International Turnkey Systems, TABS Suite of Products, Series 7
Please note: Huawei has recently acquired the BSS division of ITS & the TABS Suite of Products
Company: International Turnkey Systems
Product title and Version: International Turnkey Systems, TABS Suite of Products, Series 7
Product Description: TABS is a turnkey O/BSS solution for the Communications industry and one of ITS’s best-selling offerings. At its core lies our patent 360° Convergence philosophy for service providers’ businesses. The vision is to implement the complete O/BSS Value Chain in a way that each step seamlessly leads to another so that a virtuous cycle of convergence is created. Resultantly, the Service Provider is empowered to sit on top of the system, launch innovations with flexibility, monetize customer lifecycles, improve operational quality and efficiency, manage revenues, obtain customers insights and feed them back into innovation. Delivering on this out of the box capability at proven low risk, reduced costs and rapid implementation rollouts, is an achievement ITS takes great pride in.
TABS 360° Convergence is a ready to go and pre-integrated box jam packed with business process repositories and best-practices expertise gained from hundreds of implementations worldwide. The package is designed to enable Service Providers, either established or Greenfield, to capitalize on the ever-growing opportunities with the advent of NGNs, All-IP, Multi-play, Service and Customer Convergence, 3G and WiMAX rollouts, VAS Services, merchants, application developers, content providers and what not. This enablement is designed to let operators thrive in competitive markets with differentiation and customer satisfaction.
Business Process Framework version: 8.0
TM Forum has reviewed and approved the self-certification of the product listed here against Business Process Framework (eTOM) version 8.0 processes elements. Each process element was measured using the Business Process Framework (eTOM) compliance scale.
Scope of Assessment – Business Process Framework Footprint
The following figure represents the Business Process Framework Level 2 processes (blue background) that were presented in scope for the assessment, and the textual callouts represent the modules of the International Turnkey Systems, TABS Suite of Products, Series 7that were assessed and that support the corresponding eTOM processes.
Click to view larger image| Assessed eTOM Conformance | |||
| eTOM Process Element |
Assessed Domain | Conformance Level | Comment |
| Within Level 1: 1.1.1 Customer Relationship Management |
Customer |
Not Applicable for Level 1 process |
Conformance marked here is relevant for four Level 2 processes within the Business Process Framework (eTOM):
1.1.1.1 – CRM – Support & Readiness |
|
Within Level 2: |
Customer | Scope Partially Conformant (2) |
Four level 3 eTOM processes have been assessed here for conformance, these are: 1.1.1.1.9 – Manage Campaign 1.1.1.1.13 – Support Bill Invoice Management 1.1.1.1.14 – Support Bill Payments & Receivables Mgt 1.1.1.1.15 – Support Bill Inquiry Handling These four processes provide support to the CRM Support & Readiness process within the CRM domain in the Operations area of the Business Process Framework (eTOM) with no deviations. |
| 1.1.1.1.9 – Manage Campaign | Customer | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant This process is supported through partially automated capabilities, with some capabilities being fully automated. Training outbound agents and CSRs are aided by attaching the campaign material to the campaign definition, and using the call centre scripting feature in TABS 7 to guide agents and CSRs on how to introduce the product or offer to customers. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.1.1.1.13 – Support Bill Invoice Management | Customer | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant TABS 7 provides fully automated support for this process.. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.1.1.1.14 – Support Bill Payments & Receivables Management | Customer | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant TABS 7 provides fully automated support for this process. All types of Collection Channels to process bill payments in TABS are implemented at the existing TABS Operational Sites, examples: Walk-in Point-of-Payment, Kiosks Machines, IVR, Online, Mobile Payments, etc. TABS has an API for Payments processing which can be used along with some configuration at the implementation time to process payments from any type of Collection Channel as per the customer business needs. All evidence and documentation provided has passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.1.1.1.15 – Support Bill Inquiry Handling | Customer | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant This process is supported mostly by partially automated and. |
| Within Level 2: 1.1.1.10 – Bill Invoice Management |
Customer | Scope Partially Conformant (2) |
Three level 3 eTOM processes have been assessed here for conformance, these are:
1.1.1.10.1 – Apply Pricing, Discounting, Adjustments & Rebates These three processes cover the entire lifecycle of the Bill Invoice Management core process within the CRM domain in the Operations area of the Business Process Framework (eTOM) with minor deviations. Management core process within the CRM domain in the Operations area of the Business Process Framework (eTOM) with minor deviations. |
| 1.1.1.10.1 – Apply Pricing, Discounting, Adjustments & Rebates | Customer | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant TABS 7 provides fully automated support for this process. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.1.1.10.2 – Create Customer Bill Invoice | Customer | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant This process is supported through partially automated capabilities, with some capabilities being fully automated. In TABS after every successful Bill Cycle execution the 3rd party Bill Presentment System is used to Produce Bill Images. The users of the TABS have access to these customer invoices images at any given point of time through TABS GUI. TABS provides input data to the background process which is responsible for fetching the Invoice Image from the storage. All evidence, documentation as well as GUI application views provided have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.1.1.10.3 – Produce & Distribute Bill | Customer | Scope Partially Conformant (4) |
Partially Conformant TABS 7 provides mostly manual support to this process. TABS Bill Presentment and Distribution feature is under development for future release, as described in the TABS Roadmap. Currently, the process is automated using the 3rd party partner Bill Presentment and Distribution solution which complements the TABS Multi-play Convergent Billing 7 system through seamless integration. |
| Within Level 2: 1.1.1.11 – Bill Payments & Receivables Management |
Customer | Scope Fully Conformant (3) |
Three level 3 eTOM processes have been assessed here for conformance, these are:
1.1.1.11.1 – Manage Customer Billing These three processes cover the entire lifecycle of the Bill Payments & Receivables Management core process within the CRM domain in the Operations area of the Business Process Framework (eTOM) with no deviations. |
| 1.1.1.11.1 – Manage Customer Billing | Customer | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant TABS 7 supports this process through fully automated capabilities. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.1.1.11.2 – Manage Customer Payments | Customer | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant TABS 7 supports this process through fully automated capabilities. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.1.1.11.3 – Manage Customer Debt Collection | Customer | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant This process is supported through partially automated capabilities, with some capabilities being fully automated. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| Within Level 2: 1.1.1.14 – Manage Billing Events |
Customer | Scope Fully Conformant (3) |
Four level 3 eTOM processes have been assessed here for conformance, these are:
1.1.1.14.1 – Enrich Billing Events These four processes cover the entire lifecycle of the Manage Billing Events core process within the CRM domain in the Operations area of the Business Process Framework (eTOM) with no deviations. |
| 1.1.1.14.1 – Enrich Billing Events | Customer | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant TABS 7 supports this process through fully automated capabilities. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.1.1.14.2 – Guide Billing Events | Customer | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant TABS 7 supports this process through fully automated capabilities. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.1.1.14.3 – Mediate Billing Events | Customer | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant TABS 7 supports this process through fully automated capabilities. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.1.1.14.4 – Report Billing Event Records | Customer | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant TABS 7 supports this process through fully automated capabilities. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| Within Level 1: 1.2.1 – Marketing & Offer Management |
Product | Not Applicable for Level 1 process | Conformance marked here is relevant for two Level 2 processes within the Business Process Framework (eTOM): 1.2.1.5 – Product & Offer Development & Retirement 1.2.1.7 – Product Marketing Communications & Promotion |
| Within Level 2: 1.2.1.5 – Product & Offer Development & Retirement |
Product | Scope Partially Conformant (2) |
Five level 3 eTOM processes have been assessed here for conformance, these are:
1.2.1.5.4 – Develop Product Commercialization Strategy These five processes cover roughly two thirds (5 out 8) of the lifecycle in the Product & Offer Development & Retirement L2 process as defined within the Marketing & Offer Management in the Business Process Framework (eTOM) with no deviations. 1.2.1.5.1 – Gather & Analyze New Product Ideas |
| 1.2.1.5.4 – Develop Product Commercialization Strategy | Product | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant This process is partially automated by the TABS 7 solution, with some features being fully automated. The support provided to this process articulates through the use of a generic template based concept provided and managed by the solution. All evidence and documentation provided has passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.2.1.5.5 – Develop Detailed Product Specifications | Product | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant This process is supported by a set of fully automated capabilities. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.2.1.5.6 – Manage Product Development | Product | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant This process is supported by a set of partially automated capabilities. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.2.1.5.7 – Launch New Products | Product | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant This process is supported by a set of fully automated capabilities. Handover to Operations happens through the exposing of the General Available Products and Services to the Order Management System in the TABS 7 solution. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.2.1.5.8 – Manage Product Exit | Product | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant Once the products are identified for exit through a combination of partially manual and partially automated support by the TABS 7 solution, the Service Provider can define the exit criteria for such products, then the solution provides a background batch process which automatically retires those products. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| Within Level 2: 1.2.1.7 – Product Marketing Communications & Promotion |
Product | Scope Fully Conformant (3) |
Six level 3 eTOM processes have been assessed here for conformance, these are:
1.2.1.7.1 Define Product Marketing Promotion Strategy These six processes cover the entire lifecycle in the Product Marketing Communications & Promotion L2 core process as defined in the Business Process Framework (eTOM) with no deviations. |
| 1.2.1.7.1 Define Product Marketing Promotion Strategy | Product | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant The TABS 7 solution provides mostly partially automated support (with some features being fully automated) for the definition of new products and offers in scope of the newly defined marketing strategy. TABS Campaign Management (CMG) module will then provide support for their introduction to the market. All evidence and documentation provided has passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.2.1.7.2 Develop Product & Campaign Message | Product | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant TABS 7 provides fully automated support for the development of product & campaign messages. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.2.1.7.3 Select Message & Campaign Channels | Product | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant TABS 7 provides fully automated support for the selection of messages and campaign channels. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.2.1.7.4 Develop Promotional Collateral | Product | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant This process is supported by a set of partially automated capabilities. The actual preparation of campaign collaterals, such as pamphlets, souvenirs, advertisements in street boards and other media (TV, radio, etc.), is considered a manual process to be done alongside the preparation for any campaign. However TABS CMG 7 provisions the means to attach these collaterals to the campaign definition once devised, in any format (jpg, word, pdf, video, etc.), to make it available to all sources such as call centre agents and other users of the system. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.2.1.7.5 Manage Message & Campaign Delivery | Product | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant This process is supported by a set of partially automated capabilities. The TABS 7 solution supports the call center through scripting features to guide agents and CSRs on how to introduce the product or offer to customers. Electronic channels owned by the operator such as SMS, Email, or Voice channels, are easily managed depending on the resources available using the batching (grouping) mechanism of customers. On the other hand, contracted channels are managed separately using a manual process and usually prior to defining the campaign in the system, or in parallel. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| 1.2.1.7.6 Monitor Message & Campaign Effectiveness | Product | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant TABS 7 provides fully automated support for the monitoring of messages and campaign effectiveness. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully. |
| Within Level 1: 1.2.2 – Service Development & Management |
Service | Not Applicable for Level 1 process | Conformance marked here is relevant for one level 2 process within the Business Process Framework (eTOM):
1.2.2.3 – Service Development & Retirement |
| Within Level 2: 1.2.2.3 – Service Development & Retirement |
Service | Scope Partially Conformant (2) |
Four level 3 eTOM processes have been assessed here for conformance, these are:
1.2.2.3.4 – Develop Detailed Service Specifications These four processes cover roughly about 60% (4 out of 7) of the lifecycle in the Service Development & Retirement L2 process as defined within the Service Development & Management in the Business Process Framework (eTOM) with minor deviations. The three L3 processes that were excluded here are: 1.2.2.3.1 – Gather & Analyze New Service Ideas |
| 1.2.2.3.4 – Develop Detailed Service Specifications | Service | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant This process is supported through partially automated capabilities by TABS 7. This process is handled by having a seamless integration between the TABS Product Catalogue and its Inventory Management System. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully for this process. |
| 1.2.2.3.5 – Manage Service Development | Service | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant This process is supported through partially automated capabilities, with some capabilities being fully automated. Any changes in IT Systems due to required integration of external IT Systems with TABS Product Catalogue needs specific implementation efforts and Network changes; this has implications on the configuration of Network enabled Services which needs to be taken care by the TABS Product Catalogue configuration. Also any existing service class upgrades and enhancements need implementation efforts as they have implications on the configuration of Network enabled Services which needs to be taken care by the TABS Product Catalogue configuration. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully for this process. |
| 1.2.2.3.6 – Manage Service Deployment | Service | Scope Partially Conformant (4) | Partially Conformant This process is supported through partially automated capabilities, with some capabilities being fully automated and some capabilities being supported manually. See explanation provided in paragraph above for previous process as it applies here too. The operational staff identification process is manually handled and the TABS Product Catalogue is used to train the operational staff. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully for this process. |
| 1.2.2.3.7 – Manage Service Exit | Service | Scope Fully Conformant (5) |
Conformant This process is supported through partially automated capabilities. Each and every Product/Service Life Cycle Management related rules are defined using the template concept. The Product/Service Expiry Date is part of this whole Product/Service Life Cycle Rule Template with appropriate value which is taken care by TABS to later retire the Products/Services from the Market. Documentation provided together with other evidence such as GUI views have passed conformance criteria successfully for this process. |
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