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Enabling Business Process Automation
The TM Forum has developed a suite of frameworks and best practices that have become the industry standard for the enhancement of the communications providers’ business and support processes and systems. TM Forum Solution Frameworks (NGOSS) enable users to analyze their business operations against industry processes, applications and information standards. They also provide a framework to support the procurement, development and implementation of a comprehensive operations environments.
The benefits of the frameworks may be viewed from two interrelated perspectives:
| Business Perspective |
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The evolving environment in which modern Communications Service Providers do business puts new demands on their operations. To be successful in today’s competitive market, a provider must be able to develop and deploy new services quickly, with the quality of service that their customers now demand. To achieve this, processes must become more efficient and automated through the integration of processes, information and systems.
The Frameworks provide a complete toolkit that enables service provders to understand and re-engineer their business processes, integrate information flows and business support applications.
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| Systems Perspective |
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TM Forum’s Solution Frameworks are the industry’s only true standard for development and deployment of easy-to-integrate and easy-to-manage management components. Provided as a ‘toolkit,’ they define a comprehensive, integrated framework for developing, procuring and deploying operational and business support systems and software.
The toolkit comprises specifications and guidelines built on industry consensus in key business and technical areas. By employing a “lifecycle” approach to development of management systems, Service Providers and their suppliers get a clear definition of business processes, specification and architecting software, as well as systems to automate those processes.
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The frameworks may be used as an integrated system end-to-end or as components to solve particular problems. They can be applied throughout organizations by operations staff, software developers and system integrators. Example applications include:
- Business process redesign: Service providers utilize the Business Process Framework (eTOM) to analyze their existing business processes, identify redundancy or gaps in their current strategies, and re-engineer processes to correct deficiencies and add automation.
- Development of support systems migration strategy: The frameworks provide direction for migration of legacy support systems and solutions to a future-proof, maintainable, flexible systems. Service providers utilize the elements of the frameworks end-to end to define common infrastructure for the future.
- Designing and specifying management solutions: The frameworks define detailed application framework, information model, interface and architectural specifications that operators and service providers can utilize to stipulate and procure future support system solutions.
- Software application development: The heart of the frameworks, the Application Framework (TAM), Business Process Framework (eTOM), the Information Framework (SID), and the Integration Framework (TNA), are designed to walk software engineering organizations through the process of creating loss cost integration support system components.
- Systems Integration: When faced with integration challenges, the frameworks’ well-defined language, interfaces and architecture provides the system integrator with a clear direction for repeatable and cost-effective integration of multi-vendor, disparate systems.
For further details on the Solution Frameworks value proposition click here
Inside the Solution Frameworks
The key components of the Solution Frameworks include:
- The Application Framework (TAM) – The Application Framework considers the role and the functionality of the various applications that deliver management systems capability. Structured along similar lines to Solution Frameworks artifacts: the Process Framework and the Information Framework, it is presented in a similar layered and vertical structure.
- The Business Process Framework (eTOM) – The Business Process Framework provides the map and common language of business processes that are used in the industry. In addition, process flows are provided for an ever expanding list of key processes. The Process Framework can be used to inventory existing processes at a Service Provider, act as a framework for defining scope of a software-based solution, or simply enable better lines of communication between a service provider and their system integrator.
- The Information Framework (SID) – The Information Framework provides a “common language” for software providers and integrators to use in describing management information, which will in turn allows easier and more effective integration across software applications provided by multiple vendors. The Information Framework provides the concepts and principles needed to defined a shared information model, the elements or entities of the model, the business oriented UML class models, as well as design oriented UML class models and sequence diagrams to provide a system view of the information and data
- The Systems Integration Framework (TNA) – The Integration Framework and Contracts are a key part of the Solution Frameworks. In order to successfully integrate applications provided by multiple software vendors, the “plumbing” of the system must be common. The Integration Framework defines architectural principles to guide developers to create components that operate successfully in a distributed environment; and the Contract Interface defines the “API” for interfacing those elements to each other across the architecture. This architecture is specifically called “technology neutral” as it does not define how to implement the architecture, rather what principles must be applied for a particular technology specific architecture to be Solution Frameworks compliant.
- Interfaces and APIs - The TM Forum Interface Program is an innovative collaboration effort to produce support systems integration standards for the communications industry. The program harmonizes information models, functional interface standards, and technology frameworks in order to create a unified set of valuable integration aids.
The elements of the Solution Frameworks fit together to provide a framework for system development, integration and operations. The elements of the frameworks may be used end to end to undertake large scale development and integration projects, or may be used separately to solve specific problems. This approach enables all players in the support systems supply chain to use the elements appropriate for their business but with the confidence that they all fit together with a reduced level of ‘integration tax’.
Solution Frameworks-based solutions use mainstream IT concepts and technologies to deliver a more productive development environment and efficient management infrastructure. The frameworks are prescriptive for only those few critical points where interoperability is key and also support ease of customization across a wide range of functionality. This allows systems to be tailored to provide a competitive advantage while also working with legacy systems.
Business Benefits?
Across the telecommunications supply chain, support systems have solved many problems, but they have presented many challenges that will affect the future. Each of the major players in the supply chain seeks a new approach to support systems, and in many cases, with compelling reasons to do so.
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