Changing the status quo
Do we have a vision that can provide the right balance between respecting the strengths of the systems today and yet move aggressively toward transforming it? Are all the building blocks in place? How long will it take to get there? The good news is that we believe that it can be done since all the enabling technologies exist in the marketplace.
The bad news is that it is not all feasible today. While we do not have a definitive answer yet, a few things are clear. The software systems of today cannot do the job and tomorrow's software systems' will only be able to fulfill this role with the right design and architecture.
High-speed networks and ubiquitous connectivity will continue to fundamentally change how people interact with intelligent networks and systems that support it. Yet for all the exciting possibilities, technical and commercial challenges will prevent this vision from being realized in the short term. In our estimation, this is a multi-year transformation that requires proactive initiative from the vendors to build a better solution that balances the need to manage deployment risks associated with any transformation.
In the recent past, key industry players such as Amdocs, Oracle, Comverse, Intec and the smaller companies such as Arantech and Redknee have begun to execute on pieces of this puzzle based on their view of the future of BSS/OSS market.
We believe the industry needs to rally around a new clear vision of a software system. A system that is designed and built to fulfill business processes end-to-end; is event driven and able to adapt itself to user preferences, demands and behavior in real-time providing superior customer experience. In my article in the next issue, I will elaborate on our view of this vision and what it will take for us to get there.
Next: The path to serving the end-users
Ashvin Vellody is a senior VP for consulting and research at Yankee Group