Podcast

Ep 99 – Will TM Forum’s idea of interoperability really work?

September 17, 2024

This week’s guest

Caroline Chappell

Founder and Director ccsquared

TM Forum’s Open Digital Architecture (ODA) and Open APIs are aimed at revolutionizing telco BSS/OSS systems, and with successful adoption, they promise to enhance vendor interoperability. But implementing them comes with significant challenges for operators and vendors alike.

In this episode, I sit down with Caroline Chappell, founder and director of ccsquared and a former partner at Analysys Mason. We dive into the history and goals of ODA and open APIs, explore the real-world challenges operators face in putting them to work, and discuss why the data layer is crucial for true vendor interoperability. Listen now to hear:

How ODA aims to help operators build systems from best-of-breed components, and what challenges stand in the way [04:17];
Why the data layer is even more critical than standardized APIs for telecom operations [09:03];
Why procurement practices need to change to truly support innovation in the industry [13:32]; and
The disruptive power that combining LLMs and ODA can bring to telco BSS [14:50].

Links and resources

Learn more about TM Forum’s ODA and open API initiatives.
Check out my interview with Ray LeMaistre from TelecomTV about harmonizing data structures and Totogi’s deployment at Zain Sudan, where our cloud-based charger replaced an incumbent system in just 18 days.
Watch my epic MWC24 MVNO Summit talk about BSS Magic and the AI-first future of telco business support systems.
Download this case study about how Vodafone saved nearly 70% by moving its analytics to the public cloud.
We’re counting down to the 100th episode of Telco in 20 and celebrating with a special episode dropping October 1. Don’t miss it—like and follow today!
I love watching Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) videos of power washing courtyards, trimming overgrown lawns, and cleaning hoarders’ homes. What’s wrong with me?
Watch this episode on our YouTube channel.
You can find the episode transcript here.

Wanna talk AI and public cloud? Telco execs, set up a meeting with our team to learn how to tap the immense business value it can bring.

Guest bio

Caroline Chappell is a leading expert in the application of new software technologies – cloud, open APIs and AI – to telecoms networks and their operations. She has over 35 years of industry experience as a software engineer, research analyst and consultant. She is an influential advocate for the cloudification of the network and its evolution as a platform, the capabilities of which can be consumed as a service. Caroline was most recently a partner at Analysys Mason but has founded ccsquared to investigate the new and disruptive network architecture needed for tomorrow’s AI and extended reality-driven world.

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The Telco in 20 podcast won 2024 and 2022 Hermes Awards, 2023 and 2022 MarComm Awards, and was recognized as a TeckNexus Top 12 Telco and Tech Podcast, Forrester Top 100 Channel Podcast and Feedspot Top 10 Telecom Podcast. If you enjoy the podcast, would you leave us a short review? It takes you seconds to do in your app and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. And I love reading your feedback and reviews!