operating support system (OSS)

An operating support system( OSS) is a network management system for carrier networks. Such an OSS system forms the backbone in the management of telecommunications networks and services. As the requirements for new services and their provision are constantly increasing, service providers must respond with attractive offerings.

The IP networks that form the basis for various IP-based services, for Internet television( IPTV), Internet telephony( VoIP), triple play or IP- VPN and others, require complete end-to-end provisioning. As a result, the operational support systems on which the processes are based must be able to meet these requirements. Here, there are constantly increasing demands on their flexibility and expandability. Whereas initially there were separate systems for different tasks, the current approach is to create a cross-organizational platform that can be accessed by employees from network and system planning, service management and corporate management.

An OSS system should bring together all the processes, systems and departments involved in such a way as to create a smoothly functioning unit that can respond more efficiently and quickly to new customer requirements. In such a system, the complete development process for a service, from planning to realization to provisioning, should be realized on a single platform. After provisioning, the services can be monitored and managed on the OSS platform.

The basis of an operational support system is the component library with which the service components are developed. The service elements for the individual services are designed on the OSS platform, stored in the component library after testing, and can be called and dynamically updated at any time.