Communication Service Providers (CSPs) were the frontrunners when the offerings were limited to voice and WAN data, during the mid-late 90’s. These generated revenues for businesses and customers the world over, and paying a premium was accepted.

Customers today expect self-service, omnichannel touchpoints, and personalized experiences. It has necessitated CSPs having to reimagine their basic infrastructure. It includes managing network services, operations support systems (OSS), and business support systems (BSS).

Scalability, the efficiency of delivery, and multiple service offerings from cloud providers prove a challenge for CSPs. The complex nature of public clouds makes it difficult for CSPs to expand their coverage.

OSS and BSS are logical entities embodying a management system for telecom and networks. In today’s digital landscape, the emphasis on OSS and BSS is higher than ever before amidst changing business relationships and regulations. OSS/BSS solutions today require new service layer architecture centered around customer experience management, prompting CSPs to shift towards customized services and personalized Customer Experience (CX).

What is BSS/OSS on Cloud?

BSS and OSS are at the heart of the telecom network, where business operations occur to generate revenue. However, archaic models had limited choices. Several CSPs today have complicated applications extending over various services operating in bare-metal servers with regional databases. It was overcome by developing proprietary integrations to link these essential functions.

The interaction of BSS applications with the framework has changed in the last few years, principally through virtualization. However, this was insufficient to meet the increasing CSP requirements of digitization, higher speeds, reduced operational costs, and agility. As we enter the era of 5G, shifting to cloud BSS/OSS is the solution.

Key advantages of moving to a cloud-based BSS/OSS model

Listed below are some of the key benefits of moving to a cloud-based OSS/BSS.

Reduced Costs

• Flexibility to manage explosive traffic scenarios without advance payment
• Automated server configurations
• Monitor operations for enhanced productivity
• Reduced licensing costs
• Reusable assets and auto-scalability
• A shift from pre-determined hardware licensing cost
• Reduce deployment overheads

Advanced functional agility

• Upgrades and infrastructure resizing with near-zero downtime
• Deploying new versions on virtual machines
• Retention of the present physical equipment
• Simplified redirection of network load to the new VMs
• Faster time-to-market
• Continuous integration and continuous deployment
• On-demand scaling up or down of services
• No single-point failures
• Software configuration on multiple virtual machines
• Smoothly leverage 5G solutions

Personalized, optimized solutions

• CSPs can optimize the blend of OSS application functionalities for their network
• Elimination of forced to license products
• CSP will have the latest upgrades rapidly
• Low turnaround time for global customers
• Robust core functionality

Reduced CAPEX and OPEX

• No advance CAPEX and SMBs
• Scale-up OSS system corresponding to network expansion
• Reduced OPEX with a sole focus on the network operations

Flexibility

• Multiple zone availability
• CSPs can provide network and service components as a service
• Pay-per-use model
• Leveraging open-source-based cloud solutions
• OSS capacities can be determined on the go

How does Cloud based BSS/OSS model work?

A cloud-based framework for OSS/BSS leads to a streamlined and highly efficient system to facilitate resource distribution, automation, and tracking usage. For instance, if CSPs host OSS solutions within their private clouds, it offers high adaptability to scale operations on-demand and streamlines upgrades while lowering costs.

Based on standardized protocols and re-usability, cloud BSS/OSS platforms use identical methods and adapted configurations. It leads to lesser errors, reduced work, and decreased costs. Automated, regulated solutions for cloud BSS will allow for human resources to be shared, which improves productivity while being cost-effective.

Transforming traditional BSS/OSS to cloud

While the benefits of moving to cloud BSS/OSS are significant, there is no single route forward. The transition depends on the composite of elements and connectivity in place. Legacy business support systems devised for on-premise deployment are still in place.

With a high premium on personalization, deploying a brand-new stack while retaining the legacy one is not a viable option. A progressive reimagining of BSS components within a cloud framework will help attain the benefits of the cloud while maintaining a steady stream of revenue.

Potential pain points to watch out while transforming from traditional model

It is important to remember that migration will not transform legacy systems overnight. The transition to cloud OSS/BSS transformations requires strategic, stage-wise planning. While cloud solutions are effective, existing processes must be robust. It is essential to evaluate the systems in place, the consequences post-implementation, and the benefits.

Migrating to the cloud for OSS/BSS is undoubtedly effective, but a credible business case is still essential. The first thing to keep in mind is to collaborate with vendors who adhere to standards. Protocols successfully used with previous technologies need to be applied here. It is essential to standardize the scale from end to end. Security is a central aspect of migration, which and the operator, not the vendor, will feel security breaches. With an increased focus on reducing costs, security must not be compromised.

This concern is the first step towards comprehensive integration, and it lays the foundation for any physical, virtual, cloud, network, or IT component to be integrated. This process can be made smooth by enforcing standards, including interoperability, and figuring out system requirements. Shifting back-office operations to the cloud reimagines the structural framework to deploy the latest technologies and applications. The factors that pose problems to these implementations – security, standards, and cost – must be carefully considered to ensure success.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. What is BSS/OSS?

OSS/BSS, in the context of telecommunications, are operations support systems and business support systems, respectively. It separates the functions of maintaining network operations and the business. CSPs maintain a wide variety of services and functions with their OSS/BSS. They comprise the following:

BSS – order capture, CRM, and billing

OSS – order management, network inventory management, and network operations

Q2. What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing refers to offering hosted services over the internet. The infrastructure for cloud computing requires having the right equipment and the software elements in place for optimized implementation.

For a large-scale broadband service to work, the following functionalities covered by OSS/BSS need to be automated and deployed to optimize scalability.

• Customer management ranging from marketing to customer resource management
• Service fulfillment spanning the range of order supervision, delivery, provisioning, and installation
• Customer support for large-scale broadband service to workThe including the help desk, on-site assistance, and repair
• Collection of revenue
• Service assurance including managing errors, handling tickets, SLAs, QoS, etc

The Road Ahead

As an industry leader in integrating digital networks, we work with telcos, cloud companies, citizen networks, and large enterprises in bringing seamless customer experiences. Our expertise in cloud-native, carrier-grade BSS solution streamlines automation of online and offline charging, business, and CRM.

Sabafon upon partnering with STL mitigated operational challenges by transitioning from legacy BSS to a fully Cloud-native SaaS-based BSS and OSS solution. The first phase of the solution, devised by STL, was live-in-operation in less than 90 days since commencement.

STL also executed the new-age digital BSS/OSS platform for Limpopo Connexion for its FTTx and VoIP services. This enabled Limpopo to extend the best digital experience to its customers while improving its performance and lowering expenses.

Watch this webinar as we discuss how companies can leverage the various technological benefits gained from BSS-to-cloud migrations. STL offers end-to-end, 5G-ready OSS/BSS solutions spanning between wired to wireless with core specializations in Optical Interconnect, Virtualised Access Solutions, Network Software, and System Integration.

In case of any queries concerning a large-scale broadband service implementation of cloud-based OSS/BSS, please reach out to us.