Global BSS/OSS market looks set for sustained growth

Analysys: The global market for business and operational support systems (BSS/OSS) is starting to climb out of recession as telecoms service providers begin to invest in back-office systems to support convergent next-generation services). In 2005 there were 569 system sales announced globally, compared to 514 in 2004; the market is forecast to grow again in 2006.

Many years of tactical rather than strategic investment in BSS/OSS have resulted in complex back-end infrastructure that, in many cases, is expensive to run and maintain, inefficient and unable to support convergent, next-generation services,. However, service providers now recognise that they have to invest strategically, as failure to address BSS/OSS challenges will cripple their ability to exploit badly needed new revenue streams.

• Most BSS/OSS sectors announced more contracts in 2005 than in 2004. Growing sectors include wholesale billing, service activation, inventory management, service provisioning and service assurance

• The most dynamic BSS/OSS sectors in 2005 were revenue assurance and fraud management, and CRM and order management, which both announced more than double the number of contracts that were announced in 2004

• A small number of vendors dominate the global BSS/OSS market, with the top 12 vendors accounting for 41% of all system sales announced in 2005.

World Telecoms BSS and OSS Markets: trends and analysis Publ 20060511