White paper The need for an Enterprise Architecture The demand for Enterprise Architecture and the use of Reference Architecture
Contents 2 Abstract 3 Introduction 3 Consumers going their own way 3 The growing enterprise market 4 OTT providers step up the challenge 4 CSPs adapting for success 4 Staying relevant in the new communications industry 5 Considerations 5 Enterprise wide 5 Agility 5 Modularity (and Oriented Architecture) 6 Using the business supporting ecosystem as a key business competitive advantage 7 Nokia Siemens s Reference Architecture 7 About the Enterprise Architecture concept 8 Enterprise Architecture and Nokia Siemens s Reference Architecture 8 Architecture viewpoint 9 Architecture viewpoint 10 Information Architecture viewpoint 10 Application Architecture viewpoint 11 Technology Architecture viewpoint 12 Architecture viewpoint 12 Nokia Siemens s Reference Architecture ARIS Library Abstract A number of Communications Providers (CSPs) today have concerns related to Enterprise Architecture initiatives. In a business environment driven by constant changes, it is recommended to have close attention to all initiatives implying bigger changes on IT and telecom systems. Special focus is needed because the costs and impacts of the changes are often difficult to predict as the systems are typically huge and complex and many a times based on legacy technology. This white paper explores some considerations on how to mitigate risks and make future proof changes. Final goal is to create an enterprise wide agile ecosystem fully aligned with the constantly changing business needs. 13 Nokia Siemens s Enterprise Architecture Approach 14 Nokia Siemens s Reference Architecture benefits 14 Improve Agility 14 Improve operational efficiency 15 Improve customer satisfaction 15 Assure business continuity 15 Faster procurements, lower TCO 16 Bibliography 2 The need for an Enterprise Architecture
Introduction Change has become endemic to the communications industry, with the rise of social networking, perhaps being one of the most dramatic the total number of social networking users exceeded email users in 2007. Meanwhile, falling ARPU for voice and the opportunities represented by new technologies have increased competition in the industry, not only among communications service providers (CSPs) but also from cloud service providers, media and broadcast companies and consumer electronics vendors. Looking at the industry in totality, we can see a number of challenges and opportunities that are redefining the expectations and ambitions of the four main protagonists in the arena Consumers, Enterprises, OTT players and CSPs themselves. Consumers going their own way One of the key battlegrounds is the struggle to maintain consumer attention. Less than 50% of consumers are loyal, with churn being driven increasingly by dissatisfaction with network and service quality. Over and above this, users are becoming more individual in the way they consume online content and are frequently generating their own. With the increasing need for anytime, anywhere access, they are also becoming device independent as they look for the same content on PCs, laptops or smartphones. The growing enterprise market One of the major developments of recent years has been the improving prospects in the enterprise market. Cloud computing is a major growth area in the sector. Demand is being driven by the increasing use of multiple devices, anytime, anywhere access and the need for efficiency gains. More importantly, the rise of affordable bandwidth has made cloud services more viable. More enterprises are adopting cloud computing and expecting financial benefits from it. Software as a (SaaS) and Infrastructure as a (IaaS) are driving this change. CSPs are well placed to take advantage of this trend, as cloud services need good, reliable networks. Enterprises are also increasingly looking to web services to help raise their game. They are keen to work with CSPs that can integrate Web 2.0 services into the mobile Internet, giving them the opportunity to use Mobile 2.0 solutions to improve links both with their customers and employees. To make the most of this growing business, CSPs will need to either develop Web 2.0 solutions themselves or work with Web 2.0 application providers to create complete web and mobile solutions. Vertical services are also gaining momentum, with a particular interest being shown in machine-to-machine managed services, as enterprises seek to drive efficiency by adopting mobile technology and applications. The need for an Enterprise Architecture 3
OTT providers step up the challenge Over the top (OTT) providers, such as Google, Skype and Facebook, pose a major challenge to the traditional role of CSPs, with OTT services driving traffic volumes higher than ever. OTT IP traffic is dominated by the consumer Internet. Forecasters predict that this trend will increase, with consumer Internet traffic rising from something over 10 Petabytes per month in 2010 to more than 40 PB/month in 2014. What s more, this estimate may be blown out of the water by step changes in services or customer behavior, such as the transfer of offline games to online environment or the rise of 3DTV. Capacity, quality and pricing are all under enormous strain, driving CSPs to come up with innovative pricing models, unprecedented network efficiencies and new delivery models. CSPs adapting for success One of the challenges facing CSPs is the desire to move beyond connectivity and offer value added services with the right customer experience. In a bid to compete over content services with OTT players, CSPs are increasingly focusing on socially conscious services and advertising with messaging innovations, flexible pricing and mobile payments also forming part of an increasingly dynamic landscape. A consequence of this change in business focus is the increased need for flexibility in systems and decreased time-to-market for new services. One example is the customer experience area, where customers assume a new service or subscription will work on an immediate basis. This requires all systems involved in the ordering/ provisioning and billing processes to be connected. Another example where flexibility is required is in taking action on customer insights derived from the usage, subscriber and billing patterns. Staying relevant in the new communications industry Facing new demands and expectations from consumers and enterprises alike and the need to take complete advantage of innovations, CSPs are being challenged to navigate their way through to a new position in the industry one that makes best use of their strengths. From this mass of complex challenges, we can identify three critical areas that CSPs can focus on to strengthen their value and position in the changing communications arena meeting insatiable demand, enhanced customer experience and transformational agility. Whatever strategy they choose, tomorrow s communications landscape will be populated by CSPs who are willing to adapt constantly evolving themselves to meet the challenges and opportunities and those that thrive on change. An adaptation and change that is based on a flexible organization, where business processes are supported by the architecture and tools used to run the business. 4 The need for an Enterprise Architecture
It is not the strongest of the species, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. Considerations Charles Darwin (1809 1882), Naturalist, author of theory of evolution The high levels of customer service and satisfaction, greater flexibility and faster response with a tight cost control are a big challenge with the current (and many times) legacy systems. Only one action or focus on one functional area (e. g. billing) will not solve the issue. We need to have a holistic approach and tackle several dimensions in different areas in order to achieve a visible and highly valuable effect. e2e a1 a2 a3 a4 b5 b6 b7 b8 Area #1 Area #2 Figure 1. Cross area optimization of processes and systems. e2e 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Area #1 + #2 Enterprise wide Earlier, the systems were designed by maximizing their benefits for each functional area, taking into account Cost, Risk and Quality. While each one of the functional areas consisted of specific tools with similar components to satisfy the needs, there was very little communication between them, leading to a set of silo legacy systems. In order to maximize the value for the entire organization, instead of a specific area, the optimization and value prioritization needs to be enterprise-wide. From the organization point of view, the priorities and the value can lead to a completely different set of results. For increasing the speed, we need to typically change or improve the systems, and for optimizing them, we need to tackle the process itself. Agility In order to be optimized, not for a specific area but for the whole Enterprise, a new dimension; agility must be taken into account. For instance, agility to support new business models, introduce new and more effective co-operation between different areas, connect to new partner systems, support new or changed business processes, and transform the supporting IT and network systems from costly operational system into a competitive business advantage. Modularity (and Oriented Architecture) Modularity is the key for loose coupling of all components in an ecosystem. Modularity minimizes risks, creates flexibility and agility for most situations. Furthermore, modularity is also required in developing step-by-step evolution of an optimized system from different legacy systems. There is a consensus by several independent organizations (the Open Group, TM Forum, analysts, etc.) on Oriented Architecture (SOA) as the recommended way of implementing modularity. In this white paper, we assume that the generic advantages of the SOA approach are understood, and therefore we emphasize only two special topics of SOA: time-to-market and investments. Firstly, time-to-market is the key attribute in agility, and is faster to cope with the business changes and needs. Time-to-market, on numerous occasions, is the needed competitive advantage for achieving success. Secondly, despite the financial crisis, companies are investing in SOA initiatives. From the market reports, the growth of SOA usage in 2008/2009 was 27%, (comparing survey results from Q42008 and Q42009 in Europe and North America), and 56% in 2009/2010 (Forrester Research, 2010). The need for an Enterprise Architecture 5
Using the business supporting ecosystem as a key business competitive advantage Usually a system is seen as a necessary cost to make the business not anymore. With Enterprise Architecture (EA), new opportunities and capabilities will raise some real competitive advantages. As an example, let s consider a set of typical (separated) systems: a) Automation system: The principle behind this is to improve efficiency, automating several steps (or all steps) of certain tasks. Since the tasks are automatic, the delay is caused by latency of the system itself, leading to execution of thousands of tasks per second instead of seconds/minutes spent in each task. b) Customer segmentation: Groups people according to attributes that store information relevant for understanding customer behavior, and can be used to predict the probability of acceptance or refusal of a certain product or probable churn. c) CRM tool: Contains all customer information and supports the call center team in customer interactions. All of the above add significant value to the business, but together they are even more valuable: When receiving a call from the customer, would it be useful to identify in less than 5 seconds why the call with a mobile phone did not succeed, and be able to reconfigure the mobile phone with one click? Would it be useful to identify that a customer has a high churning probability and receive a warning about that, with a set of recommended actions/offers to avoid the churn? Would it be useful and unique to have both above available while interacting with a customer? Yes, it would be, but it is only possible when all the previously separated systems co-operate with each other, understanding their contribution to common enterprise processes and information. This capability provides a competitive advantage to a CSP s relation with the customers. This increases customer retention and satisfaction at different levels, and furthermore, other CSPs cannot replicate, unless they transform their systems. To create these capabilities effectively, an enterprise-wide architecture transformation is required, making it difficult for competition to achieve the same level of alignment between business and systems. 6 The need for an Enterprise Architecture
Nokia Siemens s Reference Architecture There is no one-fits-all architecture: business changes, regulations change, customers change. However, there is a set of common functions, processes and building blocks shared in each industry. About the Enterprise Architecture concept The Enterprise Architecture describes the elements of business strategy, business cases, business models, processes, supporting technologies, policies, and infrastructures that make up an enterprise. It also provides means for governing the enterprise and its information systems, and planning changes to improve the integrity and flexibility. In other words, Enterprise Architecture crystallizes the organization what it has to do and how to be as efficient and productive as possible. Enterprise Architecture is a general concept. It is applied to different industries and may be refined to take into account the specifics of certain branches of industry or government. There are a number of generic enterprise architecture frameworks, e.g., TOGAF (The Open Group, 2010) and Zachman s model (Zachman, 1987). Each of these frameworks has its own merits, and differs in the order of layer and views definitions, and respectively the targeted class of enterprise. A common denominator is the approach to enterprise change processes in a comprehensive and holistic manner. This is regardless of the changes to financial systems, changes to processes when expanding telecom operations to new fields, or large scale next generation OSS/BSS renewals. One major benefit of these common frameworks is the fact that they help in sharing the best industry practices. Nokia Siemens s Reference Architecture facts Nokia Siemens s was the first company SID certified by TM Forum for the complete OSS/BSS area: network, customer experience, charging and billing. (May 2010) Nokia Siemens s Architecture is based on best practices applied with hundreds of CSP customers, leveraging our Managed s expertise. and Application Architecture have special focus on Customer Experience and Management, built on the TM Forum Frameworx (etom, TAM) and accommodates the ITIL best practices. Today, Nokia Siemens s Reference Architecture library consists of more than 3000 proven architecture artefacts, including 500 best-practice processes. Nokia Siemens s Technology Architecture is based on Oriented Architecture (SOA), standard interfaces such as 3GPP, TM Forum OSS/J and MTOSI. The need for an Enterprise Architecture 7
Enabling capabilities What businesses the firm is in? What is the value chain scope? What are business models? What is company structure? What is the strategy? Specific business needs processes? What are roles involved? Governance? Needed KPIs to follow? Functional decomposition? Functionality of each entity? Interfaces between entities? Vendor mappings? Application Application Information Technology Technology Information Needs and modeling? How info is synchronized? How to manage over life-cycle? Access and integrity rules? Key technology choices? Interoperability? Vendor strategy? Roadmapping? Planning principles? Technologies used? structure/efficiency? Vendor strategies? Figure 2. The main architecture viewpoints of an Enterprise Architecture (also part of the Reference Architecture). Enterprise Architecture and Nokia Siemens s Reference Architecture TeleManagement Forum s Frameworx (TM Forum, 2010) consists of four enterprise layers Framework (etom), Information Framework (SID), Application Framework (TAM) and Integration Framework. Frameworx is the de facto Enterprise Architecture framework in the OSS/BSS industry, enabling standard language and vocabulary to ensure precise and accurate communication between the industry stakeholders (Garcia; Gramatikoff; & Wilmes, 2009). etom, SID, TAM and the Integration Framework are the foundation of the Nokia Siemens s Enterprise Architecture approach for CSPs. However, other best practices, most notably ITIL, Office of Government Commerce (OGC), 2010 for IT Management and TOGAF from Open Group, have been applied to complement Frameworkx. Due to its importance in CSP business services and capabilities, the network architecture is handled by Nokia Siemens s as a specific domain. The Nokia Siemens s Reference Architecture (see Figure 2) is the Nokia Siemens s proposed blueprint for the CSP Enterprise Architecture. The Reference Architecture is applied for each CSP in the specific context. It is essential to notice that the six viewpoints shown in the above figure are subject to common governance in order to be able to align the architectural changes with the CSP s strategy. In addition, the common change process supports the control, implementation, and documentation of the changes. To illustrate the Nokia Siemens s approach, in the following, the viewpoints of the Architecture, Information Architecture, Application Architecture and Technology Architecture are described in detail. The approach of applying the TM Forum Frameworx is especially highlighted as well as how the different viewpoints are integrated with each other, enabling a holistic end-to-end approach. The chapter is concluded with how the Reference Architecture is governed with a market leading tool and library. Architecture viewpoint In the Enterprise Architecture, the Architecture viewpoint addresses the enterprise from the point of view of the ecosystem the enterprise operates in. It handles the value chain aspects relevant to the business as a whole: where to improve the business efficiency and develop new value propositions and how to increase efficiency and competitiveness of the business in the context of its environment: markets, competitors, legislative and environmental aspects, influences and impacts. Architecture defines the overall strategy and governance for the business. 8 The need for an Enterprise Architecture
Customer Insight Management Provides CSP with ability to build end user insights proactively and drives other processes with these insights Architecture viewpoint The Architecture viewpoint captures how the organization executes its capabilities. It also considers stakeholders external to the enterprise (including customers, suppliers, and regulators) to ensure that flow in and out of the enterprise context is captured. Concept to Market Enable CSPs to quickly and cost-effectively launch new and modified products and services based on end user needs and insights Plan to Pay Provide CSP with customer centric solution for physical & logical resource Lead to Cash Enable CSPs to sell, deliver & monetize products & services starting from prospect handling to revenue realization Trouble to Resolve Enable CSP with ability to handle and resolve end customers faults, problems and incidents Enterprise Management Efficient corporate processes to help support other business processes and the enterprise in whole Serve Customer Operate Nokia Siemens s Architecture is based on best practices applied with hundreds of CSP customers, leveraging its Managed s expertise. The Framework has special focus on Customer Insight, Experience and Management, and builds on the TM Forum etom framework and accommodates the ITIL best practices. In particular, the Framework leverages both ITIL s orientation towards internal service delivery and etom s orientation towards external services (see Figure 3). The Framework has been, especially designed to cope with future requirements of network architecture, and for different business models, such as Provider/ Provider separation. Nokia Siemens s process architecture is grouped into six areas, known as key business themes. Two additional areas (Serve Customer and Operate ) highlight explicitly the organizational separation of serving the customer and operating the service views. In the next, more detailed levels of the Nokia Siemens s process architecture, these business themes and areas are mapped to etom processes. Figure 3. areas. Best practices 3.BP.3 Quarterly budget review Planning team should run a quartely review to revise the annual budgets for any new requirements arriving during the year 3.BP.4 Change advisory board Operator should introduce CAB to approve the budget so that only the changes which are critical and aligned with company strategy should be approved Produce Resource Forecast Resource Forecast Project Budgets Gain Investment Approval Best practices 3.BP.5 Reporting on capacity issues & upgrades Planning teams should provide regular reports related for any capacity upgrades planned so that other impacted teams are informed 3.BP.6 Workshops with stakeholders Monthly workshops with vendors, regional planning teams, core, transmission etc. ensure all the critical requirements are communicated to all Budget Approval Track & Manage Resource Planning NP DP 01 Enable Resources for a Product Develop Technology Strategy Design Resources /Resource Strategy, Architecture & Policies Resource Design Managed s services: Performance, Optimization and Assurance, related products like NPO Optimizer Change Management Build & Integrate Resources Figure 4. One example of a Nokia Siemens s Plan and Design Resources modeled in the tool. Project Plan Today, Nokia Siemens s reference process library consists of more than 500 processes and scenarios modeled with a marketleading tool. The need for an Enterprise Architecture 9
Common Information Model for Enterprise Integration Shared Data Model NGOSS SID Vendor Independent Models 3GPP Utran 3GPP Geran 3GPP Core TMF 608 QoS CIM Vendor Specific Generic Models Oracle Objects SAP MDM Vendor Specific Models Application & Vendor Specific Models NSN RU10 NSN RU20 E///RAN P06 NSN S14 NSN BR10 Nortel V17 NSN M14 NSN U4 E///MSS4.1 NSN hid NSN hit Nortel CET HLR/HSS Inventory SAP Oracle EBS Siebel Schlumberger Convergys Amdocs NSN 3G 2G Core SDH, PDH NMS EP Finance CRM Billing Telecom Specific IT Specific Figure 5. Multivendor and Multi-technology Management Data Model. Information Architecture viewpoint The Information Architecture viewpoint addresses the analysis and design of the data, and how to turn them into information both with respect to static and dynamic aspects. This view is about creation, transfer, storage and inquiry of data by information systems. It includes the modeling of information entities, their attributes and their inter-relationships, and also additional aspects such as data ownership, master data, metadata repositories, and distribution of data stores. It is also related to patterns for information integration and information presentation. The Nokia Siemens s Shared Information and Data Model (NSN SID) for applications and solutions is the basis of Information Architecture for OSS/BSS area. Nokia Siemens s Common Data Model is an extension of the TM Forum Information Framework SID. Figure 5 shows the NSN SID concepts for vendorindependent and vendor-specific models for telecommunications and IT network in the multivendor and multi-technology environment. Nokia Siemens s was the first company certified by TM Forum SID for its complete OSS/BSS data model. Corporate Domain Enterprise Supplier/Partner Market/Sales Product Cross Functional Areas Customer experience Customer information Policy based Security Operations support & readiness Application Architecture viewpoint Customer Management Domain CRM Management Domain fulfillment Resource Management Domain The Application Architecture viewpoint addresses the inter-dependencies of applications, the services an application provides, its components, and the building patterns that provide for scalability, reliability, availability, maintainability and manageability. It also addresses the development strategy and the application life cycle. Functional correctness, design for cost and design for assurance and Control Domain Device control control delivery and VAS Figure 6. Application Area Views of the Application Architecture. Fulfillment Assurance Billing Connectivity reusability are important aspects. This involves patterns for application interworking as well as application integration. The foundation for Application Architecture is the TM Forum Application Framework (TAM). As a complete view of all applications in one architecture diagram would be very complex, Nokia Siemens s chose to represent application architecture in views per functional area. Charging and billing 10 The need for an Enterprise Architecture
L0 CRM Customer order Customer experience L0 Charging and billing Charge settlement adjustment notifications SLA parameters SLA reports SLA parameters level agreement SLA reports quality data performance parameters performance kqis traffic data performance data traffic data Trouble tickets, status updates problem L0 order SLA parameters topology SLA alarms SLA reports specification and inventory SLA alarms performance SLA data quality monitoring & impact analysis topology threshold alarms, availability data, performance data Trouble tickets, Status updates performance traffic data traffic data traffic monitoring Batch/ondemand resource inventory updates Raw/correlated alarms Raw/KPI performance data Batch/ondemand resource inventory updates Batch/ondemand inventory updates Online monitoring data Trouble tickets, status updates L1 Resource inventory L1 Resource assurance Figure 7. One example of a logical view on Assurance area of the Application Architecture. Despite each area represented by the needed logical components/ applications, each view maintains its integrity, and whenever a logical component/application appears in more than one view, its integrity is ensured. Each area defines a logical architecture for relevant CSP applications. Cross functional areas tackle typically more than one functional area ( Assurance, Charging and Billing, etc.), creating additional views over the same applications. This would be difficult when done manually, for instance, PowerPoints, which emphasizes the advantages of using a tool for defining the different views and architectures within an Enterprise Architecture project. The Nokia Siemens s Application Architecture extends TAM, especially with the interaction of applications and with new key components/applications not yet fully covered by TAM. As an example, the TM Forum report Exploiting Analytics from September 2010 concluded that CSPs are increasingly focusing on customer experience initiatives driven by the recognition of the connection between customer experience and profitability (Rich, 2010). Nokia Siemens s Reference Architecture acknowledges this recent development both in the Architecture (Customer Insight Management process) and the Application Architecture (Customer Experience Management application area). A key concept of the logical Application Architecture is modularity, supporting several configurations and set of implementations with different products from various vendors. Above is an example of the Assurance area (Figure 7). The figure shows the highest level of logical Application Architecture for the Assurance area. The implementation architectures of logical Application Architecture are composed of market-leading industry components supplied by Nokia Siemens s or partners. These implementation architectures follow the best practices and expertise from Nokia Siemens s implementations and leverage the reuse of existing and/or legacy systems of CSPs. The need for an Enterprise Architecture 11
Figure 8. Nokia Siemens s and Application Reference Architectures on ARIS. Technology Architecture viewpoint The Technology Architecture viewpoint addresses the selection of platforms, middleware, and infrastructure along with issues of relevant standards. This includes the communication infrastructure and IT services, the strategy for selecting HW and SW platforms, operating systems, and middleware and programming languages. Nokia Siemens s Technology Architecture is based on Oriented Architecture (SOA), standard interfaces such as 3GPP and TM Forum OSS/J and MTOSI, and common platforms across its product and solution portfolio. Architecture viewpoint The Architecture viewpoint addresses the network technologies, planning principles, network structure, and vendor strategies. Architecture, by its own, has its standards and specific solutions, designs and can follow its own principles, depending on each vendor and/or CSP. The key topic of the network architecture is how the network is interlinked to the other architecture viewpoints. In most architecture approaches, the network and the OSS/BSS integration is considered from the protocol integration viewpoint. However, using the Nokia Siemens s Reference Architecture, the information and process architecture viewpoints are also considered, which provides a holistic approach to the integration of the network to the business systems. For instance, the context for the 3GPPP policy execution of Nokia Siemens s Reference Architecture is the CSP policy business processes. Another example is subscriber data, which is a network domain not well standardized. In this context, information architecture plays a central role, i.e. how the subscriber and customer information of CRM systems are integrated in order to support the customer insight business process and customer experience applications. Nokia Siemens s Reference Architecture ARIS Library The chosen enterprise architecture modeling tool of Nokia Siemens s was ARIS (Davis & Brabänder, 2007). According to Gartner Magic Quadrant for Analysis Tools (Norton, Blecher, & Jones, 2010), ARIS is the market leading tool in the Analysis tool market segment. The tool allows modeling and creation of the relations between different architectures, for instance applications, processes and information. As an example, it is possible to navigate from a process to the required information and supporting application(s). Also, Nokia Siemens s uses the tool for mapping each logical building block to possible solutions/products. On a specific Enterprise Architecture of a CSP, this can be linked to the implementations, allowing complete understanding from business to the supporting assets. As described earlier, all architecture viewpoints are connected to each other as well as to the industry Reference Models. The library is complemented with the Nokia Siemens s best practice implementations. Figure 8 shows examples of the Architecture and Application Architecture represented in the tool. 12 The need for an Enterprise Architecture
Nokia Siemens s Enterprise Architecture Approach Understand... Current legacy ecosystem Start with... Reference Architecture Build... Enterprise Architecture Vision...and deploy it Stepwise Prioritization Information Information Information Information Application Information Application Technology Technology Information Application Technology Application Technology Application Technology Application Technology Current ecosystem Reference Architecture Enterprise Architecture Transition Systems Figure 9. Nokia Siemens s stepwise approach. The starting point is the business vision defined by each customer (CSP). Following the strategy, the focus areas and priorities need to be defined (ROI, strategic area, core business, business focus area, etc.). Working with the CSP, Nokia Siemens s facilitates business needs analysis, assessing the current capabilities, and defining an Enterprise Architecture vision for the chosen area(s) using the Reference Architecture. Typically, special focus is on aligning all the architectures with the CSP Architecture, as this is crucial for the success of any Enterprise Architecture initiative. Nokia Siemens s is able to support the decision-making process of CSPs by supplying impact analysis of the changes and the risks involving each step of the process. In addition, as important as having a vision of the needed future systems, is to understand the existing systems. A smooth prioritized migration plan will be developed in order to be able to leverage the current assets and maximize the return value with each step. The need for an Enterprise Architecture 13
Nokia Siemens s Reference Architecture benefits Here, we will state some of the direct benefits of partnering with Nokia Siemens s and using the approach and principles for transforming a set of systems into an agile and flexible ecosystem that supports the CSP business and creates competitive advantages. Improve Agility The building blocks defined by Nokia Siemens s Reference Architecture are aligned with the state-of-the-art practices of the industry and the market. In the end-to-end approach of the Reference Architecture, the architecture in itself is considered from integrated viewpoints, providing full transparency to the steps from business innovation to implementation. The approach, thus not only leverages the reuse of existing systems, but also minimizes the necessary time and investment in each step of the architecture, maximizing the immediate ROI with each new step. As stated before, modularity is, by design, aligned with the industry best practices. Nokia Siemens s solution approach is based on SOA, not because of the technology as such, but because the promised benefits are real and can be measured today. For instance, the results of a key survey (Forrester Research, 2010) shows that among all enterprises only 1 3% have found little or no benefit of SOA, while 75 80% have found enough benefits and are expanding the SOA scope. These figures do not represent isolated cases of success, but an evidence of return on investments using the SOA approach. As in any other industry, the problems are not solved by technology or products, and SOA is not different. Results from the survey (Forrester Research, 2010) indicate that the use of governance practices on implementation guarantee much more satisfaction than the specific technology used. Improve operational efficiency The audience of the Reference Architecture covers all layers, and its approach and modularity allows bringing the right information, at the right time, to the right person. As an example, a new automation system (s, 2010) of a customer care department supports the customer care on first call by Figure 10. Improving first call resolution and productivity on customer care due to new capabilities. New Open TT Automated error detection Automated error recovery Automated Verification Old Open TT 1st Level Customer Care Call Center Semi-Manual Error Analysis Create TT Close TT Call Center Automated Error Analysis Create TT Close TT 2nd Level New system 3rd Level Legacy/Silo systems 14 The need for an Enterprise Architecture
troubleshooting and correcting the problem. This is much more effective, transforming a potential negative interaction with a customer into a quick and pleasant experience, also improving CSP brand image. Figure 10 from the Nokia Siemens s automation project shows how these new capabilities can improve the operations in a critical contact point with the customer. Please note that the new/improved system creates new capabilities by automation, but in conjunction with processes redesign, the resulting return on investment will be much higher. This clearly reinforces our earlier statement about having an enterprisewide approach on Enterprise Architecture initiatives, even with a stepwise deployment. Before this automation project, this European CSP had 15 errors per 1000 subscribers analyzed manually. With a growing number of errors, more than 50% were being escalated to level 2 support. Since the deployment, the manual error resolution decreased 20%, and the total amount of errors declined 36%. Furthermore, with less escalation to level 2, the SLA failures decreased 20%. Finally, the total amount of hours in error analysis decreased, improving productivity. Improve customer satisfaction From the introduced Nokia Siemens s automation project (s, 2010), we were able to see how customer satisfaction improves the customer care response time and quality. These successful results raise an additional question about the approach: why not improve the service level using the same system, would it be possible to receive proactive alerts about customers that might churn, and would it be possible to create campaigns with offers to maintain the customers? All these contribute to positive interactions with customers, decreasing churn and differentiating vis-a-vis competition. Assure business continuity Nokia Siemens s approach lowers the necessary investments in the CSP s journey to agile and flexible systems through a stepwise approach. Nokia Siemens s contributes not only with its Reference Architecture and knowledge, but also by working with CSPs to help take the best decisions and defining the right priorities for each step of the Enterprise Architecture journey, and lowering the risks of transformations. Nokia Siemens s Customer Solution Architecture (CSAM) methodology is an Enterprise Architecture methodology based on the existing industry frameworks, most notably TOGAF. The CSAM and Reference Architecture have been designed together and are complemented with the supporting tools, allowing Nokia Siemens s to leverage and share its best practices based on an extensive and formally modeled architecture knowledge asset. Finally, the use of Reference Architecture triggers the validation of the existing CSP processes, functions and systems, and formalizes their importance and impact on the business. This lowers the risk of losing critical non-documented processes and improving inefficiencies and ad-hoc solutions. Faster procurements, lower TCO Enterprise Architectures developed based on Nokia Siemens s Reference Architecture are aligned with the telecommunications market, making procurement decisions simpler and quicker. Also, the modularity allows step-wise decisions, decreasing the risks, without sacrificing architectural coherence, when using heterogeneous, multi-vendor components. The described benefits have a direct impact on the total cost of ownership of each component and also on the overall system, lowering the costs on integration, increasing the efficiency of the operations, reducing complexity and duplication of systems, improving processes and agility to make, buy or outsource each component of the Enterprise Architecture. Also, the future investments due to new business needs have reduced risks. The need for an Enterprise Architecture 15
Nokia Siemens s Corporation P.O. Box 1 FI-02022 NOKIA SIEMENS NETWORKS Finland Visiting address: Karaportti 3, ESPOO, Finland Switchboard +358 71 400 4000 Product code C401-00720-WP-201105-1-EN Indivisual Copyright 2011 Nokia Siemens s. All rights reserved. A license is hereby granted to download and print a copy of this document for personal use only. No other license to any other intellectual property rights is granted herein. Unless expressly permitted herein, reproduction, transfer, distribution or storage of part or all of the contents in any form without the prior written permission of Nokia Siemens s is prohibited. The content of this document is provided AS IS, without warranties of any kind with regards its accuracy or reliability, and specifically excluding all implied warranties, for example of merchantability, fitness for purpose, title and non-infringement. In no event shall Nokia Siemens s be liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages, or any damages whatsoever resulting form loss of use, data or profits, arising out of or in connection with the use of the document. Nokia Siemens s reserves the right to revise the document or withdraw it at any time without prior notice. Nokia is a registered trademark of Nokia Corporation, Siemens is a registered trademark of Siemens AG. The wave logo is a trademark of Nokia Siemens s Oy. Other company and product names mentioned in this document may be trademarks of their respective owners, and they are mentioned for identification purposes only. Bibliography Garcia, S.; Gramatikoff, I.; & Wilmes, J. (2009). Transformation with TM Forum Solution Frameworks and SOA. USA: TM Forum. Davis, R., & Brabänder, E. (2007). ARIS Design Platform, Getting Started with BPM. London: Springer-Verlag. Forrester Research, I. (2010). SOA Product Adoption. s, N. S. (2010). Automated incident Analysis Project (Automation Solutions) in one European Operator. European Operator: Nokia Siemens s Projects. Norton, D., Blecher, M., & Jones, T. (2010). Magic Quadrant for Analysis Tools. Gartner. Office of Government Commerce (OGC). (2010, 12 30). ITIL. Retrieved 12 30, 2010, from ITIL: http://www.itil-officialsite.com/home/home.asp Rich, R. (2010). Exploiting Analytics. TM Forum Insights Research, 83. The Open Group. (2010, 12 30). TOGAF Version 9. Retrieved 12 30, 2010, from The Open Group: http://www.opengroup.org/togaf/ TM Forum. (2010, 12 30). TM Forum Frameworx. Retrieved 12 30, 2010, from tmforum: http://www.tmforum.org/tmforumframeworx/1911/home.html Zachman, J. A. (1987). A Framework for Information Systems Architecture. IBM Systems Journal, 276 292. www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com