Delivering End-To-End Services

November 2015 | www.tmforum.
org
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
Free to tmforum members

$495 where sold
DELIVERING END-TO-END
SERVICES
IN A HYPER-CONNECTED WORLD
Sponsored by:
Are you ready to shape the future of digital business?

Collaborate with these leading companies on Customer Centricity.
TM
Get engaged in the community at

www.tmforum.org/customercentricity
DELIVERING END-TO-END SERVICES

This report is free for all employees of TM Forum member organizations to download by registering on our website.
To purchase this report, non-members should contact aturner@tmforum.org
Report author:
Nancee Ruzicka
President and Founder, ICT Intuition
nruzicka@ictintuition.com
Senior Director, Editorial:
Annie Turner
aturner@tmforum.org
Managing Editor:
Dawn Bushaus
dbushaus@tmforum.org
Editor, Digital Content:
Sarah Wray
swray@tmforum.org
Manager, Content Production:
Paul Davis
pdavis@tmforum.org
Business Development Director, Research & Publications:
Mark Bradbury
mbradbury@tmforum.org
Director, Solutions Marketing:
Charlotte Lewis
clewis@tmforum.org
Senior Director, Content:
Aaron Richard Earl Boasman
aboasman@tmforum.org
Advisors:
Nik Willetts, Deputy CEO & Chief Digital Officer, TM Forum
Craig Bachmann, Senior Director, Open Digital Program, TM Forum
Rebecca Sendel, Senior Director, Customer Centricity Program,
TM Forum
Report Design:
thePAGEDESIGN
Published by:
TM Forum
240 Headquarters Plaza
East Tower, 10th Floor
Morristown, NJ 07960-6628
USA
www.tmforum.org
Phone: +1 973-944-5100
Fax: +1 973-944-5110
ISBN: 978-1-939303-88-2
Page 4
The big picture
Page 6
Section 1
Betting the business on digital services
Page 9
Section 2
Service providers speak: Why the Internet of Everything
needs new business models
Page 15
Section 3
Shining the spotlight on business challenges
Page 20
Section 4
Navigating the operational roadblocks
Page 24
Section 5
Creating a global ecosystem
Page 31
Section 6
Make it happen: Six strategies for delivering digital services
and a ready-to-go toolkit
Page 38
Sponsored features
2015. The entire contents of this publication are protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The Forum would like to thank the sponsors and advertisers who have enabled the publication of this
fully independently researched report. The views and opinions expressed by individual authors and contributors in this publication are provided in the writers personal capacities and are their sole
responsibility. Their publication does not imply that they represent the views or opinions of TM Forum and must neither be regarded as constituting advice on any matter whatsoever, nor be interpreted as
such. The reproduction of advertisements and sponsored features in this publication does not in any way imply endorsement by TM Forum of products or services referred to therein.
www.tmforum.org
INSIGHTS RESEARCH

The big picture

Welcome to TM Forums first-ever Insights Research
report focusing on the delivery of end-to-end services
in digital ecosystems made up of many partners.
Transforming in a hyper-connected world

There is a distinction to be made between
modernization, which is necessary for any business to
keep current, improve its products and grow revenue,
and transformation, which is a once-in-a-generation
fundamental change to the identity of the business.
By 2020 the digital world will consist of tens
of billions of devices, with an unlimited variety of
applications delivered over highly scalable, virtualized
infrastructure using distributed intelligence.
The move from communications service provider
to digital service provider is transformational, and the
ability of all digital service providers to configure and
deliver end-to-end services seamlessly to millions
of users accessing billions of devices will determine
future success.
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
No longer just nice to have

Communications have evolved from convenience to
necessity. For customers, there is no longer fixed
or wireless, voice, data or video only devices and
applications. Televisions, handsets, vehicles, sensors
and any variety of things are the devices, while
voice, text, video, banking, spreadsheets, payroll,
supply chain and more are applications in the cloud.
Connectivity is transparent, and delivering reliable
digital services requires the seamless integration of
multiple partners and technology suppliers worldwide.
This report examines the progress and challenges
associated with delivery of complex digital services in
the Internet of Everything (IoE). While many efforts
are underway or under consideration, very few
digital service providers have completed the heavy
lifting required to establish the foundation for digital
services, nor have they defined a global ecosystem
strategy or developed the necessary relationships with
partners. All-in-all the delivery of end-to-end digital
services remains a work in progress, but one that is
ripe for innovation.
www.tmforum.org
Read this report to understand key issues

for delivering end-to-end digital services
Read this report to understand:
What a digital service provider is.
Why the alternative business structures needed to sustain global ecosystems and
partnerships are difficult to initiate and even more difficult to execute correctly.
What the most significant and difficult changes to the business and to operations will
be for communications service providers transforming into digital service providers.
What the current state of play is in the IoE and the challenges associated with
delivering the complex digital services required to make IoE successful for customers
in any industry.
The role partners play in delivering IoE connectivity and how much progress has been
made in developing partnerships.
Why security is so important.
What this means for you. What actions should you take now, and which tools will help
you get there?
We hope you enjoy the report and, most importantly, will find
ways to use the concepts and recommendations detailed
within. You can send your feedback to the TM Forum editorial
team at editor@tmforum.org.
www.tmforum.org
INSIGHTS RESEARCH

SECTION 1
Betting the business

on digital services
Many industries are reinventing themselves by
connecting users, customers, locations and things
to move their organizations forward. Transportation,
shipping, energy, healthcare, retail, safety,
government, financial services and other verticals
are anxious to embrace the opportunity the Internet
of Everything (IoE) presents. To do this, they need
solutions for digital communication.
Network technology has crossed the threshold
from being value-added to mission-critical in most
businesses. Business domains, supply chains and
distribution have become even more diverse and
far flung. That leaves business leaders to answer an
important question: Do we continue to invest in the
6
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
infrastructure and skills necessary to build, operate

and maintain the required global critical infrastructure,
or do we rely on digital service providers, some of
whom have been making these investments and
innovations for more than 100 years?
BUILD OR BUY?
Enterprises can build their

own global infrastructure
OR
buy digital services from

vetted providers
www.tmforum.org
Business as usual is almost impossible, given the

number of products customers are demanding
A tale of two digital service providers

For communications service providers, fundamental
changes in infrastructure, competition and costs have
always been the catalyst for restructuring the core
business, but no change is more significant than the
move to digital services.
Given the number of products that customers
are demanding, the complexity of delivering and
supporting each, combined with the need to ensure
quality, ease-of-use and support, makes business-asusual nearly impossible.
To that end, network operators are implementing
business and technological changes to accommodate
digital services business models.
Simultaneously organic, or native, digital service
providers (companies like Microsoft, Amazon,
Facebook and a fast-growing number of Internet of
Things startups) are delivering services directly to end
customers over existing communications networks.
Hype or real opportunity?

The number of devices connected to the Internet is
soaring, although how quickly depends largely on
which forecasts you believe. See the infographic
below for a sampling of the predictions some
companies are making about the proliferation of
connected devices.
Forecasts for revenue from connected devices are

equally bullish, with companies like Machina Research1
predicting that between 2014 and 2024, a total of
$1.3 trillion in Internet of Things (IoT) revenue will
be available to companies that have sophisticated
monetization capabilities, a big part of the total
anticipated revenue opportunity of $4.3 trillion.
Conversely, Beecham Research2 believes these
numbers to be unrealistic and potentially
damaging to the industry.
There is no doubt that the M2M and IoT markets

are moving quickly and there are great new business
opportunities, but with unrealistic predictions around
the growth of connected devices, there is also the risk
that companies will run out of time and money before
they see a return on their investment. We know that
today, excluding mobile phones and general purpose
devices like tablets, there are significantly less than
1 billion connected devices worldwide We need to
get real here. The total GDP of the United States the
biggest national economy in the world is currently
18 trillion dollars annually. To suggest that new revenue
from IoT will approach even 10 percent of this over a
five to 10 year period is unrealistic and unhelpful.
Robin Duke-Woolley, CEO, Beecham Research
Predictions for number of connected devices by 2020
25 billion
30 billion
38.5 billion
50 billion
75 billion
http://inform.tmforum.org/strategic-programs-2/open-digital/2015/11/successful-monetization-of-the-internet-of-things-iot-a-1-3-trillion-opportunity/
http://inform.tmforum.org/strategic-programs-2/open-digital/2015/11/industry-urged-to-get-real-about-iot/
1
2
www.tmforum.org
INSIGHTS RESEARCH

Despite the discrepancies in market projections,

its clear there is a huge opportunity for both native
digital service providers and communications service
providers looking to become digital providers. The
native providers have an advantage because their
businesses are already software-defined and operating
in the cloud. This means they can create and retire
services rapidly, and increasingly they are controlling
the relationship with the customer.
Many service providers recognize that their current

operational mindset is closer to that of a utility than
a retailer. Their business is not built to compete but
rather to deliver ubiquity, consistency and quality.
Every customer gets the same service the same way,
and quality is universally high, regardless of cost.
Changing that culture to one of tiered quality, service
level agreements, product variety and one that accepts
that the customer is always right in a competitive
global marketplace is a lot to overcome.
How to become a digital service provider

In an effort to compete more effectively,
communications service providers are divesting the
product business from the regulated infrastructure
business. Structurally separating this new end-to-end
services business from the core network infrastructure
business, centralizing product management and
aligning product development efforts across the
business will improve time to market for new services,
reduce costs and improve customer experience.
82%
of respondents to our survey

are considering or completing
the creation of a separate
digital services business
Well discuss this more in the next sections, where

we provide the detailed results of our research.
Expanding expectations and rapid delivery,

all while maintaining a long-term competitive
cost structure in a perceived commodity
industry, requires transformation. Growing
threats from traditional, non-related industries
present long-term challenges.
North American communications service
provider
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
www.tmforum.org
Details of how we conducted our primary

research for this report and with whom
SECTION 2
Service providers speak: Why the

Internet of Everything needs new
business models
WHO?
40
HOW?
SERVICE PROVIDERS
While the majority of companies were telecommunications service providers,
we also have included responses from enterprises that represent connected
car, digital health, retail, social media and IT services.
WHERE?
LATIN AMERICA/
CARIBBEAN
GLOBAL
ASIA /PACIFIC
ONLINE SURVEY AND

TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS
TYPE OF SERVICE PROVIDER

EUROPE / RUSSIA
NORTH AMERICA
MIDDLE EAST /
AFRICA
68%
Telecommunications
20%
IT
5%
Online retail
3%
Media & Social media
2%
Connected car
2%
Digital health
Source: TM Forum, 2015
www.tmforum.org
INSIGHTS RESEARCH

How do you deliver services?

To describe their digital services organizations,
respondents were asked to characterize them as one
of four types:
digital service providers offer

products that include devices, connectivity, content
and support services (for example, TV programming,
eBooks, supply chain management, home health
monitoring, energy management, telematics), often
delivered using partners and a retail ecosystem.
Retail solutions can also include exposure of
fulfillment, assurance and billing/settlements
functionality for self-care and channel/partner
support.
n End-to-end
suppliers provide components, bandwidth,

rack space, collocation facilities, power, cooling,
switches, security, operations, maintenance
and data center infrastructure that are often
accompanied by strict service level agreements,
performance and quality requirements. Service
providers that sell only bandwidth services (vLAN,
carrier Ethernet) and data center or hosting facility
operators are here defined as suppliers.
n Digital
global alliance brokers maintain

arrangements and negotiate settlements with
global suppliers for access, connectivity, payment
processing and physical presence in markets
worldwide.
n Digital
enablers offer integration of connectivity,

infrastructure, hosting, content, applications,
integration or professional services that enable
others to become retailers of end-to-end digital
services. This includes one or more components of
an end-to-end digital service but cannot be sold as
turn-key and requires components from partners.
n Digital
TM Forum IoE survey respondents fall into four categories
47.5%
42.5%
25%
15%
End-to-end digital
service provider
Digital
enabler
Digital
supplier
Digital global
alliance broker
10
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
www.tmforum.org
Most service providers are starting with

connected vehicles, homes and smart energy
Sizing the service providers

The majority of survey respondents serve fewer
than 5 million customers which is indicative of the
market overall (see Figure 2-1). In addition, some of
the largest network operators in the world, which
are making great strides in delivering digital services,
also provided their input. The individuals surveyed
represent executives, marketing, technical and
business leaders who are working to define, market,
deliver and support end-to-end digital services for their
retail and business customers.
Figure 2-1: Number of customers served

17.5%
Waiting for a market

Service providers are prioritizing delivery of IoE
services based on their specific customers, regions
and expertise. For the early services including energy,
connected home, smart city and digital health, the
number of service providers delivering services to
each sector now, versus two or five years from now,
is evenly split. This indicates the varying priorities of
providers.
While not all digital service providers are entering
every market, most are starting with connected
vehicles, connected home or smart energy. As with
any product, digital services require a valid business
case, quantifiable revenue opportunity and review of
risk.
They are delaying going to market in areas like smart
agriculture, telematics for insurance and wearables
while they wait for demand to increase, the variety
and cost of unique devices to drop, and/or the
standardization of interfaces so that delivering services
becomes less risky and costly.
42.5%
5.0%
7.5%
25.0%
Figure 2-2: Deployment of IoE services

Now
Next 2 years
Next 5 years
Smart energy
Connected home
Smart city
Digital health
Connected vehicle
Wearables
Insurance telematics
Smart agriculture
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Making connections
NOW
Connected
vehicles
LATER
Connected
home
Smart energy
www.tmforum.org
Fewer than 5 million

5 million to 25 million
100 million to
150 million
More than 150 million
2.5%
Which smart services do you offer?

As we outlined in Section 1, the IoE opportunity
for digital service providers is potentially huge. We
asked survey respondents which Internet of Things
or machine-to-machine services they offer now and
which they intend to offer in two years and five years
time. The results are shown in Figure 2-2.
Smart
agriculture
Telematics for
insurance
Wearables
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
11

Customers are unique
Execution and optimization
For communications service providers, offering digital

services requires a change in operating processes,
systems and likely even personnel. They need to shift
from an approach that delivers the same service to
every customer to a strategy that delivers a unique
product to every customer.
The daily operation and management of the
infrastructure, service and partner assets required
to deliver thousands of unique digital services will
become a continuous challenge to ensure quality
of the service, product performance and customer
satisfaction. Efficient operations and economies of
scale dictate that standardized processes, applications,
networks, data models and interfaces be adopted.
Business leaders are currently emphasizing the

execution of their digital services strategies, and they
are re-engineering processes and implementing backoffice systems to support delivery of digital services.
Our research shows that more than 80 percent of
service providers are either considering or doing both
(see Figure 2-3).
Process changes are especially risky for digital
service providers since many have not focused
on process in the past and are often ill prepared
to engage in the type of overarching analysis and
mapping required to define an entirely new process.
Existing functions are so embedded in the culture and
operations of their businesses that it becomes very
Business priorities today

include changes to organizations,
processes, services, partner
relationships and operations
Figure 2-3: Progress on execution and optimization
Execution of digital services strategy
7.5%
Process re-engineering/optimization
7.5%
10.3%
7.7%
12.5%
Done
15.4%
In progress
Seriously considering
Considering
43.6%
22.5%
Not now
50.0%
23.1%
12
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
www.tmforum.org
Systems implement processes

and incorrect processes prevent change
difficult to step out of the tactical world and suddenly

become strategic. However, as leading digital service
providers know, systems implement processes and if
they get the processes wrong nothing will change.
Transformation at AT&T
Figure 2-4: Changes to support new business models

Not now
Considering
In progress
Done
Align product development

across internal & external assets
Centralize end-to-end
product management
AT&T recognizes this, which is why the company

has embarked on a multi-year transformation3 of its
operational and business support systems (OSS/BSS)
to support network virtualization and the IoE. AT&T
is using TM Forums Frameworx4 suite of tools and
best practices (see page 29) along with some of its
own frameworks and processes, to transform the
entire software delivery lifecycle from service concept
through to measuring customer experience.
Create professional
services groups
Create industry-specific
sales and support groups
Create global partner strategy
for industry-specific solutions
Create new business unit/
structural separation
Create global partner
strategy for support
The goal is to provide reduced cycle time to the

end customer with new market offerings. More than
anything else, its about providing them features
and services fast. A lot of the work were doing
internally is to automate provisioning, service
assurance efforts, ticketing, fault detection. Those
are all software IT projects. If we can do them faster,
we can actually provide the end customer reduced
cycle time for obtaining services from AT&T.
Create global partner strategy

for infrastructure
Create global partner
strategy for content
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Sorabh Saxena, Senior Vice President, Software

Development and Engineering, AT&T Services
Out with the old

We asked survey respondents to indicate what kinds
of business changes are underway to support new
business models. The results are shown in Figure 2-4.
As we noted in Section 1, a large majority of
communications service providers (82 percent) are
either already separating or considering separating the
expensive, regulated network business to compete
with over-the-top (OTT) providers.
Companies with trusted brands can design, sell and
bill for connected products, professional services,
secure transaction processing and content, while
remaining competitive with companies without
expensive network infrastructure.
www.tmforum.org
http://inform.tmforum.org/features-and-analysis/featured/2014/10/technology-transformation-att-sets-stagevirtualization/
https://www.tmforum.org/tm-forum-frameworx/
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
13

It takes two to tango
Pre-integration is required
Transformation requires disconnecting online and

automated order management, customer care, and
support from specific silos of systems to enable
management of relationships with global partners and
suppliers.
Engaging with partners that provide infrastructure,
content and support needs service providers to
implement and optimize end-to-end processes for
product development, order management, customer
support, service delivery, billing, settlements and
assurance. They must also make the on- and offboarding processes simple and secure.
For example, nearly 45 percent of communications
service providers we surveyed have already forged
or are in the process of creating global infrastructure
partnerships, and another 20 percent are seriously
considering it. More than a quarter have also started
building global partnerships for customer support and
content, although close to 40 percent of respondents
said they are not yet working on or considering
content deals.
Delivering Internet of Everything (IoE) connectivity

and complex digital services requires pre-integration
of partners and applications. To that end, companies
are taking steps in their local markets to align product
development across their internal assets and those of
their partners. Close to 60 percent of respondents said
they have already or are working on aligning product
development, while another 20 percent are seriously
considering it.
Toward this end, service providers also are
establishing professional services organizations and
creating sales and support groups with the unique
knowledge and skills required to target specific
industries and customers.
Streamline for simplicity
57.5%
aligning product
development internally
Grab your partner

Most service providers are already creating or
seriously considering global partnerships for
64%
Infrastructure
Content
57%
51%
Support
B2B2X Step-by-step
Partnering Guide5
Learn about the 5 stages of building
and scaling partnerships
14
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
creating industry-specific
sales and support
50%
47.5%
establishing
professional services
While a majority of the service providers surveyed

want to pursue centralized digital services business
strategies and 30-40 percent are actively implementing
changes, the data also shows that less than a quarter
have actually completed their efforts. And when the
discussion turns to global strategies for infrastructure,
content and support partnerships, only 5 percent or
fewer have defined those strategies and relationships.
But the efforts are well underway and are starting to
deliver some results.
Well examine the role of partnerships in more detail
in Section 5.
https://www.tmforum.
org/open-digitalecosystem-2/#b2b2x
www.tmforum.org
Moving to cloud-based technologies and virtualization

brings challenges, mostly operational and business
SECTION 3
Shining the spotlight on business challenges

Native digital providers already operate in the cloud,
and virtualization technology is now enabling network
operators to evolve from traditional suppliers of
separate, network-dependent services into cloud
providers. But the transformation comes with
significant challenges, most of which are business and
operational roadblocks rather than technological.
We asked survey respondents to indicate the most
significant business challenges they face in executing
their strategies for defining and delivering end-to-end
digital services. The results are shown in Figure 3-1.
Given that the majority of survey respondents are
communications service providers, its not surprising
that culture and mindset tops the list of challenges. In
fact, only 10 percent of respondents said culture is not
an issue.
Its also not surprising that defining a digital services
strategy is perceived as a challenge nearly all
respondents cited it as a significant or potential issue
since this is a new world for network operators.
www.tmforum.org
Figure 31: Business challenges in the Internet of Everything

Not an issue
May be a concern
Significant challenge
Culture/mindset
Security/privacy
Standards (or lack of )
Cost
Process/organizational changes
Definition of digital services
strategy
Regulatory
Organizational/cultural issues
Leadership and
ongoing support
Availability of technology
and support solutions
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
15

Worries about security

Number two among the challenges in our survey
is security, which also is no surprise. The need to
develop secure software and components becomes
even more apparent with IoE and cloud, where
multiple third-party providers work together to deliver
mission-critical services.
Financial services, hospitality, and retail businesses
are still the primary targets of data breaches because
of their wealth of information and also due to their
wide physical distribution. However as other industries
begin to deploy connected devices across large
geographies, there will be millions of new access
points for hackers to exploit.
To address security, controls must be designed into
components, devices, operations and applications.
There are methods for including security in all these
stages of development. However, go-to-market urgency
and short-term cost savings often mean that security
is overlooked until late in the day. This must change so
that security is designed in from the ground up.
One key consideration is which traffic gets filtered.
Most enterprises filter only the traffic coming into
the organization, not outbound traffic. Yet if a remote
device has been compromised and is being used
to collect unauthorized data, it can be detected by
monitoring outbound traffic and stopped. Millions
of connected devices will have predictable traffic
patterns, which should make anomalies easy to spot
so long as someone is looking.
Security and privacy in the Internet of Everything
92.5%
say security is a
significant challenge
or may be a concern
The importance of leadership and support
67.5%
say leadership is a
significant challenge
or may be a concern
Taking the lead

Closely related to the issue of culture is leadership.
When the economy is booming and revenues abound,
leadership is less critical to the perceived success of a
business. However, when a service provider is faced
with a perfect storm of large and start-up competitors,
exploding demand and a challenging economy, strong
leadership is essential.
Some companies believe they already have the
necessary leadership to transform to digital service
providers, while others are bringing in new blood from
other industries including retail.
For example, BT has tapped technology
and business leadership from the finance and
16
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
A recent TM Forum Catalyst project6 showed how to design

security into a hybrid or virtualized environment
http://inform.tmforum.org/features-and-analysis/featured/2015/06/catalyst-unified-api-enables-operators-to-offersecurity-as-a-service/
www.tmforum.org
Each digital service provider will find its own way,

but foundational efforts must come from leaders
manufacturing sectors, while T-Mobile USA hired a

CIO who worked for retailers like Avon, Barnes &
Noble and Chicos.
Although each digital service provider will find its
own way through the transformation minefield, there
are long-term foundational efforts that must originate
in the executive suite. Without strong leadership in
these areas, the transition wont be successful.
3 key leadership roles

Investment and planning: The clearest
indicator of commitment to transformation
is the allocation of budget and definition
of a strategic plan for change to every part
of the business. As executives develop
digital service strategies and set investment
priorities, it is critical to communicate that
change is coming and that everyone is
obligated to make it happen.
Teaching the message: Communicating the
intent, plan, successes, failures and progress
is critical to changing the culture. Training
that reinforces key strategies and intent is
important, as is practicing what you preach.
And any product or service innovation that is
offered to customers should be used internally.
Relentless execution: Leadership has a
tendency to lose focus once a major effort is
underway and projects are being executed,
but thats when executives need to remain
engaged. The CEO of a large North American
digital service provider conducts monthly
reviews of projects to ensure that each stays
on track and delivers the intended customer
and business benefits. On- and off-boarding
partners will be a continuous challenge
and one that digital service providers must
continuously refine and manage.
Lack of critical skills

In addition to concerns about culture and strategy,
there are organizational challenges associated with the
structuring of the business, as well as the processes
www.tmforum.org
and staffing required to develop innovative solutions

and execute the sale and delivery of new digital
services to a variety of customers.
Service providers, like every other business, are
facing a shortage of critical skills as the demand for
experienced developers, data scientists and engineers
is increasing.
For companies venturing into adjacent and
connected industries like automotive or healthcare,
there is also a need for personnel with experience in
those industries who understand the unique needs of
the business and which services are valued at what
price.
Culture, skill set and a willingness to work on each

are the major challenges that face our industry.
Asian communications service provider
The skill sets required to configure, operate and
maintain existing products and infrastructure are very
different from what is required to deliver complex
digital services. Automation is essential to reduce
costs, ensure accuracy and improve time to market.
Alternatively, outsourcing of legacy infrastructure or
product management might better control the costs
associated with operating and maintaining legacy
products. However, demand for the highly skilled
engineering, IT, operations and support personnel
required to deliver transformation remains unsatisfied
and is cited as a significant risk by nearly half of the
digital service provider executives included in this
research.
Staffing and skills shortages are an issue for IoE
87.5%
say the shortage of skills is

a significant challenge or
may be a concern
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
17

Signs of things to come

While digital service providers spend a lot of time
and money to support the volume of traffic, devices,
users, data and applications in todays networks, the
explosion in mobile data only hints at the problems
that will be magnified by virtualization and the IoE.
Big changes to operations

KG
Tons of transactions: Service providers

already handle trillions of transactions and
millions of health and status events from
network elements, IT elements, customer
devices, services, applications and users.
In ten years, the number of IoE devices is
estimated to be ten times the number of
existing mobile devices, which means the
volume of data, number of connections and
operational events increase by orders of
magnitude.
Not just the network: To support the
IoE, OSS/BSS also has to scale not
only to manage hundreds of thousands
of subscribers but also to accommodate
hundreds of unique service instantiations.
When millions of end-point devices, servers,
storage and applications are added that must
be delivered in a secure multi-tenant fashion,
scale and complexity are multiplied.
Deliver the data: In the IoE, data will be
collected and delivered to a wide variety of
applications that can make use of it. There
will be many variables associated with
delivering data for each customer, including
collection frequency, volume, storage,
parsing and correlation. Policies will have to
be applied to dynamically direct when data is
collected, how often and where it is sent.
18
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
Nobody rides for free: Each participating

provider, partner and business will want to
be paid. The challenges that exist around
accurately collecting transaction data, billing
multiple parties, reconciling payments to
numerous providers, revenue assurance and
fraud are monumental. Existing OSS/BSS
are rapidly being replaced and upgraded to
add flexibility, but not all solutions will be
capable of meeting the demands of multitenant digital services across various industry
verticals.
Well look at operational challenges in more detail in
the next section.
Manage your money

Volume equals complexity, and digital service
providers are managing more connections, more
transactions and more users across a larger variety of
networks than ever before. This translates to rapidly
rising costs when it comes to support calls, training,
maintenance and operations costs that could quickly
outpace any revenue gains.
Escalating costs associatated with IoE
92.5%
say the escalating cost of

delivering digital services
is a significant challenge or
may be a concern
www.tmforum.org
Ensure capital expenditure contributes to the

success of the digital services strategy
Willingness to invest in transformation and ensure

that each capital expenditure contributes to the
digital services strategy is critical for demonstrating
commitment and ensuring success. Executive
oversight is required to maintain the vision of
transformation and reinforce the desired corporate
culture.
To reduce operational costs and to meet the
demand for connectivity in the IoE automation must
become the norm. This is something native digital
providers like Microsoft already understand.
Extreme automation is required. In 5G, theres

no way we can do this unless everything is
completely automated everything has to be
software defined When youre operating at
hyperscale, there is no choice.
Eric Troup, Chief Technical Officer, Worldwide
Communications and Media Industries,
Microsoft
To read an interview with Troup about the

Operations Center of the Future, visit TM Forum
Inform7
Availability of technology & support solutions for IoE
82%
say availability of technology

and support solutions is a
significant challenge or may
be a concern
Today, many suppliers solutions remain proprietary

or rely on legacy processes and silos. And while
OSS/BSS vendors are making strides toward
implementation of open interfaces and standardized
platforms, too much variety still exists.
Cloud platforms are proprietary to each vendor
and do not interoperate. Multiple mobile operating
systems cannot seamlessly share data and proprietary
versions of application interfaces are everywhere.
Data collected from IoE devices is ideally intended
for use by multiple applications and business units,
which also means that interfaces must be open,
available and secure across the users organization,
not just the digital service provider.
The right tools for the job

Finally, the availability of virtualized network functions
and standards-based OSS/BSS solutions capable of
supporting the rapid creation and retirement of digital
services is also a concern for service providers. In fact,
the lack of standards, which we will discuss in more
detail in Section 5, ranked third among challenges in
our survey.
API Zone8
TM Forum offers 10 open, REST-based APIs
(with 11 more under development) to manage
services end to end and throughout their
lifecycle in a multi-partner environment
http://inform.tmforum.org/strategic-programs-2/customer-centricity/2015/10/microsofts-eric-troup-automation-is-crucial-in-the-opcf/
https://www.tmforum.org/strategic-program/apis/
7
8
www.tmforum.org
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
19

SECTION 4
Navigating the operational roadblocks

Many operational challenges threaten to derail the
emerging Internet of Everything (IoE). From defining
services to delivering and supporting services
unique to multiple industries, the integration and
interoperability challenges that service providers
have been working around or avoiding for years are
exposed.
Defining and delivering end-to-end services for
IoE require process efficiencies and automation that
enable:
Figure 4-1: Most significant operational challenges for IoE

Not an issue
May be a concern
Security management
and assurance
Definition of digital services
technology strategy
Product/service definition
& management
Partner ecosystem
management
Cost
n first-use
provisioning;
n over-the-air software updates;
n seamless network handoffs between operators; and
n interoperability from the device to the cloud
then the network, and back again, regardless of
infrastructure.
Customer care
Billing/revenue assurance
Product/service delivery
Product/service assurance
Sales/marketing
We asked survey respondents to indicate the

most significant operational challenges they face
in executing their strategies for end-to-end digital
services. The results are shown in Figure 4-1.
20
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
Virtualization
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
www.tmforum.org
IoE services demand a centralized, data-driven architecture,

reliant on integrated catalog and automated fulfillment
It is not surprising that security, the number-two

business challenge (see page 16), ranks as the top
operational challenge. Partnerships bring a great deal
of added complexity to security and privacy, and its
clear that for the foreseeable future figuring out how
to ensure both end to end operationally and how to
deal with breaches contractually will be focuses for
digital service providers. Well discuss this more in the
next section on partnerships.
Defining a technology strategy for digital services
85%
say defining a technology

strategy for digital services is a
significant challenge or may be
a concern
Developing a technology strategy

Defining a digital services technology strategy also
ranks high as an operational challenge. Close to half
the respondents cite it as a significant challenge and
another 40 percent saying it may be a concern.
Delivering turn-key, end-to-end IoE services
requires the implementation of a centralized, datadriven architecture which relies on integrating the
component-based catalog and automated fulfillment.
Creating operational efficiencies needs operational
and business support system (OSS/BSS) functionality
to bridge the gaps between existing systems, new
virtualized solutions and partners platforms to deliver
end-to-end services.
In the end, its all about automation and creating a
single view of the customer and services across the
business.
Defining and delivering digital services

Service definition is a significant challenge or concern
for almost 83 percent of respondents, but there are
steps service providers can take to address this issue,
from creating consistent views of subscribers to
tracking the progress of orders.
5 ways to improve the development of digital services
1. Create a consistent, horizontal view of the subscriber

across customer relationship management,
infrastructure and OSS/BSS
2. Reduce the time it takes to define a new offer,

including mapping and testing, by implementing a
data-driven, rather than process-driven, strategy
3. Give customers the flexibility to customize offers

using self-care
4. Apply rules, policies and thresholds to ensure the

accuracy of orders and reduce fallout levels across all
order and fulfillment channels
5. Track the progress of the order through fulfillment,

activation and initial use
Instant help with managing NFV

To learn more about what it takes to deliver
end-to-end services in virtualized and
hybrid networks, see our Extra Insights
primer NFV: Can it be managed? 9
www.tmforum.org
9
https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/nfv-can-it-be-managed-blueprint-for-end-to-endmanagement/
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
21

Virtually speaking
Interestingly, virtualization does not present nearly as
big a challenge as service delivery for respondents.
This may imply that virtualized functions have been
isolated from existing operating processes, which
does not bode well for defining and delivering end-toend digital services at scale.
Alternatively, it may be that the integration of
virtualized functions into existing networks and
services is not underway or that virtual functions
have not been activated to an extent that it affects
operations. In either case it is important to integrate
virtualization with existing solutions and operations
platforms under a single management umbrella to
enable end-to-end service delivery.
Only
65%
percent say virtualization is

as a significant challenge or
concern,
while
95%
say service delivery is
You need a plan

For more about how service provider plan
to develop a single management umbrella,
see our Extra Insights primer Building the
Operations Center of the Future 10
Quality is the top task
Close to
Customer-facing functions are also proving

problematic as support personnel need specialized
industry knowledge and training to support critical
business customers. Likewise, service level
agreements (SLAs) for connected applications and
infrastructure become much more stringent and the
penalties much more severe.
90%
of survey respondents say

service assurance is either
a significant challenge or
concern,
79%
percent cite customer care as

a challenge or concern
and
10
https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/building-the-digital-operations-center-of-the-future/
22
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
www.tmforum.org
IoT devices present challenges for service providers

when it comes to ensuring service level agreements
Even though Internet of Things (IoT) devices

typically use the mobile network, unlike mobile
phones, dongles and tablets, the devices themselves
may not move. As mobile networks are not as reliable
as fixed networks, this creates a challenge. For
example, a sensor on a storm sewer pump cannot
go around the corner to get a better signal in bad
weather.
Digital service providers must deliver SLAs to
ensure reliable connectivity and diversity for critical
devices under adverse operating conditions, which
might mean hard-wired access. The more stringent
the SLA, the more expensive for the business
but losing contact with a critical sensor during an
emergency would be infinitely more costly.
Providing guaranteed availability is difficult
and expensive, but is something that enterprise
customers are willing to pay for, based on the value
of the asset, and the importance of its safety and
security.
If digital service providers are to implement the

increasingly complex processes and automation
required to deliver advanced digital services, a new
layer of expertise and staffing is required to support
customers. Customers like self-care, but the self-care
portals have to empower customers to achieve their
goals, rather than just display billing information.
A collection of apps to monitor home security or
remote systems isnt enough either. At some point
customers want a consolidated view of their services
and apps, regardless of provider or partner.
How to get better performance

Find out more about how service providers
plan to ensure quality in virtualized and
hybrid networks in our Quick Insights report
Virtualization: How to manage performance 11
If digital service providers are to implement the complex

processes and automation required to deliver advanced
services, a new layer of expertise and staffing is required
11
https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/virtualization-how-to-manage-performance/
www.tmforum.org
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
23

SECTION 5
Creating a global ecosystem

From the smallest to the largest, digital service
providers recognize that they need ecosystems of
partners and a wide variety of business models to
deliver competitive services efficiently and profitably.
Simply put, digital service providers cannot do
this alone. The complexity and overhead associated
with owning the network, building the services
and supporting customers is too much for any one
company, but suppliers, enablers and retailers can
partner to expand and become stronger businesses.
We asked survey respondents about the role
partnerships play in their strategies (see Figure 5-1).
As systems are upgraded, modified or replaced,
service providers believe they will be in a better
position to work with partners over the next two
years, and that partners roles will become more
24
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
Figure 5-1: Role of partners now and in the future

Now
Next 2 years
Next 5 years
Partners will play a

substantial role
Partners will play a primary
and critical role
Partners will play a minor
or ad hoc role
Partners will play no role
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Source: TM Forum 2015
www.tmforum.org
Digital service providers cannot build entire

ecosystems on their own they need partners
substantial. There is a shift at the five-year mark,

however, that seems to indicate a possible move
away from partnerships.
Possible reasons for reducing reliance on
partnerships in the future could include:
n Differentiation
digital service providers may

initially go to market with partners but intend to
acquire or make exclusive arrangements with those
who provide popular or revenue-generating services
and differentiation.
n Specialization digital service providers cannot be
all things to all customers. As Internet of Everything
(IoE) customers demand higher and higher levels of
integration and complex features, service providers
may need to focus on a specific industries or sectors
to deliver desired levels of service.
n Security always at the top of the list of concerns,
security to many digital service providers means
closing the door to partners once the desired
application, feature or functionality can be brought
in-house.
n Standardization as standards for interfaces and
data structures are put in place either intentionally or
by default, there will be a natural consolidation and
fewer partners to consider.
n Cloud and platform strategies digital service
providers and partners are defining cloud and
platform strategies to make interfaces and
interactions with partners more transparent. As with
standardization, the end result will be fewer unique
partnering arrangements.
n Inability to predict so many changes are
underway at once, resulting in acquisitions,
divestitures, mergers and other business and
operational challenges, that predicting what will
happen in five years may simply be too difficult.
Developing the ecosystem platform

We asked respondents whether they have defined
an ecosystem platform for global partnerships and
developed the necessary integration standards. Less
than 9 percent have done so, but most are working on
it (see Figure 5-2).
Figure 5-2: Progress on defining platforms

and standards for global ecosystems
8.6%
Yes
Working on it
No
31.4%
60.0%
More than one third of companies surveyed are

working to deliver a partner-friendly environment; more
than half are developing partner channels for sales,
shipping, delivery and support. Overall, a majority have
either completed or are in the process of completing
much of the foundational work to transform their
businesses from that of communication service
provider to digital service provider.
51% say partnerships will play a

minor role or no role in five years
www.tmforum.org
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
25

How respondents are building the

foundation for digital services
67.5%
Organizational restructuring/organizational
changes
59%
Operational leadership changes
55.3%
Implementation of virtualized environments
57%
Digital service strategy execution
51.3%
Product development emphasis
57.5%
Talent and skills development/acquisition
59%
Implementation of back office to deliver
digital services
It wont be easy
In the near term digital service providers must
establish alliances that enable them to deliver
seamless global services, much like airlines have
created global alliances to help passengers travel
wherever they want to go under one umbrella. But
doing so isnt easy.
Operators that own networks are regulated by the
countries where they operate and/or are restricted
to regions where they are licensed. Each faces
considerable regulatory and legal restrictions, which
creates a minimum requirement for infrastructure
partners.
Some IoE services are based on GSM networks
while others use CDMA. Widespread LTE or Wi-Fi
infrastructure might help overcome those differences,
but many offerings will rely on older, widely deployed
3G and even 2G networks. Upgrading them will need
massive investment. In addition, devices or sensors
on the move such as on trucks, containers and
packages will involve network handoffs to stay
connected. Some companies could deliver a global
virtual private network, but they too would have to rely
on multiple networks run by many partners.
Some companies could deliver a global virtual

private network, but they too would have to rely
on multiple networks run by many partners
26
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
www.tmforum.org
There are instances where service providers

are trying to delay the introduction of partners
Highlighting the difficulties
Figure 5-3: Challenges for partners
When asked specifically about partnership challenges,

security unsurprisingly tops the list again (see Figure 5-3).
Beyond that, however, are the practical and tactical
challenges associated with finding the right partners
and integrating them into operational processes.
Not an issue
May be a concern
Security
Identifying the right partners
Integration into billing, settlements
and revenue assurance
Transforming processes
There are instances where service providers are trying
to delay the introduction of partners. This is not because
of competitive concerns: The biggest obstacle for digital
service providers is that current business processes,
practices and systems cannot meet the dynamic
requirements of on-boarding partners, product and order
management, settlements, assurance and security.
Service providers are used to contract management,
but moving from contract to settlements is a different
story. Adding partners to the product development
process and including third-party components in the
product catalog is difficult if the catalog is not open
or flexible enough to accommodate a wide variety of
complex elements, rules and workflow.
On the customer-facing side of the business,
partners need payment without introducing
opportunities for fraud or security breaches. Also,
partners products or components must be included in
the product catalog, sales and care processes.
If a customer is having a problem with a partners
component, the service provider still has to take the
call, find the problem and fix it. That puts additional
pressure on customer relationship management (CRM)
and care systems, and on the training and supervision
of support personnel all of which raises costs.
Integration into service

delivery and fulfillment
Integration into CRM, sales
and customer care
Integration into product
development and product catalog
Contract management
Performance management
Interoperability with existing
infrastructure
Cost
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Respondents see integration issues as a significant challenge or concern

For product
catalogs
For billing and

settlement systems
94%
www.tmforum.org
For CRM
97%
86%
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
27

From components to fulfillment

Implementing a component-based environment in
which to create products enables digital service
providers to independently model products,
connectivity and even changes. By using pre-defined
components, processes, rules and workflows,
products are consistently defined and delivered across
the business, regardless of the underlying systems or
partners.
On the activation side, by basing the automation
of the fulfillment workflow on defined product
components greatly reduces the time needed to
deliver a new product or service.
Even once a partners product is included in
the catalog and integrated into a service offering,
there is no guarantee that it will work with existing
infrastructure, service delivery or fulfillment processes
and systems. As CRM, sales, order and offer
management are aligned with partners and providers,
the bottleneck moves to fulfillment.
4 ways to be a better partner for digital services

n
Provide open interfaces for rapid network,

IT and OSS/BSS integration
Offer fair pricing and automated demand

management to monetize capacity
Ensure security as user information is shared

globally and the number of mobile financial and
business transactions explodes
Support standards that encourage network sharing,

spectrum availability and global alliances
Ensuring services end to end

Activating and operating physical, virtual, cloud and
partner components securely across geographies and
systems is another daunting task, which digital service
providers are only beginning to understand.
Many potential partners do not have the IT staff
and/or in-house expertise to put a partnership with
a digital service provider in place. Certifications and
testing must be performed once the necessary
interfaces and integrations have been completed.
And, once completed, every change or update to
applications or infrastructure elements must be
verified with regression testing. This typically results
in modifications to partners software or systems.
To make partnerships profitable using virtualized
infrastructure to deliver complex digital services,
digital service providers need an end-to-end strategy,
architecture and operational processes. There is no
shortage of technology; proper implementation of
the right technology is what will make all the
difference.
28
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
Operating physical, virtual, cloud and

partner components securely across
geographies and systems is a task service
providers are just starting to understand
www.tmforum.org
Billions have been spent on OSS/BSS and

critical data is scattered across the business
Preparing the back office

As we discussed in Section 4, there are big operational
challenges associated with delivering digital services, and
partnerships magnify them. Close to half the respondents
to our survey are in the process of implementing the
necessary OSS/BSS platforms to handle services
delivered through partnerships (see Figure 5-4).
A horizontal OSS/BSS architecture that abstracts
infrastructure from services, services from customers
and customers from products creates a more open
environment for partners. A layered approach that is
vertically integrated will deliver timely and consistent
information throughout the business and implement
end-to-end processes while enabling automation
across service areas and silos.
For all their efforts, service providers recognize
that OSS/BSS transformation cannot and will not
occur overnight. Billions have been spent on existing
systems, and critical data is scattered throughout the
business. Orchestration layers abstract functionality
from systems and infrastructure while enabling digital
service providers to leverage existing infrastructure,
OSS/BSS solutions and data.
Figure 5-4: Implementation of OSS/BSS for digital services

5.1%
Done
In progress
Considering
Not now
10.3%
15.4%
20.5%
48.7%
Source: TM Forum 2015
Standards need work

In addition, development of global ecosystems for
delivering digital services may well be delayed while
providers identify industry and corporate standards for
IT and OSS/BSS solutions which can be consistently
applied worldwide.
Best-of-breed deployments are giving way to global
platform standards and ecosystem solutions that enable
digital service providers to specify infrastructure,
system and integration standards that ensure
consistency and interoperability. However, those
solutions are not imminent and agreement on global
standards is even further behind.
In the interim, digital service providers must rely
on solutions that accommodate existing processes,
systems and data while providing the additional
capabilities foe delivering reliable and secure digital
services anywhere in the world.
www.tmforum.org
92.5% say lack of standards is a

significant challenge or may be a
concern
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
29

n defining
Figure 5-5: TM Forums vision for partnering
TM FORUM DIGITAL BACKPL ANE
How to ensure provisioning or settlements across

multiple providers networks and partners systems is
far from certain. The number and variety of systems
and interfaces in use makes rapid activation, billing,
revenue assurance and automation of global end-toend operating processes extremely difficult.
Fundamental problems include:
and implementing common infrastructure,
n virtualization,
n application
and service element interfaces,and

data models and common operating
procedures across the business and aligned with
partners.
n common
By consolidating OSS/BSS, participating in

standards bodies and insisting on implementation of
specific transformational processes as part of OSS/
BSS procurements, they will be able to ensure that
OSS/BSS, IT, infrastructure and integration system
suppliers deliver operational solutions that meet
service providers requirements.
A starting point
TM Forum has defined a vision for how best to
represent the necessary elements of an open digital
ecosystem and enable definition and implementation
of a global digital services strategy (see Figure 5-5).
The service realization layer at the top represents
where services are delivered to and experienced by
customers.
The middle layer is the services platform and can
be seen as an extension of the platform as a service,
cloud-based model that is sold as a service to other
businesses to enable them to offer their own services
to customers. This layer ultimately shapes the digital
ecosystem as it affects what partners can offer.
The bottom layer comprises infrastructure providers
DE VIC
TE
COMPU
TO R E
ORK S
NE TW
that deliver and support compute, storage, network

resources and devices. Those involved in the
infrastructure layer are facing the biggest technological
and organizational upheaval in a generation in the form
of virtualization.
Some elements of this proposed architecture for
the digital ecosystem run across all three of the layers
forming a backplane. These backplane functions
contribute the foundational assets, models and
definitions that allow ecosystem partners to interact
in a standardized way, enable scale, deliver a common
view across the processes and simplify integration.
The qualities that service providers have built into the
network scalability, reliability, availability, performance
and quality must now be built into the IT infrastructure,
applications, customer portals, care centers, retail
outlets and devices that are the foundation for IoE
partnerships and a connected economy.
Youre not alone

For more details about the Forums vision for the digital ecosystem
including a look at Catalyst projects addressing the challenges, see
our Extra Insights publication Collaborate to Innovate12
12
https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/collaborate-to-innovate-a-universal-approach-to-winning-in-the-digital-world/
30
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
www.tmforum.org
Separate digital service offerings from expensive,

regulated network construction and operations
SECTION 6
Make it happen: Six strategies

for delivering digital services
and a ready-to-go toolkit
In the burgeoning Internet of Everything (IoE),
digital service providers of all kinds must develop
partnerships to deliver the complex services
customers are demanding. No single company can do
it alone.
Communications service providers in particular face
numerous and difficult challenges as they transform
their companies to compete in a hyper-connected
world. They are faced with changing their culture
and business processes, all while managing costs,
complying with regulations and turning a profit.
Following are six key takeaways from this report
that will help digital service providers succeed in an
increasingly connected and competitive world.
www.tmforum.org
1. Go over the top

Over-the-top providers like Amazon, Facebook and
Microsoft have built very successful businesses
without operating networks of their own.
Communications service providers need to follow
their lead and separate digital services offerings
from expensive, regulated network construction and
operations. This will allow them to compete around
products rather than bandwidth, coverage or speed.
The result is that companies with trusted brands
can design, sell and bill for connected products,
professional services, secure transaction processing
and content while remaining competitive with
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
31

companies that are not encumbered by expensive

network infrastructure. Separation of regulated
network infrastructure encourages infrastructure
deployment because the amount of capacity deployed
will be based on demand, rather than competition, and
suppliers will be rewarded equally.
Making changes
67%
of service providers are

restructuring or making
organizational changes
2. Become a retailer
Were all consumers and the concept of becoming a
retailer is not foreign to individuals, millions of whom
sell through Alibaba, Amazon and eBay. However,
a company needs substantial cultural and mindset
changes to become a digital retailer.
Our survey data reveals that business challenges
are of the greatest concern to digital service providers.
The people who recognize these challenges must
initiate business adjustments, so that service
providers business and operating strategies, and
solutions can deliver end-to-end services to customers
regardless of industry, location, application or device.
Some of the issues around moving into retail were
explored in the recent TM Forum Omnishop proof-ofconcept Catalyst project (see page 31).
Culture and mindset concerns
90%
of those surveyed are

concerned about culture
and mindset
3. Leaders must lead

Culture, mindset, organizational structure and
leadership are all critical to making end-to-end, global
digital services work. Business leaders must clearly
communicate that digital services transformation
affects every single part of the business and all staff.
Continuous communication of IoE strategies, their
progress, future plans and expected results will make
the changes less disruptive and promote cooperation.
This communication of expectations combined
with relentless execution of a clearly defined strategy
are essential to achieving the fundamental business
transformation to make digital services flexible and
profitable.
4. Commit to change and stay engaged

Transformation is seldom neat, and establishing global
ecosystems and collaborative platforms for end-to-end
digital services are no exception. Successful initiatives
usually start as small proof-of-concept tests or lab
32
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
Continuous communication of IoE

strategies, their progress, future plans
and expected results will make the
changes less disruptive and promote
cooperation
www.tmforum.org
Potential benefits to service providers from this

retail proof of concept include dynamic partnerships
Selling the retail concept

Catalyst13 projects are TM Forums rapid-fire proof-ofconcept projects, aimed at tackling real-world problems and
finding pragmatic solutions for their adoption. The Omnishop
Catalyst was demonstrated at TM Forums Catalysts InFocus
event, held in Dallas at the beginning of November 2015.
The Catalyst was championed by Liberty Global and led
by Infosys, with participants from Salesforce, IBM, Zira and
ESRI. It showcased a reference implementation for shop
journeys which span call center agents, other customerfacing, and dealer-facing channels.
The team is leveraging and extending TM Forum
standards, tools and best practices from its Frameworx suite
and the Omnichannel Introductory Guide14. The Catalyst is
taking an innovative approach, which abstracts the back-end
complexities, federates information from diverse backend ecosystems, and offers consistent capabilities across
channels. This facilitates seamless transfer of context from
one channel to another, in real time.
Benefits to the service provider inlcude:
n enabling
omnichannel experience at reduced cost by

reusing service providers existing and legacy IT systems;
n facilitating new dynamic digital partnerships by allowing
third party channels to integrate to the Omnishop
commerce framework;
n supporting business agility (evolving offerings, business
models, partners, and channels); and
n simplifying customer experience by allowing customers
to buy bundled offers of any service, in a simple,flawless
transaction.
The demonstration included some use-case scenarios
which showed how to realize an omnichannel shopping
13
14
experience, looking at how traditional and digital-age products

from different service lines and partners can be bundled
together. It also showed how these defined use cases apply
to different channels, such as call centers, kiosks, online,
social media and others, based on business rules.
The Catalyst demonstrated the concept of omnichannel
merchandising where the customer can use various
channels to act on a campaign,
browse the offer,

create a shopping basket,
interact with customer service rep,
place an order, and
fulfill the order across different
back-end stacks/partners.
Concepts such as federated catalog and order
management are realized through an omnichannel
enablement layer.
Subsequent phases of this Catalyst will explore a
mechanism to replace saved shopping carts to improve
the conversion rate. The next step would be to incorporate
feedback and learnings from the demonstration, and extend
a solution to other business processes and service delivery
scenarios.
https://www.tmforum.org/collaboration/catalyst-program/
http://bit.ly/OmnichannelIntroGuide
www.tmforum.org
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
33

trials that gain critical mass rapidly, often with little

regard for interoperability or security standards.
Digital service providers can ensure that the digital
services coming to market deliver on the promise
of a connected economy by selecting and validating
platforms against industry guidelines, establishing
friendly partnering policies and promoting capabilities
to potential participants.
5. Build products customers want

The are real opportunities to increase revenues,
reduce costs and better serve customers provided
that the development, planning and execution of
strategy are undertaken with the focus on business
outcomes.
Complex digital services must not appear complex
to customers. Automation, interoperability and clear
interfaces and operating processes between partners
are required to ensure that end-to-end services are
defined, delivered and supported securely, accurately
and profitably.
When the integration of infrastructure, systems and
partners seems overwhelming, it becomes even more
important to remember that they are just tools to
implement strategy and process.
6. Collaborate to innovate
Finally, service providers of all kinds must collaborate
to develop the global platform standards and
ecosystem solutions that will enable them to ensure
consistency and interoperability in the IoE.
TM Forum is defining a vision for how best to
represent the necessary elements of an open digital
ecosystem and enable definition and implementation
of a global digital services strategy.
This work is detailed in our Extra Insights publication
Collaborate to Innovate15. We also offer many other
tools digital service providers can use to build
partnerships, transform operations, virtualize networks
and ensure customer experience.
In summary
While strong leadership and many business and
operational changes are fundamental to delivering
digital services end to end, many service providers are
definitely making progress. As our research shows,
they are, indeed, setting up the necessary partnerships
to serve customers in a hyper-connected world.
Perhaps the most worthwhile thing we can do now
is to keep calm and carry on, never losing sight of the
business outcomes we are striving to achieve.
When the integration of infrastructure, systems and partners

seems overwhelming, it is even more important to remember
that they are just tools to implement strategy and process
15
https://www.tmforum.org/resources/research-and-analysis/collaborate-to-innovate-a-universal-approach-to-winning-in-the-digital-world/
34
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
www.tmforum.org
TM Forum toolkits help service providers

build successful digital partnerships
TM FORUM TOOLKITS
AGILE & VIRTUALIZED
OPEN & PARTNER EFFECTIVELY
CUSTOMER CENTRICITY
REST APIs
Digital Services Toolkit
TM Forum offers ten open, REST APIs

(with 11 more under development) to manage
services end to end and throughout their
lifecycle in a multi-partner environment.
Currently under development, this toolkit

will help companies rapidly address business
problems using a collection of interlinked
assets based on Frameworx.
Customer Experience Management

Solution Suite
End-to-End Virtualization Management:

Impact on E2E Service Assurance and SLA
Management for Hybrid Networks
Online B2B2X Step-by-Step Partnering

Guide
This information guide looks at the challenges

and impacts on end-to-end service assurance
and management of service level agreements
in a hybrid physical/virtualized environment.
This guide explains the five stages required

to build a partner relationship. Each stage
provides key concepts, strategy and
approach, worksheets, examples and exit
criteria to enable streamlined and repeatable
implementation.
This set of tools consists of six components: a

guidebook, more than 550 metrics, a maturity
model, a lifecycle model, more than 10
implementation use cases and an ROI model.
Big Data Analytics Solution Suite

This set of tools includes a big data reference
model, a guidebook containing 65 use cases
and 1700+ pre-defined metrics.
ZOOM NFV Security Fabric Overview

This information guide outlines the TM Forum
view on where the security fabric needs to be
to support virtualized services.
RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS

Extra Insights
Collaborate to innovate: A universal approach to winning in the digital world
Building the Operations Center of the Future
NFV: What does it take to be agile? Transforming operations for the digital ecosystem
NFV: Are you prepared? Operations and procurement readiness
NFV: Can it be managed? Blueprint for end-to-end management
Insights Research
Customer experience and analytics in a digital world
Virtualization: When will NFV cross the chasm?
Quick Insights
Virtualization: How to manage performance
Digital services: Developing successful business models and roles
www.tmforum.org
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
35

COLLABORATIVE R&D MAKES

DIGITAL BUSINESS REAL WITH
FRAMEWORX 15
The latest version of blueprint for digital business success, TM Forum Frameworx 15 1,
contains new toolkits, best practices, guides and reports. They empower companies across
multiple industries with actionable information to thrive in the digital economy. The Forums
diverse global membership, which includes more than 90 percent of the worlds largest
service providers, can make use of them immediately
Since February 2015, hundreds of individuals from nearly 300
member companies have used TM Forums agile collaboration
and development platform across 13 distinct projects to
deliver the new features in Frameworx 15, working within
the Forums three strategic programs: Agile Business and IT,
Open Digital Ecosystem and Customer Centricity.
Agile Business & IT
TM Forums Agile Business and IT Program helps enterprises
continuously optimize their IT and business operations. New
features come from the ZOOM (Zero-touch Orchestration,
Operations and Management) project which has identified
and verified the key transformation drivers and challenges
validated by studies and Collaboration Community reviews.
They include:
n A
novel, dynamic policy-based approach to end-to-end SLA

management for hybrid operations, underpinned by the
worlds first information model for the hybrid environment.
n A catalog approach to creating services through internal
(make) service components and external (buy/rent)
activities, supported by a federated catalog model, a
comprehensive UML catalog model in the Information
Framework, as well as DevOps and agile product lifecycle
management. This enables service providers to assemble
a wide range of services across the digital ecosystem with
maximum commercial flexibility.
n A Procurement Survival Kit based on procurement patterns,
ecosystem partner management, NFV procurement
packaging, federated catalogs and maturity models.
36
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
Open Digital Ecosystem

TM Forums Open Digital Ecosystem Program helps service
providers, enterprises and technology suppliers create and
manage complex, innovative services by establishing the right
tools, APIs, standards and best practices. Key features from
this program in Frameworx 15 provide organizations with the
actionable information needed to accelerate R&D and time-tomarket while reducing risk:
n Global,
cross-industry collaboration efforts have produced

end-to-end assets that can support any organization in
any digital business. They include components such
as partnership best practices (B2B2x), service platform
architecture (DSRA), and APIs. Based on contributions
from BT, Ericsson, Huawei, Microsoft, Orange, NBN Co
and others, these assets have been validated by in-depth
use cases for smart energy, digital health, smart city and
Internet of Things (IoT), among others.
n The Digital Services Toolkit provides a structured methodology
and process to map business contexts to Frameworx assets
including APIs, customer experience management, metrics,
data analytics, SDN and NFV, and third-parties assets. Users
create recipes from which to design, develop and deploy
digital services while reducing risk, improving time-to-market
and increasing business agility.
Customer Centricity
IoT, smart everything and virutalization all have big impacts
on customer centricity and the use of analytics. This program
is building the foundation for a common language, tools
and resources to enable the transition to an omnichannel,
customer-centric digital future:
www.tmforum.org
Frameworx is adopted by 91 percent

of the worlds largest service providers
n The
Customer Experience Management (CEM) ROI

Calculator defines a methodology for measuring return on
investment and so supports better decision-making around
investment.
n Updates to the Omni-channel Introductory Guide include a
new maturity model and an additional set of more than 70
requirements to accelerate discussions internally and with
suppliers to create a seamless customer experience across
all channels.
n The 360-degree view of the customer explores how a
repeatable approach and common language streamlines the
creation of better and more personal interactions between
consumers and their service providers.
n Eight new business-oriented use cases for data analytics,
bringing the total to 59, for service providers and their
suppliers to simplify and speed up data analytics projects.
Security & Privacy
TM Forums Security & Privacy Program aims to bring
security and privacy to the forefront of organizational thinking.
They run across all projects in the strategic programs outlined
above and new features include:
n In
the initial blueprint for a Privacy dashboard, the

Privacy Management project (led by Orange), identifies
the aspirations of the individual and the organization to
regional variations in legislation and pulls together a model
to demonstrate how privacy can be addressed to the
satisfaction of all parties.
n Privacy management is now integrated into the Frameworx
Engaged Party work, which to date includes the Information
Framework and Business Process Framework, with the
Application Framework to follow next.
TM Forums Security & Privacy Program also focuses on
the ability to orchestrate security functions end-to-end across
virtualized services and has been progressed through the
Catalyst project Security Functions in NFV.
Core Frameworks
Several updates were also made to the core frameworks
within Frameworx 15 widening their applicability to digital
ecosystems:
n The
Supplier/Partner concept in the Information Framework

has evolved the Engaged Party work to reflect the wider
range of partnerships, relationships and models needed for
multi-industry digital ecosystems.
www.tmforum.org
n The
Application Framework is more granular to so that

common functionality can be more rapidly and accurately
identified to maximize their re-use and consistency.
This also simplifies procurement of applications.
n Assets from the Security & Privacy and Customer Centricity
programs have been embedded into Frameworx 15
resources and assets, so they can be more easily deployed
across a range of industries.
Frameworx Conformance Certification
Frameworx is used by 91 percent of the worlds largest
service providers. It continues to be the most widely used
blueprint for effective and efficient business operations. In
fact, 82 percent of service providers in TM Forums 2014
Frameworx adoption survey now mandate Frameworx
in many or all requests for proposal and 85 percent say
Frameworx conformance has an important influence on their
solution and product buying decisions.
More than 85 products, solutions and implementations from
more than 30 companies most recently including service
providers Jawwal and Tunisie Telecom and technology
suppliers CoralTree, Ericsson, Intraway and IST have been
certified as conformant to Frameworx through TM Forums
Conformance Certification program.
For further information, both the Case Study Handbook
2015 and Perspectives 2015 showcase the role of Frameworx
in helping companies across multiple industries make digital
business a reality.
www.tmforum.org/Frameworx
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
37
Sponsored feature
IoT Gets Down to Business

By Monica Ricci, Executive Director, Global Marketing & Strategy, CSG International
Exercise trackers, smart refrigerators, and connected home thermostats aside, success
in this digital world of connected people and machinesthat well collectively refer to as
the Internet of Things (IoT) is all about getting down to business.
As industry leaders and service providers
collaborate to create a more fully digital
world, the revenue opportunity presented
by this enormous and growing
network of connected people and things
numbers in the Trillions. So it only stands
to reason that with those stakes on the
table, the focus is on imagining, trialing,
configuring and delivering services that
can be extended easily to reach millions
of users, or devices, or both.
Thats why M2M/IoT use cases
abound. Plans have been widely
discussed for how to embed intelligence,
sensors, and network connectivity
into everything ranging from an
aircraft engine to a generator to a
pill. Its already possible to connect
most consumer goods in the typical
U.S. household: appliances, locks,
power plugs and electrical outlets,
utility meters, vehicles, clothing, and
even people through fitness devices,
smartphones and tablets, and myriad
personal health and monitoring apps.
And the IoT covers an array of enterprise
and industrial use cases too from
connected vehicles and logistics
applications, to industrial lighting controls
and agricultural sensors each with its
own unique features and requirements.
Because the IoT space is still in the
early phase of the technology life cycle,
it makes sense that the focus is on the
exploration, definition and testing of
the viability of the devices and services
themselves. But as these mature
and become widely adopted, other
38
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
aspects of the business model notably

optimization of the marketing, disruption
model and monetization will follow.
And this is where IoT is getting down to
business the business of enterprise
that is.
Serving the Digital Enterprise
Enterprise connectivity and
communication services have long
delivered significant revenue and margin
to CSPs. However to be relevant to the
evolving enterprise, CSPs must partner
with these businesses as they transform
into the digital age.
The evolution of any enterprise, large
or small, naturally changes their demand
for information and communications
technology. To enable their staff, a digital
age business needs tools that enable the
worker to:
n Work
whenever and wherever they

are, in the conditions they choose;
n Collaborate with flexible teams, small
or large, distributed in any location;
n Provide ready access to work-related
information and content required to do
their jobs and serve their customers
n Execute business processes anywhere
and on any device
n Share knowledge with the firms
subject matter experts, peers,
executives and the entire organization
as appropriate
By changing how employees work and
interact both with each other
and the tools at their disposal, the

corporate enterprise in the digital age is
better able to:
n Manage
costs
innovative ways to win and
serve customers
n Expand and simplify systems, vendor
relationships and partner ecosystem
n Adopt new technologies for both
workplace processes and new
product development, including cloud
connectivity for its customers and
IoT embedded technology to expand
customer offers and enhance customer
experiences
n Pursue
For any business, a network of digital

application and services is rapidly
becoming table stakes, and this is good
news for the CSP, who has unparalleled
expertise in digital networks. To best
serve its business customers, the CSP
must provide the tools to enable the
digital evolution of any business, of any
size, in any segment. The CSP must
guide them not only to the what of the
digital world but also the how:
n Deliver
capabilities to automate and

make transportable their business
processes, through cloud applications
including compute and store
n Support analysis of usage and process
efficiency
n Enable them to reach their customers
across devices and channels
www.tmforum.org
So for CSPs their challenge is twofold; first, to enable the digital enterprise
customer through its current portfolio of
connectivity and digital services; second,
to supply the underlying connectivity
for innovations the enterprise may seek
to implement such as IoT and leverage
this into a greater value play. And to do
this CSPs have to be able to manage
technology and relationships from end-toend.
Monetizing IoT: The $64,000 Question!
Even at great scale, on its face, IoT isnt
necessarily a very exciting proposition
for a CSP. The connectivity itself is a
commodity. With connectivity between
any things as a given, evolution of digital
services enabled by these networks,
therefore, is about the use cases. In
this early stage of the technology life
cycle, monetization is understandably
not a top priority for industrial M2M/IoT
applications. At present, the ecosystem
players including the industries, the
DSPs, the users and the regulatory
agencies are more focused on other
service attributes:
n Technical
feasibility
n Availability
n Usability
n Utility
n Security
n Establishing
supply chains
For the time being, relatively simple

recurring charging mechanisms
will be sufficient to generate and
manage a revenue stream for these
services. To manage these simple
charging mechanisms, it is enough to
count devices and their status. But
ultimately, in the most mission-critical
of these applications, more complex
characteristics of service management,
and charging, come into play. These
include managing availability of the
connections, health checks on the
devices and communications, security
and service guarantees, and the efficient
management of the supply chain,
including data and revenue sharing
among players.
These processes, including resource
lifecycle management, inventory
management, performance, fault and
test, have long been the purview of

the CSP and now must be extended
seamlessly into how these M2M/IoT
services are managed, delivered and
monetized in an industry ecosystem. It
may not be easy, but CSPs are equipped
to accomplish this as they have been
at the forefront of developing customer
management processes and can lead
their business customers by extending
these capabilities to their operations,
including customer information
management, customer self-care,
and charging, billing and settlement
capabilities.
Creating Value through
New Revenue Models
Industry players are jumping into
the connected world with both feet,
looking to embed intelligence, sensors
and communications and connectivity
into their offerings to deliver a better
customer experience and/or a more
effective product. Whether its enabling
real-time monitoring of a patients
condition that drives more effective
care or monitoring cargo location and
The most effective CSPs will attract and manage an ecosystem

of partners using end-to-end capabilities that provide marketing
opportunities, customer analytics, multi-party revenue sharing,
and timely and accurate settlement.
www.tmforum.org
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
39
Sponsored feature
IoT Gets Down to Business
temperature to improve safe handling,

across industries there are numerous
enterprises turning to CSPs to be their
partner in understanding how best to
embed and manage connectivity. And
this is where the need for end-to-end
service platforms derives: for the DSP to
partner with industry players to create,
deploy, monitor and better monetize
those services.
The CSPs which are farthest off the
blocks have been focused on the areas
where they can offer a differentiated
customer experience, including enabling
an ecosystem of providers to create
bundles that join third-party content
with quality of service, and enabling a
broad set of sponsorship and funding
mechanisms that came of age in the
telecom space: prepaid, postpaid, capped
usage, shared accounts, spending alerts
and the like. The most effective CSPs
will attract and manage an ecosystem
of partners using end-to-end capabilities
that provide marketing opportunities,
customer analytics, multi-party revenue
sharing, and timely and accurate
settlement.
Furthermore, they may provide
capabilities that enable new revenue
models to be developed; for instance,
helping to enable the data capture
and analytics to transform real-time
sensing data of how a piece of farm
machinery is utilized and its current
status so that provisioning and charging
for that equipment can be done on a
per-use basis rather than a capital cost
to the farmer. To be able to leverage
IoT capabilities and ecosystems to
seamlessly transform any business into
an as-a-service enterprise could be a
game-changer.
40
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
www.tmforum.org
CSPs have invested in numerous

systems and relationships over the
decades to enable seamless provision
and charging for their traditional services.
Applying the same thinking to offer
equivalent end-to-end services optimized
for the digital realm, CSPs can help
transform enterprises that are using IoT
for their own business, or as a business
service to other enterprises. On the
cusp of a Trillion dollar opportunity
where devices outnumber individuals
and network events and records have
relatively little (to no) value but in
aggregate have significant value, and
in which many parties including device
manufacturers, maintenance and
insurance players, regulators must be
managed in a well-oiled ecosystemit is
the DSP who can bring it all together so
that IoT means business.
CSPs can help transform enterprises that

are using IoT for their own business, or as a
business service to other enterprises.
www.tmforum.org
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
41
Sponsored feature
Dont Punish Your Partners

Chun Ling Woon Etiya International CEO
Nihan Tuncay Etiya International, Solution Manager
Telecommunications is a live sector

and changing rapidly so operators must
remain responsive in order to keep up. In
a hyper connected world where billions of
devices are connected to each other and
transmitting huge amounts of data, there
is no alternative but to partner. Digital
service providers (DSPs) need partners
for infrastructure, partners for services,
partners for sales, partners for delivery
and partners for support.
To satisfy all these partners and
profitably deliver complex new services
to market, DSPs need agile and flexible
technology solutions that can rapidly
and securely manage partner product
components and agreements in an
automated and cost effective manner.
Implementing new technology for the
definition and delivery of E2E services
that include partners is one of the biggest
challenges facing up and coming DSPs
and the most flexible and adaptable
solutions will win.
Location, Location, Location
Connecting everything from cars to home
appliances anywhere in the world will
require local support and infrastructure.
Customers expect DSPs to sell, maintain
and support the machines that speak
to each other anywhere in the world.
Applications that are hosted in the cloud
require backups and often localization
to meet regulatory requirements.
Ensuring access to a global network and
IT infrastructure has to come from an
alliance that is scattered across the globe.
As the number of connections grows
exponentially and the demand for
industry-unique applications escalates,
42
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
the number and location of partners

increases as well. New applications
and content must be brought into the
product catalog. New access networks
and cloud infrastructure must be included
in the service catalog and new devices
and virtual functions become part of
the resource catalog. And all of these
assets must be associated with products,
partners, customers and payments. As
digital services are turned on and off; the
partner components must also be turned
on or off. Every one of those transactions
affects other parts of DSP operations and
unless the catalog is driving the process;
data can be lost, partners confused and
customers angered.
Dont forget that the data is also
used for finding relevant statistics about
customer experience that need to be
shared with partners providing local
support and sales. Adequately supporting
customers worldwide is easier if
consistent data is readily available to those
partners and employees that need it.
Managing the Partner Lifecycle
Developing new services and strategies
requires DSPs to identify the right partner
and implement a common approach
to interact with that partner. Without
automation and data-driven processes,
each partner has to be handled individually
and often manually which creates a
tremendous bottleneck and expense.
Developing a partner strategy that
addresses the full partner lifecycle from
on-boarding into the catalog, provisioning
and billing; to service delivery, settlements
and off-loading requires careful planning
and agile systems.
With all the new service rollouts

happening and changes taking place,
operators must be sure to control the
costs of the current solutions so they can
invest in whats coming next. Developing
scalable services now can help manage
future costs and enable DSPs to react
rapidly to market changes. Orchestration
across multiple internal divisions and
external partner value chains requires an
end-to-end strategy and systems that are
inclusive of partners from the start.
Preparing for Partners
Implementing solutions that enable DSPs to
manage the definition of complex services
and the inclusion of partners requires new
thinking and a life cycle strategy.
CPQ
Automated configure-price-quote (CPQ)
functionality is no longer an option.
Multidimensional interactions across
multiple channels, partners and business
lines requires differentiated pricing,
dynamic offer management, business
rule configuration, advanced pricing and
service plans. CPQ functionality with a
powerful product catalog makes all of
that possible while ensuring the accuracy
and integrity of offer creation, quoting,
and order decomposition.
Dynamic Order Management
A centralized catalog management
solution that will facilitate end-to-end
delivery of integrated DSP, virtual and
partner services from order entry to
order orchestration and fulfillment across
multiple OSS/BSS processes and a
variety of channels.
www.tmforum.org
2-sided Business Models

Providing greater offer and business
execution agility for the rollout of new
services and to deliver a consistent
(branded) high level customer experience
by active catalogs with partner/supplier
on-boarding and settlement processes
that extend beyond configure-price-quote
(CPQ).
IoT Frameworks
As DSPs need define global end-to-end
architectures and services to deliver
IoT, there is a need to position vendors
within that framework that ensure the
shift toward business- and process-driven
operations. Pre-integrated end-to-end
OSS, BSS and CRM solutions that enable
www.tmforum.org
new IoT- and M2M- driven business

models are required to engage with
global partner ecosystems.
E2E Customer Experience
End-to-end digital services require an endto-end customer experience. E2E order
management across all channels using
a single source for product and offer
definition, providing customer access
via portal, trouble management and
support all rely on a centralized product,
service and resource catalog not complex
systems integration and interfaces.
Partnering to deliver advanced
digital services is both necessary and
complex. Setting the stage for digital
services requires that DSPs align internal

processes and systems to enable the
definition, configuration, quotation
and fulfillment of services that include
multiple components and partners.
Adjacent execution of these processes in
runtime through the catalog, are critical
requirements as CSPs transition to DSPs.
As a solution provider Etiya has
convergent OSS/BSS solutions with a
centralized product catalog management
with CPQ functionality for big scale
businesses dealing with millions of
customers and transactions with the
support of powerful integration platforms
for E2E service delivery.
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
43
Sponsored feature
Unleashing the potential of Connected Things

Address challenges and avoid pitfalls in IoT Solutions Delivery
Nikos Tsantanis, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Intracom Telecom
Vangelis Foukalas, Head of IoT Monetization, Intracom Telecom
The digital revolution keeps expanding

at lightning speed and fundamentally
disrupting all aspects of our social and
business life. It was like yesterday when
we first encountered the prediction that
everything that can be digital, will be.
A tick of the clock afterwards and we
now have moved on to the certainty
that everything that can be connected
will be connected. Myriads of devices
with distributed intelligence already
interact with each other and give rise
to never thought-before applications
and innovative services across diverse
business verticals.
Internet of Things (IoT), the
predominant term for referring to the
hyper-connected digital world, originally
emerged as one of the hottest buzzwords
in the global digital industry. Today, IoT
has already entered our lives promising
profits and market dominance to those
digital ecosystem players who embrace
it with the right approach. Application
developers, hardware equipment
manufacturers, connectivity enablers,
system integrators, service providers and
resellers are some of the numerous and
diverse contributors that are involved in a
common IoT use case.
Among these players, Communications
Service Providers (CSPs) are ideally
positioned to play a key role in the
emerging supply model and many of them
have established, or plan to establish, a
distinct business unit to deal with IoT. Not
only do CSPs enjoy the trust of potential
customers and maintain direct access to
the target market but also possess the
necessary knowledge, experience and
infrastructure to deliver the IoT service
end-to-end and effectively manage the
entire value delivery partnership.
44
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
Nonetheless, claiming a stake in this

up-and-coming IoT promise, presupposes
effectively addressing three fundamental
challenges when deploying arbitrarily
complex end-to-end IoT solutions:
rethinking business models, mixing &
matching technologies and decoupling
IoT business from infrastructure.
1. Rethinking Business Models. More
often than not, IoT solutions employ
a complex mesh of interacting digital
ecosystem partners, each of them
following fundamentally different
approaches in selling, delivering
value, charging and supporting
their customers. Because of this
heterogeneous value fabric, the
traditional business models previously
applied in linear value chain setups are
not always adequate for IoT and will
have to be reexamined based on the
new reality.
2. Mixing & Matching Technologies.
The plethora and diversity of
technologies available to support IoT
solutions usually yields plenty of options.
Yet, the lack of widely acclaimed
best practices on selecting from and
combining technology components
can be tricky. Overabundance of
technologies can easily lead to an
increased risk of making potentially
suboptimal choices, eventually
resulting in degraded performance or
unnecessary cost burdens.
3. Decoupling IoT Business from
Infrastructure. Service providers (SP)
typically include in their portfolio, IoT
solutions applying to customers from
multiple and diverse business sectors.
Maintaining and operating separate,
vertically-bound platforms/solutions,
is both ineffective and inefficient for

the SP. What is missing is a kind of
horizontal infrastructure that would
offer common abstract functionalities
and integration capabilities to, virtually,
any business vertical.
The above three challenges are key
reasons why only few actually come
close to delivering optimal end-to-end
IoT solutions, despite any claims to the
opposite. Although there is no single
approach, it probably makes sense
viewing such solutions in terms of an
overall conceptual framework that brings
together components, functionalities and
actors potentially involved in them. Lets
review and visualize some key concepts
that such an IoT framework might
comprise, bottom-up in the subsequent
diagram.
Subnets of Things constitute clusters
or islands of connected devices
comprising sensors, meters, indicators,
wearables, smartphones or other smart
equipment pertinent to one or more
applications or verticals.
Things are communicating with each
other using different Connectivity
technologies (e.g. LTE, WiFi or LPWA).
Horizontal IoT Enablement &
Monetization is responsible for
controlling and monetizing IoT
applications from different verticals and
includes all components and integration
points for service realization. It also offers
strong partner, alliances and customer
(corporate and individuals) management.
IoT serves a vast range of Industry
Sectors including, but not limited to,
Retail, Public Infrastructure, Transport &
Logistics, Healthcare, Utilities, Industrial
IoT via numerous Applications. Under
www.tmforum.org
Healthcare sector, for instance, one may

consider deploying applications around
Remote Diagnostics, Assisted Living,
Vitals Monitoring and so on.
Finally, the vertical tubes illustrate,
in an abstract form, how end-to-end
IoT services are being delivered across
horizontal layers.
Even though this framework may look
quite straightforward, it actually entails a
significant inherent complexity realized
when one moves from concept to
implementation. It is for this reason that
a number of considerations needs to be
taken into account.
n Leverage
available assets by examining

how existing horizontal components
(e.g. core network, databases, O/BSS)
can be reused to serve one or more
verticals; only then fill any gaps
remaining.
n Ensure seamless communication of
Things and protection of sensitive data
by designing and implementing end-toend security policies.
n Cope with the huge stream of IoTgenerated data in a scalable, efficient
and technology agnostic manner by
building upon the latest technological
advances such as Cloud, Big Data and
Network Virtualization.
n Achieve effective IoT service
monetization and seamless
management of the complex
partnerships & alliances by introducing
IoT-oriented O/BSS systems such as
Revenue Management and Big Data
Analytics.
n Increase the IoT value for the business
customers by providing ancillary
services (e.g. training, integration,
consulting) to facilitate the smooth
www.tmforum.org
blending of IoT applications with the

current operating environment.
Intracom Telecom is an international
systems integrator and solutions vendor
with extensive know-how and a proven
track record in the telecommunications
market, serving more than 100 renowned
customers in over 70 countries.
Among others, the company develops,
maintains and enriches a broad range
of advanced solutions in areas such as
Energy Management, Smart Metering
for Utilities, eHealth and Telemedicine.
Furthermore, Intracom Telecom has
built own IoT solution components,

powered by state-of-the-art technologies
in Revenue Management, Cloud and Big
Data Analytics.
The substantial in-house expertise
in all aspects of large O/BSS systems
implementation & support, in conjunction
with a dedicated team of professionals
combining Business and IT skills,
designates Intracom Telecom as the
ideal partner towards addressing IoT
challenges and deploying complex,
revenue-generating solutions.
Contact: IoT@intracom-telecom.com
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
45
Sponsored feature
Spirent InTouch CNA: Enabling Service

Providers to Monetize the Internet of Everything
The Internet of Everything is nearing the

peak of inflated expectations as per the
Gardner hype cycle. Over time, it will
likely reach the trough of disillusionment
and finally the slope of enlightenment and
peak of productivity. Service providers
are working to ensure that they are well
positioned to thrive throughout this ride.
They have good reason to be optimistic:
Many enterprises place service providers
high on their list of trusted partners for
deploying and maintaining large scale,
secure, reliable networks.
However, handling the diverse
array of enterprise verticals and their
unique needs, while still delivering the
performance and reliability mentioned
above, is a challenge for service
providers. More specifically:
solutions are not practical:
IoT is too diverse and evolving
too rapidly for operators to rely on
traditional vendors and their closed
analytics solutions. Waiting months
for vendor developers to code new
applications for new use cases isnt
practical. A self-service approach is
needed where operators can use
flexible tools to rapidly develop new
IoT apps for their enterprise clients.
n Newer Big Data platforms
require more customization than
anticipated: Some operators are
embracing a fully do-it-yourself
approach to building IoT applications
using Spark, Hadoop, and other
technologies. Unfortunately, this
path is often more costly and time
consuming than the one above due
to the immaturity of underlying tools
and scarcity of human capital trained
in using them. Ideally, operators would
like the openness and power that
these tools provide without the costly

customization they often demand.
n The need for differentiation: Service
providers need to differentiate
themselves as enterprise IoT solution
providers. Why should GE work with
AT&T and not IBM? In many cases,
the strongest area of differentiation
will be the network itself, and its ability
to provide IoT services that are highly
reliable, secure, and QoE enabled. This
differentiation should be ensured and
reinforced by analytics. Specifically,
service provider IoT application
should enable enterprise customers
to see how the network is enabling
differentiated IoT performance. This
entails a merging of telco and IoT data
models. Unfortunately, these two
worlds are often disconnected today.
n Closed
46
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
InTouch CNA: A unique approach to

IoT application enablement
Spirent InTouch is an operational analytics
platform that enables service providers
to develop and monetize IoT applications

for high value enterprise customers. It
was tailor made to attack the challenges
raised above. Specifically:
n Open, self-service platform: InTouch
CNA is designed to be a platform for
self-service application development.
It enables operators to quickly ingest
new data sources using the InTouch
data mediation toolkit, develop new IoT
metrics and actions, and build best-inclass applications using InTouch and
embedded BI visualization tools.
n Mature, robust platform: InTouch
offers the best mix of performance and
economics of any solution in the industry.
On the price front, it runs on commodity
hardware, scales linearly with traffic, and
is far cheaper than typical proprietary
RDBMS solutions. On the performance
front, it utilizes massively parallel
processing and in-memory analytics
technologies to handle the real-time
needs of IoT use cases and high
velocity & variety of their data.
Figure 1: InTouch IoT enablement platform situated within a broader

Big Data architecture
Network Data
Operator Big Data

Architecture
Network load and

performance
Inventory/topology
Trouble Tickets
Maintenance logs
Provisioning data

IoT
IoTData
Data
Direct or aggregated
sensor measurements
Sensor inventory and
health

Internal Operator IoT

Application(s)
InTouch IoT
Application
Development
Platform
Enterprise IoT
Applications
www.tmforum.org
of telecom and IoT data

models: InTouch CNA is deployed by
some of the worlds largest operators
to assure the customer experience on
their 2/3/4G and IMS/VoLTE networks.
It features a best-in-class telecom data
model that enables those operators to
n Fusion
identify and troubleshoot issues. This

data model is now fused with an IoT
data model, which enables rich insights
to be discovered and operationalized
across IoT and network datasets. For
example, InTouch enables operators
to link IoT connectivity issues to
broader network connectivity problems

and their root causes (maintenance
windows, etc.). It can also connect
these performance issues to associated
customer care (trouble ticket, etc.) and
marketing datasets.
Case Study: IoT SLA assurance

Context:
n Large tier-I operator offering SLA-based
network services
to a range of Fortune 50 enterprises
n Enterprise IoT and M2M devices span
connected cars, e-vending machines,
automated bank teller machines
(ATMs), home alarm system, and
more
n Operator struggling to avoid or rapidly
troubleshoot SLA violations
Solution:
n Operator utilized InTouch to:
Collect and model datasets:
IoT measurements, alerts, and
inventory information
Network load and performance
data
Enterprise CRM and ticketing
information
IoT provisioning data
Analyze IoT performance
Generation of IoT service
accessibility, retainability,
quality, other metrics
Correlation of IoT issues by
device, software, network,
regional, other factors
www.tmforum.org
Triangulation of enterprise
trouble ticket, IoT performance,
and network load/performance
datasets
Reporting and alerting
Discovery-oriented ad hoc
reporting via Tableau
Operational dashboards,
drilldowns, and workflow aids
Alerts and diagnostics
Impact
Reduced SLA violations by 23%
Reduced average handling time of
IoT related customer care trouble
tickets by 9 minutes (estimated
value of $9/ticket)
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
47
Sponsored feature
Catalogs and APIs converge to support

end-to-end service providers
Greg Tilton, CTO & Founder, DGIT Systems
New generation Digital Service Providers

need to be able to plug in partners and
immediately create products to compete
in this new hyper-connected world.
Services that include cloud, NFV, IoT and
traditional access components are all
becoming part of the expectation.
When did this happen?
Governments are investing in
networks, enterprise IT is moving to
the cloud, network functions are being
virtualised and all manner of devices
for measurement and control are
becoming network-connected. Markets
are changing faster than many service
providers think. Communication service
revenues are declining, while demand for
bundled services is increasing: from small
bundles like an Internet service with an
NFV-based security appliance, to large
bundles like a smart city!
The seemingly impossible task
Telcos already have a reputation for
long and costly IT projects in support
of their communications business. As a
new-age Digital Services Provider, you
must bundle if you are to transition from
being a declining old-world telco. Service
bundling pushes complexity to new
levels: more interfaces, more partners,
more flexible products, more automation.
A fundamentally different approach
is required if service providers are to
succeed.
The way of the Internet will prevail
Most web APIs now use REST. REST
is an architecture which uses the webs
existing protocols and technologies.
48
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
We all know the brands that have led

the way with the use of these APIs,
including Google, Amazon, Facebook and
Twitter. REST operations are meaningful
verbs from HTTP (www protocol): GET,
POST, PUT and DELETE. Data within the
messages is in JSON format, which is
compact and easy to work with. For those
of us with networking backgrounds, the
move to REST bears many similarities to
the replacement of NetBUI and IPX by
TCP/IP. Clearly, REST-based integration
will progressively penetrate deeper into
enterprise IT.
Move forward, dont waste your time
re-inventing the wheel
Frameworx provides a reference
architecture to apply to the service
provider problem. Technology has
dramatically improved, but seasoned
architects will tell you that there have
only been incremental changes to the
actual problem. A layered approach
should be applied to the management
of products, services and resources as
defined in eTOM and SID, along with
the use of catalog, party and metadata
patterns from Frameworx. We do this to
prevent projects becoming multi-million
dollar re-inventions and to provide longterm interoperability between platforms.
Catalog meets metadata
At DGIT Systems we have remained
true to Frameworx, but made our catalog
universally applicable. In run-time,
catalogs are used to associate entities
for example, products which are to be
offered to parties. In this case, a product
is defined in metadata, including rules and
relationships with process and service or

resource entities. It goes further; Telflow
is a truly metadata-driven system and will
consult a catalog for almost everything it
does: which process? Which task? Which
service? What products?
The rise of the catalog

Not long ago, catalogs were limited
in function by the performance limits
of real-world systems. A configurable
system would store all the configuration
in SQL data. Data-driven screens or
system messages would then place
computing load on the back end as fields
were rendered, and rules and behaviour
were applied. If you made everything
configurable, the system would simply be
too slow. Consequently, high-volume oldgeneration systems all have significant
hard wiring and their catalogs can only
manage limited entities.
Around six years ago, new technology
for managing metadata started to emerge
as a part of the big data revolution.
Supporting data in a highly scalable
way without the need to adhere to
a traditional database structure, this
technology allows catalogs in high
performance systems to manage many
versions of many different things.
This fundamental shift in agility and
performance is a game changer for the
Digital Service Provider.
To take advantage of this new
technology, DGIT Systems made the bold
move to redevelop Telflow Fulfilment
from the ground up, guided by the TM
Forum on architecture, applying all the
best new IT technologies, and even
testing it in Catalyst projects along the
www.tmforum.org
way. Many of our fellow TM Forum

members will have noticed us win
awards for our Catalyst projects, as well
as the 2015 Excellence Award for our
Telflow product.
Big things are built from smaller parts
And these smaller parts need to be
pluggable. The TM Forum API program
has solutions here. Forum APIs are
dynamic, which means sharable
metadata governs the message payload
so you can reuse the same standard
interface. With NFV, cloud and traditional
telecommunications, one should adopt
a platform-based approach. A platform
would use TM Forum standard APIs to
expose services. The product layer can
then combine these services to form
products to offer customers. Yes, if your
platform components are small, you may
call them micro-services.
An interesting observation here is that
standard mechanisms for communication
between catalogs are useful, but the
real value comes from standardising
the metadata model. DGIT Systems has
had great success using the metadata
patterns of the SID and has made a
number of contributions to help guide
others, including the recent TR 245
Dynamic API Technical Recommendation.
Your catalog is my catalog
If Service Providers and their suppliers
adopt standardised, catalog-driven APIs,
they can plug in many different types of
services without coding new integrations,
saving money and achieving more. For
this partner integration case there are
some additional non-functional aspects
www.tmforum.org
to look after as well as onboarding, but

essentially operational integration is the
same as the internal platform case.
With many using the same APIs, new
innovators can enter an ecosystem as
suppliers and have a ready market to
plug into. If you have a smart system
sequencing traffic lights or processing
waste, or predictive analytics on video
images to provide alerts, then service
providers can plug you in.
Come play in my sandpit
DGIT is getting right behind standardised
catalog-driven dynamic APIs. TM Forum
members, service providers and vendors
alike will be invited to test APIs in the
universal sandpit, a service which
DGIT Systems is providing in support of
2016 Catalyst projects and other future
initiatives. The universal sandpit will be
operated as a perpetual service to help

us all work together and achieve these
common goals.
The universal sandpit provides a
platform with a set of test scenarios that
can support demonstrations. The sandpit
also includes a catalog, set up to drive
dynamic API payloads. This catalog is
extensible and is anticipated to grow over
time.
Members can use the sandpit to
support demonstrations and Catalyst
projects. By extension, members can also
use the sandpit for onboarding between
trading partners and marketplaces, or as a
living interface contract.
We hope to put an end to needless
divergence from TM Forum API
specifications by helping these
specifications become the easiest path to
follow.
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
49
Sponsored feature
Defining E2E Service Delivery

in Virtual World with ZTEsoft Vision
Introduction
The nature of service delivery is changing.
For many years, communications service
providers (CSP) have approached service
delivery with the assumption that the
network was fundamentally central to the
delivery of services. They also assumed
that CSPs would continue to largely
control service creation and delivery endto-end. The complex nature of large multilayered networks composed of elements
distributed over a wide geography
required communications service
providers to develop highly specialized
capabilities to deliver voice and then data
services over those networks.
The operations and maintenance
requirements of network resources and
telecom services have, until recently,
remained very different than those
of IT data center resources and their
applications. The network side of service
delivery management gradually became
organized around concepts like Service
Delivery Platforms designed to optimize
service creation and real-time delivery
processes. The service providers IT
infrastructures including Business
Support System (BSS) and Operation
Support System (OSS) that needed to run
the business gradually, started becoming
organize. The underlying IT software
and compute resource management
processes became organized in
accordance with the Information
Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL).
Implementing solutions based upon
frameworks takes discipline. Often the
cost of implementing a framework based
solution requires extensive cooperation
between organizations beyond the
current boundaries of individual projects
and their budgets. As a result, many
50
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
IT projects, including implementations

of Business Support Systems and
Operations Support Systems (BSS/OSS),
often took expedient shortcuts to get
projects delivered on time and at budget.
Ultimately, the CSPs ended up with
complex, inflexible, and often redundant
BSS/OSS organized around silos of
products or groupings of technologies.
Over the years, standards evolved
that has enabled telecom voice and
data services to work seamlessly over
multiple service providers infrastructures.
Originally, a mobile user was able to
receive service only when physically
connected to their service providers
network. Today, mobile users are scarcely
aware of the network they are actually
connected to. Both the business issues
of charging and billing as well as the
technical issues associated with roaming
wireless voice and data services were
successfully addressed. The CSPs
developed very effective capabilities for
Provisioning, Assurance, and Charging/
Billing of network infrastructures and
associated services end-to-end. To support
both wholesale and retail operations
involving multiple service providers, they
also developed the service provider to
service provider B2B interfaces necessary
to support provisioning, service assurance,
and charging/billing processes spanning
two or more service providers.
While the introduction of web services
began to break down some of the
barriers between the IT and network
worlds, it is cloud computing that is
completely disrupting the former status
quo. The cloud pulls together a number of
disrupters accelerating the convergence
of IT and Telecom. Some of these key
disrupters include:
1. Maturity of web services standards

2. The adoption of IP and SIP in telecom
and cable networks
3. Growth of mobile devices routinely
connected to 3G/4G/LTE or WiFi
networks
4. Increasingly ubiquitous and higher
speed broadband
5. Proliferation of cloud platforms for
IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS
While SOA and virtualization has
contributed to the transformation of
massive applications into services
hosted on virtualized and network
infrastructures, cloud computing
creates the reality that the majority of
services available for composition and
consumption are not all contained within
the boundaries of any one company or
enterprise.
So with the rapid growth of cloud
computing and that too in the virtual
world, the IT trend towards services
and content created increasingly at the
edge, the exponential growth of Web
Services APIs, and increasingly mobile
endpoints the original goals of the
SDF initiative have never been more
relevant. So, Customers, developers
and partners will find the concepts for
Multi-Cloud Service Delivery and that too
in the virtual environment that can help
them accelerate their Service Oriented
Architecture implementations leveraging
cloud, network, and enterprise resources
while delivering significantly better user
experiences, better end-to-end operations
management capabilities, and greatly
improved developer efficiencies.
www.tmforum.org
But the management of the services is

not the only thing to look after in such a
situation. The need to look up a solution by
which CSPs can become a service broker
where by investing less on the physical
assets and network, delivering the services
(which are not only by the CSPs but also
from 3rd party) in a virtual world and that
too end to end. This means that Vendor
solution providers should focus on a multitenant cloud or virtualization solution.
In a nut shell, delivering software
as a service (SaaS) has gained a lot of
momentum. One reason this one-tomany delivery model is attractive is that it
enables new economies of scale but this
does not come automatically; it has to
be explicitly architected into the solution.
A typical architectural pattern allowing
economy of scale is single instance
multi-tenancy, and many Independent
Software Vendors offering SaaS have
moved to this architecture, with various
levels of success.
There is, however, another means
of improving efficiency which have not
adopted with the same enthusiasm: the
use of an underlying Service-Delivery
Platform (SDP). Adoption has been slow,
mainly because service-delivery platforms
optimized for line-of-business applications
delivery are still in their infancy. But both
existing and new actors in the hosting
space are quickly building compelling
capabilities.
the services that make up total value

being delivered to a customer. There
are several reasons for this. One
important driver is associated with core
competencies and the economics of
delivering services at scale. Customers,
however, often want solutions that
require including at least one
competency outside of the core
competency of the primary service
provider. Meeting customer requirements
can be achieved most economically by
combining the best services exposed by
several different providers into new value
added service chain.
Communication Service Providers are
actively seeking to replace traditional
services with newer next generation
network services combined with new
cloud hosted services. To drive this
business, CSPs are recruiting developers
to build applications that will leverage
telecom network capabilities via a
Service Exposure Layer. These 3rd party
applications can include a service logic
component, possibly hosted on a cloud
infrastructure, accessed via a client
application marketed via the appropriate
Application Store or via an HTML5 web
browser user interface.
It is extremely important to understand
that the challenges of end-to-end service
management exist regardless of whether
the business relationships follow a formal
Service Syndication model or an Overthe-Top (OTT) model.
Challenge of E2E Service

Delivery in the Virtual World
Service delivery today often requires
two or more service providers working
together efficiently. The reality today
is that no service provider owns all
But this introduction of new models

have given the CSPs some challenges to
overcome and biggest among all is end
to end service delivery in a multi-tenant
cloud so that to help the CSPs to become
Service Brokers.
www.tmforum.org
Challenge of Virtualization
If the focus is service delivery then the
challenge is delivering services across
integrated virtual and physical elements.
This integrated service delivery concept
then leads to the vision of a cloud
service broker. Cloud applications rely
upon virtualized compute and virtualized
network resources that can both
dynamically change their configurations
in response to external policies and load
conditions. It is useful to look at cloud
resource management from the point
of view of the lifecycle management
of a cloud service. Each service must
be acted upon by traditional business
processes associated with Provisioning/
Configuration, Service Assurance, and
Charging/Billing/Settlement as it passes
through it lifecycle.
In the simpler case of an application
that resides on a single cloud
infrastructure, it becomes dependent
upon two distinct layers of virtualized
resources. There must be a mechanism
provided by a Management Support
System and Infrastructure Support
Systems to maintain awareness as to
which logical and physical resources are
actually relevant to a specific instance of
a specific application at any given point in
time.
Although the elastic cloud infrastructure
provided by IaaS and PaaS can configure
additional resources to handle changing
application demands, there are
additional requirements for dynamically
reconfiguring underlying network
configurations and routings in response
to changing resource allocations at the
cloud compute resource layer.
Another issue that arises is the division
of responsibility between an internal
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
51
Sponsored feature
Defining E2E Service Delivery

in Virtual World with ZTEsoft Vision
cloud virtualization management layer

(IaaS and PaaS) and an external OSS.
Although the cloud virtualization layer
can typically manage its own physical
and logical resource allocations for
supported applications, an external
OSS may be required to dynamically
reallocate resources in a coordinated
fashion across all three layers or to track
and have knowledge of those changing
relationships.
So, apart from the management of the

services, the actual challenge is to come
up with the an end to end solution for
delivering the services which are now
from multi-operators including CSPs
and others like OTT and IT players over
multiple clouds.
ZTEsoft vision
The Vision of ZTEsofts is to help a CSP
become a cloud service broker. Initially
managing and delivering the services
over the multiple cloud and then do the
management of the services with the

help of API management platform in
between.
According to ZTEsofts understanding
not every operator apart from the big
ones will go for full digital ecosystem.
Therefore, CSPs will be requiring a
flexible architecture to fulfill their
digital needs and requirements so
that to become digital players in the
entire ecosystem. These requirements
from the CSPs are helping and guiding
Vendors like ZTEsoft to think for different
types of cloud architecture. ZTEsoft
aims to become vertical cloud provider
before and then later likes to cover the
horizontal industries.
As it is also clear from the picture
that to start up with Vertical Cloud will
have less industries but they will be
across multiple vertical applications
when it comes to the management of
the common applications like sales,
Email, & finance etc. All these common
applications can be used as SaaS and
these can be made available over the

Public cloud. Whereas applications like
OCS or PCRF etc can be categorized
as IaaS and these applications can be
made available in the private cloud
of the operator as these can be very
specific and may differ from operator
to operator. Finally some of the other
BSS applications Billing & Invoicing and
especially for CRM domain including
PRM, Contact Center, Eshop, etc can be
made as PaaS and these can be available
over public or private cloud as according
to the requirement. All these services
can interact with wach other with the
help of the introduction of API platform
which will help the management of
all the applications and also provides
interface to different CSPs and that too
over multiple cloud architecture. The
picture below explains the vision and aim
of ZTEsoft as a cloud service provider
and too in a multiple could solution which
will help the CSPs to become Service
Brokers.
Public Cloud
Sales &
Marketing
Services
SaaS
(SFA, Email,
ERP, Social
Media)
Private Cloud
API
Management
Platform
Applications
Management
System
Management
Path
IaaS
(OCS, PCRF,
OSS)
Telecom Operator
PaaS
CRM
Applications
Type: Arial
Size24pt
ColorThe
Subtitle:
Logical
Cloud
Virtualized
Resources
Virtualized
Resources
Network
Virtualized
Resources
Network
Virtualized
Resources
Title:
TypeArial
Size18pt
Color: The Z
G14
R14
R90
Content Delivery with QoS

2
52
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
ZTEsoft Technology Co.,Ltd. All rights reserved
www.tmforum.org
ZTEsoft Approach of realizing the Vision

ZTEsoft takes several steps to become
a vertical cloud provider and thus has
already taken the steps accordingly.
In order to fulfill the vision ZTEsoft
adopts Bi-Directional Cloud strategy
www.tmforum.org
so that to cover the agility at one end

and standardization like NFV on the
other end. The picture explains the
same concepts. For covering the PaaS
and SaaS applications like Marketing &
Sales along with Product Domain and
Customer Management Domain on one

end for covering the customer side and
covering the NFV concept on the other
end when it comes to Service and the
resource domain hence covering the
network side.
But even then ZTEsoft adopts step
by step approach for accomplishing
the vision by step wise bringing the
application under the category of SaaS,
PaaS and IaaS and shown in the figure.
Initially ZTEsoft is taking applications
like Sales Force Automation (SFA)
or Email etc for several industries like
telecom with power or electricity etc
to the Public cloud as SaaS. Then in
the 2 step taking OCS and PCRF to the
cloud as IaaS and finally applications
like Eshop, Order Management, Contact
Center or Billing & Invoicing to cloud
as PaaS hence covering the end to end
Service Delivery in Virtual world. In a
nutshell following picture depicts ZTEsoft
vision for end to end Service Delivery in
the virtual word as SaaS, PaaS or IaaS.
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
53
Our sponsors:
CSG International is a market-leading business support solutions and services company serving
the majority of the top 100 global communications service providers, including leaders in fixed,
mobile and next-generation networks such as AT&T, Charter Communications, Comcast, DISH,
Orange, T-Mobile, Telefonica, Time Warner Cable, Vodafone, Vivo and Verizon. With over 30 years of
experience and expertise in voice, video, data and content services, CSG International offers a broad
portfolio of licensed and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based products and solutions that help clients
compete more effectively, improve business operations and deliver a more impactful customer
experience across a variety of touch points.
www.csgi.com
Etiya is the only Independent Software Vendor providing comprehensive Telco CRM, Catalog-Driven
B/OSS, Social CRM, and Big Data Analytics. Etiya exclusively focuses on providing CSPs&DSPs with
innovative products and a rapid implementation within 90 days. With its award-winning products and
its end-to-end implementation capabilities from consultancy to managed service, Etiya provides the
most complete offer in the market. These products have been successfully implemented and proven
in large incumbent CSPs. Etiya has become the fastest growing software company and largest B/OSS
provider in Turkey with more than 500 employees in its offices in Canada, Singapore, and Turkey.
www.etiya.com
Intracom Telecom is a global telecommunication systems & solutions vendor operating for over 35
years. The company invests significantly in R&D developing cutting-edge products and integrated
solutions. Intracom Telecom offers a competitive portfolio of revenue-generating telco software
solutions and a complete range of ICT services, focusing on big data analytics, converged networking
and cloud computing for operators and private, public and government clouds. Moreover, the
company innovates in the area of wireless access & transmission, having successfully deployed its
packet radio systems worldwide. Over 100 customers in more than 70 countries choose Intracom
Telecom for its state-of-the-art technology.
www.intracom-telecom.com
Spirents CEM business unit is focused on end-to-end customer experience assurance. Its flagship
solution, InTouch Customer and Network Analytics (CNA), enables operators to proactively identify
and quickly resolve quality of experience issues at the subscriber level. It has been deployed by
operators around the world to assure and troubleshoot 2/3/4G and VoLTE services, assure SLAs tied
to high-value enterprise & M2M customers, and proactively resolve performance issues with newly
launched devices. InTouch CNA is unique amongst analytics solutions in its ability to leverage and
correlate a wide array of existing operator data sources (network elements, probe, test, inventory,
provisioning, etc.), apply rich analytics (QoE scores, signature rules, etc.), and quickly scale to high
volumes (100M+ subscribers).
www.spirent.com
DGIT Systems is the home of Telflow. Telflow is the configurable fulfilment system for new
Digital Service Providers and the fibre infrastructure operators they partner with. Built on latest IT
technology, Telflow is TMForum Conformance Certified and won a 2015 Excellence Award. Originally
from Australia, DGIT Systems now operates a global partner program. In addition to being a market
leader in B2B and APIs, Telflow software is catalog driven and highly configurable allowing service
providers to set up products and visually build processes reducing time to market.
www.telflow.com
Digital is about constructing disruptive value and creating outstanding experience in the connected
world. Winners will be players capable of leveraging their own investments and strengths through
intensive partnership and innovative business models. Designed to enable lean and cost effective
operations, power innovation and customer experience with automatic insight, ZSmart 8.0 New
Breed solutions allow CSPs to develop their grasp in the digital ecosystem. ZTEsofts ZSmart solutions
have been deployed by operators in more than 70 countries worldwide. ZTEsoft, a leading provider of
telecom software, solutions and services, specializes in offering comprehensive BSS/OSS, Big Data and
Managed Service solutions to global operators of wireless, wireline and broadband cable services.
www.ztesoft.com
54
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
www.tmforum.org
Sponsored feature
prog
Are you ready to shape the future of digital business?
Collaborate with these leading companies on NFV.
Get engaged in the community at

www.tmforum.org/zoom
55
INSIGHTS RESEARCH
www.tmforum.org
inform
The voice of digital business
Get the latest news, views, research and case

studies, and connect with thousands of professionals
tackling the same challenges as you
inform.tmforum.org

Delivering End-To-End Services

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Delivering End-To-End Services

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

November 2015 | www.tmforum.

Free to tmforum members

Are you ready to shape the future of digital business?

Get engaged in the community at

DELIVERING END-TO-END SERVICES

DELIVERING END-TO-END SERVICES

The big picture

Transforming in a hyper-connected world

No longer just nice to have

Read this report to understand key issues

Read this report to understand:

What a digital service provider is.

Why security is so important.

DELIVERING END-TO-END SERVICES

Betting the business

infrastructure and skills necessary to build, operate

Enterprises can build their

buy digital services from

Business as usual is almost impossible, given the

A tale of two digital service providers

Hype or real opportunity?

Forecasts for revenue from connected devices are

There is no doubt that the M2M and IoT markets

Predictions for number of connected devices by 2020

DELIVERING END-TO-END SERVICES

Despite the discrepancies in market projections,

Many service providers recognize that their current

How to become a digital service provider

of respondents to our survey

Well discuss this more in the next sections, where

Expanding expectations and rapid delivery,

Details of how we conducted our primary

Service providers speak: Why the

ONLINE SURVEY AND

TYPE OF SERVICE PROVIDER

Media & Social media

Source: TM Forum, 2015

DELIVERING END-TO-END SERVICES

How do you deliver services?

digital service providers offer

suppliers provide components, bandwidth,

global alliance brokers maintain

enablers offer integration of connectivity,

TM Forum IoE survey respondents fall into four categories

Most service providers are starting with

Sizing the service providers

Figure 2-1: Number of customers served

Waiting for a market

Source: TM Forum, 2015

Figure 2-2: Deployment of IoE services

Source: TM Forum, 2015

Fewer than 5 million

Which smart services do you offer?

DELIVERING END-TO-END SERVICES

Customers are unique

Execution and optimization

For communications service providers, offering digital

Business leaders are currently emphasizing the

Business priorities today

Systems implement processes

difficult to step out of the tactical world and suddenly

Figure 2-4: Changes to support new business models

Align product development