In this blog we’ll examine some important next-gen Comms Cloud architectural concepts and how modern approaches to BSS & OSS architecture and infrastructure are different from the way projects were approached in the past. If we select the right vendors and follow some important transformation principles, goals such as improved TTM and significantly lowering the total long term cost of solution ownership can actually be realized. Here are 5 important areas to consider in order to achieve this:
1. Choose Ecosystem Vendors Over Point Solutions
Look for a best-in-class BSS ecosystem vendor rather than best-in-class application vendors. In the not so distant past, common practice was for Communications Service Providers (CSPs) to look for best-of-breed point solutions (e.g. the best catalog vendor, the best CRM vendor, the best Order Management vendor etc.) and patch together a “homegrown” ecosystem, with the weight of integration and customization costs borne by the CSP. This approach came with enormous challenges including corralling vendors into cooperating and sticking to their own functional turf (something that never comes naturally when money is on the line), achieving common functional behaviours across a stack of disparate vendors and developing custom processes that kept metadata in-sync between the various systems. In the next-gen world look for vendors who have succeeded in converging functional capabilities into an “ecosystem” where functional components have been designed to work together from the ground up. No one solution will cover all ground, but common functions such as quoting, ordering, contracts and fulfillment should co-exist with ease (more on this coming).
2. Establish an Enterprise Catalog-Driven Architecture
Ensure that a fully enterprise catalog-driven architecture (not just a catalog-driven one) forms the basis of the ecosystem offering including APIs that allow for configurations to be openly shared across applications. The solution needs to alleviate the need for disparate and duplicate data repositories that drive individual application behaviour and the never-ending syncing that goes on between them when new products are introduced or existing products change. In properly designed enterprise catalog-driven environments, applications in the BSS layer are driven off a single shared master repository rather than holding their own configuration data. Look for it to house not only product specifications (promotions, offers, commercial and technical products) but also pricing and pricing rules as well as advanced relationship configurations extending to commercial decomposition and orchestration.
3. Adopt Common Configuration Paradigms
Look for e2e common configuration paradigms. Vendors that have succeeded in delivering a solution true to enterprise catalog-driven principles have focused on ease of use by creating common configuration paradigms that hide away the underlying applications (CPQ, OM, EPC etc.) for a more seamless configuration experience. Advanced features (think in-flight amendments, SLAs & jeopardies etc.) are thought of holistically, centrally designed and implemented by each application in the ecosystem according to a single behavioral standard. Tools that guide users in debugging configurations at design-time are key to achieving TTM (imagine changing a commercial product and being proactively notified that a fulfillment system interface specification is being impacted as a result).
4. License Holistically from the Start
Ensure that all necessary e2e functional components are included in a single holistic license from the outset so that the transformation is successful rather than having to piecemeal individual application licenses together as needs arise. Key components such as COM cannot be an afterthought where significant architectural rework may be required in order to adopt them later. Look at critical functions prescribed by industry standards leaders such as the TMForum including master data modelling (EPC), Configure Price Quote (CPQ), Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) and Commercial Order Management (decomposition and orchestration) functions which are critical in order to achieve a flexible, resilient architecture and to meet key KPIs such as Time-to-market.
5. Prioritize User-Centric Design
Users, of course, must also have complete abstraction away from underlying operating systems and database technologies to allow them to focus on design and selling functions and delivering value at the offering level rather than administering the platform or grappling with technological complexities. Full leveraging of Cloud capabilities with pre-existing high availability, scalability and abstraction layers are key to being able to focus on running the business rather than constantly fixing it.
Undertaking a transformation with these concepts in mind will significantly reduce the risk of a never-ending transformation project and make for a showcase architecture that can readily adapt to change for the long haul.
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EVP, Architects & Innovation
Shawn Henshall brings 25+ years of expertise in product management, software innovation, and digital transformation. He has a proven track record of delivering next-generation operational software that drives business value for clients across Telecommunications, Media, Energy, Finance, Insurance, and Automotive industries. Prior to joining Palladin, Shawn held leadership roles at Salesforce, Vlocity, and Oracle, where he played a pivotal role in shaping industry-leading BSS, OSS, and enterprise catalog-driven solutions. As a founding thought leader behind enterprise catalog-driven ecosystems, he was instrumental in bringing this vision to reality within Salesforce Industries, enabling some of the world’s largest service providers to transform their BSS and OSS architectures. At Palladin, Shawn leads Product, Technical Alliances, and Emerging Technology initiatives.
