Aug 20, 2003 12:00 PM,

RHK OSS analysts depart to form new practice

By Tim McElligott

Former RHK analysts Patrick Kelly, Larry Goldman and Mark Basham, the billing, fulfillment and service assurance triangle that comprised RHK’s operations support systems practice formed a limited liability company last week, and will do business under the name OSS Observer.

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Kelly and Goldman resigned from RHK two weeks ago after personnel reductions eliminated Basham’s position.

“[Bashum’s termination] wasn’t a surprise so we had talked about what our options were and decided that if there were cutbacks in the program, we would simply leave and start our own company,” Kelly said.

The OSS Observer website (www.ossobserver.com) will be active with content next week. The group expects to begin publishing reports as early as September. The three analysts will continue to work in their respective specialties and will be looking to set up affiliate programs for related markets such as broadband access and mobile wireless.

“We are pretty optimistic about the OSS market,” Kelly said. “We fundamentally believe is it underserved in terms of market research and some of the consulting-based projects we have been working on.”

In business for one week, Kelly said the company already has its first purchase order.

OSS Observer will try to build out a market research subscription-based program and provide consulting to both service providers and suppliers in the OSS market. The group will honor its proprietary information contract with RHK, but they are under no non-compete clause. The company is self-funded.

Kelly said the marketplace reception is already better than anticipated. “I thought the RHK brand name would keep clients closer to them, but that isn’t playing out with the people I have talked to. They are looking at relationships more with individuals and less with a particular company,” Kelly said.

RHK has had several leadership changes over the last three years including the recent appointment of Dr. John Soden as CEO on July 18. He follows now ex-CEO Marc Litvinoff, who joined the company in 2001.