Oracle today released the results of independent research questioning senior IT executives at Communications Service Providers (CSPs) across EMEA, the Americas and APAC on the need for consistent adoption of industry standards in their Business and Operations Support Systems (BSS/OSS) business processes.
Carried out by Vanson Bourne, the research found that more than half (56 percent) of respondents estimated they would free up in excess of 10 percent of their annual IT budgets if existing industry standards for BSS/OSS business processes were widely adopted, with the average percentage amongst all respondents being almost 16 percent, says the research.
Inconsistent adoption of industry standards for BSS/OSS business processes and IT infrastructure has led to challenges for CSPs: Three quarters of respondents (75 percent) believe that systems integration costs are higher now than they would be with the widespread adoption of standards, and 65 percent felt the same way about management and maintenance costs.
For 57 percent of respondents, the lack of industry-wide standards adoption makes it more difficult for IT departments to respond as quickly as they would like to new demands from the business.
When asked which outcomes for BSS/OSS would provide the biggest benefit to their business, 54 percent ranked increasing the agility of the IT architecture to become more responsive to business needs in their top three.
Two-thirds (67 percent) of respondents then went on to state that agreed industry standards for BSS/OSS business processes would be very helpful or helpful in achieving this outcome, says the research.
“It is clear from this research that industry standards have a very real role to play in making BSS/OSS work for the business,” said Bhaskar Gorti, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Oracle Communications. “Standards expedite procurement processes for our customers through their use of common terms to describe product and service capabilities, and the ability to identify inefficiencies via comparisons with industry best practices. As we can see from the results of this new research, standardisation can also reduce integration and operational costs, as well as risk. Oracle Communications is committed to industry standards, and today has also announced that our Rapid Offer Design and Order Delivery (RODOD) solution is the first to complete the new TM Forum Frameworx Solution Certification.”
“This research reinforces the critical need for standardized BSS/OSS business processes, clearly demonstrating the tangible financial and operational efficiency savings to be made through their use,” added Keith Willetts, Chairman, TM Forum. “TM Forum remains focused on simplifying the complexity of running a CSP’s business through our Frameworx suite of standards, which provide the blueprint for effective business operations. The commitment of companies such as Oracle, which recently worked to make its RODOD solution the first to receive the TM Forum Frameworx Solution Certification, demonstrates rapidly growing demand for Frameworx standardization by CSPs.”