End customer control in the intelligent network

Service subscribers are demanding more control of their services, they are also demanding fast and timely updates to their service data and logic. In the process of controlling their services, users are requesting interfaces which require zero or minimal training. These interfaces must also hide the peculiarities of service implementation and provide a simple and straight forward means to enter or change the service logic and data. In order to support user mobility, the interface should utilize client/server architectures to allow access from remote locations via various kinds of networks. The service subscriber also wants a private and secure environment, such that their service profile is secure from illegal access. Furthermore, the interfaces must be capable of supporting multiple services and features without a different look and feel for each one. These demand can be met by the service management system (SMS) as it represents a central repository and a user interface for the whole intelligent network. The SMS provides the capabilities to provision and distribute service logic and service data changes in a reliable and consistent manner by using transaction management and validation capabilities. It provides security allowing controlled access to the data and ensures integrity by performing audits. It also provides the ability to build and execute various kinds of reports and other service OA&M functions