Survey Sez: Global OSS Transformation On The Fast Track

A recent Amdocs survey tracked the factors driving the transformation of operational support systems (OSS), the different transformation approaches undertaken by operators and the progress made to date.

The OSS survey was conducted in April and May by the U.K.-based Telesperience, which polled service providers in North America, the Caribbean and Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, Europe and Asia (including Oceania).

“This global survey identified three main types of service providers: operationally focused (driven by achieving greater efficiencies), commercially focused (intent on creating new revenue streams and diversified products) and customer focused (driven by customer-centricity and personalization),” explains Teresa Cottam, research and publications director at Telesperience. “Regardless of service providers’ identified type, all have a strong need to transform — now.”

Here are some key survey findings:

>> 70 percent of service providers started OSS transformations from 2009 to 2011: Service providers that described themselves as early adopters report having already completed 75 percent of their transformation process, while late adopters still are at an early stage, typically with less than 25 percent of the process complete.

>> Operational factors still are the Number One priority: Such operational drivers as improved OSS efficiencies and reduced operating expenses still are the strongest immediate drivers for OSS transformation. However, the survey found that, as IT becomes increasingly aligned to the business, transformation projects increasingly are being driven by the service provider’s customer-experience and commercial goals. 

>> 33 percent of service providers already are gaining quantifiable benefits from OSS transformation: Despite the fact that most service providers are only 25 percent or less through their transformation process, 33 percent of those polled said they already are seeing the benefits of OSS optimization. These rewards include faster time to market for new products; the ability to roll out niche products; a faster order-to-cash cycle; lower operational costs; the ability to support more customers; and such new low-margin services as machine-to-machine (M2M), fewer customer complaints and lower churn rates.

>> Different regions are taking different approaches to OSS transformation: European service providers are focused on cost control and using OSS transformation to create a more agile infrastructure and to support new service enablement. North American service providers that are beginning to move toward new service rollouts are concerned with OSS efficiency, and they see transformation as enabling a more flexible infrastructure. In the Caribbean and in Latin America, service providers are most interested in speeding business processes and supporting the rollout of new products, and enabling convergence across their lines of businesses. In Asia, service providers identified modernization, new service enablement and lowering costs as key parts of OSS transformation.

To read the full report, click here.