Telecom’s Response to Over-the-top Providers: Service Syndication

Ecosystems are nothing new in telecom; every vendor has one. However, an ecosystem of service providers designed to deliver syndicated services is a whole new ballgame -- one that, if successful, could help telcos compete against over-the-top providers and social networks.

A first-phase proof of concept for the delivery of syndicated services was conducted last week through a TM Forum Catalyst project called “Building Marketplaces with Managed Syndicated Services.”

The project was sponsored by BT, Microsoft and Telefonica who joined Accenture, CA, Iptivia, NetCracker Technology and Tribold to conduct.

Service syndication, also known as the value chain for composite services is a way to assemble or re-assemble services from different service providers, content providers or other partners and deliver them as a single service to the end user. If you’re looking for a new buzz word, service syndication is it.

The Catalyst project also served as a first for the forum with a Service Delivery framework applied. Phase I demonstrated the end-to-end product assembly, provisioning and service quality management capabilities ready for service syndication. The next phase later this year will include settlements, billing and revenue allocation.

The ultimate goal is to show how telecom service providers can create a marketplace for next generation services that require the participation of other players including content owners, aggregators and others who possess something valuable to customers.

Successful delivery of the end service also requires business agreements and a common understanding of how to expose services as well as what kind of data must flow from one service provider to another.

A simple example of service syndication is the following:

• A conferencing service is exposed by Service Provider A to be syndicated under three contracts: small, medium and large conference.

• A real time video session delivery is exposed by Service Provider B to be syndicated under two contracts: slideware presentation and animated presentation.

• A common billing service is exposed by Service Provider C to be syndicated under one contract: detailed charging.

• A service aggregator will contract an animated video presentation for a small conference with detailed charging. The service aggregator has the capability to capture events/information related to the health and usage of services provided by service providers A and B before using service provider C for invoicing the end user.

The challenge is huge as companies will be attempting to do across their domains what they have yet to accomplish within their own domains, which is to provide seamless order entry and service provisioning. But if successful, it could help keep the service provider in the next generation value chain.

In addition to these functions, Phase I of this project also will focus on something that Internet companies don’t yet have: end-to-end service management. Catalyst participants will do this by targeting an SQM use case that depicts event generation and subscription technologies. A new concept for manageable services from Microsoft will also be introduced as an enabling technology for end-to-end service quality management.

The idea is that service providers with multiple specialties can make available distinct but complementary resources that can be combined and commercialized for a variety of customers using a variety of business models. This requires that they be able to expose their own resources and assets as services and allow other service providers to assemble and sell new products based on these exposed services.

These service providers also must be able to rapidly assemble new services using its resources and the services exposed by others. The TM Forum’s Service Delivery Framework is designed to support this.

Where support will come from to advance the alien concept of cooperation and exposing one’s services is unclear.

However, the Service Syndication Project demonstrates how network service providers can expand the boundaries of their value networks and launch new offerings faster by using services that are syndicated by other service providers. And the use of industry frameworks, such as NGOSS, eTOM and the Service Delivery Framework could make service providers less apprehensive.

“Carriers can no longer be unto themselves, which is good,” said Sanjay Mewada, vice president of strategy at NetCracker Technology. “Before, it was hard to build a service and deliver it through a telco. With service syndication you can.”

The delivery process includes the “on-boarding” of syndicated services by other service providers and bundling those with other services to form a product or product offering. The syndication aspect of a service is transparent to the customer, but the service provider looking to participate must expose service access, usage, assurance, and billing capabilities so other service providers can use them to unify and extend to syndication partners its own product management process. This includes updates to fulfillment, assurance, and billing processes.

CA supported the program by providing service providers with integrated IT management software solutions to proactively manage service quality through the process. CA’s role in the Catalyst program is to help service providers assure service quality whether the services being delivered are supported by their own IT and network infrastructure or on-boarded from 3rd party providers.

“This shows the willingness, interest and motivation for openness,” said Norman Rice, vice president and general manager of CA’s Communications, Media & Entertainment business unit. “And that allows service to be blended together on the fly.”

It also allows service providers who don’t necessarily own infrastructure to provide network-based services.

Kenneth Dilbeck, head of the TM Forum Collaboration Program called the Catalyst program “the TM Forum’s living lab” because it enables service providers, system integrators, and vendors to work together in solving common, critical industry challenges. “The program provides an opportunity for multi-company, multi-national teams to work together with emerging technologies and capabilities to solve some of the most pressing operational and interoperability issues,” he said.

A whitepaper and other documentation describing the project in full can be found here.