Telecom:OSS:NGOSS

Contents 1 Navigation 2 Related categories 3 About this page 4 New Generation Operations Systems and Software (NGOSS) 5 NGOSS references 6 NGOSS Architecture 7 Other NGOSS resources 8 Major NGOSS Deliverables 8.1 Technology Neutral Architecture (TNA) 8.2 Enhanced Telecom Operations Map (eTOM) 8.3 Shared Information & Data Model (SID) 9 NGOSS Interoperability 9.1 Criteria for checking compliance 9.2 OSS Through Java (OSS/J) 9.3 Industry adoption

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About this page

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New Generation Operations Systems and Software (NGOSS)

The term encompasses a new business model supported by a set of architectures, technologies, methodologies and business processes meant to reduce costs, drive revenues and enable telecom companies to competitively provide and manage the new, converged network-based services. NGOSS is being touted as an Enterprise Application Integration (AI) framework for Operations Support Systems (OSS) and it is supposed to benefit all segments of the OSS value chain:

• Reducing time-to-market for new-service introduction by telecom service providers
• Quicker roll-up of infrastructure elements by network equipment vendors
• Reducing operating and customer acquisition costs incurred by service
• Quicker and less-expensive integration of new OSS functionality by service providers
• Less customization of OSS application components by vendors and system integrators
• Increased flexibility and competitiveness of OSS software market driving down software acquisition costs

The adoption of NGOSS by major Telecom service providers advances at very slow pace, due to perceived risks:

• Incremental transition from legacy OSS to NGOSS environment without service disruption
• Disruptive changes to existing business processes an corporate cultures
• Unproven scalability and reliability of this new technology
• No clear alignement to NGOSS of major OSS application vendors
• Lack of generally-available expertise regarding NGOSS technology and business model

The NGOSS initiative is driven by the TeleManagement Forum (TMF), which is an industry-alliance of major Telecom Service Providers, Network Infrastructure Suppliers and OSS Application Vendors.

NGOSS references

• New Generation Operations Systems & Software Business Case - TMF051 v2.0 [1] (local copy)
• NGOSS - The Telecom Industry EAI Standard [2]
• Convergence of Telecoms and Enterprise Management - Tony Richardson [3]
• SLA Handbook Solution Suite v2.0 [4] (local preview)
• Connection and Service Management Business Agreement [5]
• EU Organisation for collaborative R&D in telecommunications (EURESCOM) Study P1445 OSS for NGN - Co-ordination of Telecom Activities [6]

NGOSS Architecture

• The NGOSS Lifecycle and Methodology [7]
• Telecom Reference Model [8]
• NGOSS Technology Overview [9]
• TeleManagement Forum NGOSS Framework [10]

Other NGOSS resources

• TMForum Document catalog [11]
• TmForum NGOSS case studies [12]
• A Glossary of common business process terms - Paul Harmon [13]
• The Connected Society and New Generation OSS - E&Y whitepaper local copy
• Heterogeneous Integration Architectures to Support New Generation OSS Solutions - E&Y whitepaper (local copy)
• Towards the Technology Neutral Modelling of Management Components [14]
• Telecom Value Chain Dynamics and Carriers’ Strategies in Converged Networks - Masahisa Kawashima [15] local copy

Major NGOSS Deliverables

• Technology Neutral Architecture (TNA) that provides a solution design independent of the platform and software paradigms used to implement the NGOSS.
• Enhanced Telecom Operations Map (eTOM)
• Shared Information & Data Model (SID)
• Criteria for checking compliance

Technology Neutral Architecture (TNA)

The TNA enables the NGOSS architecture and system design to be business-driven, based on federations of different technologies, each of which offers particular advantages at the business and system levels. TNA enables component-based, contract-driven distributed systems architectures relying on well-defined sets of interfaces exposing or consuming required system services. The particular implementations of Technology-Specific aspects of the NGOSS components are not covered by the NGOSS standards. However, these Technology-Specific components must conform to the Technology-Specific Architecture (TSA) guidelines and be compliant in terms of interfaces.

TNA References:

• The NGOSS Technology-Neutral Architecture (TNA) [16]
• TMF053 NGOSS Technology Neutral Architecture (TNA) SUITE [17]

Enhanced Telecom Operations Map (eTOM)

The NGOSS architecture is multi-faceted and can be looked at from at least 4 perspectives:

• Implementation
• System
• Operations
• Business

The eTOM framework represents the business view and out of it the requirements for other views are derived. The eTOM is a framework model that defines the operational processes required for a service provider. However eTOM does not attempt do define a business model by addressing strategic- or market-related practices. Already service providers, system integrators, ASPs and vendors, are already working with eTOM, since it better represents their real world.

At the same time ITU-T adopted eTOM in the M.3050 standards series:

• ITU-T M.3050.0 Enhanced Telecom Operations Map (eTOM) – Introduction
• ITU-T M.3050.1 Enhanced Telecom Operations Map (eTOM) – The business process framework
• ITU-T M.3050.2 Enhanced Telecom Operations Map (eTOM) – Process decompositions and descriptions
• ITU-T M.3050.3 Enhanced Telecom Operations Map (eTOM) – Representative process flows
• ITU-T M.3050.4 Enhanced Telecom Operations Map (eTOM) – B2B integration

Some eTOM resources:

• enhanced Telecom Operations MapTM (eTOM) The Business Process Framework [18] [19]
• TeleManagement Forum (TMF) NGOSS and eTOM [20]
• BSS/OSS Integration Strategy Plan Development based on eTOM [21]
• NGN activities in ITU-T SG4 T SG4 - NGN management [22]
• ITU-T Study Group 2 - NGOSS and eTOM [23]

Shared Information & Data Model (SID)

The Shared Information & Data Model (SID) is an eTOM companion and provides an information/data model and "vocabulary" for the eTOM business processes to "talk" to each-other. The SID model also defines the business entities on which the eTOM-defined business processes act. The SID model is organized in loosely-coupled "domains" of Aggregate Business Entities (ABE), corresponding to groupings of processes as defined by eTOM.

Some SID resources:

• SID Documents [24]
• Assessing SID compatibility [25]
• Shared Information/Data (SID) Model [26]

NGOSS Interoperability

In order to guarantee the interoperability of software solutions and components from different vendors The TM Forum has pushed for a high level of detail in the eTOM and SID standards and on the TNA-driven design of components' interfaces. The net result of these efforts is the set of formal specifications defining the data models and interaction flows, based on industry-standard methodologies like UML and OMG/DMTF's CIM. Based on these specifications Sun Microsystems pioneered the development of a Java-based NGOSS framework which was specified by a set of API and corresponding JSR. Recently TmForum launched the Prosspero initiative to drive NGOSS adoption [27].

A compliance assessment framework is defined by the TM Forum, on which base a number of solutions were certified or declared compliant

Criteria for checking compliance

• NGOSS Compatibility Overview [28]
• NGOSS Compliance Solution Suite v3.0 [29] [30]
• Aligning the conformance process in the SID and eTOM frameworks [31]
• Facilitating Adoption of NGOSS SID [32]

OSS Through Java (OSS/J)

• OSS through Java as an Implementation of NGOSS [33] [34]
• OSS/J certified and qualified products and components
• OSS/J hubs [35]
• OSS/H - The Only Game in Town [36]

Industry adoption

A list of NGOSS adoption case studies is available from TM Forum.

Among the Telecom Service Providers having adopted eTOM, SID and OSS/J:

• Telefonica Italia - Using the TM Forum SLA Handbook for Development of the Easy Wireless SLA Agents [37]
• Vodafone D2 - Use of eTOM, SIM, SID in the Development of a Global IT Architecture for Vodafone [38] (local copy)
• Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) - Using eTOM at Service Provider MTC [39]
• Deutsche Telekom AG - Tested NGOSS light solution for WiMAX in Deutsche Telekom [40]
• Adding NGOSS and OSS/J to HP’s ISM Product and Deployment Success for Vodafone D2 and others - TMForum Case Study [41]
• NGOSS / OSS/J Motivation and implementation experiences - Vodafone case study [42] (based on HP OpenView TeMIP)

Other providers known to have adopted at least eTOM are MCI, Covad, Telekom Austria, China Telecommunications, Telstra, Brasil Telecom and PT ExcelComindo Pratama in Indonesia.

Among the Solutions Providers having adopted eTOM, SID and OSS/J:

• Ericsson - Best practice in managing multi-vendor networks [43]
• Siemens Information Systems Ltd - Common Data Model for Integrated Data Services [44]
• HP Invent - Linking eTOM and SID with HP’s NSP Process Framework [45]
• HP Integrated Service Management framework (ISM) and OpenView TeMIP
• HP ISM OSS/J Adapter for OpenView TeMIP and OSS/J framework implemantation
• ASCOM - BMC Remedy Action Request System (ARS) over OSS/J [46]
• Intelliden - Logical Resource Components: A Means for Accurately Modeling Managed Element Configuration [47]
• Oracle (formerly Metasolv) - Oracle e-Business Solutions for Communications [48]
• AMDOCS - Extending eTOM through ASOM to deliver greater value faster [49]