The TM Forum Catalyst Program directly supports TM Forum’s objectives to provide practical solutions to improve the management and operation of information, communication and entertainment services.

The program contributes to the growth and development of TM Forum technical work by accelerating standards development and encouraging the wide availability of viable commercial off the shelf products using TM Forum principles. It provides an environment where service providers can pose real world challenges and directly influence the system integrators, hardware, software and middleware providers to define, develop and demonstrate solutions. Projects within the program are delivered in a very short timeframe, typically 6-9 months, and the results are presented at the Catalyst Showcases at Management World events.

Catalyst Projects Cover Several Styles:

Proof-of-Concept

Explore the feasibility of an idea or concept, which results in determining if an idea is worthy of further work for development into a real solution. Results will typically launch a new standards effort.

Technology Exploration

Apply and prove out new technology as a basis for future solutions. Results include major standards contributions.

Specification Validation

Test specifications that have been developed within the TM Forum’s Collaboration Program to determine if the specs are capable of being implemented based on real product development and integration. Feedback results to the specification owners.

Options for Visiting the Catalysts:

Formal Presentations: Attend a formal presentation per the schedule below

One-on-One Informal Demonstrations: Alongside the pre-arranged demonstration times visitors are encouraged to visit Catalyst booths at their leisure for a less formal, more personalized demonstration.

The Catalyst Showcase at Management World 2008 in Nice will feature the following projects:

End-to-End B/OSS Framework – Booth CS4

The team will demonstrate a standardized BSS/OSS solution framework in the wholesale market. The project addresses a business challenge that benefits both wholesale and reseller service providers by the introduction of retail/white labeled products/services for reseller’s customers from a wholesale communication network/service provider resulting in a reduced time to market and a faster realization of revenue for wholesale products.

Delivering an Industry Information Infrastructure – Booth CS5

This project demonstrates how BSS, OSS, network element vendors and systems integrators can collaborate to enable service providers to reduce integration costs, improve time to market and improve communications across their own systems and organizations and with trading partners by adopting concepts of the TM Forum Information Framework (SID).

The project focuses on equipment-related information and provides demonstrable examples of how ERP applications, traditional OSS, EMSs and network elements can use a commercial, globally managed industry information infrastructure and Master Data Management technology to enable the use of common information across systems, organizations and trading partners.

Seamless OSS/BSS for IMS Services Phase II – Booth CS9

Following the first phase of the highly successful “Seamless OSS/BSS for IMS Services,” which demonstrated how a variety of IMS services, accessed from many terminals, can create and deliver IMS services based on SDP, and how IMS product and services can be created, Phase II goes on to develop this work by:

• Demonstrating a richer IMS services experience
• Covering the total solution of OSS/BSS for IMS services:

Ø IMS services creation, delivery

Ø IMS services management, subscribing and activation

Ø IMS services billing, charging

The Harmony Catalyst Phase II – Booth CS3

The Harmony Catalyst delivers a collaborative demonstration platform that can be used for ongoing development for standards in Customer Experience Management (focusing initially on QoS).

The team will demonstrate benefits from various perspectives:

• Provider Quality of Service Management of NGN (Deployment, Fulfillment and Assurance) for IPTV, VoIP and Web
• Customer: Self service for QoS and request for content
• Standards: Use of a variety of standards from TM Forum and DMTF within an integrated solution

Building Marketplaces through Managed Services Syndication – Booth CS1

Service syndication is becoming a hot-topic within the industry, but few people know how to make it work. To become a powerful player in this market, each service provider must have the capability to rapidly assemble and re-assemble new services out of its resources. This is possible in a framework that supports service lifecycle management, such as TM Forum’s Service Delivery Framework. Successful delivery of the end service to customers also requires business agreements and a common understanding of how to expose services and what kind of data must flow from one service provider to another.

The Catalyst also focuses on end-to-end service management by targeting a service quality management use case that depicts event generation and subscription technologies. A new concept for manageable services will also be introduced as an enabling technology for end-to-end service quality management.

Operator User Management – Booth CS2

As the TM Forum CO~OP team tackles the question of how to integrate different management systems, the question of easing the user login and preventing a decrease in security arises quickly. The CO~OP team set out to find a workable approach that would guide us into the future. Working with select Mobile Service Providers, the CO~OP team is defining a Single Sign On solution along with Operator User Management capabilities to provide a comprehensive solution. The project will demonstrate a solution that is easy to use, easy to administer, secure, future proof, and that allows plug-and-play.

One Stop Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) Services - Booth CS6

This team delivers triple-play services to customers with Fixed-Mobile convergence technologies. The FMC solution will be deployed turnkey, including network implementation and system integration services ensuring a smooth migration. This Catalyst project demonstrates how Fixed-Mobile converged services can be delivered over new generation OSS/BSS architecture.

Device Management Focus Area

For 2008 we have introduced a new type of Catalyst where we highlight a new area where TM Forum is becoming active. For Management World 2008, this area is End-user Device Management.

For the first time, we will be showcasing a program within a program, where we will be exploring various elements of this important aspect of our business.

End-user Device Management – Booths CS7 & CS8

Visitors to this area will be able to:

• See how Cisco’s internal IT organization is deploying 115,000 fixed and mobile devices to the homes of 30,000 Cisco tele-working employees.
• Discover how this can be considered from a Product Lifecycle management point of view
• Learn about the issues involved in the support of the vast range of end user devices that are available
• See how WAN Management protocol technology can be leveraged to perform intelligent, automated testing and repair of end user devices.

With seven Catalysts plus the end-user device management showcase, involving over 40 member companies, there is sure to be something of interest to everyone.

We hope to see you in Nice!