Catalyst projects, Prosspero program solution and Content Encounter participation reinforce use of TM Forum standards for service providers

Three Catalyst projects to be showcased at Management World 2008 will include participation by Amdocs. They will demonstrate how charging for Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC) services may be accomplished using its Customer Experience Systems (CES) product portfolio. In addition, their CES can be used for the management of network capacity and network service quality for triple-play services. They will also exhibit a solution for measuring and analyzing customer video viewing as part of the TM Forum Prosspero Program. Another Amdocs demonstration will cover the use of TM Forum initiatives and best practices in the areas of billing, payments, and settlements for digital media services, as part of the event.

“Amdocs continues to play a leading role in shaping industry standards by developing products that address next-generation services and applications,” said Martin Creaner, president of the TM Forum. “By collaborating with project partners through the use of common standards, Amdocs is demonstrating real solutions that address the emerging challenges facing service providers as they compete to deliver a powerful customer experience.”

Driving Industry Leadership via the Catalyst Projects

The “Seamless OSS/BSS for IMS Services” Catalyst project delivers on its second phase and features the Amdocs IMS Charging solution. Together with Microsoft and ZTE, Amdocs will demonstrate how a service provider can deploy, provision, and charge, both online and offline, across a range of devices (fixed-line. mobile phones, and laptops) for several IMS services. Services demonstrated in the second phase of the project include instant messaging and multi-media ring back tone services, in addition to the video-telephony service that was also demonstrated last year.

The project is sponsored by China Unicom, a multi-play service provider that supports more than 167 million wireless subscribers in China and the third largest mobile operator in the world. China Unicom offers network and device agnostic access to voice and data content services enabled by a common IMS architecture.

The “One Stop FMC Service” Catalyst project demonstrates how a service provider can deploy, provision, and charge for converged fixed-mobile and triple-play services such as location-based services. The project features the Amdocs IMS Charging solution, as well as products from Microsoft, Nokia Siemens Networks and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS).

The project is sponsored by Chunghwa Telecom and TELUS. Chunghwa Telecom is the largest multi-play provider in Taiwan which won the rights to broadcast the 2008 Olympics Games in Beijing over Internet Protocol (IP) and mobile television. Chunghwa Telecom is already offering location-based services to its more than 20 million subscribers and plans to leverage that for a compelling customer experience during the Olympics season. TELUS is a leading triple-play provider in Canada which offers wireline, wireless, and Internet services to more than 11 million customers.

The “Harmony” Catalyst project delivers on its second phase and features operations support systems (OSS) from the Amdocs OSS offering. Together with project partners, including Harris Stratex Networks, Inc., IONA Technologies, Progress Software, Telchemy and Soapstone Networks, Amdocs will demonstrate how a multi-play service provider can manage service levels agreements (SLAs) for triple-play services over a next-generation Provider Backbone Bridging Traffic Engineering (PBB-TE) network, by monitoring network performance and translating it into quality of service (QoS) measures.

“Harmony” project sponsors include the Distributed Management Task Force, Inc. (DMTF(R)), an industry organization leading the development and adoption of interoperable management standards, initiatives and integration technology for enterprise and Internet environments.

Getting to Know Customers Better

Amdocs will also showcase a solution for tracking, measuring and analyzing customer viewing activity and service experience of video and interactive services, including advertising, as part of the TM Forum Prosspero Program. Then they will demonstrate how service providers can measure viewership, voting and survey initiatives, as well as analyze viewer habits (zapping) and content adoption patterns to help target customers with personalized services and advertising.

Their solution is based on the Amdocs Mediation product. This solution incorporates innovative standards for cost-effective collection of usage and QoS data from a large variety of edge devices (e.g. set-top boxes, mobile phones) developed by the Internet Protocol Detail Record (IPDR) organization, which was recently acquired by the TM Forum.

For more information, visit Amdocs at Management World (Booth 50, Hall 2).

About TM Forum’s Catalyst Program

The TM Forum’s Catalyst program is the industry’s BSS/OSS proving ground for enabling service providers, system integrators, and hardware/software vendors to work together to solve common, critical industry challenges. The program provides an opportunity for multi-company, multi-national teams to work together in a collaborative environment with emerging technologies and capabilities to solve some of the most pressing operational and interoperability issues. As in the past, the Catalyst program continues to directly support the NGOSS program by implementing many of the NGOSS concepts and principles. Catalyst project results are demonstrated live at Management World events.

About TM Forum’s Prosspero Program

The TM Forum’s Prosspero program provides “ready-to-go” standards. Each Prosspero implementation package is a product and contains all the elements that make up a product such as documentation, support, training, and education. Most importantly an approved Prosspero solution package must include a reference implementation and testimonial proving that the relevant standard has been successfully deployed and has brought tangible business benefits to the adopters.

About TM Forum Content Encounter Initiative

Content Encounter sets the standard for collaborative working in the industry: the TM Forum has brought together service providers, content providers, the advertising industry, telecom software and hardware suppliers, and integrators. It also builds on the work done by other TM Forum groups working in areas such as Service Delivery Framework, Billing Map and IMS as well as the core TM Forum frameworks, the Applications Map (TAM), the Process Framework (eTOM) and the Shared Information Framework (SID) model.

For service providers, digital media provides an opportunity to build personalized content into service offerings that have been tailored to each customer’s experiences. Content Encounter provides vital information on automating the key processes in this environment.

About Amdocs Customer Experience Systems (CES)

Amdocs CES, introduced in January 2008, is an integrated portfolio that delivers the operating environment service providers need to transform from providers of utility voice, data, and video services into purveyors of the digital lifestyle. This product allows providers to deliver an optimal customer experience for personalized, participatory, and timely across any service, location, and device. The firm’s CES portfolio leverages its business process best practices, based on real-world scenarios, and transcends traditional business support systems (BSS), operations support systems (OSS), and service delivery platforms (SDPs) to enable service providers to address both current and emerging customer experience business processes. Amdocs’ unique business model focuses on enabling its customers to create differentiation and build brand, loyalty, profitability and competitive leadership.

For more information, please visit their webpage: http://www.amdocs.com/Site/Vision/CES/SOD.htm

About Amdocs

Amdocs, (NYSE: DOX), is the market leader in customer experience systems innovation, enabling world-leading service providers to deliver an integrated, innovative and intentional customer experience(TM) at every point of service. Amdocs provides solutions that deliver customer experience excellence, combining the software, service and expertise to help its customers execute their strategies and achieve service, operational, and financial excellence. A global company with revenue of $2.84 billion in fiscal 2007, Amdocs has more than 17,000 employees and serves customers in more than 50 countries around the world.

For more information, please visit their website: http://www.amdocs.com