As mobile phone usage changes from voice to data, consumers are demanding more convenience and better control over their billing. Platforms like Operational Support Systems (OSS) and Business Support Systems (BSS) are pivotal for a mobile user in every aspect starting from choosing tariff plans, service activation and payments. Swedish major Ericsson is at the forefront of innovation in this space. Nishant Batra, Vice-President-Engagement Practices, Ericsson India, tells BusinessLine how OSS and BSS systems are critical for a mobile user.
For a mobile user, how important is OSS and BSS?
Mobile users today consume data and take advantage of mobility, broadband and cloud services as never before.
There are higher expectations as to what is the service catalogue provided by the telco. Mobile users also want to decide when and where they will use a particular service, and importantly, desire to be “charged” accordingly. So, the question that comes up is what makes a mobile user choose and stay with a particular operator? Or, put in another way, what does a telco require to create “stickiness” and also, to make itself an attractive service provider? OSS, BSS is the touch-point where the needs of mobile users and telcos meet. It helps the telco create stickiness with the consumer and enables the mobile user to select the right service provider.
How has OSS/BSS evolved in the past few years?
OSS/ BSS earlier was business and operation centric, but now has evolved to become customer centric. Product vendors and service providers have evolved these systems to be more flexible to meet customer demands more efficiently and effectively. The move is from being merely a back-end support to critical operational and decision support systems. This evolution is providing an opportunity to enhance telco offerings to enable swifter time-to-market, stronger integration across OSS/BSS systems, and inclusion of analytics capabilities to support agile decision making.
Has Ericsson India R&D helped in this space?
A lot of OSS/ BSS products are developed by the India R&D – some in whole, others in part. It is an area that is continuing to grow by tapping the vast IT and telecom competence in India. The feature enrichment to the product lines, customisations from varied project demands in India, scalability and platform robustness are select areas where the contribution has been more.