The world of telecommunications is a competitive one, as is the industry of operations software for telcos. As one such vendor, we’ve learnt a really important lesson over the years – that our strongest competitor is not other vendors but a potential client that chooses to do nothing.

Competitive advantage for companies

Operational Support Systems (OSS) play a crucial role in the telecommunications industry. They help in managing and optimising the utilisation of network resources. They play a pivotal role in streamlining operations and enhancing customer experience. And this is only the start. Despite the evident importance of OSS as a competitive advantage for telecom companies, key decision-makers often face inertia when it comes to investing in OSS transformation.

In this context, “the strongest competitor is a client doing nothing," takes on a profound significance. Organisations hesitate to make transformative changes to their existing OSS infrastructure for numerous reasons including cost, perceived complexity, or the fear of disrupting current operations. However, this reluctance or procrastination comes at a price—the choice of doing nothing is often borne out as a cost of stagnation.

An outdated, ineffective or broken OSS doesn’t just impact the immediate metrics or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs); it has a domino effect on other business areas as well. The challenge is that the cost of doing nothing is often not obvious. If a sponsor were able to easily measure that their current ineffective OSS was costing tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars every day then it would be an easy decision to choose to transform. 

Sadly, it’s not that easy. And part of the reason why it’s not that easy is also just one of the many reasons why current OSS are failing – an inability to measure, inform or quantify what really matters in the business. In an industry where factors like downtime, churn and stranded assets can have runaway effects, financial losses can quickly mount if not corrected quickly.

The hidden costs of complacency: Quantifying what your telecom business loses by sticking with an outdated OSS



On the surface, doing nothing often seems cost-effective. No upfront expenses, no laborious selection processes and no disruptive transitions. However, this apparent lack of cost is misleading. Businesses that opt to stick with faltering OSS face several hidden opportunity costs, which can have a compounding effect over time, including:

  • Decreased Efficiency - An obsolete or poorly tuned OSS that lacks the capabilities of newer, more agile systems, can adversely affect workflow efficiency. Tasks that could be automated remain manual, increasing the risk of human errors and inefficiencies. Perhaps the more impactful sign of workflow inefficiency is a high number of fall-outs that require manual processing or simply get lost completely, leading to customer and operator frustrations
  • Missed Opportunities - In a world where customer expectations are constantly evolving, an outdated OSS can't easily (or quickly) adapt to new service requirements or technologies. This results in missed opportunities for introducing new products and services to a waiting market
  • Customer Dissatisfaction - A compromised OSS can impact service quality in many different ways, which subsequently affects customer experience. Poor service can lead to churn, causing not only a loss of revenue but also increasing the cost of acquiring new customers. Since news of poor service spreads, churn can have escalating impacts
  • Increased Operational Costs - Older systems often require specialised skills for maintenance and troubleshooting, driving up operational costs and introducing staff retention / attrition risks. If increased failures result in frequent customer downtimes, this also has direct and indirect cost implications
  • Lower Competitive Edge - In today's highly competitive landscape, failing to adapt and innovate can be a death knell for traditional telcos. New market entrants often have the advantage of being agile and equipped with the latest technologies, including modern OSS solutions. A lack of investment in systems can rapidly transform from simply being perceived internally as a cost-saving measure to being a crippling disadvantage externally by eroding market share and customer loyalty
  • Security Risks - Cybersecurity is another factor that is often overlooked in relation to outdated OSS, as it can expose an organisation to unnecessary reputational risks. Older systems and underlying infrastructure often have vulnerabilities that may not be supported by vendors anymore. Any delay in transitioning to an upgraded platform can expose the network to data breaches, adding both financial and reputational costs to the list of consequences of inaction

Advanced OSS features and benefits waiting to be unlocked

Now, if we look to more advanced features that next-generation OSS can deliver, there are further benefits waiting to be unlocked:

  • Speed - In a data-driven world where slow time to market or time to repair is intolerable, operational speed is of the essence. Next-generation OSS platforms are engineered to handle vast amounts of data and complex operations with efficiency and inherent automation
  • Real-Time and Data-Driven Decision-making – Faster, near-real-time analytics are revolutionising the way many businesses operate. With real-time data at their fingertips, operators can monitor network performance, customer interactions, network security / health postures and resource allocation on the fly. But more importantly, this monitoring data can be turned into real-time insights that are invaluable for making data-driven decisions. The benefits of faster and better decision-making are numerous but can include optimised service delivery, increased profitability and enhanced customer satisfaction
  • What-If Analysis: Predicting the Future - What-if analysis is another cutting-edge feature that's gaining attention through modern OSS solutions. This functionality allows organisations to simulate different designs and scenarios, then predict their impact on various operational metrics. For example, a company could use what-if analysis to determine the effects of increasing network bandwidth. Such predictive capabilities make it easier for decision-makers to consider the pros and cons of different strategies, thereby optimising resource allocation
  • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning - AI and machine learning algorithms are becoming integral parts of next-generation OSS platforms. These technologies can be used in many different ways, including automated network design and capacity allocation. AI-driven OSS solutions can perform tasks in seconds that would take human operators from hours to weeks to complete

Operational Support Systems (OSS) are no longer just about managing network services and resources. They are at the forefront of digital transformation for telcos and their clients, actively driving innovation and efficiency in the world of telecommunications and beyond.