Ready for ODA
for suppliers

Signals that a vendor’s products are ODA compliant, acting as a mark of quality for new and current customers

Vendors strengthen commitment to TMF's ODA

The Open Digital Architecture (ODA) provides a blueprint to help CSPs transform into agile digital organizations that can rapidly bring new products and services to market while improving customer experience. Suppliers offering ‘Ready for ODA’ product lines are well equipped to support their CSP customers with solutions that comply with today’s ODA specifications and roadmap commitments linked to the architecture’s evolving standards.

Update: Marand Software recently achieved Ready for ODA status for their BSS product portfolio, showcasing the benefits of adopting Open Digital Architecture (ODA). Read, in our first ODA Unboxed article, how 60% of Marand’s revenue contribution is through ODA-based products.

Discover more and join in with defining the future

Early adopters see significant value in being ODA compliant

Suppliers are adopting TM Forum’s ODA components and Open APIs which has redefined the software lifecycle for the telecoms industry.

ODA provides an architecture blueprint enables suppliers to take an agile approach to rapidly bring new products and services to market within a CSP.

There are also significant marketing benefits from achieving RfODA status, including Gold Odie both physical and digital to showcase your status, social media coverage, showcased at media events and inclusion in marketing collateral.

A photo of the VP of product at marand with a quote on ODA

Our members reveal why Ready for ODA is so important to them

Don't just take our word for the benefits of ODA to our members. In this series of short videos discover how our members describe some of their real-world use cases, or learn more by reading our blogs and Inform articles.

Alvatross on start up benefits of RfODA

Gareth Kentish VP Global sales at Alvatross explains why being RfODA levels the playing field for start-ups

CSG on the benefits of ODA

CSG’s Greg Tilton, Vice President, Catalog, Quote & Order, explains why they focused on becoming RfODA as a value propositions to the CSP’s customers.

Hansen aligns to ODA

Hansen’s Brian Cappellani, VP Technology Strategy why they needed to align to ODA

Huawei: Why ODA important for service providers

Huawei’s Mr Maurice Ma, President, Software Business, explains why ODA is so important to service providers to improve agility and interoperability.

ODA heroes: ODA adoption is critical

TM Forum members explain why they support the Open Digital Architecture (ODA), the innovation it enables and their vision of how the industry can collaborate for the benefit of operators, vendors and customers.

Oracle on the value of ODA

Oracle’s Azhar Mirza, Group VP of Product Development sees the value of ODA to the industry

Whale Cloud on why ODA is necessary for the industry

Whale Cloud’s Mr Steven Cho, Chief Marketing officer explains why RfODA helps solve the challenges and benefits both operators and vendors alike.

Alvatross on start up benefits of RfODA

Gareth Kentish VP Global sales at Alvatross explains why being RfODA levels the playing field for start-ups

CSG on the benefits of ODA

CSG’s Greg Tilton, Vice President, Catalog, Quote & Order, explains why they focused on becoming RfODA as a value propositions to the CSP’s customers.

Hansen aligns to ODA

Hansen’s Brian Cappellani, VP Technology Strategy why they needed to align to ODA

Huawei: Why ODA important for service providers

Huawei’s Mr Maurice Ma, President, Software Business, explains why ODA is so important to service providers to improve agility and interoperability.

ODA heroes: ODA adoption is critical

Oracle on the value of ODA

Oracle’s Azhar Mirza, Group VP of Product Development sees the value of ODA to the industry

Whale Cloud on why ODA is necessary for the industry

Whale Cloud’s Mr Steven Cho, Chief Marketing officer explains why RfODA helps solve the challenges and benefits both operators and vendors alike.

How can my company get assessed as Ready for ODA

A status achieved by a software product or product line, recognizing its foundation in ODA’s key principles and its roadmap commitment to support ODA’s evolving standards. The Ready for ODA status is maintained through a biannual major review using the ODA Success Framework, and a minor review in the intervening years

To be considered for as eligible for a Ready for ODA Success Framework aassessment a supplier must by achieve a threshold level of engagement with ODA :

Sign the ODA Manifesto
Meet a membership-tier-dependent threshold of ODA Producer Points*.
Meet a membership-tier-dependent threshold of ODA Consumer Points.

*The ODA producer points are given in recognition of a member organization's commitment to leading and contribution to creating ODA content within collaboration projects, Catalyst projects or the production of Open APIs.

The criteria for Ready for ODA are assessed jointly by the CSP and TM Forum’s CTO office using the ODA Success Framework – a light but rigorous evaluation based on 6 key dimensions necessary for delivering successful business outcomes using ODA. The 6 assessment dimensions are:

Principles and rules
Skills
Open APIs
Components
Agile governance
Implementation

The industry needs a common understanding

Communications service providers (CSPs) are facing a dilemma. While their revenue and growth continue to stagnate, they are under tremendous pressure to simultaneously cut costs, deploy 5G, create differentiated customer experiences and overhaul the way they develop and deliver new services. From the defining their business needs, through designing information systems and implementing Open APIs and data models, to managing the actual deployment with their software technology partners, Telcos who want to move from the bottom left quadrant in the diagram below to TechCos in the top right need an industry-wide common understanding such as the Open Digital Architecture (ODA).

ODA provides the building blocks for growth and efficiency

ODA replaces traditional operations and business support systems (OSS/BSS) for CSPs with a new approach to building software for zero-touch interoperability and creating a dynamic plug and play environment through its components and canvas concepts. These concepts provide the building blocks for CSPs to evolve towards a TechCos company through:

ODA for efficiency: ODA supports CSPs to automate their operations so they can focus on improving customer experience while still improving productivity. Using AI and Open APIs to enable automated closed-loop intent-based automation, CSPs can focus on providing real-time zero-touch operations to drive towards digital efficiency.

ODA for growth: ODA enables CSPs to become digital enablers, working with ecosystem partners to create zero-touch partnering solutions for vertical markets (smart factories, autonomous vehicles, digital healthcare…) based on 5G, network slicing, edge computing, AI and other advanced technologies.

5 Steps to reaching Ready for ODA status

Everyone’s journey towards RfODA is different and is based on your own key challenges and objectives. However, the more you engage with the Forum to improve your business, the faster you will progress to eligibility. Your Engagement Manager (EM) will help create a bespoke pathway for you. To find out more contact your EM, here, and they will get back to you.

The steps to reaching “Ready for ODA" (RfODA) status are few and straightforward:

Reaching eligibility: Reaching eligibility is achieved through making full use of your membership and throughly engaged. Activities that your company undertakes to support the collaboration and use of ODA principles and concepts will earn ‘points’. These points are gained for contributions to the Forum solutions and consuming/implementing Forum solutions. The more of your people that are engaged, the quicker your journey to reaching eligibility.

Your engagement manager can provide you with your current eligibility status and work with you to develop a plan to get you to the right level for RfODA assessment status. To find out more contact your EM, here, and they will get back to you.

ODA Success Framework Self-assessment: Once the eligibility threshold for your Corporate Band has been reached you will be ready for OSF (ODA Success Framework) self-assessment.
- You will be provided with a self-assessment document to complete, in which you will provide additional evidence of your implementation of ODA within the company.
- Getting the right people involved is really important - for suppliers we recommend that the product owner is responsible for the assessment.
- Your EM will provide you with your self-assessment documentation and talk you through the process.
TM Forum review: Once you have completed your internal self-assessment – you will be invited to your formal review (normally within 1 month of you submitting your self-assessment) with one of the Forum’s senior leadership team. This is a collaborative meeting where you will be invited to present the evidence of your RfODA compliance findings from the self-assessment.
What happens next:
- Accordance: If the reviewer considers that you are operating in accordance with ODA then you will receive RfODA status, and your company will be given significant marketing benefits to demonstrate your success to the industry.
- Non-accordance: If for any reason you are not successful you will be given key written feedback and a plan of action from the assessment on the key aspects needed to reach RfODA status. Your Engagement Manager will be glad to support you.
Maintaining your status:
- The RfODA status is valid for 2 years, with 1-year health checks to make sure everything is still going fine.
- Your membership will continue to provide you with all the tools you need to meet new eligibility criteria and this is a great driver to keeping your ODA journey on track.

Your Engagement Manager is your point of contact throughout this assessment journey. To find out more contact your EM here, and they will call you back.