Nokia Siemens Networks wants to take its OSS business up the value chain, away from network element management, into the service assurance and management chain, its new Head of Operations & Business Software, Juhani Hintika, has told Mobile Europe.
Hintika said that because Nokia Siemens Networks was such an expert in the radio network, the protocols, handover, all the real nitty gritty of network operations, it was in an ideal capacity to act as a consultant for driving real benefit from systems up the chain in service management, assurance and control.
“We’re moving from element management to the service management systems, where we can provide a single view of the customer experience, moving our management capability to a higher level,” he said.
So why would operators look to work with Nokia in this space, we asked?
Hintika said that NSN would work with operators to define their business needs and processes, rather than look to sell in off the shelf software products.
He also said that NSN often gets calls from operators soon after they have deployed third party software, because they are having trouble really integrating that with the network elements, lacking the deep knowledge of the network required to do so?
“Even after an operator has gone with a major IT player, two weeks later our phone rings,” he said, “asking us what to do with the raw data from the network. This is the competence we have based on a lot of experience.”
Is that really the case? Surely the major service management and assurance vendors know what they are doing when it comes to network protocols and data analysis?
“I wouldn’t agree with that,” Hintika said. He also rejected the notion that element manufacturers made it hard to extraxt and interprate data by use of proprietary management systems.
“We have been great proponents of open systems, and by definition our customers wouldn’t have it any other way,” Hintika claimed.
Hintika said his unit’s number on position in convergent (pre and post paid) charging and wide device management capabilities also gave it an excellent platform to play in the service management space.