Operational and Business Support Operational Support System (OSS)

The Requirements
Support for the operational network must be comprehensive in terms of structure
and procedures, and also in terms of systems and software tools. Broadly speaking,
the requirement can be split into three main areas:
1. Network management deals with managing the operational network, including
infrastructure, maintenance, and fault handling. The requirement is wide ranging,
allowing the complete network to be viewed in overview, or detail, with network
elements being handled remotely to keep the network running smoothly.
2. The customer service system allows for effective customer relations, covering
areas such as new orders, billing queries, and technical issues. The requirement
is easy to identify, and systems could be dedicated to this role, or be
fully integrated within a wider operational support system. In either case, information
must be available to the customer service representatives, relying on
good data interfaces between related functions (for example, customer billing
records need to be available to the customer service representative).
3. Other requirements can be grouped under the heading of business management
and include sales and marketing functions, finance, personnel, and
logistics, and a wide range of others.