array of existing operator data sources (network elements, probe, test, inventory, provisioning, etc.), apply rich analytics (QoE scores, signature rules, etc.), and quickly scale to high volumes (100M+ subscribers).

www.spirent.com

DGIT Systems is the home of Telflow. Telflow is the configurable fulfilment system for new Digital Service Providers and the fibre infrastructure operators they partner with. Built on latest IT technology, Telflow is TMForum Conformance Certified and won a 2015 Excellence Award. Originally from Australia, DGIT Systems now operates a global partner program. In addition to being a market leader in B2B and APIs, Telflow software is catalog driven and highly configurable allowing service providers to set up products and visually build processes reducing time to market.

www.telflow.com

Digital is about constructing disruptive value and creating outstanding experience in the connected world. Winners will be players capable of leveraging their own investments and strengths through intensive partnership and innovative business models. Designed to enable lean and cost effective operations, power innovation and customer experience with automatic insight, ZSmart 8.0 “New Breed” solutions allow CSPs to develop their grasp in the digital ecosystem. ZTEsoft‘s ZSmart solutions have been deployed by operators in more than 70 countries worldwide. ZTEsoft, a leading provider of telecom software, solutions and services, specializes in offering comprehensive BSS/OSS, Big Data and Managed Service solutions to global operators of wireless, wireline and broadband cable services.

www.ztesoft.com

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DELIVERING END-TO-END SERVICES

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