Inventory: Intelligence to unlock network value

Mar 13, 2002 12:00 PM

With carriers vying to squeeze every nickel from networks through improved provisioning, inventory solutions have become the new mantra of the industry. Even in a tight economy, service providers are committing to increased budgets for more advanced operations support systems that provide a detailed view of saleable assets--allowing for the extraction of additional value from existing networks.

But let the buyer beware: Inventory solutions alone will not help unlock the value of the network. Carriers must apply process automation against the information gleaned from network inventories in order to meet the challenge of simplifying and expediting service provisioning--enabling optimal operational efficiency. One of the most intriguing solutions to emerge thus far combines the power of inventory and automation, and is fast becoming known as the "carrier resource platform." Equipped with this tool, a handful of carriers have demonstrated the ability to reduce service delivery time by up to 40 percent--and pull ahead of competitors.

Sick patient

Within most telcos, antiquated provisioning processes eat away at the bottom line like a cancer, limiting agility in the market. Why? Because provisioning processes have not kept pace with rapidly evolving networks and services. They remain manual, error-prone exercises that gobble up time, revenue and customer patience.

Service delays cause real pain to the bottom line, considering that up to 80 percent of a telco's profit can come from the 20 percent of its business most difficult to provision--the high-value, advanced data services such as DSL, IP VPNs, ATM and frame relay. Inability to deliver these services efficiently takes a significant bite out of returns.

The longer it takes to connect a customer, the longer the revenue--thus profit--is deferred. And with each passing day, customer dissatisfaction increases.

Inventory's fair value

Inventory management solutions can help carriers get a grip on their far-flung networks and deliver services more efficiently by showing them exactly where resources are, how they're configured, which customers are connected to them, and what services are being delivering. But carriers should evaluate the inventory market cautiously. Not every inventory system has the ability to streamline provisioning.

For example, the "asset" inventory system allows telcos to keep track of expenditures on network equipment. The "engineering" or "database of record" inventory documents a network's configuration, primarily from a physical point of view. These types of inventory systems have been around for years and have helped improve carrier operations. Engineers, for example, use inventory systems to reduce the number of "look-ups" required when designing or troubleshooting parts of the network, which saves time.

But where there is value, there is also limit. After all, telcos still suffer from inefficient provisioning and stranded resources. Inventory for inventory's sake only goes half way and prohibits carriers from leveraging the full value of comprehensive inventory data.

Here's an analogy. Most companies of any size archive sales presentations. A central, accessible database of PowerPoint slides and corporate messages saves salespeople time because they don't have to re-create the wheel with every prospect meeting. But the inventory by itself can't tailor the presentation for the nuances unique to each prospect. It can't write it, or deliver it. A sales person must customize it for the audience and present it.

The same is true for a network inventory. Inventory by itself can show what resources are available, but it cannot automatically arrange them or deliver a service. Couple it with process automation applications, however, and inventory becomes the hub of the OSS, a "carrier resource platform" that unites OSS applications and automates provisioning to create new operational efficiencies, drive revenue and boost ROI.

The carrier resource platform

The carrier resource platform takes inventory to a new level. It is distinguished by four characteristics that enable carriers to transform a static catalogue of network equipment into a dynamic process automation engine.

First, unlike asset or engineering inventories, which document specific aspects of network operations, a carrier resource platform inventory is complete. By definition, it models all the device types and technologies on which services depend. This includes IP, ATM, SDH/Sonet, PDH, frame relay, GSM, copper, fiber and microwave links, and active and passive devices such as cross connects. The resource platform must also provide the tools to model new technologies and devices as they become part of the network. Without a complete unified model of the entire network, engineers have to fill in the gaps with guesswork, manual cross-referencing to other systems or by physically checking the network.

Second, the carrier resource platform simultaneously models network capacity. To maintain an accurate capacity model, the resource platform must understand the complex matrix of relationships between technologies, services and network resources--and many unique network subtleties, such as protection schemes. Automating delivery of capacity depends on understanding how the network produces and uses it. The carrier resource platform presents both a view of absolute capacity and the rules that govern its use.

Third, the carrier resource platform allows management at any scale. Using inventory and capacity data, it presents a top-down, hierarchic view of the network so that the operator can drill down to whichever level of detail is appropriate. The massive scale of the network at lower levels makes this functionality critical. Additionally, it provides the ability to abstract the network, through logical layers and topologies, to identify ways to reserve capacity and fully use network resources.

Finally, the carrier resource platform adds a timeline to the network model, facilitating network planning, such as a change from a circuit-based network to an IP-based network.

Full automation

Just as importantly, a carrier resource platform automates provisioning. Think of the carrier resource platform as an enterprise resource-planning tool for telecom. Just as ERP solutions integrate software applications across the enterprise, the carrier resource platform oversees and ensures consistency in the OSS. It anchors OSS applications critical to the provisioning process with shared, accurate network inventory and capacity data, and then manages it.

When a new customer order comes in from the "order manager," the carrier resource platform decomposes it into distinct entities according to provisioning path and network resource requirements. The resource platform can then evaluate the network, determine how to optimally implement the service with available resources and instruct service activation applications how to proceed. Alternatively, should network resources be unavailable or require manual reconfiguration, the platform can generate a work order with specific "how to" instructions for technicians to implement the service. 

The carrier resource platform provides the means to encapsulate the valuable skills and experience of provisioning engineers in an automated environment--facilitating business scaling and freeing up the scarce resources to optimize networks and speed services to market. (Click here to see The Carrier Resource Platform Solution.)

Benefits for all

Carrier resource platforms are up and operating across the globe, delivering real benefits for companies around the world.

For example, Italy's Infostrada, launched in 1997, serves more than 5 million residential and business customers.  To compete with rival Telecom Italia, Infostrada wanted to roll out new products quickly and provide high quality customer care. The carrier implemented a carrier resource platform to accomplish its objectives. 

Today, the platform maintains accurate information about all the logical and physical resources on Infostrada's rapidly expanding network, giving staff instant access to all the information they need about network resources. When a customer places an order for service, Infostrada can quickly identify the best route and activate the service in the shortest amount of time--up to 40 percent faster than it could before.

Carrier resource platforms are also the OSS foundations for leading European wireless operators such as BT Cellnet and KPN Mobile, which use detailed inventory and process automation functionality to support network deployments and delivery of next-generation mobile IP services. 

Taking stock

The carrier resource platform is delivering real benefits to carriers, validating the telecom industry's revived interest in inventory. Easily accessible, unified and complete inventory data, combined with process automation, is key to faster provisioning, streamlined operations, maximum profitability and a stronger ROI on the billions invested in networks through the 1990s.

Carriers are right to commit spending to OSS, and especially inventory, even amidst a nasty economic downturn. Those that take stock of their networks now, and leverage that information to automate provisioning and extract additional value from their networks, will realize immediate gains and be well positioned to capitalize on the inevitable upturn.

Kimber Lewis is President, North America, for Cramer Systems.

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