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  • 1.  BSS and OSS mapping in TAM Framework

    TM Forum Member
    Posted Nov 17, 2021 09:22
    Hi,

    1) Is TM Forum officially defined which functional blocks in TAM framework are BSS and OSS? Basically, I would like to know the demarcation between OSS and BSS in terms of the functionalities.
    2) If the mapping is available, is there any solutions which can deliver all the BSS functionalities? Or we need to choose best of breed approach to implement the functionalities?
    #General

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    Tajul Fakhar Fahirurazi
    Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM)
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  • 2.  RE: BSS and OSS mapping in TAM Framework

    Posted Nov 18, 2021 03:37
    Edited by Roland Leners Nov 18, 2021 10:21
    Hi Tajul,

    Regarding your first question: I think that ODA is in the process of superseding the applications defined by TAM. ODA has several functional blocks. BSS & OSS broadly map to certain blocks (e.g. the Production block could be considered making up most of OSS). The blocks are currently defined in terms of components and each component re-uses the TAM functions. So in theory you might be able to reconstruct a functional scope of OSS and BSS, but I am not sure that any such work is being carried out. But there are much more knowledgeable people on this forum that might have a deeper opinion on this.

    Best regards,

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    Roland Leners
    SATEC GROUP
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  • 3.  RE: BSS and OSS mapping in TAM Framework

    TM Forum Member
    Posted Nov 18, 2021 03:42
    Hi Tajul
    I advise you to look at some of the materials published under Open Digital Architecture (https://www.tmforum.org/oda ).
    ODA divides the functional landscape of service providers into multiple layers. The three core layers are:
    • Party Management - deals with anything that doesn't have to do with the specific service provider business (and so could be relevant not just for telcos, but also insurance, health, utilities, etc.). So customers, billing, partners, payments, etc. For Telcos, this is part of BSS.
    • Core Commerce - deals with the specific business of the service providers. So products, product catalog, rating schemes, etc. For Telcos, this is part of BSS
    • Production - deals with the network. So services, resources, etc. For Telcos, this is OSS.
    There are many vendors in these spaces, including Amdocs (my employer :) ) and many others. I'm sure that vendors would be very happy to pitch their solutions to you as a telco. I invite you to reach out to me privately for more information, I'm not sure that the TMF community pages are the best location for a sales engagement.

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    Jonathan Goldberg
    Amdocs Management Limited
    Any opinions and statements made by me on this forum are purely personal, and do not necessarily reflect the position of the TM Forum or my employer.
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  • 4.  RE: BSS and OSS mapping in TAM Framework

    TM Forum Member
    Posted Nov 18, 2021 09:19
    On top of answers already given - having worked in an OSS/BSS vendor but now being in a more neutral position, I would say that no single vendor (AFAIK) has a single "solution" that would cover the entire BSS domain, regardless of what they say. Bigger and more established ones usually provide a combination of components that can cover most or even the entire BSS spectrum; smaller or services-heavy ones claim to "implement" the stack for you using the tools and building blocks they have. However, since no two organisations are the same, either of those approaches necessarily includes integration (to other systems, such as OSS or external partner systems) and automation (both operational, and business-process level) that has to be done specifically for a given organisation.

    So, arguably, regardless of your choice between the best-of-breed or best-stack, you have to pay utmost attention that system integration and delivery is in good hands. With a single BSS vendor the project delivery might be more straightforward but you effectively become locked-in to this vendor and have to live with the shortcomings of particular components (and/or might need to pay extra for change requests). With multiple vendors, somebody (either the CSP or a separate SI company) has to do the tough job of making all those best-of-breed pieces work together (and TMF OpenAPIs surely help here but don't solve the integration puzzle). In my opinion, the CSP ends up having more control over the resulting solution and its future in this case. Across the industry, there are successful and unsuccessful examples of both practices; it's a matter of what you are prepared to spend more on, and whom you choose to accompany you in the transformation journey.

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    Alexey Rusakov
    Red Hat, Inc.
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  • 5.  RE: BSS and OSS mapping in TAM Framework

    TM Forum Member
    Posted Nov 19, 2021 08:43
    Edited by Matthieu Hattab Nov 19, 2021 08:50
    Tajul,
    Your 1st question:
    We worked on similar mapping. A great starting point was to use the GB929F, which list Domains, Applications and Functions in an Excel format. You can start mapping Applications or functions to BSS/OSS terms. to help with the mapping, you need to understand the functions, which are defined in the TAM documentation (GB929D)

    As recommended by others, you should probably start adopting ODA and map your TAM functions to ODA blocks.
    in the ODA project, TMF has started to map TAM functions to ODA components. It's very early stage, they have mapped 2 components to ODF assets (TAM, SID, ETOM OAPI). Example.

    I have a suggestion that could work: reverse engineers ODA to TAM mapping using ETOM/SID.
    GB1022 has a list of ETOM processes and SID entities with ODA blocks. If you find a mapping between TAM and ETOM/SID (that should exist, right?), you have a decent (albeit imperfect) mapping between TAM and ODA blocks. And ODA blocks are easily mapped to BSS/OSS as suggested by previous posts in this thread. 

    Your 2nd question:
    disclaimer: these are my personal opinions
    I don't think a single vendor could deliver all BSS functions, maybe "on paper" but vendors support of a given function can vary from poor to great. Focus on the functions you need, not all of them. 
    1. TMF has a member directory. Unfortunately, It doesn't say if the member is a CSP, a vendor or an academic institution.
      There are also "BSS" vendors who declare to use TMF standards but are not members of TMF.
    2. You could contact your TMF account manager, maybe TMF can help you.
    3. for pure telecom BSS/OSS functions I would recommend that you favour vendors that have:
    • signed the ODA/Open API manifesto
    • adopted TMF standards (ODF, e.g. ETOM, SID OAPI's...)
    • have as many TMF-certified Open APIs as possible
    If your company starts a BSS transformation programme, adopting ODA now could bear great benefits in the future. With ODA and Open API's you have the privilege of not being locked to a vendor.

    EDIT: I see some great potential in using the TMF component template to be a great tool for comparing and selecting a vendor.

    My 2 cents!

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    Matthieu Hattab
    Altibox AS
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  • 6.  RE: BSS and OSS mapping in TAM Framework

    TM Forum Member
    Posted Nov 24, 2021 12:03

    This is also a good source: IG1242 ODA Component Inventory & Heatmap

    It shows core functionalities (ODA components) mapped on ODA functional blocks (which are already mapped to OSS and BSS "artefacts")



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    Matthieu Hattab
    Altibox AS
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  • 7.  RE: BSS and OSS mapping in TAM Framework

    TM Forum Member
    Posted Nov 24, 2021 13:58
    Thanks Mathieu for the pointer.
    Consumers of IG1242 should be aware that the ODA functional team is working on detailed component specifications. This work may lead to realignment of components (merging some, splitting others). So I advise to treat IG1242 as a general guideline at this time, rather than as a binding closed list of components.

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    Jonathan Goldberg
    Amdocs Management Limited
    Any opinions and statements made by me on this forum are purely personal, and do not necessarily reflect the position of the TM Forum or my employer.
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  • 8.  RE: BSS and OSS mapping in TAM Framework

    TM Forum Member
    Posted Nov 30, 2021 19:54
    Edited by Ryan Jeffery Nov 30, 2021 19:54
    Hi Tajul,

    As the comments show above, there isn't really an official mapping.

    FWIW, I decided to have a crack at it for fun a couple of years ago. See here - https://passionateaboutoss.com/where-does-bss-end-and-oss-begin/

    Rgds
    Ryan

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    Ryan Jeffery
    PassionateAboutOSS.com
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