article page | 1 | 2 | 3 |

Content is Key

In the past, one of the programs that the Forum was ceaselessly championing was NGOSS. What's the status of NGOSS as the show grows? The NGOSS programs were, in the eyes of Creaner, “an effort to define the fundamental, basic frameworks for how to solve basic OSS/BSS problems.” The verdict? “Essentially, we've succeeded in doing that. It seems to be widely accepted by the industry.” The TM Forum's NGOSS architecture, the NGOSS Business Process Framework (eTOM), the NGOSS Information Framework (SID), NGOSS Application Framework (TAM) are, in the eyes of Creaner, “very mature, very stable, and widely adopted frameworks. We have literally hundreds of case studies.” So where does that leave NGOSS? “NGOSS becomes the background. The wallpaper. It's like you don't talk too much, here in the UK, about the 220 volt outlet. It's presupposed. We talk less about NGOSS explicitly because it's almost present implicitly in every conversation. There are four tracks talking about NGOSS solutions. There are multiple presentations on NGOSS.”

Infinite Resource On top of the expanded role of content, device, and cable companies, the TM Forum also has the added facet of having included the Global Billing Association (GBA) and the IPDR (Internet Protocol Detail Record Organization ) under its umbrella. The announcement was made at TMW-Nice, so this will be the first show with the other groups in the fold. These aspects cannot help but beg the question: Is the TM Forum spreading itself too thin? “It's a question I ask regularly,” Creaner said with a laugh. “Our Chairman, Keith Willets, talks about something he calls the infinite resource model. The way the TM Forum makes progress in work areas is by using seconded resources from the member companies. Members typically will deliver

Aside from talk of NGOSS, the catalyst showcases are always a highlight of the TMW shows. The ability to see and experience the work done by the catalyst workgroups is always an interesting way to see in action new technologies that could otherwise be faceless and nebulous. Along those same lines, one thing that this TMW Dallas show will feature, in order to better serve both the content companies that are increasingly involved with the TM Forum and the service providers who are constantly endeavoring to embrace new and different content challenges is something they've dubbed the “Content Encounter.” It's “meant to be an immersive experience through six different scenarios relating to mobility or user-interaction community building services,” explained Creaner. “You'll get a feeling for not only the use cases that service providers genuinely believe will be relevant in the future, but also the back-office challenges to providing those services.”

resources on areas that are important to them, and they generally see it as being pretty good value for money.” Generally, it seems that once member companies are committed to at least one project, additional projects are a much easier sell. “If the TM Forum is doing ten technical activities, and that happens to be of interest to a hundred different vendors or service providers, we'll get a certain amount of resources,” said Creaner. “We might get a hundred people seconded into the TM Forum to help us drive those activities. If we decide to do an extra five or ten activities above that, the chances are that either the same service providers and vendors will provide us additional resource or we'll have hit on a hot topic for some of the newer service providers and vendors.” Since the resources are largely supplied by the companies who are doing the research and