Parlay X: Opening Up Telecom to Third Parties

Convergence and ubiquitous access are hot terms these days, but finding a standardized way to integrate systems and open up applications to third parties has been an evolutionary process. However, Parlay seems to be one standard that is gaining real momentum, particularly its fairly recent Parlay X advances.

While Parlay OSA has always had a huge installed base with IN applications requiring CORBA IDL or Java, the principle of the Parlay X interface has gained substantial support during the past two years.

The key reason is that it makes use of Web Services as a key element for opening up telecom applications to the outside world.

Because IMS is oriented toward SIP and ISC, carriers needed something that could make their services available to external parties across the Internet.

“Convergence is what drives Parlay X; carriers need it because end users want access to all their services over any device. They want one address book, not five,” says Marc LeClerc, chairman of Parlay’s marketing work group. “You want to get your hockey scores or your ringtones or movie trailers regardless of where you are or what you are using.”

Already operators such as BT, Sprint, Telenor, Brazil Telecom, France Telecom, VimpelCom and SBC (now AT&T) have used either Parlay OSA or Parlay X to address a variety of issues. These have ranged from encouraging third-party developers and content providers to access applications on their networks, to engendering new services through IMS deployments, and to augmenting the quality of IP-based technologies with new functionality.

Simpler, Faster

Implemented over Web Services through Web Services Description Language (WSDL), the base functionality of Parlay X is simpler and faster for application developers already proficient with Web Services.

In fact, the main point of Parlay has become acceleration of time to market by enabling software developers to create telecom-specific apps using the same types of Web Services tools to which they have already grown accustomed. That has led the Parlay Group to do everything in its power to appeal to external parties who want to build interfaces to telecom-specific application services across the Internet.

For example, the Parlay Group recently launched an “API Accelerator Program,” intended to tighten the feedback loop involving service providers, the IT community and the standards bodies. The goal is to expedite adoption of specs by 3GPP and ETSI. Thus far, accelerator programs have run in Boston and Prague, and others will come to the United States this summer.

By running workshops in parallel with member meetings, creating preliminary Web Services specs is expected to happen within days rather than months.

“By locking people in a room during these meetings, you have operators’ IT folks working directly with those involved with the standards bodies to create preliminary specs, which are then up for approval by ETSI or 3GPP within six months or so,” says Zygmunt Lozinski, president of the Parlay Group. “The operators want to open interfaces to as many of the capabilities as they can, so developers can create richer capabilities and richer applications.”

These applications will be used for call setup; location information; links to IM services; re-formatting of applications for use over laptops, mobiles and other devices; and identification in federated identity models.

Web Services are already prominent in advanced BSS integration, so their use in Parlay X will help carriers create a more agile breed of BSS to simplify the deployment of myriad new services.

Because Parlay X is designed to enable applications and services to capitalize on the capabilities of the networks, carriers can realize greater value from investments in underlying networks and IMS control planes. Application developers can use Parlay X to design methods for querying the location of devices, tracking movements of handsets and setting up calls, meaning that they can create entire “ecosystems” of functionality.

For example, Sprint’s wireless network offered up location information to all parties in its value chain so that new applications could be created. That means digital mapping companies like ESRI and Microsoft Map Point created fleet management and other location-based applications for SMEs and governments using Sprint’s network.

For companies promulgating ecosystems, such as BT, Telenor, France Telecom and Sprint, that chain reaction is critical—as is the quick time to market.

Through the Parlay X APIs, the need for professional systems integrators has been eradicated. “In about 20 days, with platform and Web services classes, IT folks can be up and running with Web services deployments,” says LeClerc.

BT was able to develop a Parlay application to connect email and a “click-to-call-me” button so customers could be forwarded to a person’s phone immediately. Whether managing calls, charging locations or bulk SMSs, or pushing messages to WAP servers, Parlay is designed to enable ecosystems that are technology-agnostic.

That comes in handy where areas of the network touch OSS/BSS for capabilities, such as real-time billing and charging, and managing the introduction of new services. “We find that operators start small with a couple of services to learn how to engage with third parties,” says Zolinski. “They then grow the services over time, as they see the impact on OSS/BSS as they grow their partner relationships.”