Salesforce, focused on offering solutions to industry verticals of late, has set its sights on modernizing operations in the telecom sector — with the help of its partners.

The CRM leader based in San Francisco on Wednesday released a Communications Industry Framework that lays out how to best implement solutions built on its platform for communication service providers (CSPs). The framework includes data model specifications, a white paper defining relationships and usage patterns, and API and process documentation.

CSPs have notoriously complex back-end infrastructure that often weds them to the legacy systems they have developed and integrated over many years. But those companies are now competing with new media providers like Google and Facebook, and need software adept at addressing the expectations of increasingly demanding customers in the era of cloud, mobility and social, according to Chris Bauschka, senior director of global telecommunications and media at Salesforce.

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