As a CTO, it’s probably heresy for me to say this, but in the telecoms space – software is no longer the differentiator it once was. It’s an enabler and it’s expected to work. There is a certain irony here, as in telecoms companies software is more important than ever. The move towards software driven and automated companies – all the way from the network edge to customer care is increasing the importance of software in telecoms companies.
The increase of open source, the rise of open APIs and open ecosystems, and virtualisation is making the telecoms software market more open than ever before. This means that what were once considered key functional advantages delivered by software can now be eroded as competitors can quickly catch up in terms of software functionality. In the BSS space what were once considered key functional advantages are now considered basic capabilities.
Open, plug and play system architectures are becoming the norm. Service providers want to reduce IT and operational costs – but they also need to run their business in a manner that can compete and beat competition coming from OTTs and everywhere else. To do this, they are asking for agile architectures and collaborative suppliers working as partners. Open architectures enable best of breed stacks. This can drive better commercial deals from vendors and saves money.
This is why I am amazed when I hear C levels in telecoms service providers say to me that – “we’re going fully NFV. All our OSS/ BSS and customer engagement systems will be fully open and we’re going to get everything from our incumbent network equipment vendor.” Sorry, but you’re kind of missing the point. You’re going from an expensive closed shop system using proprietary systems where the network vendor has you over a barrel to an expensive closed shop system using open systems where the vendor has you over a barrel. If you’re going to be open, then take advantage of the commercial and delivery models it can enable.
A lot of BSS functionality is becoming standard. What was yesterday’s brilliant innovation is today’s basic functionality. As telcos become digital first businesses and 5G starts to roll out, the pace of change in the industry will increase. The timescale from a piece of software functionality being considered brilliant to being viewed as basic functionality will decrease. This highlights another reason why buying everything from a single network equipment vendor doesn’t work: service providers are all too often dependent on the product road maps and stringent release policies – and if BSS isn’t a main component of your supplier’s business then that may be a bit risky.
If, and this is a good one, the reason that some service providers are running a single network equipment mega-vendor strategy is to have a ‘streamlined’ purchasing process, then when did purchasing efficiencies dictate company survival? Or maybe I should say purchasing inefficiencies, as these RFI/ RFP processes can sometimes take over a year. Modern system design now means that by the time a service provider has written a traditional RFI and gone through the shortlist to the even more protracted RFP process, they could have had an open end to end Digital BSS stack implemented and up and running. The sheer timescales and costs involved for vendors going through these protracted purchasing processes means that some innovative, smaller vendors don’t even bother responding. They know they’re just in there to make up the numbers and to give the service provider a negotiating tool when trying to get their single supplier of network kit, OSS and BSS to cut their prices (which won’t happen).
