Proactive service management: leveraging telecom information assets for competitive advantage

The global telecommunications environment is in the midst of a transition from largely monopoly based to a fully competitive environment. Continued success for established service and network providers will depend on their ability to be responsive (anticipate customer needs and respond effectively and efficiently). They must become customer oriented and proactive: competitive entrepreneurs. The paper discusses a target of proactive service management and the requirement for leveraging information assets. Service providers can capitalize on enhanced operations flexibility to establish and maintain a high-level, end-to-end view of services and resources. Information assets can form the basis for the construction of a high-level view of the business, the processes and the applications that provide responsiveness to customers. Finally, the paper discusses how applying distributed processing technology provides a foundation for an open management solution. The approach is firmly based on the telecommunications management network (TMN) and emerging distribute processing principles and will take into account inter-provider management issues that result from global competition. The paper explores how open management solutions are vital if true multiple service provider networks are to be technically successful and if comprehensive management capability in a dynamic environment is to be possible. Open systems interfaces and open network management lie at the heart of the solution to effective service delivery