Shango: How to Automate Core UC Fulfillment Processes Through the Cloud

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The ability to integrate the supply chain can save significant amounts of time and money for CSPs.

Otherwise, CSPs seeking to unify their supply chain and distribution channels would be forced to develop APIs and endure, or contract out, the task of assembling point-to-point integrations, API by API, between their OSS/BSS and the various underlying providers (content, transport, etc.) in their extended value chain. CAPEX and operational overhaul would likely be driven upward, not to mention that the impact on TTM and revenue would have the potential to wreck a CSP’s bottom line.

Within Shango’s platform, however, orders are fulfilled using common APIs, including ones for hosted private branch exchange (PBX), routing, billing, storage/call detail records (CDRs), location routing numbers (LRNs), and LNP/SOA (local number portability/service order administration), that connect CSPs to their OSS providers. CSPs can also bring in existing or new supplier relationships and use Shango’s platform to instantly source from their phone-number origination providers as well as self-activate services and fulfill them down their distribution channels to meet a variety of enterprise-customer UC needs.

In the past it used to be enough for CSPs to release some new features or services every so often, but today they need to be able to bring new offers to market as quickly as customers demand them. The ones that ignore the cry for unified, IP-enabled products could find themselves at risk of losing business to competitors that are already establishing new ways of augmenting legacy OSS/BSS processes, network infrastructure and even service fulfillment and sourcing.

Using common APIs, Shango’s cloud-based UC platform can address five core fulfillment processes that require OSS/BSS automation:

Operational processes. Within a branded web portal in the platform, CSPs can integrate their order management systems, load their wholesale providers’ rates and leverage multiprovider, mixed-pricing tier groups.
Supply-chain management. Shango allows carriers to easily search, select, activate, and manage their native and third-party inventory and pricing groups and present them to their customers.
Order tracking. CSPs can easily receive and manage incoming orders and inventory requests from their customers across multiple on- and off-net providers.
Order fulfillment. They can also place orders; activate, assign and release applications, e.g., phone numbers, to their SIP trunk and hosted PBX providers; initiate and activate feature and porting requests; and port to their competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) or choice of service bureaus. Additionally, CSPs can add and manage features and assign common APIs that enable their customers to order their products. Shango’s platform automatically maintains third-party APIs for updates.
Service integrity. CSPs can view inventory levels and distribution across their range of customers. Transactional instances such as moves, adds, changes, and disconnects are logged for easy auditing, and data can be easily exported into carrier OSS/BSS via Shango’s standard REST (representational state transfer) APIs. Plus, transaction-based sourcing within the platform supports easy billing.

By eliminating manual processes that typically hinder serviceability and OSS/BSS, CSPs can more quickly manage overhead and increase productivity and data accuracy when offering unified communications services to customers.