The first two articles in this series focused on how to manage user experience, and the crucial role of policy control respectively. Here, Jaco Fourie ties the series together, concluding with a concrete case of business efficiency. Learn more about Ericsson OSS/BSS: http://www.ericsson.com/realize

1. 14 • EBR #1 2013

2. EBR #1 2013 • 15
▶
It is essential for the network and related op-
erations and business support systems (OSS/
BSS) to work together to enable a company’s
wanted position. The systems must:
▶ “know” the customer and the service being used
▶ be able to put the two into context
▶ be able to act accordingly, monitoring and cor-
recting, should customer experience metrics be
violated.
Communication service providers use OSS/
BSS to create differentiated offerings effectively.
Ericsson claims OSS/BSS are key to enabling the
Networked Society, but you may ask, what’s new
about that? Quite honestly, nothing much. The
novelty factor is for the future: it has to do with
the difference between the way these systems
work today and the way they will need to work
tomorrow. To put this into perspective, it’s use-
ful to explore current OSS/BSS a little.
Today’s OSS/BSS are extensively customized.
The “best-of-breed” buying behavior that has
developed over the past decade has resulted in
the integration of many point solutions, seldom
leading to long-term efficiency – not to men-
tion the legacy lock-in effect of customized so-
lutions based on very specific business-use cas-
es. Some require small armies of contractors just
to keep running. The introduction of a new
product becomes a mammoth task, and it is of-
ten necessary to carry out months of feasibility
studies in advance. The various systems are of-
fline, and human beings are the integration
points between them. As a result, user-experi-
ence management and business innovation
amount to little more than a couple of appeal-
ing concepts in the minds of marketing execu-
tives.
Business efficiency is about turning the com-
bination of OSS/BSS into the business enabler –
not the thing that holds business back. To move
toward that goal, existing OSS/BSS solutions
must be transformed; they need to be online,
real-time and event-driven. They must also be
closely integrated with the network. OSS/BSS
must make a business agile and flexible, enabling
it to develop continuously in line with the evo-
lution of the business environment, technology
and customers. Business efficiency is ensured
through the establishment of effective, carefully
managed business processes.
A series of effective core business processes
are outlined in the figure on page 16.
This process may be described in the context
of the mining industry, which was used in the
case outlined in the previous articles in this se-
ries.
IDEA TO PLAN
Imagine a country that’s dependent on the ex-
port of raw materials, like South Africa. One
morning, an eager young marketing executive of
a network operator finds his mind is bubbling
over with ideas for offerings, having found out
that 50 percent of his company’s non-smartphone
mobile-broadband SIMs are being used in sen-
sory and measuring equipment in the mining in-
dustry. Each of his ideas will have to be support-
ed by a business case, and each should support
the overall business plan and marketing strategy
of the communications service provider.
OSS/BSS explained, part 3:
Business efficiency– how a mining company’s
problems can be solved
The first two articles in this series focused on how to manage user experience,
and the crucial role of policy control respectively. Here, Jaco Fourie ties the
series together, concluding with a concrete case of business efficiency.
«« next generation support systems «« Business development

3. 16 • EBR #1 2013
The idea-to-plan process facilitates creating,
validating and approving the business case. Next,
the actual products to be offered and the target-
ed segment (precious metals or iron ore) is se-
lected. The predictions with respect to custom-
ers’ uptake of new products are used to identify
the physical infrastructure and resources re-
quired to realize the proposed offerings. Next,
the board’s decision on whether or not to go
ahead is key. If it is a “go,” detailed product, re-
source and infrastructure specifications are pre-
pared and the plan for how to realize the pro-
posed offerings is finalized. Once the plan is ap-
proved by the board, the idea-to-plan process is
concluded and the plan-to-provision process
kicks off.
PLAN TO PROVISION
This process includes all the steps required to get
the mining company’s product offering ready to
launch, such as:
▶ identifying and engaging suppliers and subcon-
tractors due to be involved once offerings are
launched
▶ planning a go-to-market strategy, offerings
launch and sales preparation
▶ carrying out operational planning for once the
offerings are in use by customers and partners
(the key is to be able to handle exception cases
and maintain customer and partner Service Lev-
el Agreements (SLAs), even in the event of fail-
ure)
▶ building, testing and approvals – everything
new is verified and added to the portfolio in a
controlled way (this includes having facilities and
equipment prepared and conducting preproduc-
tion testing; creating settings in production sys-
tems ranging from the portal to screens in the
call center; creating price lists; and setting sales
margins, discount allowances and so on).
Once all the steps outlined above have been
completed, the launch date and the final check-
point is the preproduction run, which is used to
validate products, partners and established pro-
cedures, and ensure that systems work in an on-
line, real-time and event-driven way. The new
offerings are launched for the mining industry at
the annual Precious Metals Conference just three
months after the marketing executive came up
with the idea. This concludes the plan-to-provi-
sion process.
In this case, the communications service pro-
vider/operator has partnered with the No. 1 min-
ing-management and control-systems provider
in the region. Together they have turned the man-
agement and control system from an offline hu-
man-intensive system into an online solution that
gives mining companies the ability to monitor
the yield of every shaft in real time. The opera-
tor further connects the mining-equipment ven-
dors and provides them with online data about
the state of wear and tear of their equipment. All
of this is enabled through embedded communi-
cations in the equipment vendors’ monitoring
and control systems; each mining unit includes
a 3G module and SIM card housed in a protec-
tive casing.
This has posed some fulfillment challenges for
the operator. These were resolved through a new
process that enables the partner to order SIMs
and provision them itself. Best of all is that the
process is fully automated and does not interfere
with the existing retail-fulfillment processes. This
seems so good that it may sound too simple to
be true – which in a way it’s not, but it still means
a radical step toward a new level of flexibility and
agility in the way operators work.
LEAD TO ORDER
Once the product is launched, the lead-to-order
process starts. Leads could, for example, be cre-
ated from contacts made at the Precious Metals
Conference. These contacts are followed up and
developed into actual sales leads, which we call
lead management. Lead management includes
sales tools, prospect handling and so on.
The board of one of the big mines in the Jo-
hannesburg area shows a lot of interest, and as
the quotations are prepared, the OSS/BSS place
the partners involved on high alert. In some cas-
es, preorders are even created to secure delivery
capacity in case the communication service pro-
vider and its mining partner should win the deal
with the mining company. After a board meet-
ing at the mine, the decision is a “go.” The quo-
tations are automatically turned into orders and
the order-to-service process starts.
ORDER TO SERVICE
The order-orchestration function in the OSS/BSS
breaks down the orders into different work pack-
ages, and subcontractors receive work orders.
The equipment partner handles the SIM cards
as they are received from the SIM supplier. These
are mini SIMs sent directly to the partner’s fac-
tory, where they are installed into the modules
by an automated assembly line. A few days after
the placement of the orders, the first physical de-
liveries are made to the mine and the first data
becomes available centrally and online. At the
mining company, people are extremely impressed
by the speed and efficiency of the biggest trans-
formation process involving automation at the
mine. The most significant improvement made
is that new parts function on delivery – not sev-
eral weeks later. This is enabled by OSS/BSS do-
▶
Business development «« next generation support systems ««
“The equipment
partner handles the
SIM cards as they are
received from the SIM
supplier.These are
mini SIMs sent directly
to the partner’s fac-
tory, where they are
installed into the mo-
dules by an automated
assembly line”

4. EBR #1 2013 • 17
▶
ing automatic configuration work based on the
data received from the partner’s systems. If some-
thing goes wrong, the OSS/BSS automatically
send out new settings to bring new sensors into
service.
The drilling machines are among the first min-
ing equipment to go online. Already on day one,
the management system reports to the equip-
ment vendor that the sensors indicate that a ma-
chine is vibrating outside the allowed parame-
ters when under full load. The vendor is able to
correct the problem during a shift change, which
means operations remain uninterrupted at the
mine.
The order orchestration (or order manage-
ment) function tracks all the different compo-
nents of a single order from the mine, and the
sales representative is able to check on the sta-
tus of the various activities carried out by both
partners and subcontractors at any particular
time. The order is in place, and this concludes
the order-to-service process.
TROUBLE TO RESOLUTION
The case described may have sounded like a fairy
tale with everything just running perfectly, so
let’s get real and look at how problems are han-
dled. A base station cell that provides the mine
with coverage goes dead. Nonetheless, it does
not leave the mine exposed since the network is
planned in such a way that there is sufficient
overlay to be able to handle a single cell failure.
OSS/BSS automatically dispatch work orders
to the network operations center (NOC) to in-
vestigate the issue. At the NOC, it is quickly de-
termined that the fault must have been caused
by a physical infrastructure failure at the cell, and
the ticket is updated with the relevant informa-
tion. Work orders are dispatched by OSS/BSS to
the company handling field support for sites at
mines. In the meantime, the OSS/BSS add the
channels of the affected cell to the other cells in
the cluster covering the mine, and boost their
output power to provide for any low-coverage
points. Even though devices that are now on the
cell edge may suffer lowered throughput, the
OSS/BSS set the priority for the modules de-
ployed at the mine higher than that of mine em-
ployees so as to give preference to traffic from
mine systems. This is done since it is time for a
shift change, and that would mean a large num-
ber of mobile phones are connected to the net-
work as workers start their journey home.
One hour after the failure of the cell, field sup-
port arrives on site to replace the faulty module.
As soon as the cell is switched on, the OSS/BSS
move the channels back to the cell, adjust the
output power of the other cells in the cluster, and
set the priority levels back to normal. From the
time of the failure, OSS/BSS orchestrated all the
activities carried out by people and systems alike
to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.
Upon its replacement, the faulty module is
marked as such, a fault report is logged with the
supplier and the module is subsequently shipped
to the supplier for correction. The central spares-
stock database is automatically updated.
At the end of the month, the head of opera-
tions can see all failures throughout the infra-
structure and get an overview of the national
spares status on a tablet device. The sales repre-
sentative gets a report of the SLA KPI perfor-
mance versus target for the mine, and even
though a dip was recorded when the failure oc-
curred, the SLA threshold agreed with the mine
was not violated. At the monthly meeting held
with executives at the mine, the sales represent-
ative is able to show the customer the real-time
SLA performance – both for the network and the
mining equipment being managed.
SERVICE TO CASH
Many believe service to cash involves mainly the
charges between a communication service pro-
vider/operator and its customers. But that only
covers the retail part of business; the business-
to-business part is usually larger. An operator
sources products and services from partners and
subcontractors for part of the physical fulfillment
of the products. Then there is the mining part-
ner with which it shares revenue and has a cross-
supply agreement, and last but not least, the field
force company that had to send out an engineer
to repair the cell, as in the example mentioned
above. Taking care of all the settlements and
charges throughout the lifespan of the products
in their business context allows the operator to
see the total cost and revenue yield for its min-
ing sector portfolio. This is only possible when
taking into account the total business.
With all the charges to customers and partners
tallied up against all costs, the marketing man-
ager can access a dashboard on a tablet and track
the mining business in real time.
The mine is integrated with the OSS/BSS and
the invoices are passed electronically to the min-
ing company.
This brings us to the business process that is
the least used in telecoms today.
LAUNCH TO RETIRE
The name of this process is another term for
product life-cycle management. You may ask why
the latter term is not used. To date, the telecom
industry has focused on customer acquisition
and subscriber growth, and
«« next generation support systems «« Business development

5. 18 • EBR #3 2012
consequently, product life-cycle management
has been largely neglected. This is how it should
be:
Launch to retire starts the day the product is
put into production. From this point, the yield
of the product or segment must be tracked.
Should the yield not live up to the predicted busi-
ness metrics defined during the idea-to-plan pro-
cess, corrective measures must be taken.
At any given time, the marketing manager
knows which customers are using the product
and what it yields. They would also know when
to start moving the customers to new products
by activating campaigns. Once all customers are
moved, the marketing manager can earmark the
old product for retirement. This includes having
all agreements with third parties terminated, re-
covering infrastructure and resources where pos-
sible, and ordering the decommissioning and
possibly selling or recycling of redundant equip-
ment. With a complete report of the total profit
and loss of the product during its life cycle, the
retirement process is complete.
OSS/BSS should not be separated from the un-
derlying network (this would be impossible an-
yway); true business efficiency can be realized
only when they are handled as a unit. It should
also be clear that the way to make a difference
with respect to business efficiency is to take into
account all business processes, not the systems
that initiated them.
And this is how the mining story ends: the min-
ing group found that the biggest mine in Johan-
nesburg boasts the highest level of productivity
in the country, and the decision has been made
to transform all of the company’s mines in South
Africa using the same management systems de-
ployed at the pilot mine. The communication ser-
vice provider and its partner have become the
main ICT partners to the mining group, and to-
gether they are now reviewing processes to in-
crease productivity even further.
Mining operations data is now available in the
management systems, tying together previously
isolated data points and allowing for a better un-
derstanding of how different mining activities re-
late to one another. This could help the mines in-
vent new ways of doing things, leading to in-
creased safety for workers as well as yield.
Some readers of this series on OSS/BSS will
say it is too expensive to do everything in real
time. This is an argument I hear a lot. My answer
is very simple: if your real-time processing is ex-
pensive, your system is fundamentally flawed.
AUTHOR
▶ JACO FOURIE
is Senior Expert Business Support
Systems at Ericsson’s Business Unit
Support Solutions. He focuses on
the evolution of the company’s
Operations and Business Support
Systems portfolio to meet the demands that the
Networked Society will impose on next-generation
support systems. Fourie began his career in data
communication in the 1980s, working with the X-Series
Standards for packet-switching. In the early stages of the
introduction of GSM, he joined MTN South Africa and
focused on value-added services and charging. He joined
Ericsson in 1999 as Head of Product Management for
Charging Systems.
(jaco.fourie@ericsson.com)
Business need
identified
Lead to
order
Customer
order ready
Order to
product/service
Product/service
to cash
Service events
Product resource and
infrastructure events
Offering
revenue
recognized
Product
available
for use
Business plan
approved
Idea to
plan
Plan to
provision
Product offering
ready to launch
Launch
to retire
Feedback
on idea
Analysis
evaluation
audit
Offering
experience
report
Experience
to resolution
Offering
retired
Outline of core business processes
▶
Business development «« next generation support systems ««