OVERVIEW

The early 1980s saw tremendous expansion in network deployment. Telecommunications service providers realized the cost benefits and productivity gains that could be created by network technology and began to expand existing services almost as rapidly as new technologies were introduced. Because each new network technology required its own set of experts, the staffing requirements alone for managing complex, heterogeneous networks created a crisis for many companies. By the mid-1990s, some service providers were starting to experience new levels of pain from the lack of interoperability between network technologies. An urgent need arose for automated network management across diverse environments, affecting both day-to-day network operations as well as strategic network growth planning.

Entering the new postdivestiture millennium, many modern service providers were presented with major external challenges embodied in rapid technology changes, a growing field of aggressive competitors, and the need to establish intimate and in-depth alliances with nontraditional partners. Significant among the unavoidable challenges that these operators faced were

• Rationalization of service values and their impacts on revenue assurance;

• Collaborative efforts for new service introductions sensitive to shorter life cycles;

• A shift of management focus from network-centric to service-centric operations;

• Integration of operational and business islands within the service provider.

These drivers required a more detailed and aggressive approach to managing business. A new emphasis on service assurance was required to keep up with the increased pressure of market demands and competition. New, or at least improved, operational processes needed to be developed.

In response...