In order to develop relevant feature ad product sets, service providers must go beyond “me-too” services and onto truly differentiated services for which customers will derive a true feeling of value. Service providers must home in on who their most profitable customers can be. Which ones are willing to pay premiums for hard-to-get entertainment and information, or for personalized services?

To better grasp customer profiles as customers morph from their personal to their professional lives, service providers must first build environments that enable them to delve into customer data that is consistent across all services. A holistic view of the customer can then move service providers away from commoditized products and onto truly differentiated products that appeal not only to the mainstream, but to niches along the Long Tail. That, in turn, will help generate new revenue streams while maintaining existing ones.

Part of delivering what customers want is a better understanding of the value different partners can bring to the table. Rather than attempting to be all things to all people, service providers can avoid “re-inventing the wheel” by partnering in a strategic manner with partners. They must partner in a way that affords them visibility across the value chain so that branding is consistent and revenue leakage is kept to a minimum. Achieving a holistic view is difficult in today’s systems/IT environments, as they are inflexible and incapable of accommodating market changes quickly.

Therefore, there are risks associated with introducing new services, as existing OSS/BSS cannot handle a wide range of services quickly and accurately. The need for process automation is paramount, as there is no longer an option to wait as non-traditional players enter the market, blurring the lines between content and communications services.

Why TM Forum?

With 150 case studies from TM Forum members, it’s obvious that the Collaborative Programs achieve high levels of process automation. These initiatives range from the development of common practices and guidebooks, common process and information models and low integration cost APIs and interfaces. Input from the 670 member companies ensures that expansive input, design and thought has gone into each element of TM Forum solutions.

Because companies need to be on the same page about how they will make changes in their management systems, no software product or solution can stand alone. All components must be capable of integration. The TM Forum’s Business Process Framework (eTOM) defines a process framework in which operators ‘decompose’ their own processes so they can understand them and map them into workflows.

The Applications Framework (TAM) relates the abstract processes revealed in the Process Framework and links them to the applications which can execute them.

TM Forum standards and frameworks are designed to enable providers to evolve their IT environments to enable real data sharing and process automation - replacing information islands with a seamless IT environment that supports the rapid delivery and management of complex, next generation services. TM Forum’s Information Framework (SID) standard is critical for this development.

The TM Forum ensures its standards actually get implemented through its Prosspero initiative, which packages working open-source code, testing frameworks, guidebooks, online developer support, development tools and access to reference implementations.