Winning via management

In the four years since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 altered the dynamics of the industry, unprecedented infrastructure investments have been made by incumbent and competitive local exchange carriers to gain and maintain an edge in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

This infrastructure spending likely will not decline soon, as emerging technologies and the demand for new services continue to drive expansion. In fact, Infonetics Research predicts that network equipment expenditures by CLEC ISPs alone will grow by $936 million this year.

Adding to the buildout frenzy is the growing trend toward mergers and acquisitions. As is the case with new equipment expenditures, industry analysts see mergers on the upswing.

The result of these market trends is that today's providers - newcomers and incumbents - often find themselves with complex, multivendor, multiprotocol networks that are frequently resident in geographically dispersed locations. Where before there were simple voice networks and switches, providers now must contend with Internet servers, DSL access multiplexers, and a myriad of dissimilar network elements.

Providers must determine how to effectively integrate and manage these diverse network elements, how to ensure that legacy systems can communicate with each other and with tomorrow's technology, and how to blend in the business and service tools needed to maintain customer satisfaction.

One answer lies in a turnkey network management systems (NMSs), or operations support systems (OSSs), which not only manage all elements in a diverse network across all protocols but also automate and process the data required for business and service functions (Figure 1).

These turnkey systems are emerging as a key differentiator for CLECs, ILECs and integrated communications providers (ICPs) that want to maintain a competitive edge, and their popularity is increasing. CLECs today account for 10% of U.S. OSS expenditures, and that number is expected to increase to 21% by 2008, according to a report by Communications Industry Researcher.

NMS/OSS and the CLEC

Reliable network management systems are an indispensable tool in this industry today for service providers. Birch Telecom is one provider that uses NMS.

"NMS allows you to immediately identify trouble spots, track network performance, derive critical operating information, watch service level agreements and even determine bandwidth utilization," says David Hedtke, manager of network support systems for Birch Telecom.

When Birch, a Kansas City, Mo.-based ICP focusing on small and medium-sized business customers, emerged in 1997, the company was aware that the start-up phase would involve heavy investment in equipment and systems.

Choosing the right NMS tool can mean the difference between protecting investment in equipment and customers and adding another element to a complex puzzle. With global NMS sales approaching $2.8 billion, providers searching for a solution that delivers must ask the right questions.

The biggest factors for Birch were cost-effectiveness and scalability, Hedtke says. The system Birch chose had to be agile and cost-effective so that the provider could roll it out quickly but also expand.

Another key issue is flexibility, along with the ability to communicate over multiple protocols such as CORBA, TMN/Q3, TL1 or ASCII. The solution also must be built on standards that can be accessed and customized.

A good NMS also should handle interfaces or devices that provide non-standard protocols. It should not take a lot of effort to incorporate devices that don't follow the standards.

Birch's NMS, provided by Harris, manages the network from the Kansas City operations center. It provides fault and performance management for Lucent Technologies'

5E switches, Tellabs' Titan 532L, Siemens' DCO, Cisco Systems' Routers, Vina Technology's Channel Banks and Austron's GPS systems.

Birch can monitor legacy interface devices, as well as the new, smarter SNMP devices. The CLEC can perform these functions on one platform and one database vs. the six or seven systems traditionally needed in the past.

NMS and the ILEC/CLEC

For ILECs, which often have a substantial investment in existing networks, management systems provide a means of facilitating migration to new systems and equipment. Many providers today, such as century-old CT Communications in North Carolina, began life as ILECs, bringing decades of legacy equipment to a rapidly changing marketplace.

"One of the main reasons we began to look at an NMS was that we needed a way to monitor the entire network during emergency situations," says Keith Wilkinson, assistant manager of network provisioning for CT Communications. "During severe weather, for example, it was difficult for us to know the status of the entire network, and it became obvious that we needed a central operations center so that we could see the complete network operating in real time."

CT Communications' focus was on selecting a reliable NMS that easily integrated with legacy systems and one that had "a graphical interface for users to easily identify the location of problem equipment," Wilkinson says.

Today, CT Communications offers local and long-distance services, digital wireless phones, paging, Internet, data services and business telephone systems. Its NMS provides a picture of all network systems and equipment around the clock, issues detailed alarm reports and stores customer profiles that enable higher service levels.

Customers expect quick response to their service needs. If service providers aren't monitoring their own equipment all the time, they don't have the data they need to service their customers effectively, and they could lose them to the competition.

This year's model

In addition to the demands of integrating disparate network elements in an NMS, today's provider must adapt to a changing business model. This new model has elevated the importance of architecture provisioning, performance management, billing and other business functions to keep customers and streamline service.

Intertwined with this changing business model is today's tight labor market with a shrinking pool of skilled people to take orders, make assignments and activate switches and servers.

As a result, an effective solution should automate the data flow between OSS applications, and between OSS and network elements for activation and configuration. Vendors are understanding the importance of offering solutions that, in addition to network management, also manage internal process flows such as order management, work force management, testing, trouble ticketing, dispatching, assignment, billing and service activation.

Harris, for example, has introduced NetBoss, an OSS that supports network and element management, flow-through provisioning, activation and billing mediation.

Automating these functions also reduces errors. Industry estimates of errors in manually processed orders reach as high as 75%. These errors manifest themselves in billing or service activation and drive customers to competitors.

Where the vendor is

Each enterprise is unique, and providers are finding that there is no single formula for selecting the OSS solution that best meets their needs.

Most, however agree on several characteristics that vendors should possess. They need experience in enterprisewide network management, whether the network includes fiber, microwave, satellite communications, environmental equipment, switching or data communications equipment.

Vendors should be flexible enough to work with customers in implementing development suggestions.

Also important is experience and the willingness to partner and serve as a "contractor" in developing an enterprisewide solution that can encompass different products from different vendors.

A history of continuing customer support well after the system has been installed is also key. A good vendor should always be accessible and in contact with the provider on an ongoing basis.

The real cost

At last, but no less of an important question to ask, is: How much does it cost? What is the return on investment (ROI) for a typical NMS? Frequently, the actual payback period for a total NMS solution can be one year or less.

But in today's competitive market, ROI is calculated not only in cash but in customer service also. With all providers having access to the same technology and in competition for the same pool of customers, winners and losers will be determined not just by their willingness to embrace new technology but also by the quality, quantity and speed of service they provide.

An effective NMS can allow surviving players to compete successfully by protecting their costly infrastructure investment and preserving the good will of customers.