Composable BSS/OSS explained: flexibility and scalability for the digital era

How can CSPs overcome the limitations of monolithic legacy IT systems and embrace a cloud-native, modular future? Dominic Smith explores how composable BSS/OSS solutions are helping telcos to launch innovative new services and unlock new revenue opportunities.

Communications Services Providers (CSPs) are under ever-increasing pressure to find new revenue streams, quickly launch new services, and enhance customer experiences – but while innovation must accelerate, legacy systems aren’t just slowing CSPs down, they’re actively costing them market share. To meet these challenges, many CSPs are now turning to composable BSS/OSS – a modular, flexible architecture that supports innovation through a productised solution and avoids the pitfalls of highly customised legacy systems.

Composable BSS/OSS can be considered at two levels: the ecosystem level and the product/component level. At the ecosystem level, TM Forum’s Open Digital Architecture (ODA) promotes composability through standardised interfaces, component specifications and deployment models, improving interoperability and reducing integration costs. At the product/component level, composability is delivered through low-code/no-code capabilities that empower CSPs to own and adapt their systems and processes without reliance on IT developers, vendors or systems integrators.

However, it is important to remember that the ODA is a means to an end – not the end itself. While compliance with ODA principles may satisfy the architectural purists, the ultimate goal is achieving business flexibility and operational efficiency, even within the constraints of legacy systems. Empowering the business to own change with composable, productised BSS/OSS solutions achieves this.

The role of composability in BSS/OSS architecture

CSPs have historically relied on tightly coupled BSS/OSS stacks that were difficult to modify, costly to maintain, and slow to adapt to market changes. The advent of composable BSS/OSS transforms the landscape completely, allowing CSPs to take a more modular approach by adopting open, flexible and interoperable components.

TM Forum’s ODA provides a crucial foundation for composability in telecoms IT systems, replacing traditional, siloed BSS/OSS stacks with a cloud-native, modular and standardised framework. The key benefits of adopting ODA include:

1. Reduced integration complexity
   By adopting Open APIs and microservices-based components, CSPs can simplify systems integration and reduce time-to-market for new services.
2. Enhanced vendor interoperability
   ODA fosters a multi-vendor ecosystem where CSPs are not locked into a single supplier, allowing them to select best-of-breed products, but without the cost and risk of custom integrations.
3. Scalability and agility
   Cloud-native principles allow CSPs to scale systems on demand, dynamically allocate resources, and introduce automation for greater efficiency.
4. Future-proofing IT investments
   Standardised architectures ensure that CSP investments remain relevant as new technologies and standards emerge.

However, it is crucial for CSPs to approach ODA pragmatically. Though 57% of CSP respondents to TM Forum’s recent ODA adoption survey are making ODA compliance a condition in their RFIs / RFPs, the goal is not just to be ODA-compliant but to become more agile and efficient as a result. Given the complexity and scale of legacy BSS/OSS environments, a phased, hybrid approach to ODA adoption is often more realistic than a complete overhaul, with the product catalogue a common starting point.

Composability at the product/component level

While ODA provides the foundation for a composable BSS/OSS architecture, CSPs also need the ability to modify business processes and tailor digital experiences without costly and time-consuming custom development. This is where the new generation of low-code/no-code solutions come into play.

Traditionally, many CSPs have heavily customised their BSS/OSS systems to meet specific business needs. While this provided a tailored solution, it also created significant challenges:

• High maintenance costs
  Custom-built solutions require continuous support, making upgrades and enhancements expensive.
• Vendor lock-in
  Customisations often tie CSPs to a single vendor or systems integrator, limiting flexibility.
• Slow time-to-market
  Implementing changes requires complex development cycles, delaying new product launches.

Composable BSS/OSS addresses these challenges by providing configurable, out-of-the-box solutions with the flexibility to adapt to unique business needs and deliver best-of-breed components.

Low-code / no-code platforms

Low-code / no-code flexibility within BSS/OSS solutions means providing configuration tools solely within the UI, with no need for compiled code changes or database/file system updates.

This provides flexibility through configuration not customisation, enabling business users to easily tailor workflows, customer journeys and service offerings, providing a perfect balance between customisability and standardisation:

1. Empowering business users
   Product managers and operations teams can modify workflows, create new service bundles and adjust customer journeys without needing IT or supplier intervention.
2. Faster innovation cycles
   Changes that once took weeks or months can now be implemented in hours or days, allowing CSPs to respond more quickly to market demands.
3. Ensuring future compatibility
   Unlike traditional custom development, low-code/no-code configurations remain compatible with vendor upgrades, ensuring CSPs stay on the product roadmap without getting stuck on outdated, unsupported versions with spiralling support costs.
4. Reduced IT dependency
   By shifting more control to business teams, IT departments can focus on strategic projects rather than day-to-day system modifications.

Future-proofing telecom operations with composable BSS/OSS

Composable BSS/OSS is the future of telecoms IT, enabling CSPs to break free from the constraints of legacy systems and drive agility, efficiency and innovation. While TM Forum’s ODA provides the essential framework, our composable modules and low-code/no-code tools also ensure CSPs can fully capitalise on this opportunity.

Cerillion’s composable, ODA-ready BSS/OSS suite delivers flexibility without compromise and innovation without disruption. Get in touch with us today.