January - 2010 issue > Business

By Amit Goel

The Operations Support Systems (OSS) are computer systems used predominantly by telecommunication service providers. The term is normally used to describe specialized softwares which help the telecom network deal with various components within the system such as network operations, service management and provisioning services. The Business Support Systems (BSS) usually refers to software dealing with customer support processes such as Customer Care, Billing Services and Fraud Management.

The global OSS/BSS market is a competitive landscape with about 400 players. The consolidated revenue for the OSS/BSS market stood at USD 15-15.5 Billion in 2008, recording a CAGR of 6-7% for the past five years. In spite of the economic downturn, the market is projected to maintain the same growth rate and touch USD 21-22 Billion in revenues by 2013. The Indian OSS/BSS market generated USD 490-500 Million in 2008 and is expected to grow at 15-17% till 2013 to reach USD 1,050-1,100 Million approximately. The OSS/BSS products have come a long way since they were introduced in the 1970s to replace manual administrative processes. Since then, the industry has undergone a lot of ‘focus shifts’ from manually operated switch management systems to creating automated interfaces. After witnessing a spurt in demand for systems with VAS compatibility the focus is now towards open, interoperable OSS/BSS solutions. This is due to carriers and service providers coming under greater pressure to increase revenues and decrease operating costs in order to survive leading to a greater demand for OSS integration.

Drivers

Growth: A single OSS/BSS can only manage a pre-decided number of end-users. Companies are forced to install a new system or upgrade the existing one as the number of subscribers increases.

User requirement: As the ARPU (Average revenue per user) falls, telecom companies are hard pressed for cost-effective solutions turning them towards OSS/BSS vendors for streamlining the processes and making system usage cheaper.

If you have more query about magazine please send mail to

May 12	April 12	March 12	Feb 12