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complicated over time. "We're seeing a lot of third party services being provided to the carriers. Microsoft's a great example here, where they're selling with other products, so you buy a mobile laptop with a broadband mobile card, and you're getting the card, and the laptop, and the software all as part of a package from the likes of a Vodafone or a Telstra or an Orange. That provides some unique product management challenges for the carrier, because these are more and more services they don't manage and it's more and more part of their core business."

Tribold CEO John Rainger also sees an increase in the attention paid to PLM over time. "I've seen a lot of competitive validation. People are rushing to get slideware together. When companies like Amdocs and Oracle are stepping in claiming to have products due out shortly, you know that the market's being validated." It isn't just the software guys getting involved, Rainger says. "Some of the big operators are getting involved. We talked about Telstra last year, but some of the others that are typically on the forefront of being fairly enlightened operators are stepping into the space," referring specifically to BT and TeliaSonera, among others.

During the discussion, the question of whether PLM development was being driven by the business side (CEOs pushing development from a business standpoint), or the tech side (as the latest toy of the CIOs)."I think both," said Stratecast's Ruzicka. "I think you've seen the CEO level saying 'We have to be better at this', and maybe they're tasking the CIO to be better at this, but they're saying they need automation and a central view. They need, at a minimum, a product catalog."

Indeed, the need exists, and we look forward to continuing to explore the issue. In the current economic climate, undertaking such a daunting task may be low on the list of priorities for CSPs, but, in the long run, it can serve as exactly the kind of cost-maximizing measure that CSPs need. PLM is necessary for CSPs. Product catalog is the best model we've got for PLM in the communications world. It's time to get our houses in order.