Dimension Data's Plug and Play IP VPN Management Demonstration Empowers Service Providers to Build a Flexible and Secure OSS with Proactive Management of IP Services
CHICAGO, Ill., November 7, 2000 - A team of TeleManagement Forum (TM Forum) members led by Dimension Data have joined forces to develop a new solution that allows service providers to proactively manage IP virtual private network (VPN) services over shared infrastructures. The first practical demonstration of this solution, named the IP VPN Management Catalyst project, will be shown at TeleManagement World, presented next week by TM Forum in Chicago, Ill.
A major challenge in today's broadband networking and communications industry is to build operational and business systems that support the increasing speed, quality, and differentiation that customers demand of IP-based services. TM Forum's New Generation Operations Support Systems (NGOSS) activities have been developed to enable service providers to meet this challenge and the IP VPN Management Plug and Play Catalyst project delivers the advantage of proactive service management for multiple application support.
"This project will enable service providers to bring predictability, flexibility, and automation to the management of their VPN services," said Craig Levieux of Dimension Data and leader of the IP VPN Management Catalyst project. "Due to the explosive growth of IP and virtual private networks, the agility with respect to functions and performance enables service providers to deliver high quality services with greater profitability."
Project sponsor Verizon Communications also contributed to the IP VPN Management Catalyst solution. "Verizon anticipates that the use of NGOSS will dramatically reduce the time-to-market introduction of new services and technologies, increase operations efficiencies and quality of service, while at the same time providing an architecture that enables overall cost reduction in network management operations," commented Bernie Maier, Member Technical Staff - Operations Systems Technology, Verizon Communications.
TM Forum Catalyst project demonstrations show existing products linked together to automate key processes and deliver integrated solutions. Based on a common implementation architecture, Plug and Play Catalyst projects promote interoperable OSS environments and aim to drive standardization and ultimately lower the integration barriers for Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) components.
"We are delighted that companies in the IP VPN Management Catalyst Project are addressing these challenges," said James Warner, Chief Operating Officer, TeleManagement Forum. "As we move forward with our New Generation OSS initiative, it is important that we show how systems integrators and vendors can leverage TM Forum NGOSS principles to integrate diverse hardware and software technologies in a flexible and extensible way."
The IP VPN Management project will deliver substantial benefits to service providers. By simplifying the management of Quality of Service (QoS) in a shared infrastructure, the solution designed by Dimension Data will increase service providers' flexibility for adapting to market demands and enable them to predict service delivery. The IP VPN Management project shows that effective QoS management enables delivery of IP services to support multiple applications with diverse QoS requirements.
The IP VPN Management Catalyst project also contributes to the TM Forum charter of driving standards-based, interoperable systems that will automate and improve business processes and p the development of new independent software vendor (ISV) applications that can be easily integrated and adapted by service providers worldwide.
IP VPN Management Participating Companies and ContributionsThe IP VPN Management Catalyst project combines innovative technologies from industry leaders around the globe including, Astracon, Cisco Systems, CrossKeys Systems Corporation, Daleen Technologies, IGS, Portal Software, Sodalia, Telcordia Technologies, and Vitria Technology. Verizon, the project sponsor, also participated in developing a solution service providers need for managing their VPNs.
Participating companies are contributing the following solution components:
- Astracon - service configuration and provisioning
- Cisco Systems - network provisioning, IP network elements, element managers and network equipment
- CrossKeys Systems Corporation - SLA management
- Dimension Data - workflow engine implementation, directory services implementation and systems integration
- Daleen Technologies - web-based customer self-care solution
- IGS - common information model and transformation services
- Portal Software - IP billing and customer management
- Sodalia - fault management
- Telcordia Technologies - traffic engineering and pre-planning
- Vitria Technology - OSS integration platform for automating business processes; asynchronous and synchronous messaging; workflow engine; and application connectors
Visit the project's web site at www.didata.com/catalyst to learn more about the IP VPN Management project or visit the Catalyst Showcase, November 14-16, at McCormick Place, Chicago.
About TeleManagement ForumTeleManagement Forum is an international non-profit group of information and communications service providers, software developers, equipment suppliers and systems integrators focused exclusively on management and operations issues. By bringing together the entire 'value chain' of the information and communications services industry, TM Forum provides a collaborative environment in which buyers and suppliers of business operations support systems can develop pragmatic solutions to pressing problems. Its latest initiative, to define New Generation Operational Systems and Software (called NGOSS), is aimed at achieving market-available off-the-shelf systems that can plug and play far more easily than today. The end result is a series of strategic frameworks and tools that enable the end-to-end integration of operations and management systems is support of key business processes.
As an industry association, the TM Forum also sponsors a broad range of education and information services to its members and the industry at large. Currently, the TM Forum has more than 361 members from 36 countries including all types of service providers, equipment manufacturers, software suppliers, and systems integrators. For more information visit www.tmforum.org.
About Dimension DataDimension Data is a leading global network services and i-Commerce solutions provider, focused on enabling enterprises, telecommunications service providers and new economy companies to communicate and transact effectively in an e-enabled environment.
Dimension Data is listed on the London Stock Exchange and operates in over 30 countries on six continents. The Group has achieved a compound annual growth rate in US dollars of 78% in revenue and 38% in basic earnings per share over the past two years.
