Comarch Technology Review 2010 Fall edition

www.comarch.com

The Magazine of Comarch

Telecommunications

Business Unit

no 2/2010[12]

In ThIs IssUe:

Oss/Bss Features M2M Market Trends: Overview

Of The M2M Value Chain

how exactly Will You Benefit From Automating Field services In Your Company

Customer spotlight Bouygues Telecom Achieves the Right Balance Thanks to Comarch Bss suite

Technology & Innovation Comarch Tests at the IBM Innovation

Center

Personalize your customer experience

Transform seamlessly to new business models

Ensure the highest quality of delivered services

Take full control of your network

Meet with Comarch experts face to face at the Mobile World Congress 2011

14 – 17 February at Fira de Barcelona, in Barcelona, Spain – 1F20, Hall 1

PrefaCe 3

pIOTR MAChnIk Comarch sA

Vice President, Product

Management & Marketing

Telecommunications

Business Unit

editor-in-Chief: Katarzyna [email protected] & DTp: Jakub Malickiphotos: www.fotolia.comproofreader: Martin Jonespublisher: Comarch SAAl. Jana Pawła II 39a, 31-864 KrakówTel. +48 12 64 61 000, Fax: +48 12 64 61 100www.comarch.comprint: Skleniarz Printing Houseul. J. Lea 118, 31-033 KrakówCirculation: 1 500

Technology Review is a free publication available by subscription. The articles published here can be copied and reproduced only with the knowledge and consent of the editors. The names of products and companies mentioned are trade marks and trade names of their producers.

To receive your subscription to the electronic version or see the previous issues, please visit: tr.comarch.com

Comarch’s offices in poland: Krakow (HQ), Warsaw, Gdansk, Wroclaw, Poznan, Katowice, Lodz, Lublin

Worldwide Offices:Americas panama | Panamá United States of America | Chicagoeurope Austria | Wien Belgium | Brussels Finland | Espoo France | Lille, Grenoble Lithuania | Vilnius Germany | Dresden, Frankfurt/Main,

Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Muenster, Duesseldorf, Bremen

Russia | Moscow slovakia | Bratislava Ukraine | Kyiv, Lviv Middle east United Arab emirates | Dubai Asia China | Shanghai Vietnam | Ho Chi Minh City

Comarch Technology Review is a publication created by Comarch experts and specialists. It is created to assist our customers and partners in obtaining in-depth information about market trends and developments, and the technological possibilities of addressing the most important issues.

ne of the world’s most renowned inventors,

Sir Faraday, was asked by the Minister of the

Treasury who was visiting Faraday’s lab „What

benefits would people have from these experiments with

electricity?” „I don’t know,” he said, “but I’m sure your

government will be collecting taxes from these results in

the future”. The same answer can probably be given to us

today by this year’s Nobel Prize laureate in Physics. Many

interesting and revolutionary technologies are waiting for

business opportunity to make them profitable and begin

entirely new revenue streams. Market innovation combines

technology with business modeling and extensive work

from engineers and marketing specialists.

Gartner’s report, Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies

2010, published in October, points out that almost all the

analyzed IT technologies are related to user experience, new

interfaces or user interaction methods.

The Web phenomenon has been moving from PC’s to

other devices such as smart phones, TV’s, flat panels in

automobiles, public transport and retail. New interaction

styles based on accelerometers and location services,

which made no sense for PC’s, are boosting the sales

of intelligent terminals. User experience as well as new

interaction styles, such as gesture recognition and tangible

user interfaces, simplify communication between the

application and the user and make our handsets more

intelligent and more personal.

Location based services, previously forecasted as a trigger

for location based ads, has become very popular because of

applications from iPhone Android using our position to define

a context for smart applications. Users are becoming more

accustomed to positioning information required by applications

and will be more open for mobile ads in the future.

Cloud computing is growing in the context of the expansion

of mobile application shops which has to find storage and

resources to support relatively small and smart applications

on smart phones with which the user is still moving from

place to place with.

Web cloud computing, location services and multi-screen

interfaces in the connected world are good examples of the

adoption of new business and revenue models, rather than

simply the adoption of the newest technology.

From the perspective of communication service providers, one

of the most important challenges in the Connected World is

how to ready infrastructure and business processes for new

interaction methods, new business models like revenue and

infrastructure sharing, direct and indirect sales models, quality

driven by customer experience and multi-technology service

fulfillment and assurance. This edition of Technology Review

demonstrates how Comarch analysts, solution managers and

developers approach the Connected World trend.

Enjoy reading.

What will surprise usin the near future?

O

table of Content s4

Comarch Technology Review 02/2010

16 Business Cases For policy Management

Some years ago, policy management did not

constitute a hot topic. Today, policy management

is becoming an essential tool for operators in

managing network traffic, based on policies

and improving service offerings simultaneously.

Operators can adjust their service offerings using

various parameters, such as service type, time of

day, customer location and data volumes.

19 M2M Market Trends

Overview Of The M2M Value Chain

The Machine-to-Machine (M2M) business,

related to the communication between machines

and other traditionally non-computing remote

devices or sensors, is attaining a global presence.

According to The European Telecommunications

Standards Institute (ETSI), the M2M market has

the potential to connect up to 50 billion machines

today, and even more in the near future.

23 From Circuit To soft (packet)-switching

Not so long ago, as the traditional Public Switched

Telephone Network (PSTN) evolved from analog to

digital (thanks to digital Time-Division Multiplexing

technology), we entered the era of NGN networks,

based on Internet protocols such as IP (Internet

Protocol) and MPLSs (Multi-protocol Label

Switching). Therefore, next generation networks

are often named “all-IP” networks, to emphasize

the transformation towards IP protocol.

26 knowledge Transfer Or Change

Announcement?

Every company requires an ongoing

communications and training program. They should

be designed to ensure that all employees, full time

and temporary, as well as contractors understand

the enterprise’s policies, processes and software

and know how to follow and use them properly.

28 Boosting service Innovation

Getting Through The Jungle Of Buzzwords:

SDP, Service Broker, Orchestration, SOA,

Service Composition…

Communication Service Providers (CSP) strive

to boost service innovation to augment basic

connectivity services. They are aware that they

may need new tools to realize this goal, but are

bombarded with buzzwords, by many claiming

they have the right solution. This article suggests

taking the problem-centric approach, to avoid

being drawn into the flood of new buzzwords.

neWs

5 What’s new

CustoMer sPotlight

6 Case study:

Bouygues Telecom Achieves the

Right Balance between Flexibility and

Maintainability Thanks to Comarch Bss suite

Bouygues Telecom required a platform to support

the company’s business development strategy of

supplying additional mobile services to end users

through SMS, Voice, MMS, WAP and I-Mode™, in

collaboration with a growing number of content

and service providers. This approach demanded a

sophisticated billing system capable of handling

the complex accounting processes between the

French mobile operator and its partners.

8 Case study:

how Cablevisión de saltillo entered a new

Market while Minimizing Costs

Comarch offered a pre-integrated billing, customer

care and network management solution that

supported all of Cablevisión’s business lines,

including telephony. Additionally, the solution

included a prepaid module that allowed

Cablevisión to offer prepaid services and an

interpartner billing module to efficiently handle the

company’s agreements with other carriers.

oss/bss features

10 how Cablecos Can Get Ahead Of Their

Competition

The Critical Role Of Next Generation BSS/OSS

In Cable Providers’ Business

On today’s cable market, there is an ongoing

race among operators towards the valued goal

of becoming an MSsO (Multi-Sservice Operator).

Although TV services still remain the main and

most stable revenue stream, significant income

growth originates from high-speed Internet and

telephony services, and the importance of these

will continue to increase.

13 how exactly Will You Benefit From

Automating Field services In Your Company

Field Service Management tools are solutions that

are primarily deployed by companies in order to

achieve certain business improvement goals. The

most popular and commonly requested client

goals in FSM systems include decreasing costs,

minimizing risks, and maximizing the profitability

of their services.

30 Bright Future For IpTV – Are You Ready?

By the end of 2010, Vodafone will present its

proprietary IPTV offer, named Vodafone TV, at IFA.

Based on a hybrid approach, satellite and cable

signals are processed via a platform developed

by Vodafone Germany. Following Telekom and

Alice, Vodafone will now be the third provider of IP

television in Germany.

34 Why Use plain Old Inventory Management

If You no Longer sell plain Old Telephone

services?

If we look to the future of Communications Service

Providers, we will see LTE technologies emerging

with constantly increasing power. Among others, the

new technologies were designed to make networks

more flexible, adaptable and cheaper to deploy. The

time required for enabling new services shrinks from

weeks to days, and maybe even hours.

telCosPhere blog

38 Unlimited Data plans – Disappearing Into

extinction

39 Murphy’s Law In 21st Century

Telecommunications

40Why Doing Your Laundry Can Be A Lot Like

Talking On The phone

teChnology & innovation

42 performance In Action

Customers require a better quality of software.

They also need improved performance of

business processes. High availability is a standard

requirement. It calls for more and more testing.

How do you perform increased testing in a more

diversified test environment?

44 Improving The scalability Of Modern Web-

Based software system

Nowadays, the scalability of software systems,

considered as their ability to handle growing

amounts of work, is of great importance. Modern,

web-based applications should often handle

thousands of requests per second, and it’s

impossible to achieve this throughput without

rapidly-operating hardware and well-designed

systems with the ability to be enlarged.

CoMMentary

46Relation after Comarch Bss/CRM/Oss

Workshops in stockholm

neWs 5


For more information, go to:

www.press.comarch.com

What’s New

Recent product Launches:

05 | 08 | 10

Comarch introduces a new product to its

offer for telecom operators – Comarch Bill

shock prevention

The growing usage of data services among

mobile subscribers has led to the surfacing of

a brand new problem that operators worldwide

have to face – the so called ‘bill shock’.

Comarch’s response is an addition to the broad

scope of its offer for telecom operators – the

Comarch Bill Shock Prevention solution.

29 | 07 | 10

Comarch launches new end-to-end solution

for Cloud service Management and Billing

As Cloud Computing and Cloud

Services increase in popularity on the

telecommunications market, Comarch

responds with a comprehensive solution for

managing and billing cloud services.

Comarch is Building its own Data Center Abroad:

17 | 05 | 10

In 2010, Comarch plans to open a Data

Center in Lille, France, with the next one

planned for Germany

Currently, Comarch has two modern Comarch

Data Centers in both Cracow and Warsaw,

with an additional facility in Cracow currently

under construction.

Recent Contracts:

15 | 09 | 10

kpn optimizes multinational corporate

customer management with a Comarch

solution

Comarch delivers a comprehensive set of BSS

modules to help KPN lower operational costs,

improve customer satisfaction and launch

new services faster.

18 | 08 | 10

The e-plus Group selects Comarch as

a strategic partner for next Generation

network planning

Comarch provides a solution supporting

planning and configuration of Radio Access,

Transport and Core Networks. This innovative

platform, delivered in the Managed Service

model, improves the efficiency of network

planning and, in particular, supports the

accelerated roll-out of the high-speed E-Plus

data network.

14 | 07 | 10

Comarch implements an innovative class

5 service platform at Telefonia DIALOG,

poland

Comarch has signed a comprehensive

contract with Telefonia DIALOG, one of

the biggest independent telecom service

providers in Poland for the provisioning,

installation and implementation of a service

platform based on class 5 Soft Switches.

Latest Award:

01 | 07 | 10

Comarch nGnp receives 2010 next

Generation network Leadership Award

Comarch Next Generation Network

Planning was awarded by NGN Magazine

in the category of Network Technology, in

recognition of its outstanding innovation.

CustoMer sPotlight6


CustoMer sPotlight6

he advent of newly developed accounting models

and the introduction of an extensive number of

novel mobile services prompted Bouygues Telecom,

in 2004, to replace its partner billing tool with a systematic

and rule-based system capable of managing the consequent

growth of increasingly complex revenue-sharing agreements

with content providers.

The Business need

Bouygues Telecom required a platform to support the

company’s business development strategy of supplying

additional mobile services to end users through SMS, Voice,

MMS, WAP and I-Mode™, in collaboration with a growing

number of content and service providers. This approach

demanded a sophisticated billing system capable of

handling the complex accounting processes between the

French mobile operator and its partners.

The Approach

Comarch provided Bouygues Telecom with a convergent and

agnostic billing and rating solution for postpaid and prepaid

services, including discounting and threshold charging.

Acquiring separate modules from different vendors would

have been an extremely complicated process, involving

signing and maintaining a number of contracts. Additionally,

the integration of these modules could have been extremely

difficult, adding to ongoing implementation risks.

The Approach

Comarch offered a pre-integrated billing, customer care

and network management solution that supported all of

Bouygues business lines, including telephony.

Bouygues Telecom, with over 10 million subscribers (March

2010), manages numerous products such as voice, SMS,

MMS, data, internet, etc. and has to manage content and

service provider billing for various products and services

(premium SMS, WAP, vote+ etc.).The solution is interfaced

with their own central Partner DB, backup and many other

interfaces within their information system.

Why Comarch?

In addition to Gartner assessments of the performance of

Comarch BSS, Bouygues Telecom conducted a detailed

T

Bouygues Telecom achieves the right balance between flexibility and maintainability

thanks to Comarch BSS Suite

“We were looking for a billing system that was able to keep up with the frantic pace at which we were expanding, while ensuring increased revenues for content providers and Bouygues Telecom”stated Emmanuel Micol, Access and Interconnect Director, Bouygues Telecom.

CustoMer sPotlight 7


COmarCH prOduCT:

InterPartner Billing

The industrialization and integration aspect of

this project plays a prominent role. As an example,

Bouygues Telecom’s CRM is interfaced with

Comarch Partner Care for automatic provisioning

of subscriptions. In addition, the system has been

adapted to all maintenance and usability constraints

imposed on any application in production at Bouygues

Telecom. In particular, the InterPartner Billing system

can be monitored using remote central monitoring,

and billing-specific processes can be initiated from

Bouygues Telecom’s central scheduling system. This

enables streamlining operating tasks, optimizing costs

and efficiency, as well as increasing the reliability of the

solution.

“Our solution for partnership management offers far

more than simply sharing money among companies.

We created a business solution based on a thorough

understanding of the nature of relationship building. We

are confident that our system will enable our client to

concentrate exclusively on their core business activities

and strengthen their competitive advantage”, explained

Tymoteusz Wrona, Head of BSS Solution Management.

“The system has been up and running for several years,

and it allows us to respond effectively and rapidly to

emerging market demands”, stated Emmanuel Micol,

Access and Interconnect Director, Bouygues Telecom.

study of various solutions on the market supported by

a POC (Proof of Concept). The billing and partner relationship

modules stood out due to their ability to elaborate and

handle reconciliation and mass processing, as well as their

capability to manage the complex partnership between

Bouygues Telecom and its partners responsible for content

and service provision.

“We chose Comarch InterPartner Billing over several other

rating engines as it enabled us to achieve the right balance

between flexibility and maintainability. This allows Comarch

to provide superior service and content delivery to mobile

customers, as well as revenue sharing in a highly dynamic

market where innovations arising every few months is

paramount”, explained Emmanuel Micol, Access and

Interconnect Director, Bouygues Telecom.

The Result

Comarch deployed a specially designed IT solution

for gathering information related to customer service

usage and computing the complicated revenue-sharing

rules that arise between Bouygues Telecom and its

partners. The system generates all the necessary

financial documentation and statistical reports, which

are then loaded into a dedicated data-mart and

transferred to SAP financial applications for further

processing.

Figure 1.

Content -basedservices

Content partners

payment & Charging requests

revenueSharing

products & prices management

partner management

usage dataadapters

partnerSelf Care

Invoicing

payment & Charging Gateway

revenue Sharing

partner’s administrator

Service usage data

Invoices

premiumservices,VaS

Telcopartners

CuSTOmerBouygues Telecom

InduSTryCommunications

Founded in 1994,

Bouygues Telecom

has 10,352,000 mobile

subscribers, 311,000

fixed customers

and employs 9000

members of staff.

The company aims to

“become the preferred

brand of mobile and

fixed communication

services as well as

of TV and Internet

provision”, and looks

to provide users

with more freedom

when using their

mobile phones - with

an emphasis on

hospitality, service

and support for its

customers.

CustoMer sPotlight8


CustoMer sPotlight8

Figure 1. Target IT infrastructure diagram

ablevisión de Saltillo, a cable TV operator in

Coahuila, Mexico, had ambitious expansion plans

that included entering the telephony market and

the acquisition of several smaller operators. Changes in

anti-monopoly laws allowed the company to execute its

plans, but heavy investments were necessary to guarantee

proper scalability and support telephony. Comarch helped

Cablevisión de Saltillo make the leap with a cost-effective

end-to-end integrated BSS solution.

The Business need

In order to offer voice services, an operator needs to

significantly modify its IT infrastructure to support the new

technology. Cablevisión de Saltillo’s existing IT systems did

not support telephony, and when analyzing BSS vendors,

the company found that very few offered an end-to-end

integrated platform. The target infrastructure is depicted in

the following diagram:

How Cablevisión de Saltillo entered a new market while minimizing costs

C

CuSTOmerCablevisión de Saltillo

InduSTryCommunications

Cablevisión de saltillo

is the flagship operator

of Grupo RCG. Today,

Cablevisión de Saltillo

is the largest Multi-

Service Operator (MSO)

in the state of Coahuila,

Mexico’s third-largest.

The capital of Coahuila is

the city of Saltillo, where

Cablevisión holds an

overwhelming share of

the triple-play market.

Internet

Telephony

Television

Controllers

Service delivery platform

Billing System & Customer

managementpayment management

HFC network

Help desk

Call Center

CustoMer sPotlight 9


Figure 2. Detailed infrastructure diagram after Comarch implementation

Acquiring separate modules from different vendors would

have been an extremely complicated process, involving

signing and maintaining a number of contracts. Additionally,

the integration of these modules could be very difficult,

adding to ongoing implementation risks.

The Approach

Comarch offered a pre-integrated billing, customer care

and network management solution that supported all of

Cablevisión’s business lines, including telephony.

Additionally, the solution included a prepaid module

that allowed Cablevisión to offer prepaid services and

an interpartner billing module to efficiently handle the

company’s agreements with other carriers. Figure 2

describes the final IT infrastructure.

The Result

With the help of Comarch, Cablevisión de Saltillo completed

a breakthrough project that allowed the operator to enter

a new market, while minimizing costs. Key features of the

pre-integrated solution include:

Comprehensive solution supporting all services in

a convergent manner

Multi-language system and documentation (Spanish

supported)

Pay-as-you-grow model supporting the following out-

of-the-box:

Up to 100,000 post-paid subscribers

Up to 20,000 pre-paid subscribers

Unlimited system users

Unlimited telephone traffic

Highly scalable system able to support many additional

subscribers by gradually improving hardware capacity,

as compared to other systems that require exponential

investments in hardware

Standards-based solution that facilitates the future

implementation and integration of additional modules

and 3rd party systems

COmarCH prOduCTS & SerVICeS:

Comarch Convergent Billing

Comarch Customer Management

Comarch Workforce Management

Comarch Business Process Management

Comarch Self Care

Comarch Service Activation

Comarch Billing Mediation

Comarch 3arts

Comarch InterPartner Billing

Comarch Analyzer

Comarch Fraud Detection

In the words of Carlos Casas, IT Director at Cablevisión de Saltillo, “Comarch is a true partner that helped us modernize our IT infrastructure and continues to support us in our day-to-day activities. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Comarch for years to come”.

Internet

Telephony

Set Top Box

TVWI-FI

FirewallaCC

Controller

Internal network

motoroladaC 6000

Cedar point C3Safari Softswitch

CmTS

decoders

multiplexers

TV Content

Internet and Telephony

Comarchdata processing

Server

ComarchBilling System

data base

Intraway Servicedelivery platform

Comarch Customermanagement

Comarch Self Care

Comarch3arts

Comarchmediation

Cable modem emTa

hFC neTWORk (DOCsIs – pACkeT CABLe – seT TOp BOX pROVIsIOnInG)

oss/bss features10


oss/bss features10

Why do Cablecos and Telcos Compete?

On today’s cable market, there is an ongoing race among

operators towards the valued goal of becoming an MsO

(Multi-service Operator). Although TV services still remain the

main and most stable revenue stream, significant income

growth originates from high-speed Internet and telephony

services, and the importance of these will continue to

increase.

In fact, the strongest competition cable operators’ face

derives from telecommunication service providers, rather

than from other cable operators. Customers can turn to a

telecommunication service provider to provide a similar

service, and without difficulty. This results in operators

seeking to improve their offers, and it is this type of

competition which can be highly beneficial for customers.

Both cablecos and telcos offer multi-play services which

consist of video, high-speed Internet, voice and wireless

services. There are numerous differences in technologies

and quality of services offered, yet telcos and cablecos are

heading in a similar direction with their offers to such an

extent that the customer may not even notice the difference

between them.

However, differences in service delivery technologies

provide tools for differentiation. Many telcos and cablecos

are still transforming their networks to allow for appropriate

business model transformation. Networks are transformed,

business models are adjusted. Both types of providers

strive to offer faster Internet, voice and wireless services.

Cablecos have been upgrading their networks to DOCSIS

3.0 to make this possible. Telcos are now using fiber-optic

networks to compete with cable companies through delivery

of TV services. Such technologies are powerful arms on the

battlefield, but what about long-range weapons?

Leading the Way to Multi-service Transformation

In order to benefit from the transformation momentum,

cable operators require robust support from systems that

understand the specifics of the market and which enable an

increase in competitiveness, delivery of high quality services

kRzYszTOF kWIATkOWskI

Comarch sA

BSS Product Manager,

Telecommunications

Business Unit

how cablecos can get ahead of their competition:

The critical role of next generation BSS/OSS in Cable Providers’ business

oss/bss features 11


IdeaS In BrIeF:

Why cablecos and telcos have to compete

Why do operators need to transform their business towards multi-service

What to consider when looking for a perfect solution to support your cable business

How does Comarch respond to the needs of Cable providers

and rises in revenue per subscriber. Furthermore, there must

also be a continuous focus on the customer.

BSS and OSS systems can be the key factors in an operator’s

successful business model transformation or lack thereof,

and constitute the long-range weapon in the battle between

cablecos and telcos. These systems must be focused on

increasing competitiveness, raising revenue per subscriber

and should be prepared for the future expansion of the

operator. To facilitate excelling at customer orientation

strategy, it must allow for creating personalized offers

according to the individual preferences of customers, and

ensure the high quality of delivered services. To shorten the

time-to-market and increase profitability, the solution should

provide multi-level convergence through the entire BSS and

OSS, as well as automation of field forces.

What to Look for in a solution for Cable TV Operators

Unlimited marketing creativity and customer orientationA product catalog with flexible definition of novel products,

services and bundles creation, personalized price plans and

discounts is the key factor for providing the differentiation

tool for marketing departments.

The usage of best-practices and pre-configured processes

dedicated to multi-service and traditional cable TV operators,

enables achieving this goal.

Market transformationReadiness for the transformation means being well-prepared

for such mergers and acquisitions, as well as adapting to the

different characteristics of operations in various regions.

Transformation creates a set of requirements for BSS

such as multi-tenancy with support for multiple billing,

product, network and payment providers, and also sales

partners. In the BSS sphere, it requires the consolidation of

customer information resulting from multiple billing and CRM

systems. Additionally, a modern multi-service operator has

to cooperate with various partners and content providers,

and this must be supported by the BSS platform with, at a

minimum, B2B connectivity, multi-party billing and revenue

sharing.

Complete control and security of financial operationsBundles, personalized offers and discounts require the

complete control and security of financial operations. This is

even more pertinent in the case of Multi-Service Operators

in comparison to traditional operators. This area should

Cable TV operators often comprise of various acquisitions and mergers, and some carry such an approach forward in combination with the multi-service strategy. Readiness for the transformation means being well-prepared for such mergers and acquisitions, as well as adapting to the different characteristics of operations in various regions.

be fully managed by BSS, with an integrated sub-ledger

interfacing with G/L, comprehensive payment collection with

support for numerous payment methods, managing and

clearing financial documents, and bad debt collection and

configurable dunning scenarios. Furthermore, this should all

be carried out whilst supporting Sarbanes-Oxley, SAS-70 and

PCI compliance.

successful business model transformationBSS and OSS solutions must also provide flexibility and

stability for IT departments. These departments implement all

ideas and business requirements as ready-to-sell products,

integrate and manage networks and provide efficient

maintenance processes. Multi-Service Operators require

robust support for the creation and maintenance of a vast

number of individual price plans and discounts.

network integration and managementThe network integration challenge of Multi-Service Operators

is connected to simultaneous multi-network integration with

cross-network mediation and provisioning. It also touches

on service-agnostic billing and active mediation capabilities

with data format independence, high configurability and

support for industry standard interfaces and file formats.

There is a requirement for cable-TV-specific inventory with

the usage of HFC Network Hierarchy data models and

mechanisms of serviceability checking, with the possibility to

maintain precise information related to equipment at remote

sites and cable layouts needed to support technicians

working in the field.

Fault management capabilities should allow planned

outages and detect service interruptions. The new element

for cable TV operators can be connected with service quality

management which, together with managing congestion

issues via early detection of network problems and

identification of the impact on services, must be handled in

order to acquire heightened customer experience.

Convergence requires real-time processing of network

events via mediation and a billing system. This is why all

modules used in the real-time processing chain must have

the capabilities for upgrade without impacting service

continuity.

process managementMSO complexity requires efficient business process

management, integrated with the entire multi-domain IT

ecosystem. Such integration and process management

has to be handled by BSS and OSS domains with built-in,

configurable order management, business process

execution monitoring and advanced task scheduling that are

open for integration.

oss/bss features12


Comprehensive customer serviceMinimizing costs and maintaining comprehensive customer

service, requires the automation of field forces. Intelligent

scheduling and dispatching of technicians, automated task-

resource matching based on technician availability, skills and

location, and leveraging data stored in the network inventory

in order to support technicians working in the field, may

provide significant cost savings and increased customer

satisfaction. The latter is especially important during

primary contact with the operator, occurring when the first

technicians visit the customer’s home.

summary

The multi-service approach changes the way in which

customers perceive their communication service providers.

Today, Multi-Service Operators represent a major gateway

to entertainment and communication services. Creating

positive relations with customers is the task of the marketing

department, but improving their overall experience requires

the collaboration of other departments, such as network,

billing, customer service, and even field technicians.

The advantage of the Comarch solution for cable TV

operators is that it transforms the broad communication

experience into a multi-service business and provides next

generation BSS and OSS tools to enable maximum efficiency

of operations and business model transformation.

The full article can be found at:

http://cable.comarch.com

The Comarch Solution for Multi-Service Operators provides: unlimited marketing creativity, customer orientation, openness to cable TV market transformation, field force automation and more…

The characteristics of Multi-Service Operators mean they require robust support for the creation and maintenance of a vast number of individual price plans and discounts.

Figure 1. Comarch’s comprehensive solution for Multi-Service Operators

externalsystems

marketing and Sales managers

Operationmanagers

Technicians

Local resellers CSr end users

Billingmanagers

SOa Integration

daTa Integration

InTerFaCeS

Field Service management

revenue Sharing

Billing mediation

active mediation

Service activation

Connectivity

network & Service Inventory management

Service Quality management

Fault management

Convergent Billing Interconnect Billing dmS/archive

mnp

payments

GL

dWH

printhouse

product Catalog

Crm Self Servicepoint of Sale

BuSIneSSprOCeSS

manaGemenT

TV / IpTV dOCSIS

TV, high-speed Internet, voice, content

end users

multi-play

HFC

Fixed & mobile Telephony

Content

oss/bss features 13


ield service Management tools are solutions that

are primarily deployed by companies in order to

achieve certain business improvement goals. The

most popular and commonly requested client goals in FsM

systems include decreasing costs, minimizing risks, and

maximizing the profitability of their services.

In most cases the main goal of the project is achieved

(FSM projects are less risky in comparison with other

telecommunication projects) and the influence of these

improvements in the organization of technicians’ work is

visible throughout the entire company.

In this article I will discuss several job functions in

a telecommunications company and will demonstrate that

each and every employee benefits from an investment such

as the Field Service Management system.

Customer Technical support and network Maintenance

If you are a Fs Dispatcher/schedulerAs a dispatcher/scheduler in the Customer Technical Support

or Network Maintenance department, your scope of duties

involves numerous important activities within the order

fulfillment process.

If your company does not deploy any tool for improving

your job, you are probably the busiest person and at

the end of the day you are being blamed for all the

organizational problems in your department. This is

not a normal situation. Field Service Management may

make your job easier and will certainly increase your

effectiveness. Why? A number of FSM modules align to

help you carry out your responsibilities, they include:

F

oss/bss features 13

How exactly will you benefit from automatingfield services in your company

szYMOn UCzCIWek Comarch sA

BSS/OSS Solutions

Consultant

and Product Manager,

Telecommunications

Business Unit

oss/bss features14


Scheduling tools

This FSM module gives you a 360º view of your team’s

situation. If you have a new work order to fulfill, a graphical

timeline tool helps you schedule it for the proper technician

and allocate the required technical equipment. You will have

the following information:

the SLA connected with the order

a sequence of tasks required to complete the order

available resources (human and technical) with skills

suitable for completing the order

a list of tasks currently being completed by technicians

resources in the nearest location for completing the

order

Location-Based Services

If you are responsible for dispatching 20 technicians, do

you know exactly where they are at all times? If you have

a GIS-based FSM tool you are able to check every location

on a digital map, find any technician, order or vehicle. If

technicians have mobile handsets with GPS or vehicle

tracking equipment, any time you are faced with a critical

situation you are able to locate resources in the nearest

location and assign them to resolving the problem.

If you are a TechnicianIn the end, all the work falls on your shoulders. The strategy

of the company always requires you to be more productive –

to do more and spend less time doing it. But it’s impossible to

divide yourself in two. Field Service Management tools allow

you to follow the company’s strategy while at the same time,

making your job better and more interesting. How?

Mobile Access

Imagine that whenever you need to, you are able to check

what work you have to do. Mobile Field Service Management

tools allow you to do almost everything on site. A mobile

handset will be the most important piece of equipment you

have with you in the field. Let’s go through your usual work

day. You start by picking up your list of tasks. No need to do

this – it’s already on your mobile. Next you plan your route

from task to task – no, no! Just use your mobile application

to navigate you to the customer. Once on site you have to

verify through documentation or by telephone what work

Figure. Different users of field service management tools

IdeaS In BrIeF:

What are the newest solutions in the Field Service Management domains

What are the benefits of using Field Service Management tools

How can FSM tools have a direct impact on you and your position in a telecommuni-cation company

What are the actual cases of applying FSM tools in your daily activities

How can FSM tools improve communication between departments

network Inventory CRM network monitoring

FSM system Field Work Orders

Orders and Tasks

resourcesTime

managementautomatic dispatcher

maps FSm mobile reporting

ManagementField TechniciansDispatchers

Network objects Orders OrdersAppointments

No matter where you are in the company, Field Service Management solutions can positively impact on your work

oss/bss features 15


you have to carry out – but with your mobile you already

have all this information on the screen, along with the

procedure of how to accomplish it and with remote network

measurement tools. What’s next? Usually you have to fill out

some paperwork with the customer, but now you enter all

this data into the mobile handset and capture the customer’s

signature.

Optimization tools

“Optimization” sounds like a nice, but very often it means that

your limits of petrol per mile are cut again and again. But this

is not the kind of optimization that Field Service Management

tools carry out. FSM optimization tools try to find the most

optimal organization of your work, minimizing route distances

between task sites. This is possible thanks to information from

GIS systems like Google Maps.

Spare Parts Management

There are cables, modems, set top boxes and many other tools

you have to carry in your vehicle. And even if you have tons of

stuff in the truck, there always seems to be a problem with a

certain piece of equipment that wasn’t taken. What do you do

in such a situation? One solution is to go to the warehouse and

come back with the spare part for the customer. However this

is not only problematic for you, but also creates measurable

additional costs for the company, not to mention the effect it

has on the KPIs in your department. But even this problematic

situation can be resolved thanks to Field Service Optimization

tools. With information about your daily tasks you have precise

data about what you need to take with you in order to complete

all your daily tasks.

Knowledge Base

When a network element or customer is not in a standard

location (multi-story buildings, mountains or underground

locations) having every available piece of additional

information shown in the order context is particularly useful.

The Knowledge Base in FSM tools will add a description and

pictures to your order’s details and thus shorten your time

spent on that difficult order.

Customer service

The impact of deploying Field Service Management tools

is not only limited to the main beneficiaries such as field

service departments. It has a much broader influence on the

entire telecommunication department environment.

If you are a CsRYou are responsible for resolving customer problems as

quickly as possible and the optimal situation is when

the problem can be resolved from the first attempt. But what

if it is not possible to give the customer actual information

about a technician’s visit? What if you have to call the

customer after some discussions with the field service team

or maybe even worse, leave it to them to call the customer

to make an appointment? Such a situation is confusing not

only for you, but probably even more so for your customer.

Field Service Management tools are able to provide you with

instant information about free resources and about available

time slots for technical service on a customer’s site.

sales

According to Gartner research in the area of Field Service

Management (e.g. Magic Quadrant for Field Service

Management from 17th July 2010) one of the critical elements

of the Field Service Management Life Cycle that has to

be supported by FSM tools is customer management

capabilities including accountancy and sales.

If you are a salespersonTypically the worst part of a sales specialist’s work is

unsuccessful interaction with customers, as well as

gathering all the required sales process documents. It is

problematic to hold a customer’s attention while going

through all the procedures with him needed for completing

a sale. The second thing is collecting all the required

documents from the customer, such as signed contracts,

updates etc. FSM functionalities allow transferring certain

sales activities to technicians. They can play a significant role

in customer contact by delivering documents and collecting

required signatures. This may even include preparing

invoices for the customer, and executing sales, thanks to the

cross- and up-selling functions of the mobile application. The

sales process will be fully aligned with market expectations.

Now, your sales team will be supported by valuable

representatives, and no opportunity will be wasted.

summary

Synergy is still one of the leading optimization strategies.

Improvements are made by unifying and synchronizing

the entire company to achieve the same business goals.

Consider Field Service Management systems as the next

element of a department’s synergy and communication

improvement. It is an element which leaves behind the

traditional method of managing technical resources and

puts into practice a customer-centric strategy, using

improvements in customer service processes, service

convergence (the system allows managing all field service

activities not limited to special domains and services)

and cost savings by optimization as well as benefits from

outsourcing field services.

The full article can be found at:

http://field-service.comarch.com

GLOSSary:

FsM – Field Service Management

kpI – Key Performance Indicator

GIs - Geographic Information System

sLA – Service Level Agreement

When you are a new employee at a company. Usually, at the beginning, it takes a significant amount of your time to understand all the procedures and tools used by your department. The Mobile FSM application with all its details about orders, order sites, routes and additional descriptions from the knowledge base allows you to start your normal job right from the very first day.

oss/bss features16


oss/bss features16

Some years ago, policy management did

not constitute a hot topic. One of the first

cases in which the issue received extensive

publicity, was in accordance with when p2p file sharing

applications were considered problematic – not only from

the legal perspective (copyright issues), but also because

of network congestion. Today, policy management is

becoming an essential tool for operators in managing

network traffic, based on policies and improving service

offerings simultaneously. Operators can adjust their

service offerings using various parameters, such as

service type, time of day, customer location and data

volumes. Policy management combines a mixture of

underlying network, subscriber data and service delivery

into a single entity.

Figure 1. Comparison of network economics in existing and LTE networks

Policy management entails various benefits for the operator: increased customer satisfaction, higher ARPU and reduced costs.

evolution of policy Management

Following the operator’s struggle with P2P file sharing,

video streaming from services such as YouTube became

the next bandwidth-hungry service. Here, the role of third

parties (outside of the operator-customer relationship)

has increased – content providers and other 3rd parties

can provide data-hungry services to end customers, and

operators may not attain additional revenues from this

business.

The popularity of mobile data services has made the “bit

pipe” problem for operators even more challenging. One

contributor towards this issue has been the reducing prices

of smartphones and mobile data offerings. Subscribers have

IdeaS In BrIeF:

How and why did policy management issues emerge?

What does the customer expect?

How does policy management affect customer experience?

Business casesfor policy management

dOmInaTed By VOICe dOmInaTed By daTa

Time

Traffic volume

network cost(existing network)

Cost of new network(e.g. shared network)

revenue

profit

Loss

oss/bss features 17


oss/bss features 17

been able to purchase unlimited data plans for a fixed fee

per month. However, the problem is that the revenues from

mobile data services do not cover the costs of network

investments. Many operators have already announced that

they will stop offering unlimited data plans for mobile users,

and will instead provide various tariff plans with different

monthly data quotas.

The introduction of LTE improves mobile network efficiency,

and data traffic growth does not increase CAPEX to the

same level as it does in 3G networks. Thus, operators

are more able to increase their revenues without the

continuous need to upgrade network capacity. Figure 1

[source: Analysys Mason, 2010] presents the effect of

network maintenance costs on the operator’s bottom-line

results, between legacy and LTE networks. Notice how traffic

volume growth in existing networks correlates with network

costs. After LTE, operators still require tools for managing

the policies, in order to take full advantage of the revenue

opportunities.

policy Management from the Customer perspective

A typical customer wants to pay as little as possible for the

services he is using. Similarly, he also wants to receive as

much value as possible for his money – this means that

he wants to attain the maximum amount of minutes and

megabytes. From the operator’s perspective, this becomes a

dilemma – the operator wants to acquire as much money from

the customer as possible, and simultaneously, the customer

should consume as few network resources as possible.

The customer can reap the benefits of the personalized

services offered by the operator. Fundamentally, each

customer has their own service usage habits, such as

web browsing, viewing video (e.g. YouTube) and gaming.

For each type of end customer, the operator can tailor

individual pricing plans and customize the service level. For

example, a customer who likes to play multiplayer games

on the Internet would appreciate higher service levels for

this particular type of service, in this case meaning lower

latencies for the game data traffic.

Customers may be interested in purchasing value-added

services (such as better QoS levels) for an additional fee.

An example case can be a business customer who needs

high bandwidth for the corporate VPN services he is using.

Another example can be a private customer who would like

to watch a football match with guaranteed bandwidth and

reduced latency. This type of user can buy e.g. a temporary

4-hour “bandwidth boost” from the operator for an additional

fee, using the self service portal for the subscription.

It can be summarized that customer experience is

heightened with policy management – network congestion

is reduced, customers receive more individualized tariff

plans and customers feel that they are getting more value

for their money. Thus, moving from the flat rate, unlimited

tariff plans to more individual types, can actually become an

advantage for the customer.

Why operators should invest in policy Management

From the operator’s perspective, policy management is not

only about throttling the bandwidth from high bandwidth

consumers. Policy management entails various benefits for

the operator: increased customer satisfaction, higher ARPU

and reduced costs.

The typical customer wants to attain the maximum amount of minutes and megabytes for as little money as possible. The operator, on the other hand, would like to acquire as much money from the customer as he can, and simultaneously have the customer consume as few network resources as possible.

pekkA VALITALO Comarch sA

BSS Market Analyst,

Telecommunications

Business Unit

oss/bss features18


Figure 2. Comarch Policy Management solution

With more individual tariff plans, the operator can up-sell

and cross-sell more for existing customers, and increase

ARPU in this way. An additional advantage is, of course,

the lower costs for network investments and maintenance

– due to restricting heavy bandwidth consumers. Network

congestion can be controlled, for example, by dynamically

allowing only specific types of services on the network

(e.g. web surfing is allowed, but video streaming or P2P

file sharing is not), in temporary situations where network

bandwidth is reducing.

The operator is able to increase the segmentation of

customers, basing on their individual habits. Various

parameters can be used for this segmentation, such as

service type, location, subscriber status (e.g. basing on

ARPU), device type and age. The policy management engine

can make dynamic decisions basing on the parameters, and

this extends the operator’s role from a mere bit pipe, towards

a more customer-focused service provider.

The policies can be applied dynamically and without

individual configuration for each customer, by the policy

management engine. The information about individual

subscribers can be used for allocating customers between

various tiers. For example, customers with high ARPU from

the previous two months may be automatically allocated to

a higher tier for the ensuing month. Individual tiers can have

different service allowances and quality of service levels.

The customer can be informed of the new service tier e.g. by

The figure presents a general

architecture of the Comarch

Policy Management solution,

situated between the billing/

CRM and network layer. The

solution is integrated with the

underlying network elements

to enforce the policies, and

can also be integrated with

the external billing and CRM

systems, instead of using its

own online/offline charging

functionalities and the

subscription profile repository.

The supported interfaces not

only follow 3GPP standards

(Gx, Gy), but also provide

additional interfaces and

APIs for integration with

the network environment

and external systems, making

it usable for multiple types

of Communication Service

Providers.

SMS, and it is also possible for him to purchase an increased

tier for the ensuing months, for an additional fee, in the case

that the conditions (such as specific level of ARPU) from the

previous months are not met.

The self service portal of the operator can be used in various

business scenarios for policy management – from defining

the service limits (e.g. service type or specific URL/domain)

in parental control scenarios, to defining consumption

restrictions, and time-of-day limits. This reduces the risk of

bill shocks and also provides more choice for end customers

to define the appropriate service allowance.

Conclusions

The scope of policy management is extending from

traditional usage of network throttling towards value-added

services, by using subscriber and service data available

for the decisions that have an effect on the services that

the subscriber is using. Operators are able to use policy

management for the offering of personalized services and

tariffs to their customers.

The Comarch Policy Management solution enables

Communication Service Providers to control their

network, service sessions and subscriber access, and

simultaneously provide subscribers with differentiated

services and improved customer experience.

The policy management engine can make dynamic decisions basing on the parameters, and this extends the operator’s role from a mere bit pipe, towards a more customer-focused service provider.

Crm

part

ners

Con

tent

Billing

Online and Offline Charging System

Comarch policy management

applicationFunction

Subscribe profile repository

Online and Offline Charging System

Service Control

policy and Charging rules Function

Web Services

Gx, Gy diameter, radIuS apI provisioning

Web Services

HTTp

Various network types

Ip, ImS, nGnFixed, Cable mobile

oss/bss features 19


he Machine-to-Machine (M2M) business, related

to the communication between machines and

other traditionally non-computing remote devices

or sensors, is attaining a global presence. According to The

european Telecommunications standards Institute (eTsI),

the M2M market has the potential to connect up to 50 billion

machines today, and even more in the near future. Mobile

network operators, seeking new revenue sources when

faced with reduced voice revenues, have developed an

interest in the M2M segment.

Devices with embedded connectivity are used in the

various sectors: energy, automotive, logistics, infrastructure,

security, healthcare, merchandising, payment, monitoring,

industry etc. We can encounter machines with SIM cards

installed in both our professional and private lives. Their

application can be wide, from the monitoring of energy

usage, through car connectivity to entertainment.

Thanks to this connectivity, all machines and devices with

M2M cards installed can be efficiently monitored, updated and

diagnosed remotely, without human intervention. Errors can be

detected automatically and alerts can be sent immediately.

An example of the application of M2M cards in the

automotive sector is presented in Figure 1. In this case,

drivers can benefit from faster passage through a road

toll, due to the automatic charging of cars and the top-up

possibility in the prepaid model. Moreover, logistics and

insurance companies can attain accurate information about

the routes’ their employees and customers’ take.

The schema for healthcare monitoring is presented in

Figure 2. The remote diagnosis of the patient is one of

the advantages of this M2M application. Besides a rapid

diagnosis, M2M monitoring reduces the cost of treatment

and guarantees more freedom for patients who can go home,

while still receiving care.

T

oss/bss features 19

M2M market trends

Overview of the M2M value chain

AGnIeszkA CzULAk Comarch sA

BSS Solution Manager,

Telecommunications

Business Unit

Figure 1. M2M application in the road tolls business


BSS Market Analyst,

Telecommunications

Business Unit

road Toll CompanyIT Systems

m2m solution

InterneteXIT

eXITeXIT

oss/bss features20


Overview of the M2M ecosystem

Figure 3 presents the different actors of the M2M market:

Device manufacturer, system integrator, M2M enabler,

network operator and end user. Each has different needs and

roles related to their activity.

Device manufacturers

Device manufactures who provide hardware and firmware

to M2M partners are equipping devices that were originally

designed to operate without reference to mobile technology,

with hardware that enables M2M communication.

The M2M enabler can be different to that of a network operator, although in some cases the solution provider and network operator are actually the same company.

IdeaS In BrIeF:

Why the M2M business is becoming more and more attractive

Which actors are present in the M2M value chain

The dilemma network operators face

Which trends are present on the M2M market

Figure 2. M2M application in the healthcare industry

Figure 3. Actors of the M2M ecosystem

device manufacturer

System Integrator

m2m enabler

mnO

end user

Telco Operator IT SystemsHospital

IT Systemsm2m platform

Internet

mobilenetwork

monitored patient

monitored patient

monitored patient

oss/bss features 21


Certification requirements are high. Devices have to be

compliant with various standards. The performance

assurance of devices should be confirmed by detailed tests.

For example, the M2M-dedicated SIM cards must be able to

operate in certain environments. Thus, device manufactures

work constantly on the improvement of their wireless

hardware & firmware, in order to satisfy their customers:

MNOs, system integrators, M2M enablers, and also end

customers of the M2M business.

system integrators

The M2M solution needs to be customized depending on the

target M2M segment. Attaching a SIM card to an electricity

meter does not automatically enable the automatic meter

reading scenario; additional effort is still required. System

integrators are in charge of development & maintenance

of hardware, embedded & server software, bug tracking,

and also updates for the M2M solutions. System integrators

assume customer risks and guarantee the efficient

functioning of hardware & software.

Because M2M applications can be complex to set up, the role

of system integrators in the M2M value chain is important.

The typical end users of M2M services are not focused on

technical issues, so it is the system integrator that develops

the solution, regarding the hardware and applications. In

comparison to device manufacturers, the system integrator

may need specific applications from external companies to

compose the required M2M solution.

M2M enablers

The main role of an M2M enabler is offering the end-to-

end M2M solution. They provide the complete product,

connectivity, support, SIM logistics and applications updates.

The end users usually prefer to purchase an “all-in-one” solution

from the M2M enabler, instead of purchasing the individual

elements of the M2M solutions from various different vendors.

The M2M enabler can also provide dedicated applications

for specific types of M2M segment. For example, the fleet

management industry may be interested in applications that

provide all necessary data for transportation management

purposes. These applications can be run on the M2M

enabler’s M2M platform. From the fleet management

company’s perspective, the availability of transportation

management applications, as a hosted service, reduces the

initial investments in the proprietary IT platform.

network operators

Network operators provide the connectivity (network &

support) to M2M partners and end users. They are interested

in the simplification of internal business operations and

optimization of network utilization, in order to provide flexible

and efficient services to their customers.

Some MNOs have created distinct units responsible for

M2M business, which work solely on the rapid development

& implementation of new M2M services. In addition to

a dedicated organization, MNOs amplify the cooperation with

device and application providers in order to create common

M2M functionalities. The amount of network elements

dedicated to the M2M business is increasing. Many MNOs are

deploying their own network elements for this purpose.

end users

Even if the global interest towards the M2M business is

high, knowledge of required technology and implementation

experience in this area are still rare. Only some end users

(enterprises) have already entered the M2M business.

But there are also numerous end users conscious of possible

M2M opportunities, and who are willing to integrate M2M

technology into their existing portfolio, although they do

not know how to launch it. Furthermore, a large group of

end users exists who are unaware of the existing M2M

opportunities within their industries. And many potential

end users have also considered the M2M business, but the

possible costs have been a barrier. However, the reducing

costs of M2M-related hardware and connectivity services are

making more M2M-related business cases viable.

End-to-end solutions and high levels of support are necessary

for organizations that wish to outsource M2M-related business

processes. The organizations need support from M2M partners

who will provide them with appropriate solutions. This enables

organizations to focus on their core businesses.

Trends in the M2M ecosystem/value chain

MNO strategies differ; some of them decide to cooperate with

platform provides, while others are looking for a proprietary

platform. Recently, the role of MNOs in the M2M value chain

has shifted. Previously, MNOs were not as interested in

directly entering the M2M business, while the revenues from

traditional voice and data services were still rising.

End users usually prefer to purchase an “all-in-one” M2M solution from a single vendor, instead of purchasing individual elements of M2M solutions from various different vendors.

Some MNOs have created distinct units responsible for M2M business, which work solely on the rapid development & implementation of new M2M services.

oss/bss features22


The growing revenue forecasts for the M2M business have

pushed MNOs to enter the M2M market more directly. Figure

4 presents this type of scenario, where the MNO also takes

the role of M2M enabler.

The MNO can deploy additional network elements (e.g. HLR

and GGSN) that are dedicated to M2M traffic. This can also be

carried out by the M2M enabler that uses the same masts as

the MNO, but sets up its own network elements. For the MNO,

the usage of separate network elements enables the MNO to

use the network resources more efficiently and reduces the

internal bureaucracy. For the M2M enabler, the proprietary

network elements grant more independence from the MNOs,

and better flexibility for provisioning activities and error

diagnostics.

Depending on the type of M2M segment, the MNO may wish

to cooperate with niche M2M enablers focused on a specific

M2M segment. For example, the M2M enablers that focus on

fleet management hardware and applications can help the

transport companies to focus on their core businesses, thus

creating a win-win situation for both. These niche companies

are able to provide a complete end-to-end solution for the

fleet management industry, starting from hardware delivery,

to providing a hosted platform with fleet management

applications. These kinds of end-to-end offerings can be too

narrowly focused for a large MNO, meaning it can be a more

suitable business case for a smaller scale M2M enabler,

instead. Figure 5 presents this type of business case.

MNOs can also provide additional services for increasing

revenues, such as design, deployment and support of M2M

solutions for enterprises, although these types of services

are more commonly offered by a smaller business unit within

the MNO organization. These business units can set up the

partnerships with device and application manufacturers

more rapidly, to provide complete end-to-end solutions.

Conclusions

Which approach should the MNO consider: cooperation with

an M2M enabler, or setting up a proprietary M2M platform?

No unique strategy exists for MNOs that is optimal for all

types of M2M business cases. Many different approaches

are possible, and the individual MNOs should evaluate

which is the best strategy for them. The ongoing trend of

MNOs entering the M2M market more directly transforms

the revenue stream towards MNOs. The smaller players will

still have business opportunities on the market, but they will

need to focus on more niche segments, while MNOs focus on

the areas that have the highest volumes.

Figure 5. Cooperation with an M2M enabler

Figure 4. MNO as an M2M enabler

devicemanufacturer

SystemIntegrator

mnO, m2m enabler end user

devicemanufacturer

SystemIntegrator

m2m enabler

mnO

end user

MNO dilemma: is it better to use an external solution provider (e.g. M2M enabler) that provides a hosted M2M solution for end users, or to set up a proprietary M2M platform?

oss/bss features 23


hen, in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was awarded

a patent for the electric telephone by the United

states patent and Trademark Office (UspTO),

nobody, including Bell, nor any other inventors for that

matter, could envisage the future of voice transmission.

not so long ago, as the traditional public switched

Telephone network (psTn) evolved from analog to digital

(thanks to digital Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM)

technology), we entered the era of nGn networks (next

Generation network), based on Internet protocols such

as Ip (Internet protocol) and MpLs (Multi-protocol Label

switching). Therefore, next generation networks are often

named “all-Ip” networks, to emphasize the transformation

towards Ip protocol. packet-based nG networks are able to

provide data, text, fax and numerous types of multimedia

such as video, in addition to the traditional landline

telephone system (pOTs – plain Old Telephone service).

The rapid development of broadband Internet access in the

early years of the 21st century accelerated the growth of

services supported by VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).

The standardization of IP-based signaling protocols such

as H.323 or SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) raised voice

services migration from circuit-switched architecture (PSTN)

to VoIP. And so the era of Internet telephony has begun.

softswitch technology’s evolution to an IMs architecture

The necessity for voice transformation from circuit-switched

(PSTN, SS7) to packet-based form (IP) initiated the evolution

of softswitch technology. In telecommunications networks,

softswitch is a software-based central device responsible

for VoIP call control and integration with the PSTN network. In

the early stages of softswitch technology development, the

solution architecture was based on a Call Agent, responsible

for call control, call routing and signaling and a Media Gateway

responsible for end-to-end media (voice, data) streaming. The

Call Agent would control several Media Gateways interfaced into

PSTN or IP networks. In modern softswitch-based architecture,

the Call Agent is separated from the Media Gateway. Due

to the immaturity of the technology, various definitions of

softswitches have been used by different manufacturers.

With the development of NG networks, softswitch technology

matured and was standardized as an IMS (IP Multimedia

Subsystem) architecture by the 3GPP (3rd Generation

Partnership Project) and ETSI (European Telecommunication

Standards Institute). Within the IMS architecture, the role of the

softswitch is performed by an MGC (Media Gateway Controller)

using MGCP protocol (Media Gateway Control Protocol) or H.248

protocol (also known as Megaco).

Where does Unified Communication fit in?

NG network convergence introduced VoIP technology into

fixed and mobile networks. Softswitch technology was

designed to provide voice and data services, while the IMS is

focused on all multimedia and IP network features, offering

the customers of fixed, mobile and cable providers’ access to

multiple services such as:

Voice and video telephony

IP PBX, hosted PBX (Private Branch Exchange)

Automated Attendants, receptionist

W

From circuitto soft (packet)-switching

“...the era of Internet telephony has begun

LUkAsz GRODzkI Comarch sA

BSS Solution Manager,

Telecommunications

Business Unit

oss/bss features 23

oss/bss features24


Figure 2. International voice IP traffic growth

VMS (Voice Mail System) and IVR (Interactive Voice

Response)

Enhanced phonebook, with a presence feature

Enhanced messaging, with chat and history features

Enriched call, with multimedia content-sharing during

voice sessions

This set of multimedia services is usually referred to as

Unified Communication (UC). The advantage of UC is that

it enables providing services through multiple devices

and media types anytime, anywhere and in any way. It

allows service providers to offer fixed-mobile convergence

(FMC) without any other additional equipment. Mobile

communication services such as enhanced phonebook,

enhanced messaging or enriched call are known as

a Rich Communication Suite (RCS). RCS is an IMS-based

specification of communication services, developed by the

consortium of mobile manufacturers and operators, such

as AT&T, Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, SonyEricsson,

T-Mobile and many others.

The benefits of IMs and Unified Communications

IMS, as the advanced carrier-grade service delivery platform,

enables operators to deliver innovative real-time and non

real-time services or Web 2.0 applications to demanding

customers through a unified platform, thus lowering

costs. The idea of Unified Communication is to deliver

communication services seamlessly to any device, across

any access network. Fixed and mobile convergence can

benefit both residential and corporate customers with new

services, its simplification and unification.

The main advantages of a mature IMS architecture delivered

through packet-switched technology are:

IP-based NGN architecture (well-defined modularity and

interfaces)

Common media control and network management

functions

Lower OPEX through remote and centralized

management, and common network infrastructure

IdeaS In BrIeF:

What are the trends in mod-ern telecommu-nications?

What are the benefits of voice transmission through IP pro-tocol?

How to under-stand Unified Communication

Why Internet Protocol seems to be the future of convergent communication

Figure 1. IMS Functional architecture

The migration from circuit-switched to packet-switched technology seems to be inevitable.

The evolution of IMS stimulates the growth of mobile and fixed telecommunication networks.

Service / application plane

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oss/bss features 25


Figure 4. Mobile technologies evolution

Decreased CAPEX through scalable server-based

hardware architecture (multiple hardware platforms

supported) and user-based licensing

Revenue-generating services

generation network). The main advantages of LTE are high

throughput, low latency and flat architecture, which imply

minimal operating costs. The first LTE services are available in

Scandinavia (opened by TeliaSonera in Stockholm and Oslo),

and shortly operators will announce the running of all-IP

based LTE networks. Global mobile operators and device

manufacturers support VoLTE (Voice over LTE), an initiative

announced in February 2010 and adopted by GSMA (GSM

World). The purpose of VoLTE is to standardize the method of

delivering voice and messaging services in the future for LTE,

using IMS specifications developed by 3GPP. GSMA VoLTE is

built upon the following principles:

Single implementation promotes scale - single

technology being used across all networks, phones and

devices

Single implementation reduces complexity

Single implementation enables roaming

The prognosis states that the top 25 LTE operators will attain

200 million subscribers by 2015.

What’s next?

Migration from circuit-switched GSM and 3G networks to

IP-based LTE networks won’t happen overnight. Operators will

need to provide service continuity. However, besides all of

the challenges, operators have no other choice. IMS in mobile

networks is materializing. By 2011, 80% of service providers

will deliver voice over IMS. What’s next? LTE Advanced, the

younger brother of LTE, will emerge in the second decade of

the 21st century, with the benefits of a throughput rate level

of 1 Gbit/s, and low power nodes such as pico or femtocells.

What is beyond this? The human need for communication –

the only consistent factor stimulating technologies to evolve

to bring communications to us more cheaply, simply and at

a higher standard

Figure 3. NGN Network benefits

GLOSSary:

hD - High Density

LTe –Long-Term Evolution

VoIp - Voice over IP Protocol

UspTO - United States Patent and Trademark Office

psTn - Public Switched Telephone Network

TDM - Time-Division Multiplexing

MGC - Media Gateway Controller

pOTs – Plain Old Telephone Service

sIp - Session Initiation Protocol

pBX - Private Branch Exchange

VMs - Voice Mail System

IVR - Interactive Voice Response

FMC - Fixed-mobile convergence

UC - Unified Communication

RCs - Rich Communication Suite

3Gpp - 3rd Generation Partnership Project

eTsI - European Telecommunication Standards Institute

LTe – the future of IMs - VoIp goes hD and wireless

VoIP traffic is constantly growing in international networks,

replacing TDM international networks. TDM traffic has

noted negative growth since 2004. Nowadays, billions of

minutes of international long distance calls are transferred

over IP via wholesale carriers or global voice providers.

The evolution of IMS stimulates the growth of mobile and

fixed telecommunication networks. Third generation mobile

networks (3G) provide a High Density (HD) of voice and video,

with an elevated quality of service (QoS). The migration

from circuit-switched to packet-switched technology

seems to be inevitable for both fixed and mobile networks.

Mature 3G networks, such as UMTS (Universal Mobile

Telecommunication System), which is a combination of

circuit- and packet-switching technology, will be replaced

by all-IP flat networking architecture. The way to achieve

this is LTE (3GPP Long-Term Evolution), also called 4G (fourth

WCDMArel-99

excellent Mobile Broadband TodayVoice and full range of Ip Services

enhanced User experience

LTe leverages news, wider and Tdd spectrum

2009 – 2010 2011+ ---------->

Improved voice and data capability

hspArel-99

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20% 20%

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oss/bss features26


oss/bss features26

Knowledge transferor change announcement?

very company requires an ongoing

communications and training program. They should

be designed to ensure that all employees, full

time and temporary, as well as contractors understand the

enterprise’s policies, processes and software and know

how to follow and use them properly.

Imagine the following situation: new software has just

been implemented and we have several or a few dozen

employees that must be trained to use it. There is always

reluctance to change at work, always thoughts of: “there

will be reductions”, “I won’t be needed any more”, “I will have

more problems now”, “I liked the old way better”, and these

types of sentiments can be multiplied. How can an employee

be convinced that this change will have a positive affect

and how can the training be made more effective for the

company? Here are some tips to do just that.

Don’t hide anything

According to Murphy’s law, when everything is well organized

and every detail has been perfectly arranged, something

always happens to ruin the ‘happy ending’. This is exactly why it

is best to reveal each and every stage of a new project to those

who it may concern. Starting from the context of the change,

its strategy and ending with the contact peoples’ names or the

exact dates of the implementation. If any threats to the project

exist, it is in the company’s best interest to raise the awareness

of the team responsible, in order to make them more focused

on the given problem. In the end, this new software may not

meet all requirements and expectations due to various reasons.

It is better to disclose this at the beginning, rather than to wait

until the last minute, and make the issue seem like a bolt from

the blue for system users.

eIdeaS In BrIeF:

Different training methods for different types of users and systems

Scheduling - one of the keys to success

Not only teach, but also listen

oss/bss features 27


kATARzYnA GAjeWskA

Comarch sA

Marketing&PR Specialist,

Telecommunications

Business Unit

Consult new features

Every employee will feel appreciated if you are informing

her/him about planned changes. This is especially true if

it concerns the job that they perform. Usually a delegated

team is responsible for First Site Application (FSA) tests

and the final user may not have much in common with the

new features being planned for the next release. Imagine

how they would react when coming back from holidays:

they read an email explaining how a new version of the

software was installed and the interface has changed.

Frustration along with many raised eyebrows would be

common. Questions would be asked such as: “Our bosses

don’t use this software on a daily basis! What do they

know about it?” or “On which basis was this change

requested? What for?” There are ways that may bring you

benefits while keeping end users satisfied: a Mailing list,

a dedicated website or a meeting with several agenda

points. New software should have features that the old

system did not have, features that allow users to work

faster, more effectively and most of all, make their life

easier. There is no better way to obtain this information

than from the end users themselves!

proper communication

Everybody wants to be well informed about impending

changes. Remember that decisions should be sent in

advance. The type of application, the sophistication of

the end-user audience and the geographic distribution of

the users will create all kinds of demands. In addition to

standard classroom training, just–in-time-training cannot be

overlooked. Every training delivery mechanism is specific to

certain situations, and always comes with advantages as

well as disadvantages. In general, the entire set of training

mechanisms, as shown on the table below, is required.

Source: Gartner [Toolkit Best Practices: Training End Users].

Consult changes with engaged employees

A training plan cannot be taken from a template. It must

be well-suited to the scheduled training. It must literally be

“tailored” to the specific needs of the customer. Off-the-shelf

training is usually a very fundamental mistake. Of course for

products which are standard and unchangeable, this course

of action may be appropriate. However, in the real world of IT

projects, such a situation is like discovering a unicorn. Project

leaders should discuss use cases with workers and after the

first training sessions, the training plan should be adjusted.

Maintaining and measuring workshop effectiveness is also

very important. Ideally, workers should be able to use at least

80% of the system’s functionalities. If there are many teams

to be trained, managers must measure this effectiveness

and make corrections for subsequent groups.

Constant improvement based on feedback

Getting feedback from training participants is vital in the

process of constant improvement. Effective communication

between a trainer and system users will benefit both sides.

Using feedback forms and questionnaires after every training

is a great practice. This can help highlight issues that may

have been overlooked during the training planning phase or

topics that users are not concerned with.

Worst-case scenario

The worst-case scenario is providing no training at all. Poorly

trained or untrained users will cost the company significantly

more to support than well-trained employees. Workers who

are devoid of training, who spend a significant portion of their

time away from the office, and who often have networking

questions from multiple remote locations, are generally the

most expensive to support.

Figure 1. Training Method Comparison

E-training is a cost-effective approach for off-the-shelf applications. Users can work on their own schedules and pick the appropriate level of difficulty.

In most cases, a user’s attention span drops significantly during training that lasts more than half a day. For mobile field workers who work in vehicles or outside all day, the attention span can be as low as 30 minutes.

Type of Training new employeesWhite-Collar Mobile Workers

Blue-Collar Mobile Filed Workers

skills TrainingVertical Applications

Immediate Response

Classroom √ √ √ √

Web-Based Virtual Classes

√ √ √ √

Personal Trainer √ √ √

E-Training Modules √ √ √

Cheat Sheets √ √ √ √

Help Desk Training Modules

√ √

JITT Embedded in the Application

√ √ √ √

√ = Appropriate to user or application

oss/bss features28


oss/bss features28

ommunication service providers (Csp) strive

to boost service innovation to augment basic

connectivity services. They are aware that they may

need new tools to realize this goal, but are bombarded with

buzzwords, by many claiming they have the right solution.

This article suggests taking the problem-centric approach, to

avoid being drawn into the flood of new buzzwords.

Currently, CSPs face two main challenges: firstly, they are

pushed by Internet players, Google, Apple and alike, which may

result in rendering CSPs as dumb pipe providers. Secondly,

CSPs do not receive proportional compensation for the costs

inflicted by the serge in data consumed by customers. The

latter change makes the effect of the first even more severe.

As a remedy, CSPs aim to refocus more on customer

applications and end customer services, instead of

purely on communication services. This also leads to the

introduction of new business models, which allow CSPs to

assume a central role in the value chain. (This subject I have

discussed in blog post [1]).

To realize this trend, CSPs need to boost the service innovation

rate, and this may require novel tools. This demand has been

recognized by many who claim to have the right tools for CSPs.

The problem is that in order to market these new tools, many

buzzwords have been created. There is nothing wrong with

new terms introduction, as long as they help us to understand

and solve problems, but quite often they are simply used as

marketing ploys to convince CSPs to buy tools which sport the

longest list of popular buzzwords.

sOA, reusability, components, mash-ups…

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is not a product, but

a concept. Even the best tool will not guarantee the benefits

of SOA - it can only help you to employ this architecture.

For me, SOA is all about reusability, realized by component-

based service creation. In other words, the concept that

you can create new services from reusable building blocks.

This is, in fact, also the main concern of mash-ups. Newly

created (assembled) services can be used farther for

composing higher level services. This may lead to confusion,

as many tools assisting service composition may operate at

a different level of service composition.

Why does understanding service component granularity

matter to CSPs? CSPs are unlikely to want to compete with

developers, or even force them to change their favored

development environments, but on the contrary, aim to

leverage the creativity of a developer’s work. This means

that what, from a CSP perspective, should be treated as

an atomic service component, might, from the developer’s

viewpoint, represent a coarse-grained composite service

component. An example could be an augmented reality

application, which when simplifying, can be perceived as

composed from: a geolocation service, image recognition,

customer preference services, searching information and

overlaying the found information on top of other original

images. From the developers perspective, searching can be

a complex service leveraging indexing, key matching and

a rating service.

What is also worth realizing, is that the more fine grained

a component is, the more complicated service assembly

is. ‘Complicated’ in this context refers to requiring more IT

expertise. Although implementing SOA means replacing

cumbersome, monolithic services with composite services

built up from more fine-grained components, it does not

mean that service components should be broken down into

tiny pieces. The CSPs should only tackle service composition

which does not require programming skills, leaving more

fined grained types to developers.

C

IdeaS In BrIeF:

SOA is a concept, tools can only help CSPs to realize it

Right level of service composition is key for effective service reusability

Service component granularity should match CSPs expertise

Service catalog-driven fulfillment and service execution is an answer

CSPs require use cases demonstrating how to quickly introduce new services, not new buzzwords

Boosting service innovation– getting through the jungle of buzzwords:

SDP, service broker, orchestration,SOA, service composition…

oss/bss features 29


Fulfillment and execution time orchestration

New service introduction must comprise three main areas:

service fulfillment, service assurance and service execution.

The first two areas are well-defined process verticals on

the eTOM map. Service execution is simply the period when

a service (after it has been ordered) is used by a customer.

Introducing the SOA service composition concept also means

bringing in the term “orchestration”. If a service is composed

of smaller pieces, delivering a service means leveraging

the functionality of these components. Orchestration is

focused on employing the functionality of these components.

We can identify two types of orchestration: fulfillment

orchestration, and orchestration at the point of execution.

Fulfillment orchestration is also related to the term “order

decomposition”, when the initial customer offers’ are

decomposed down to orders, against the components from

which a service is built up. From a technical point of view,

orchestration refers to invoking the service management

API of the service component. Execution time orchestration

accounts for invoking the functional API of the component

when a customer uses a service (during a call). These two

methods of orchestration should naturally relate to each

other, as the service execution must comply with what

a customer has ordered. This leads to the concept of the

common model for the fulfillment and execution environment.

service catalog-driven composition

To really enable CSPs to rapidly introduce new services,

there should be a single location where service composition

is controlled. Ideally, it ought to be a service catalog which

drives service order fulfillment, and by orchestrating service

components, management API should define execution

orchestration. What is important is that the granularity of

the components managed by the service catalog should

be limited to the level where composition does not require

programming skills, and ought to enable CSP product

managers to introduce new services to the market. This

concept is described in my whitepaper [2].

sDp, nGsDp, service brokers…

The Service Delivery Platform was initially touted as

a complete solution for CSPs to rapidly introduce new

services. The problem is that many SDPs turned out to

be stove-pipe SDPs, and as a result CSPs would require

a constellation of SDPs, and so the issue of reusing service

components implemented on different SDPs remained.

Then, the term “Next Generation SDP” appeared, and this

defines a solution which may be perceived as the “SDP” of

“SDPs”, meaning the introduction of a horizontal service layer

promising to diminish the silos problem. Another hyped term

is “Service Broker”. This name is defined by 3GPP, but there

are extensions to the 3GPP definition which add additional

roles, like Reverse IM-SSF and even Web 2.0 gateway.

The former is to enable IN applications to leverage new

components developed on the IMS platform. The Web 2.0

gateway includes the role of Network APIs (reference to blog

post “Network API – Business Models”) for web developers to

leverage network assets. To depict how service broker refers

to NGSDP would be a subject for a dedicated article.

Conclusion – practical approach for Csps

Understanding what buzzwords really mean and how

different terms relate to each other may be somewhat

challenging, especially when quite often there are no

common definitions for them. The practical approach CSPs

can take when evaluating different solutions, is to simply ask

for a use case for introducing a new service. The use case

should demonstrate the whole process and cover:

where service composition is controlled

what granularity of service composition is intended to

be managed by the CSP

what skills are required – how complex composition/

orchestration definition is

whether it embraces service fulfillment, execution and

service assurance

if it is integrated with the service catalog which drives

customer order management

how easily I can reuse my existing services, and what

is required to make them service components

whether it is accompanied with design patterns

This article may prove to be controversial, and so I encourage

further discussion on my blog, where the article is also

published.

References:

[1] “Seeking New Revenue Opportunities – Application

Platform Wars” Comarch blog:

www.telcosphere.comarch.com

[2] “Fulfilling the Promise of Component-Based Service

Creation” – Comarch whitepaper

The practical approach CSPs can take when evaluating different solutions, is to simply ask for a use case for introducing a new service.

What is important is that the granularity of the components managed by the service catalog should be limited to the level where composition does not require programming skills, and ought to enable CSP product managers to introduce new services to the market.

LUkAsz MenDYk Comarch sA

OSS Product Manager,

Telecommunications

Business Unit

oss/bss features30


oss/bss features30

y the end of 2010, Vodafone will present its

proprietary IpTV offer, named Vodafone TV, at IFA.

Based on a hybrid approach, satellite and cable

signals are processed via a platform developed by Vodafone

Germany. Following Telekom and Alice, Vodafone will now be

the third provider of Ip television in Germany.

In light of the growing competition, the market

research enterprise Canalys sees the conventional

telecommunications providers as under pressure to clearly

increase their average revenue per user (ARPU). According to

Canalys, many of these companies may resort to IPTV. In the

future, IPTV will be an inherent part of complete service offers

to consumers.

The growing competition is primarily provoked by cable

network providers that retrofit their cable networks for

broadband Internet, and who now want to join in the large

telecommunications market as quadruple players. Kabel

Deutschland (KDG), the German cable network operator, is

one example here. KDG already offers analog / digital cable

TV, broadband Internet, fixed-line telephony via Voice over IP,

as well as mobile telephony via the Telefónica O2 network.

This way, the operative business of cable TV operators and

conventional telecommunications providers equals more and

more.

Normally, IPTV is offered by a telecommunications provider

via its broadband network, with defined quality (QoS) and

fixed program bouquets, which reflect TV contents that can

be subscribed to by certain users.

The strongest motor for the spread of internet-based TV is

most definitely the development of broadband connections,

such as DSL, ADSL2, or VDSL promoted in recent years.

The transmission of TV contents in PAL or SDTV (Standard

Definition Television) quality requires a data rate with an

average of 2-6 Mbit/s. HDTV even requires bandwidths with

an average of 6-16 Mbit/s. Furthermore, it must be possible

to operate several TV sets in each household at the same

time, which would cause a respective multiplication of the

bandwidth required. Therefore, IPTV supporters forecast

BIdeaS In BrIeF:

What is IPTV nowadays

Requirements and offerings of IPTV

The basic structure of an IPTV headend

Comarch’s proposal for IPTV operators

In the future, IPTV will be an inherent part of complete service offers to consumers.

Figure 1. Convergence of Telecommunications and CATV providers

Bright future for IPTV – are you ready?

Internet

Telephony

mobile Communications

Television

ISdn, dSL, adSL, VdSL Internet over Cable

VoIp

GSm, GprS, umTS

TV, HbbTV

ISdn, pSTn

GSm, GprS, umTS

IpTV

Telecommunications provider

CaTVprovidermVnO

oss/bss features 31


future demand for Internet bandwidth to reach a rate of at

least 30-50 Mbit/s per household.

However, new technologies and improved coding procedures

such as, for example, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC – a standard

for highly efficient video compression – help to minimize

required data rates and to optimally use existing bandwidths.

So why do conventional telecommunications providers

increasingly include IPTV in their service portfolio, and

thus take the plunge into the television world when facing

competition from cable network operators?

so is there a future for IpTV?

While the bandwidths of Internet still grant ample scope both

in telecommunications and cable networks, the question that

remains unanswered is: which TV medium will dominate in

the future – conventional analog / digital TV or IPTV?

IPTV normally requires a broadband Internet connection,

whereas its bandwidth and the signal form (SD or HD) restrict

the simultaneous broadcast of several television channels, and

thus also the operation of various TV sets. Moreover, the image

quality is often of lower quality than that of conventional analog

/ digital TV a typical television consumer is used to.

However, IPTV currently offers viewers more than traditional

television image transmission. Due to the integral return

channel of IPTV, a variety of new functions and services

opens up like, for example:

Searching for video clips or TV channels via clear-text

queries

Generating TV contents based on user preferences and/

or viewer profiles

Video on Demand enables playing any video clip at any

time

Hooking up multiple audio programs, foreign language

channels, subtitles

Interactive television (hypervideos)

Purchase transactions and T-commerce

Web 2.0 functions

In fact, conventional television also tries to enhance its

functional range by means of Internet or newly established

standards, in order to offer viewers not only the broadcasting

of TV channels, but also innovative services. HbbTV (hybrid

broadcast TV) represents a new international standard, on

which leading European TV operators and companies of the

electronics industry agreed. This expansion of television

connects broadcasting and Internet contents, and offers,

amongst others, the following services:

Integrating media libraries of TV channels and Video on

Demand

Integration of HTML pages

Transparent overlay presentation on the current

television image (interactive text and image information,

menu functions, news tickers)

Improved options for teletext, like high resolution

presentation of pictures and graphics

Combination of previous TV services such as the

Electronic Program Guide (EPG), current Internet offers

of TV broadcasters, videotext

DAnIeL kLOppICh

Comarch sA

OSS Consultant,

Telecommunications

Business Unit

oss/bss features 31

Conventional television also tries to enhance its functional range by means of Internet or newly established standards, in order to offer viewers not only the broadcasting of TV channels, but also innovative services.

oss/bss features32


signal processing in IpTV headends

The reception and processing of TV channels, as well as conversion for Internet, take place in so-called “headends”. An

example of signal processing by resources of an IPTV headend is given in Figure 2.

Broadcasters (television stations or their service providers) deliver the signal either via satellite or cable connection

(e.g. glass fiber). Direct delivery is primarily used for adequate HD signals. The L-band matrix enables the flexible

interconnection of any inputs and outputs, so that diverse satellite signals will be transmitted to connected receivers or

IRDs (Integrated Receiver Decoder).

IRDs receive and decode the satellite signals. Since some channels are delivered in a scrambled form, additional

descrambling is required, using a CA (Conditional Access) module. IRDs provide two different output signals. On the one

hand, a SDI (Serial Digital Interface) signal is generated with an uncompressed audio/video signal, and on the other

hand, a compressed ASI (Asynchronous Serial Interface) signal is generated. In addition to audio and video, the ASI signal

includes, for example, signal streams for service information and teletext. Direct delivery over cable can take place via

various signal streams, which are then connected to different devices for further signal processing. In part, these signals

are conducted through IRDs, as they have to be decoded.

An SDI signal delivered over cable can be directly transferred as well. For further audio/video processing, the SDI signal

enters into the SDI router either from an IRD or from direct delivery. This router enables switching from inputs to outputs

without changes being necessary to the wiring. In the audio leveling system, the audio signal is separated from the SDI

signal (de-embedding) and the sound level is adjusted. Depending on the type of signal, additional processing steps

are required. In contrast to simple stereo signals, Dolby Digital signals (e.g. AC3) have to be decoded before leveling, and

encoded again afterwards. The SDI signal is passed on from audio leveling, over an encoder router, to an encoder that

corresponds to the video format (SD or HD). The encoder converts the signal within a multiplexing process and generates

a MPEG4/AVC transport stream. This stream includes audio and video, but the EIT (Event Information Table) data required for

the EPG (Electronic Program Guide) are still missing.

Parallel to the audio/video processing, the ASI (Asynchronous Serial Interface) signal is conducted from the IRD to

a corresponding multiplexer, in which only the SI data are processed and summarized as signals with several SI streams.

These signals are analyzed in the SI subsystem, and the EIT data included in them are processed. If the TV channel

does not contain any embedded SI data, such data can be uploaded via external data sources also. The SI subsystem

processes all kinds of information and provides the necessary EIT data as an output signal. The EIT data and the MPEG4/

AVC stream are combined in an IP multiplexer. The complete transport stream is conducted over an IP switch to the

distribution platform (e.g. Microsoft Mediaroom), and from there it is distributed to customers.

Comarch offers a comprehensive solution for efficient and centralized IPTV channel management. This solution supports IPTV service providers with connecting, managing and planning several hundred TV programs, as well as with inventorying and configuring the headend devices involved.

Figure 2. Service tree of a full Transmission Path

SdI router

Sd encoder

Stereo Levelling

aSI router

SI Subsystem

aSI muX

Ip muX

Ip Switch

distribution Server routerSdI

router

receiving System audio Leveling encoding

SaT IrdL-Band matrix

SI data processing multiplexing Ip routing Backbone Connection

access Connection

delivery platorm distirbution platormTV Channel

Transmission path

dSLam Cpe

Inte

rnal

Ser

vice

sr

esou

rce-

faci

ng

Ser

vice

s

Cus

tom

er-

faci

ng

Ser

vice

s

res

ourc

es

Headend Core network access network

oss/bss features 33


IpTV channel management – Comarch’s approach

TV signals are predominantly delivered by broadcasters in

various ways. They can differ, for example, with regard to

signal source, coding, scrambling, or video format. For this

reason, diverse technical devices, connections, and software

packages are applied within a headend, and connected to

each other as transmission paths for TV programs, according

to specific channels.

Comarch offers a comprehensive solution for efficient

and centralized IPTV channel management. This solution

supports IPTV service providers with connecting, managing

and planning several hundred TV programs, as well as

with inventorying and configuring the headend devices

involved. In the Comarch Resource Inventory, all headend

devices, their parameters, software licenses, as well as

physical connections between the devices, are stored and

managed. In addition to these physical objects, broadcaster

information, as well as the profile data of the TV channel

(e.g. name, language, genre, etc.) are saved. The Comarch

Service Inventory stores the structure of TV channels as

service templates. A service template is modeled with

regard to the channel characteristics and groups the various

devices required for realizing a channel type. Based on these

service templates, new TV channels can be easily created

as a service in the system. Furthermore, Comarch’s solution

supports the IPTV operator with planning new TV channels,

as well as with the required headend equipment.

The configuration of headend equipment is guaranteed by

Comarch Configuration Management. Device configurations are

also saved and managed in the form of templates. This way,

different templates can be created for one device and assigned

to TV channels. Thus, it is possible, for example, to allocate

a template to the encoder of a sports channel with its specific

configuration parameters. The respective configuration of the

devices is transferred to such devices using the Comarch

Mediation Platform. This way, the system can automatically

carry out a complete channel connection and the adequate

configuration of the devices required for the respective

channel in the headend. Furthermore, the actual configuration

of devices can be gathered and compared with the target

configuration stored in the system, in order to resultantly detect

discrepancies and avoid misconfiguration of the TV channel.

Comarch OSS Process Management automates the different

operations with respect to channel connection, channel

deactivation, and the transfer of configurations.

Additionally, Comarch’s IPTV Channel Management solution

can be upgraded with the Service Assurance solution. In

doing so, the Comarch Mediation Platform collects alarm

signals and performance data from headend equipment, and

informs the administrator about possible service impact, in

order to ensure the proper broadcasting of TV programs.

Figure 3. Comarch’s solution for IPTV Channel Management

COMARCh OssMeDIATIOn pLATFORM

(CORBA, jDBC, snMp, XML, proprietary)

3rd party systememSIrd encoder Switch

neTWORk enVIROnMenTheADenD DeVICes

OTheR sYsTeMs

mediation device

mediation device

mediation device

mediation device

mediation device

enhAnCeD COMMUnICATIOn BUs

enhAnCeD COMMUnICATIOn BUs

authentication Service

System repository & Configuration

notification & escalation

Service

reusable components of Comarch OSS

KnowHowdatabase

Trouble Ticketing system (3rd party)

BSS (3rd party)

Comarch Service Inventory management

Comarch resource Inventory management

network provisioning & reconciliation

Comarch planning module

Comarch Configuration management

reporting Service

Comarch OSS & WeB Console

COMARCh Oss pROCess MAnAGeMenT

...

...

... ...

GLOSSary:

ADsL2 – Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line 2

ARpU – Average Revenue per User

AsI – Asynchronous Serial Interface

CA – Conditional Access

CATV – Cable TV

DsL – Digital Subscriber Line

eIT – Event Information Table

epG – Electronic Program Guide

h.264/MpeG-4 AVC – Advanced Video Coding

hbbTV – Hybrid Broadcast TV

hDTV – High Definition TV

IpTV – Internet Protocol Television

IRD – Integrated Receiver Decoder

pAL – Phase Alternating Line

sDTV – Standard Definition Television

sDI – Serial Digital Interface

VDsL – Very High Speed Digital Subscriber Line

oss/bss features34


f we look to the future of Communications service

providers, we will see LTe technologies emerging

with constantly increasing power. Among others,

the new technologies were designed to make networks

more flexible, adaptable and cheaper to deploy. The time

required for enabling new services shrinks from weeks to

days, and maybe even hours.

Delivering services to the customer requires several coarsely

grained steps being performed through different operations

departments. These departments use dedicated systems,

usually from different vendors, to perform their tasks. That’s

for today’s future. Today’s past relates to how all these

sophisticated and full-featured systems do not integrate

seamlessly. Each stores its own data (often relating to the

same things) in separate databases and in different formats.

Interfaces cut out advanced functionalities, simply because

they are not flexible enough. The data exchange is often a

(inverted) trade-off between complexity and reliability - less

complexity, less reliability.

Future-proof inventory management

We live in exciting times, when some terms require

redefinition. The plain old inventory management systems,

seen as databases storing network element configurations

and network topology, decorated with some wizards and

consistency checks, simply do not fit anymore.

The following questions will help us to draw borders, for what

is future-proof inventory management.

Do you know your network?What You See Is What You (have) Got. This well-known

acronym describes a system in which content displayed

during editing appears within the final output. In the case

of an inventory system, this applies to systems, accurately

reflecting important network and service structures.

Unfortunately, synchronizing the state of the real network

with its virtual representation in the inventory is not a trivial

IThe plain old inventory management systems, seen as databases storing network element configurations and network topology, decorated with some wizards and consistency checks, simply do not fit anymore.

oss/bss features34

Why use Plain Old Inventory Management if you no longer sell Plain Old Telephone Services?

oss/bss features 35

Comarch Technology Review 02/2010 Comarch Technology Review 01/2010

IdeaS In BrIeF:

Why the ‘inventory management system’ term needs to be redefined

Some useful questions that will help you recognize future-proof inventory management systems

What builds the perfect ecosystem for inventory data

Do you control your network?We do not only create plans, we also execute them. Some

plans deal with hardware to be added or dismissed, others

with software or hardware configurations. Networks are

heterogeneous organisms, built from thousands of elements

from different vendors. The manifold of networks creates

problems with many vendor-specific configurations, and the

only effective way to cope with it, is to configure network

using generic models, and let the system translate it to

vendor-specific parlance.

Can you do so in a consistent and automated way?Are you aware of the details for introducing a new base

station? Finding the location, leasehold, construction,

hardware/software deployment, configuration etc. - single

tasks performed by operations departments which comprise

a greater process. You should be able to define, manage,

automate and optimize network and service processes,

according to business and technical rules.

task, for it usually involves thousands of elements being

scanned, and their model representation created and

compared with corresponding data in the inventory. And still,

this is the only way.

Can you plan your network?Every day, engineers must plan network development.

They try to predict the future to satisfy growing customer

demands, or to prepare for large-scale events lasting several

days. In each case, they need to try out new configurations

in connection to the current network state, although not

influencing it. The plans also need to be validated, yet the

character of the plans differs from that of the operational

data. Plans can be incomplete, even invalid – that’s perfectly

fine. There still, however, must be a degree of validation

allowing planners to work efficiently.

pAWeł sABInA

Comarch sA

OSS Solution Manager,

Telecommunications

Business Unit

oss/bss features 35

oss/bss features36


Comarch Inventory ecosystem

With Comarch OSS Suite modules composed together, you can reply YES to all these questions. The unique combination of the

following Comarch OSS Suite components: Reconciliation, Inventory Management, Planning and Provisioning & Configuration

Management, build the perfect ecosystem for your inventory data.

And this is how:

Figure 1. Comarch Inventory ecosystem

Each stores its own data in separate databases and in different formats. Interfaces cut out advanced functionalities, simply because they are not flexible enough.

reco

ncili

atio

nInventory planningInventory management

Con

vers

ion

Vend

or s

pec

ific

dat

aG

ener

ic m

odel

+ v

end

or-s

pec

ific

dat

a

process Technician

Inventory Operational

datanetwork

State delta

plan

Live network State

(Generic)

Live network State (Vendor

specific)

network

Scanning

provisioning &

Configuration

managem

ent

The unique combination of the following Comarch OSS Suite components: Reconciliation, Inventory Management, Planning and Provisioning & Configuration Management, build the perfect ecosystem for your inventory data.

oss/bss features 37


knowing the network…To know the network, means to have an insight into its very

workings. Comarch’s Reconciliation component is able to

scan the network, employing a rich mediation layer.

Accurate inventory requires continuous scanning of the

network in search of changes. Indeed, LTE claims network

equipment of the future will report their statuses over the

common Northbound Interface. At this moment, however –

and in the near future – we will still rely on network scanning.

Comarch reconciliation employs powerful multi-vendor

mediation, so you will never need to work with an outdated

network inventory. This also has business implications.

Accurate inventory leads to reduced OPEX, through better

organization of tasks and limiting unnecessary onsite visits.

planning the network…Comarch OSS Planning seamlessly integrates with inventory

components. This means you can plan using accurate data

from an operational inventory. Moreover, planned executions

can be verified (and measured), because the inventory

always contains accurate data – thanks to the Reconciliation

component.

Planning is a long-running process, and you can expect

incomplete or even invalid data within them. On the other

hand, plans are made on an operational inventory, which

treats invalid data as errors. To cope with this dual-opposing

assumption, Comarch Inventory employs multilevel

validation; a configurable set of check-rules reporting issues

depending on the network context (operational, planning,

strategic).

Controlling the network…Controlling a network, consisting of thousands of network

elements, from different vendors, in a consistent way is only

possible using umbrella systems. Such systems employ

dedicated mediators for particular network element types.

This seems like the perfect solution, yet to be so, another

level of abstraction is needed. Furthermore, bringing all the

mediators under the hut is surely cost-effective, but it doesn’t

necessarily resolve the problem of many vendor-specific

configurations. In the case of Comarch Reconciliation and

Provisioning & Configuration Management, it does. These

modules work with two layers of element parameters:

generic – homogenous for the given element type, and

vendor-specific. In this way, inventory management tasks

can be performed the same way, regardless of who delivers

the equipment. Such generic parameters are automatically

transformed to vendor-specific configuration. In this way,

inventory management tasks can be performed the same

way, regardless of who delivers the equipment. Nevertheless,

specific vendor configurations are also stored in the

inventory, and thus are accessible if needed. The necessary

simplifications are introduced on purpose: resignation of

some vendor-specific attributes helps achieving business

benefits: reduced CAPEX - no need to buy separate vendor-

specific software; reduced OPEX - due to less onsite visits

and simplified configuration.

In an automated and controlled wayAll the aforementioned components of the Comarch

OSS Suite cooperate perfectly, in terms of data flow, and

the natural consequence of this is wrapping all these

components (and activities) with processes. OSS processes

are, by nature long-running - lasting hours, days, months

or in many cases, years. Their elements vary from highly

detailed tasks manipulating data in the inventory, to coarsely

grained types, like invoking services to tasks performed by

humans. Comarch’s processes integrate seamlessly with all

Comarch OSS Suite components, acting as a central point

of management and automation. And from the business

perspective, you should be able to remove ‘the integration

tax’ (cost and time inefficiencies created by disintegrated

systems) from business processes, and provide enhanced

integration and improved efficiency of these processes. No

more forgotten tasks, nor work duplication.

Inventory management system revisitedThis paper highlights that we can no longer refer to an

inventory management system as a slightly more intelligent

database for network element configurations. The bleeding

edge inventory system is merely an organism of perfectly

connected components, building a data ecosystem. This is

especially valid in the context of upcoming LTE deployments

which, to fully exploit their features, will require powerful

Operation Support Systems.

You should be able to define, manage, automate and optimize network and service processes, according to business and technical rules.

Comarch Inventory employs multilevel validation; a configurable set of check-rules reporting issues depending on the network context (operational, planning, strategic).

telCosPhere blog38


While traffic expansion for mobile data services can reach

50% CAGR until the year 2014, the actual revenue growth from

data services may only amount to 13% CAGR for the same

time period (source: OVUM).

The subscribers already used to the “freedom” of unlimited

data plans may of course be annoyed by such a change

(e.g. no more video streaming). Despite the fact that

current contracts will not usually be affected (thus, existing

customers still have the chance to benefit from limitless data

usage until the end of the contract period), new subscribers

will have the “privilege” of choosing a new, limited data plan,

and will potentially have to change their usage habits.

Introduction of a monthly data quota will also have an

effect on the businesses of third party service providers.

For example, streaming services such as YouTube and

Spotify will suffer from the data caps, because subscribers

will have to pay more attention to their mobile data usage.

Of course, third party service providers can cooperate

with the operators (e.g. video on-demand with guaranteed

bandwidth) via a revenue-sharing scenario, where the

operator charges a specific fee from the service provider.

On the other hand, the removal of unlimited data plans brings

additional revenue opportunities for operators. Mobile data

offerings can be customized, basing on individual subscriber

habits. For example, expect to see the following types of

promotions in the near future: “6 hours of smartphone web

surfing for 10 EUR per month”, “Facebook-only mobile data

services for 5 EUR per month” and “2 hours of YouTube

viewing (with high bandwidth and no latency) for 8 EUR

per month”. These examples can be offered as an add-on

service, or as an individual data service. A customer may

only be interested in using his smartphone for updating his

Facebook status, as opposed to using it for visiting other

websites too.

Are you willing to pay extra for your favorite services? Will

the removal of unlimited data plans affect your smartphone

usage habits?


BSS Market Analyst,

Telecommunications

Business Unit

Many operators have already removed their offerings of unlimited mobile data plans, and replaced them with new plans that have a monthly data quota (in the case that the quota is exceeded by the subscriber, an additional fee is paid to the operator). The reason for the removal of such unlimited data plans, is because data service revenues are not covering the network investment and maintenance costs for handling the growing amount of traffic.

Unlimited data plans– disappearing into extinction?

telCosPhere blog 39


After perhaps 30 or 40 seconds, his connection was lost. As

this was a live event, I had to take over and continue with his

slides until the end of the show. It was an exciting experience.

Thank goodness I had reviewed the slides beforehand.

Afterwards, I had an afterthought:

Murphy’s Law is alive and well – always be prepared for

the least probable occurrence. Fight the thinking: it’s so

unlikely to happen, not now, not today, not to me

21st century communications is great – take online

meetings – people from different countries and time

zones can gather, share thoughts and exchange ideas,

without even leaving their desk. I do think, however,

that the webinar formula should be developed and

made more interactive (as it stands, the typical webinar

format is one-to-many communication, with questions

from the audience posed via chat)

Alas, 21st century communications is still surprisingly

far from being perfect. Connections are lost. Trust gets

undermined. I’m not surprised webinar organizers

conservatively require the call to be made on a fixed,

non-VoIP phone, due to the required high reliability and

extensive quality. Think about it when you have an

important call to make

Have you ever had a similar experience? What is your view on

this matter?

A thought-provoking thing occurred during the TM Forum webinar I led last week on a cloud computing CRM solution. Both I and the other moderators were dialed-in to a conference bridge, each of us calling from a different country (the audience was connected via a live audio stream). When I finished my segment of the presentation, the other presenter started his part.

Murphy’s Law in 21st century telecommunications

pAWeL LAMIk Comarch sA

CRM and Self Care

Product Manager,

Telecommunications

Business Unit

telCosPhere blog40


Companies representing the energy industry are focusing more and more on telecommunications, including us and the things we do. One might think that our industry fascinates them, because as their sector develops, they begin to see similarities between their own business and the world of telecommunications. You may be wondering: how does voice even remotely relate to electricity? Where are the similarities?

Yet there are many. Even if you are not currently able to see

them very clearly, they may well soon emerge.

We all realize how vast the industry related to production,

transmission and retail of electrical energy is. Everybody

both benefits from and pays for it. Sometimes these bills are

higher than those you receive from your telecom operator.

We turn on the light or the TV and everything works. The

electrical meter rotates more quickly or slowly, yet we do

not analyze it or view it as a complicated process. Beyond

individual users, there are larger consumers of energy,

such as factories, supermarkets and various others.

Large enterprises do not use the same amount of energy

all the time, either. All of this leads to the point that the

kRzYszTOF kWIATkOWskI

Comarch sA

BSS Product Manager,

Telecommunications

Business Unit

Why doing your laundrycan be a lot like talking on the phone

telCosPhere blog 41


overall consumption of energy, on a nationwide scale,

is highly changeable. One day it may increase, and the

next decrease. It also differs from one time of the day to

another. However, power plants produce energy relatively

steadily, and turning its individual grids on and off is in fact

complicated and costly. Therefore, there are some attempts

to predict energy consumption for the following day. Various

factors are taken into account, even the weather forecasts.

It’s quite obvious - when the weather is cloudy or it rains,

people turn the lights on, when it is hot, they turn on the

air conditioning. Nonetheless, there are always some

shortages or surpluses of energy on the market. Both cause

enormous losses, because the surplus of electrical energy

cannot be cumulated and used when faced with shortages.

Furthermore, gigantic batteries do not exist.

This leads on to the concept that scientists are currently

working on entitled “smart grids”. These are somewhat

substantial revolutionary measures for the entire system of

transmitting and receiving energy, which I will not describe

in detail. For many energy recipients in Europe, the first

perceptible symptom of introducing smart grids is the

exchange of electrical meters for so called smart meters.

These are electrical meters that measure the usage of

energy at a given moment, and then send this information to

a central device. As a result, people or companies are able to

pay for energy usage according to their exact consumption

(as opposed to the current situation – according to certain

annual estimates). Also, it will enable the diversification of

energy prices depending on the time of day.

And it is here where the first similarity to the

telecommunications world is visible.

Have you ever wondered why operators never offer “cheap

Wednesday” tariffs, whilst they do advertise “cheap

weekends” or “cheap evenings”? Initially, this was due to the

fact that the network was not being used by large companies

at these times, meaning they could be offered to private

customers – and at the same time it encouraged them to

use the network at these specific times more frequently

than during the day. Further down the line, network usage

problems were no longer a problem and it evolved into a

purely marketing-driven activity. I mean, who would decide to

go for a tariff with “cheap Wednesdays”?

Introducing this novel means of measuring energy usage

could render it possible (through the diversification of prices)

to encourage people to e.g. do their washing at the weekend

and save energy during the week, thus allowing companies

to use it during the working week. How it will actually affect

the balancing of energy usage remains to be seen. There is

one more thing, however.

The second similarity lies in the introduction of new

regulations for the energy industry by the EU. It creates clear

segmentation into energy manufacturers, energy network

operators and energy suppliers, who sell energy. When

discussing the similarity to the world of telecommunications,

I was referring to the latter. Energy suppliers purchase

energy from the manufacturers and transmit it via a “rented”

network. The deregulation means that new suppliers can be

established freely, and can compete with each other on the

common market. There is a similarity here, as deregulation

of the telecom market led to increased competition among

operators, also.

It would be fairly difficult to convince someone that “our

electricity is better”. The main factor will be the price; or

rather its adjustment to our individual needs through special

offers/discounts, or weekend and evening rates etc. When

this finally happens, the offers of energy suppliers may well

become more comparable to those of telecom operators,

will come in packages and will be customized to consumers’

needs. Perhaps one day we will receive free energy minutes

for doing our laundry at the weekend? Almost everything

that goes on in relation to formulating private and corporate

offers in telecommunications is closely monitored by energy

suppliers.

How the market will develop and how we will pay for energy

usage, will depend on development in each country,

individually.

For example, in Italy, smart metering has been working

for some time now for the majority of the population, with

an energy provider capable of remotely turning the power

on and off for the customer, detecting service outage or

unauthorized usage of electricity, setting the maximum

amount of energy that the customer may consume at any

time, and remotely switching price plans between credit,

prepaid, flat-rate and others. Doesn’t it remind you of the

telecommunications sphere?

In addition, similarities are also visible in the technologies

employed, for example, the idea to use telecommunications

signaling (SIP, to be specific) as “signaling for electricity”.

These are, in fact, not only ideas – there are numerous

studies on this topic and a vast array of real cases. However,

there are technical issues that require discussion elsewhere.

Telco Sphere blog - a place to share ideas on the developments in the telecom world:

telcosphere.comarch.com

teChnology & innovation42


Performance in action


It is highly important that the architecture of the Comarch

BSS Suite platform allows scalability. However, it is also

important to analyze the system periodically. When

it is growing, new processes are designed and new

functionalities are added, and the architects of the

platform have to think about how to avoid degradation

of performance. Comarch performs such monitoring

and analyzes even the smallest changes to hardware

configuration and the data model.

Paweł Kasza

Senior BSS Engineer

Comarch

ustomers require a better quality of software.

They also need improved performance of business

processes. high availability is a standard

requirement. It calls for more and more testing. how do

you perform increased testing in a more diversified test

environment?

For Comarch, it is of paramount importance to provide bug-

free software to its customers. Any qualified specialist in the

software testing industry could tell you that this is impossible

without increasing the costs of testing to the highest level.

This is true. However, we are obliged to search for the most

effective method of system testing, every day.

In July 2010, in accordance with this concept, Comarch

ran a set of tests at the IBM Innovation Center, on the key

elements of the Comarch BSS Suite platform.

The tests performed on the Linux platform, incur the following

conclusions:

Low-cost hardware suffices (and is ready

for use on an enterprise level) for typical

Tier 1 and Tier 2 communication service providers.

The tested hardware configuration displayed

a significant margin of performance

• Testswereperformedusinglow-costservers,typical

of most data centers currently operating: HS22 Blade

Servers (2x X5570 processors) with Linux as an

operating system. The servers were equipped with

only 25% of possible RAM

• Thevirtualstorageusedfortestingwasbasedon

the IBM® XIV Storage System®, which was equipped

with only 72 discs (180 discs being the possible

maximum). Testing utilized only 15% of the maximum

I/O performance available for this configuration

C

sYLWesTeR OskWARek

Comarch SA

User Experience Manager,

Business Development

Center

teChnology & innovation 43


when Comarch CRM for Telecoms is loaded by hundreds

of concurrent users, whilst simultaneously rating the

processes of tens of millions of subscribers’ when Comarch

Convergent Billing is running. For testing, we defined a typical

configuration of tariff plans with voice, sMs, MMs and data

for both corporate and individual customers, including

roaming and non-roaming events.

We value the concept of the IBM Innovation Centers, which

states: “Test with us, not on the customer”. We tested the

Comarch BSS Suite platform with several different hardware

configurations and levels of data in the databases.

We also tested the high availability under the huge load of

the system. For example, we tested crashing of the master

server of Comarch Real Time Charging and switchover to the

replica. Following the crash of the server, we measured the

time required for system recovery. Also, after the restart, we

tested the switchover from replica to master server again.

During these tests, the replica was loaded continuously by

thousands of transactions per second. The results were

as expected. The master server was restarted and the

thousands of calls were switched from replica to the master.

When the tests ran within normal operation of the system

incurred acceptable results, we started to measure system

performance and scalability when the amount of data to

be processed was increased. It is a common situation in

the software industry that the performance of the system

calibrated at the beginning decreases as the amount of data

grows. The algorithms have to process more data, the functions

in the systems are executed significantly more times, and the

final result is that the system works more slowly. Therefore, this

test is very important in a real life scenario.

The whole billing cycle (five substantial processes) was

tested for 2, 5, 10 and 20 million postpaid subscribers.

Process performance showcased linear scalability

Testing highlighted that excessive billing cycle

processing (20 million subscribers) has no impact

on the CRM system. The response times of the CRM

screens for when the billing processes were running

and were stopped, were identical

For 400 concurrent sessions, all average response

times for the CRM screens were below 0.5 seconds

(the results were irrespective of the number of

subscribers in the database)

The performance of real-time charging did not indicate

a dependence on the number of prepaid subscribers in

the system, however it showcased linear scalability

One HS22 server (2x X5570 processors, 24GB RAM)

sufficed for processing 5 million subscribers at

a speed of 5200 transactions per second. To process

more subscribers using the same performance, it

was sufficient to extend RAM without changing the

processors

The BHCA1 for real-time charging was 9.36 million

how the tests were performed?

Prior to testing at the IBM Innovation Center we ran a set of

in-house tests. These indicated that an extremely low-cost

solution, for 1 million subscribers, is possible using Comarch

Convergent Billing and that the entire billing cycle, with

PC-class computer, lasts no more than 24 hours. The solution

is sufficient for most start-up operators.

It was very important for us to run the tests with complex

architecture and configuration. We wanted to ensure for

our customers that there is no impact on performance

When the new version of the system is tested, it can be

assumed with very high certainty that hidden problems

will start to reveal themselves. A more diverse test

environment increases the likelihood of their detection.

Therefore, following our own testing at the Comarch Data

Center we ran heavy load and performance tests at the

IIC. The probability of finding a bug in Comarch Real Time

Charging has to be decreased to an absolute minimum.

Krzysztof Kwiatkowski

Product Manager of the Comarch BSS Suite,

Comarch

IBM Innovation Center (IIC) in Warsaw offers a wealth of resources including technical expertise, marketing and sales facilities and skills, access to IBM hardware and software, as well as training opportunities. Business partners and customers can visit IIC to host lead generation and sales closure meetings, collaborate with local IBM sales teams, IT consultants and industry subject matter experts, who are ready to provide hands-on support for the development projects.

ibm.com/pl/iic

1 BHCA – Busy Hours Call Attempts

Comarch’s engineers spent 6 weeks at the IBM Innovation Center running hundreds of

tests. The support of the IBM hardware specialists was invaluable. Furthermore, all of the

work carried out for the customer ensured the quality of the system, which guaranteed

smoothness and performance management by parameters, thus minimizing the possibilities

of over-scaled infrastructure.

Tested platform: Comarch BSS Suite

Tested elements of the platform:

Comarch Convergent Billing

Comarch Real Time Charging

Comarch CRM for Telecoms




Vertical scaling is highly limited (because of Moore’s law), so to achieve true scalability, the system must be designed to work on many physical machines with multiple processors.

Figure 1. Difference between the scalable and non-scalable architecture.

nOn SCaLaBLe arCHITeCTure SCaLaBLe arCHITeCTure

owadays, the scalability of software systems,

considered as their ability to handle growing

amounts of work, is of great importance. Modern,

web-based applications should often handle thousands

of requests per second, and it’s impossible to achieve this

throughput without rapidly-operating hardware and well-

designed systems with the ability to be enlarged. Methods

of adding more hardware resources for use by applications,

fall into two categories: improving one physical node by

replacing a processor with the most rapid version and

adding more memory (which is known as vertical scaling

or scale-up) and augmenting more physical nodes to the

system, or increasing the number of processors on every

node (horizontal scaling or scale-out). Vertical scaling is

highly limited (because of Moore’s law), so to achieve true

scalability, the system must be designed to work on many

physical machines with multiple processors. There are

many concepts regarding how to cluster applications and

allow them to grow in response to the greater demands

of processing throughput. Some of them include scalable

programming language, an event-driven concurrency model

(actor model), distributed task execution and dispersed data

storage.

scala – a scalable language

Scala is a modern, multi-paradigm programming language

designed to ease the writing of highly-concurrent applications.

It was created in 2001, by Martin Odersky, and its popularity

among Java programmers is rising. Scala programs are

compiled to Java classes, and run on JVM. Scala code can

be invoked from Java and vice versa, which allows seamless

integration of Scala modules in existing Java applications, and

using well-known Java libraries in Scala.

Scala was designed to express common programming

patterns in a concise, elegant and type-safe way. It supports

multiple inheritance (by using mixin classes – traits), has

mechanisms for avoiding nulls, a great collections library,

powerful implicit conversions and many other improvements.

Also, Scala as a hybrid object-functional language, grants

n

Improving the scalability of modern web-based software systems

WOjCIeCh DURCzYńskI

Comarch SA

Software Developer,

Telco BSS R&D

relational dB

application node reverse

proxy

ImdG

application nodes

teChnology & innovation 45


If an application is written in a scalable and distributed format, usually one bottleneck remains – a database.

the ability to define functions as variables, pass functions

to other functions as arguments, and to take advantage

of pattern matching. All these features of Scala make

programming easier, and allow for shorter and simpler code.

The concurrency model in Scala is based on Erlang’s actor

model, which treats “actors” as the universal primitives

of concurrent digital computation. “Actors” share no state

information with each other. Instead, they communicate by

exchanging immutable messages. By eliminating the need to

synchronize access to shared, mutable states, it is far easier

to write robust, concurrent applications.

Akka – powerful actor model

Another powerful implementation of the actor model is

contained in Akka. Akka extends Scala’s actor model and

allows for fine-tuning actors in a desirable manner. Some of

the new additions that Akka provides include supervision

of actors (restarting them in the case of failure), changing

actors’ behavior in response to messages, and load

balancing messages between actors grouped in a pool.

Akka also enables creating remote actors transparently,

and contains an implementation of Software Transactional

Memory (STM) based on Multiverse. STM turns a Java heap

into a transactional data set, and assures atomic and

consistent modifications of it. Akka provides API in Scala and

in Java, and so can be used successfully, even without Scala.

Distributed Databases – the best way of storing huge amounts of data

If an application is written in a scalable and distributed

format, usually one bottleneck remains - a database.

Very often, all data is stored in one place (for example, in

an Oracle database) and cannot be easily divided into

unrelated pieces, mostly because of aggregated queries

used in reporting. Even if the database server is extremely

fast, it can’t process queries as quickly as distributed data

storage would. To bypass this restriction some distributed

databases were implemented. The most important of these

are Cassandra (used by Facebook, open source), BigTable

(based on the Google File System and used by Google,

proprietary) and HBase (based on the Hadoop File System,

open source). These databases are designed to work in

a fail-safe manner, among many physical nodes, and using

them significantly improves the scalability of applications.

Distributed databases are usually non-sql databases, and

provide a map-like interface for reading and writing data.

They also commonly provide map-reduce implementations

for fast aggregation queries involving all data. Using

distributed databases allows storing petabytes of data on

thousands of physical nodes, which is impossible to achieve

with relational sql-based databases.

In Memory Data Grids – extremely rapid data access

Another solution enabling data distribution is In Memory

Data Grids (IMDG). They are very similar to distributed

databases, but hold the data in memory. This allows them

to be extremely rapid, but restricts data size to the amount

of RAM on all physical nodes that create an IMDG cluster.

The most interesting distributed memory databases are

Oracle Coherence (commercial), Hazelcast (open source)

and JBoss Infinispan (open source). IMDG nodes can usually

be embedded in an application, and do not require separate

dedicated servers. Besides providing quick data access,

IMDG often provides additional functionality. For example,

Hazelcast provides the implementation of a distributed

Executor Service, easy-to-use http session clustering, and

encrypted communication between nodes.

Reverse proxy – load balancing and security for web applications

Last, but not least, for a solution that helps improving

the scalability of web-based software systems a reverse

proxy can be used. If the system is composed of many

nodes, the proxy allows balancing the load between them,

and automatically switches HTTP traffic to a different

node when one goes down. This allows disabling certain

application nodes, and upgrades them unnoticeably. Proxy

also improves security by separating applications from the

Internet, and providing numerous security improvements

like: introducing HTTPS, recognition of SQL Injection, DoS

and other popular attacks, access filtering based on IP or

geographical location of the client, and many others. One

of the most powerful reverse proxy implementations is

embedded in the Apache Http Server (open source).

There are other ways of improving the scalability of web-

based applications, in addition to the aforementioned. Their

usefulness depends on the chosen application model. For

small, real-time web systems, considerable improvements

include IMDG for improving data access speed, and a reverse

proxy for heightening reliability. For large, multi-user systems

with many physical nodes and high amounts of data, using

a distributed database seems a wise choice. Scalable

language and the actor model improve the readability and

supportability of any application, and are undoubtedly

recommended.

reFerenCeS:

Scala http://www.scala-lang.

org/

Akka http://akkasource.org/

Apache Cassandra http://cassandra.

apache.org/

HBase http://hbase.apache.

org/

Google BigTable http://labs.google.com/

papers/bigtable.html

Hazelcast http://www.hazelcast.

com/

JBoss Infinispan http://www.jboss.org/

infinispan/

Oracle Coherence http://www.oracle.

com/us/products/

middleware/coherence/

index.html

Apache Http Server http://httpd.apache.org/

CoMMentary46


Local workshops presenting a vendor’s portfolio and

capabilities are a great supplement to global events such

as trade shows or forums (like Mobile World Congress or

Telemanagement World in Nice). Considering that global

events limit the number of participants (usually targeting the

CXO level, or being either too big or too general), the focus of

presentations is often quite diversified. On the other hand,

local events offer the possibility to invite engineers interested

in a particular subject matter and provide a way to overcome

logistical obstacles (meetings organized in an operator’s city,

no travel restrictions).

Workshops were organized for the first time on the

Scandinavian market and took place in the spring of 2010 in

Stockholm. The agenda, divided into two separate sessions

(OSS on the first day and BSS/CRM on the second day),

allowed Comarch to introduce its portfolio, focus on specific

business cases and present how the design of particular

modules can suit various business cases. Such an approach

helped participants better understand the capabilities of

our solutions, the experience of engineers, and allowed

participants to consider new challenges and possibilities

in the telecommunications market. This professional and

technical focus involved participants in active discussions

and served to help identify services for future elaboration.

From the OSS point of view, the most interesting technical

issues for future discussions were related to comprehensive

Next Generation Network & Service Management systems

as well as the Service Assurance approach and QoS policies

for mobile traffic. In turn, the BSS session exposed areas of

interest such as Master Resource Management and Central

Product Catalogue, solutions for supporting M2M business

cases and Convergent CRM.

Furthermore, attendance by customers using Comarch

solutions and services was very helpful for the rest of

the participants, as it gave them an opportunity to verify

Comarch’s quality of cooperation with its business partners.

The workshops in Scandinavia have certainly helped us

to improve the processes involved in making such events

more efficient and interesting for technical engineers.

Such an approach is being continued this year in the DACH

and Benelux regions. Following a positive feedback from

participants, we will endeavor to organize a second edition of

the workshops in Scandinavia next year.

MARCIn MIzGALskI Comarch sA

Business Development

Manager,

Telecommunications

Business Unit

Relation after Comarch BSS/CRM/OSS Workshops in Stockholm

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The communications market is constantly changing – there are more and more areas in your business that require professional support. With 17 years of experience Comarch is able to help you answer the current challenges and address them with a solution that is best suited to a particular area. Our OSS/BSS systems have already helped many operators worldwide. We will assist you with managing all your business areas so you can stay focused on your customers.

COMARCh – sOLUTIOns FOCUseD On CUsTOMeRs

TeLeCOM-sOLUTIOns.COMARCh.COM

Dont’ lose focus on what is really important– YOUR CUsTOMeRs

yourCustoMers

showing ROI on 3G investments

service bundling

showing return on short-term investments

Increase ARpU

M2M

Managing new services

pricing Dealing with excessive data consumption

Mobile broadband

Managing B2B partnerships

Cost reduction

Migration to 4G/LTe

Comarch Technology Review 2010 Fall edition

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Transcript of Comarch Technology Review 2010 Fall edition