The objective for the IP Network Management project is to create solutions for the integrated management of multi-vendor IP networks. Solutions will enable complete flow-through of IP network services from Business Management Layer to Service Management Layer to Network Management Layer to Element Management Layer.

This project considers the issues managing IP services in heterogeneous environments and the increasing intelligence within the EMSs to help service providers bring new IP services to market much faster and in a cost-effective manner.

Service providers are experiencing an increasing demand for IP services as businesses seek to boost productivity through information technology. One such service, Voice over IP (VoIP), offers a great deal of flexibility, openness, and the ability to support advanced next-generation services that integrate voice and data. The underlying IP network is often implemented using a second important IP-enabled service, IP Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology, in which the customer experiences a private network service that connects its remote sites, even though traffic actually flows through a shared provider infrastructure. The benefits of this "virtual" connection include greater reliability for the customer and better resource utilization for the service provider. 

The key to success and ultimate profitability of IP VPN and VoIP services resides in more than just the enabling technology. Equally important is service manageability or the management of the entire life cycle of service: planning, provisioning, operations, and billing. Service management depends on the management of underlying network infrastructure and on the provisioning of interfaces to data and mechanisms that drive the provider's overall business process. The key to profitably deploying VPN and VoIP service is management.

Service providers' profitability will be greatly enhanced by their ability to rapidly introduce new services tailored to the specific needs of their customers. A flexible, multi-service management system designed and optimized for an IP infrastructure is critical to their ability to deliver on this, and gives service providers the opportunity to gain competitive advantage in market share as the world transitions into this network information structure. 

Given the complexity of today’s IP networks and services and the heterogeneous multi-vendor nature of these networks, it is critical to have:

• Top down approach by enabling complete flow-through provisioning of IP network services through various layers of eTOM model.
• Policy based network architecture for flexible, data-driven, adaptive service quality management.
• OSS architecture that supports
• Rapid OSS enhancements in response to changing business paradigms
• Common/standard interfaces between various OSS sub-systems leading to simple integration.
• Ability of OSS components to inter-operate across multiple vendors and evolve as technology advances and new requirements emerge.