PDF of this tutorialDefinition
The term operations support system (OSS) generally refers to the system (or systems) that perform management, inventory, engineering, planning, and repair functions for communications service providers and their networks.
Overview
Originally, OSSs were mainframe-based, stand-alone systems designed to support telephone company staff members in their daily jobs. Essentially, these systems were designed to automate manual processes, making operation of the network more error-free and efficient. Today’s "next-generation service providers" are required to manage a much more complex set of products and services in a dynamic, competitive marketplace. As a result, these service providers need next-generation OSS solutions that take advantage of state-of-the-art information technology to address their enterprise-wide needs and requirements. Next-generation OSSs help service providers maximize their return on investment (ROI) in one of their key assets—information. OSSs ultimately help enable next-generation service providers to reduce costs, provide superior customer service, and accelerate their time to market for new products and services.
This tutorial focuses on the current and near-future states of OSS technology and its development to support new and emerging services and technologies. Note that the tutorial focuses only on the service management layer of the Telecommunications Management Network (TMN) model. Refer to the Web ProForum TMN tutorial (http://www.iec.org/tutorials/tmn/) for a complete discussion of this model.
