WHITE PAPER

HOW TO TRANSFORM
BUSINESS SUPPORT SYSTEMS TO BECOME
A SERVICE PROVIDER OF EVERYTHING
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

nn What challenges the world of digital services brings to

communication service providers

nn Why siloed, long-lasting and customized legacy business support

systems can block innovation

nn The main objectives of a BSS transformation, and how a successful

transformation process can make your business more agile and
successful

nn How to execute BSS transformation and consolidation produces

seamlessly, use the right tools, and choose a future-proof solution
We live in a world where new digital services, IoT For communication service
and M2M lead to growing complexity of telecom
product and service portfolios, often built in coope- providers (CSPs), agility is the key
ration with partners from vertical markets, such as
to this new land of opportunities
health, automotive, utilities and others. “Service
Providers of Everything” must learn how to handle – CSPs must be able to react to
this complexity, as traditional revenue streams co-
ming from voice, messaging and data are either market demands quickly and
declining (voice and messaging), stagnating, or will
begin declining in the near future (data). Revenue
without significant changes in
growth curves (also called waves, due to their sha- IT systems. If they really want to
pe) for voice, messaging, data access and digital
services are depicted below. surf the „Fourth Wave” (digital
For communication service providers (CSPs), agility services) instead of being flooded,
is the key to this new land of opportunities – CSPs
must be able to react to market demands quickly
they must either compete with
and without significant changes in IT systems. OTT players or try to collaborate
with them.
Revenue Growth Curves

Voice
Access VAS / OTT
Net Revenue

Messaging

© Chetan Sharma Consulting, 2012

Subscriber Penetration

Source: Chetan Sharma Consulting. Mobile Fourth Wave..

If they really want to surf the „Fourth Wave” (digital

services) instead of being flooded, they must either
compete with OTT players or try to collaborate with
them. Either route requires the highest degree of
On the one hand there is a simplification and agility, both in the organization
itself and in its IT structures. OTT players require
strong need for new network from CSPs extremely fast adaptation to the chan-
technologies, such as SDN/ ging environment, and the ultra-fast introduction
of new services to the market. New, complex offe-
NFV. On the other hand, smart rings, often bundled with services from verticals,
business support systems that must be released in a matter of days. At the same
time existing offers may be retired, and service pro-
support and drive innovation viders must be able to manage this fast-growing
portfolio in an efficient way. On one hand they have
instead of effectively blocking it
to follow market trends, while on the other hand
are required. they don’t want to overwhelm the customer with
possible service options. Last but not least, and be-
cause services are delivered in partnership, the ri-
ght settlement process must be in place. Accurate
invoices must be issued to both customers and the
partners that deliver service bundle components.

WHITE PAPER 3
HOW SOLID IS THE FOUNDATION?
Communication service providers are an irreplaceable part of this new world. They may own the infrastructure or
OSS/BSS systems, and, importantly they also own widely known and recognized brands. Customers trust them
because of their long-lasting billing relationship, which is not so obvious for their relationship with OTT players.
They can position themselves as the winners in the digital world, as long as they are able to operate and innovate
at the speed required by the market. On the one hand there is a strong need for new network technologies, such
as SDN/ NFV1. On the other hand, smart business support systems that support and drive innovation, instead of
effectively blocking it, are required.

Many CSPs, including the largest network operators, still depend on siloed legacy systems, where separate stacks
support various market segments (broadband, fixed, mobile, etc.) and / or various customer segments (consumer,
SOHO, SMB, enterprises, etc.). This sometimes means tens of various legacy systems supporting one telecom
business – systems that can and should be consolidated to support modern businesses efficiently.

The main factors that drive CSPs to consolidate siloed legacy systems are:

nn Poor time to market for new offerings: it is difficult to achieve high speed in service launching and delivery,
even for offers within a single silo, not to mention cross-silo offers. This is due to architecture complexity
level, risks or expected ROI obstacles to innovation. Being able to the whole service portfolio with one sys-
tem supports the creation and commercial launching of innovative offers in a much shorter time.

nn Operational efficiency and customer satisfaction: in the siloed, legacy environment, operational staff must
switch between different systems to serve the customer, often copying and pasting from one screen to
another. For the customer this means waiting and drives churn, while for the employee the result is low
performance and frustration. By introducing consolidated BSS, telecoms can improve their workforce per-
formance, while adding to greater customer experience.

nn Maintenance and development: both capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX)
suffer from lack of BSS consolidation, and in the most extreme cases using multiple, siloed, legacy tools can
even double the cost of service introduction or maintenance. Upgrades to the newest software versions are
extremely difficult and risky, because of the amount of various instances to be upgraded and due to the
level of customization often seen in long-lasting legacy systems. Consolidated BSS means easier mainte-
nance and deployment, which translates directly into lower OPEX and CAPEX.

ONE BSS IS THE ANSWER

Integrated, harmonized and industry standard-ba-
sed BSS/OSS architecture is the answer to these
challenges. Some organizations may opt for conso-
lidation of services (broadband and mobile handled
on one combined CRM-billing-fulfillment platform),
with separate stacks for specific customer segments
(e.g. B2C and B2B as separate stacks), while others
will choose complete integration (all services for all
customer segments on one consolidated BSS/OSS
stack). The largest operators will even go as far as
to have a common BSS/OSS stack shared between
multiple countries within the group.
Time to market for new services,
with consistent and central bu-
siness processes and IT systems
across the whole organization,
has been significantly shortened.
At the same time, the solution al-
lowed the human time required
for the order-to-delivery process
to be reduced by 90%.

1 The SDN/NFV technology and the recommended approach for CSPs to its introduction in a step-by-step man-
ner are widely described in other Comarch white papers: The Business Potential of NFV/SDN for Telecoms
and Software Defined Networking: How BSS/OSS Tools Can Help Unleash Innovation

4 WHITE PAPER
The selected approach depends strongly on each company’s business organization and culture. In some cases,
serving large customers via a separate silo may be more efficient (although most of the differences lie in BSS
systems, an OSS is less impacted). Large corporate customers require special treatment, and they usually have a
dedicated customer service agent (telecom manager) assigned by the CSP. Many telecoms even create whole
structures dedicated to handling enterprise customers.

This also applies to IT, especially front-end applications, which differ for this kind of business. For instance
self-service systems designed for business customers should be capable of handling mass offer changes, ded-
icated reporting capabilities etc

COMARCH BSS TRANSFORMATIONS – SELECTED BUSINESS CASES

In contrast to the approach described above, one of The project represented a mul-
Comarch’s Tier One customers in the Scandinavian
market has chosen a more radical approach to
ti-country challenge, with scat-
transformation, where no silo needs to be main- tered legacy BSS to be replaced
tained and all services and customer segments are
placed within a single BSS/OSS. The project began with a consolidated solution,
with consolidation of IT systems across three coun- with a strong focus on CAPEX
tries in which the operator is present, initially limit-
ed to business customers. The scale of the challenge and OPEX reduction, in parallel
was enormous, as it involved three mature organ-
with Net Promoter Score (NPS)
izations, each with their own business processes
and IT architectures, and three different networks improvement. The result was a
to be supported. To make future operations even
smoother, residential (B2C) services were added to
huge success, measured by a 56%
the scope of the project. increase in CSP Promoters

FRONT OFFICE, DEALERS,CUSTOMERS

Front end

CRM for Telecoms Self Service

BPM Order Capture Order Capture

Customer Information Order Order

Management Manager Configuration
ESB / Integration Layer

Convergent Billing Product Catalog Product

System Inventory

Service Service
Back end

Catalog Inventory

Service Fulfillment OSS BPM

Service Activation

NETWORK & MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

BSS elements OSS elements Esternal systems

Order Establishment Instance Data Access & Sharing

Order Management & Fulfillment Service Usage Information Flow

Service Component Activation Catalog Data Access & Sharing

Comarch solution for Benelux Tier 1 CSP

WHITE PAPER 5
The solution built around Comarch Product and Service Catalogs, to enable catalog-driven Customer Order
Management and Fulfillment, turned out to be the key to success. Time to market for new services, with con-
sistent and central business processes and IT systems across the whole organization, has been significantly
shortened. At the same time, the solution allowed the human time required for the order-to-delivery process
to be reduced by 90%

Another example is from the Benelux area, where a Tier One CSP has chosen Comarch as its partner for the
transformation of its business support systems supporting enterprise customers. The project represented a
multi-country challenge, with scattered legacy BSS to be replaced with a consolidated solution, with a strong
focus on CAPEX and OPEX reduction, in parallel with Net Promoter Score (NPS) improvement. The result was a
huge success, measured by a 56% increase in CSP Promoters among the operator’s large, strategic customers
(banks, government institutions, and large corporations). The solution and the transformation process proved
themselves for the operator’s largest customers, which had strong requirements for tailored services and ded-
icated SLA agreements. This happened at the same time that the size of the installed base was increased ten-
fold without significant architectural changes being made, which proves the solutions stability and scalability.
The solution for the Tier One operator from Benelux is built around Comarch Convergent Billing and Comarch
Corporate Self Care, with Comarch Managed Services allowing decreased churn, faster time to market, in-
creased NPS, and significant OPEX / CAPEX reduction.

Printing House Customers

PD
Fs

External systems Comarch Solution

Bookings
General Ledger Customer Corporate Redirect Reporting
Management Self Care Platform
Payments
Collections

Data
Security Interface
Business Process Management
Customer Enterprise
ID
Customer Database Service Data
Bus Warehouse
Data
Billshock Prevention B2B Billing System
Portfolio Management
Data Incoming Resource
Service Fulfillment Invoice Management
Management Repository
Data
B2B Gateway
Customer
Management
Others
Incoming
invoices

CDRs

BizTalk Network Operators

Partners

Other Partners Network Operators

Fulfillment Automation Customers

Platform (BizTalk) Interfaces

Comarch solution for Benelux Tier 1 CSP

6 WHITE PAPER
ONE BSS: HOW TO GET THERE?
The change requires a long-lasting and challenging Use external innovation. Use co-
transformation process, especially for large organi-
zations where legacy systems have been developed
creation. Customization is the
and customized for decades. We can distinguish enemy of efficiency.
two main stages of a BSS transformation. The first
one is changing the way of thinking and operating
within the organization, and the second involves Routes to the Future – Gartner
the transformation of business processes and the
consolidation of IT systems. The first stage is usually
executed within the CSP organization, and requires
changes in the organization’s structures and inter-
nal procedures.

Digital transformation is the goal, (they block innovation, and therefore should be
transformed first), freeze (no further development,
but do not lose sight of legacy. only maintenance), or fit for purpose (already trans-
Legacy transformation can help formed, or no need for transformation).

fund innovation and can enable
differentiation — local presence.
Routes to the Future – Gartner
Depending on the complexity of IT architecture
and business processes in a given organization, the
consolidation process is usually spread over time.
The existing legacy systems, depending on their
business importance and size of the customers
base, may be marked for immediate replacement
For a CSP it’s extremely important to choose an ex-
perienced partner and the right IT solution for the
second stage of the process. The solution should
support the most common industry processes,
without the need for customization. Such results
are guaranteed by Comarch’s catalog-driven Order
Management, built on industry standards as op-
posed to the old fashioned, workflow-driven archi-
tectures where hundreds of customized workflows
significantly hamper innovation.

WHITE PAPER 7
WHY CHOOSE COMARCH FOR A PARTNER IN YOUR NEXT
BSS TRANSFORMATION
With vast experience in many complex telecom transformation processes, a complete portfolio ready to meet
the demands of today’s world, and with testimonials not only from the telecommunication sector but also
from verticals such as retail, finance, banking, automotive, public sector, healthcare, transport and logistics,
Comarch is the right partner for your next BSS transformation.

We offer order management and fulfillment processes fully driven by definitions in a central product and
service catalog, trusted and proven convergent billing to support all possible types of services in real time,
modern self-service tools to let your customers manage themselves and the necessary know-how to support
the transformation. Comarch products are fully integrated and ready to be deployed by the same partner that
built them, and has been working on their improvements ever since.

APPLICATION
STRATEGY, OPERATIONS SUPPORT & FULFILLMENT ASSURANCE BILLING INTEGRATION
INFRASTRUCTURE & READINESS INFRASTRUCTURE
PRODUCT

MARKET / SALES MANAGEMENT

Business Support Suite
Core Offer
CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT EXTERNAL SALES MOBILE APP
Operations Support Suite
CRM FOR TELECOMS

COMMISSION & INCENTIVE

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

PRODUCT CATALOG

CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT Data Analytics & Monetization

SELF CARE

SDN/NFV
CONVERGENT BILLING
SYSTEM CONVERGENT BILLING
CORPORATE SELF CARE
SYSTEM
CRM FOR TELECOMS Specialized
DATA ANALYTICS & Real-time Network Intelligence
MONETIZATION CUSTOMER ORDER
MANAGEMENT
CUSTOMER LOYALTY MANAGEMENT
Solutions
M2M Platform
SERVICE MANAGEMENT

OSS PROCESS MANAGEMENT Multi-screen SelfCare

SERVICE CATALOG SERVICE ORDER MANAGEMENT SERVICE CONTROLLER MODULE

SERVICE FULFILLMENT SLA MONITORING APPLICATION

SERVICE INVENTORY INTEGRATION
MANAGEMENT
SERVICE ACTIVATION CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
MANAGEMENT
FRAMEWORK
B/OSS Managed Services
SERVICE
QUAL ITY
SERVICE SaaS
MONITORING
MANAGEMENT
Services
End-to-End Project Delivery
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

CONVERGENT BILLING SYSTEM

(Integration, Delivery,
NETWORK PLANNING & NETWORK INVENTORY PERFORMANCE FAULT
DESIGN MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT
VOUCHER & TOP-UP MGMT Transformations, Consulting)
BSS MEDIATION
AUTO-DISCOVERY
& RECONCILIATION

CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT e-Health

FIELD SERVICE MANAGEMENT

OSS MEDIATION
Virtual Marketplace Management

SUPPLIER/PARTNER INTERPARTNER BILLING

Digital Lifestyle Cyber Security
ENTERPRISE Cloud Services
DATA ANALYTICS &
COMMONS LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT
MONETIZATION
Connected Devices

Comarch solutions and services built on the COTS products

Comarch builds its telecommunication solutions based on off-the-shelf products, instead of creating multiple
instances of similar products that would require separate builds, maintenance and development. This also
means that any innovation (for instance in the Convergent Billing System) is also reflected in the solutions that
include this component .

A harmonized and consolidated BSS/OSS environment is clearly a demand of the digital, customer-centric
world we live in. The stakes seem high at first, but, with the right plan and partner, the transformation process
can be executed smoothly. The reward is eminently satisfying, as the organization increases its performance
and efficiency, while simultaneously improving customer service, allowing seamless interactions with custom-
ers and partners, and optimizing time to market for new offers.

8 WHITE PAPER
 CONTACT US
Visit www.comarch.com for the
contact information of our offices
in the following countries:

Albania Malaysia
Austria Panama
Belgium Poland
Brazil Russia
Canada Spain
Chile Switzerland
China Turkey
Finland UAE
France UK
Germany Ukraine
Italy USA
Luxembourg

ABOUT COMARCH
Comarch is a provider of complete IT solutions for telecoms. Since 1993 the company has helped CSPs on 4 continents optimize costs, increase
business efficiency and transform BSS/OSS operations. Comarch solutions combine rich out-of-thebox functionalities with high configurability
and are complemented with a wide range of services. The company’s flexible approach to projects and a variety of deployment models help
telecoms make networks smarter, improve customer experience and quickly launch digital services, such as cloud and M2M. This strategy has
earned Comarch the trust and loyalty of its clients, including the world’s leading CSPs: Vodafone, T-Mobile, Telefónica, E-Plus, KPN and MTS.

Copyright © Comarch 2015. All Rights Reserved

telco-enquiries@comarch.com | telecoms.comarch.com

CASE STUDY 9