Telecommunications

[October 10, 2012]

New TM Forum Initiative to Fast-Track Success in Digital Services

In the last 10 years, the way people communicate, consume information and enjoy entertainment has changed dramatically and as a result, communication service providers and suppliers are being forced to adapt and define their role in the new ecosystem. To help the industry thrive and survive in this world of digital everything, TM Forum today unveiled its Digital Services Initiative, targeted specifically at helping businesses with the end-to-end management challenges of complex digital services.

TM Forum's (News - Alert) Digital Services Initiative is built on a vision of ensuring the transparency, efficiency and agility needed to accelerate a thriving, open digital economy. The new Initiative provides guidance, best practices and practical tools that help businesses effectively deliver enterprise-grade digital services in complex, multi-cloud environments. The Initiative also facilitates the development of vertically-focused digital services including eHealth and Smart Grid-important issues for TM Forum's members today.

"As businesses navigate through the digital services maze, TM Forum's Digital Services Initiative is leading the way by offering unique tools and applications that make the journey as smooth as possible," said Nik Willetts, chief strategy officer, TM Forum. "With a mission to inform, innovate, accelerate and optimize, our Initiative-developed in partnership with our membership base of the world's largest service providers and software suppliers-helps businesses deliver on the promises of the digital world."

Highlights of TM Forum's new Digital Services Initiative include:

Multi-Cloud Management Program

• TM Forum's new Multi-Cloud Management Program provides strategy and direction for enterprises that want to provide or consume digital services independently of specific infrastructure, application or platform in complex multi-cloud environments. A first Multi-Cloud Management Pack, available for trial by TM Forum members later this month, will provide a suite of business- and developer-focused tools that help accelerate the design management of measurable, end-to-end service level agreements in a single cloud or multi-cloud environment. The Pack is based on work contributed to the TM Forum by some of the world's largest service providers and suppliers.

Innovation Accelerator

• TM Forum designed its Innovation Accelerator program for start-up comanies with new products and services that help enable digital services. Because the best innovation often occurs in small businesses, free of the constraints of corporate process and culture, the Innovation Accelerator creates successful partnerships and businesses that can drive fresh thinking and collaboration.

Digital Services Channel and App

• TM Forum launched the Digital Services Channel, a website dedicated to covering key digital services news with blogs and opinions from industry-leading analysts and reporters, and a new iPad app which includes free access for TM Forum members to the full library of its Research and Publications, including new reports on Big Data Analytics and Smart Grid. In combination, TM Forum's channel, app and publications help the communications industry realize the benefits of the digital-based economy and prepare for the changes that lie ahead.

Digital Services Catalyst Projects

• TM Forum's Catalyst program takes an innovative approach to creating leading-edge solutions by providing a neutral, collaborative environment to rapidly create solutions for some of the most urgent operational and IT challenges. This year, TM Forum's Management World Americas conference and expo features an array of cutting-edge Catalyst projects that target the delivery of digital services, and showcases the results of these Catalyst projects, including:
  • Optimizing the Virtual House Call features an end-to-end service quality monitoring and customer experience management solution aimed at health service providers that can increasingly reach their customers through mobile devices or via communication service providers.
  • Innovations for the Emerging Smart Grid Environment demonstrates several communications-centric solutions that have been adapted and brought to use in electric utility and smart grid environments.
  • Cloud Mobility focuses on the challenges of bring-your-own-device in IT environments. The project explores how to secure mobile devices across the enterprise and how to put legacy applications on mobile devices.

Digital services are the focus of TM Forum's flagship Management World Americas, held Dec. 3-6 at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Fla. This event draws over 1,500 attendees from leading industries in the digital services economy, including communications, cloud, finance, government and healthcare. With five highly-interactive conference Forums covering digital service delivery, analytics and management, Management World Americas is the place for all service providers looking to capture their share of the digital economy. Register now for Management World Americas and receive maximum savings.

About TM Forum:

TM Forum is a global, non-profit industry association focused on enabling service provider agility and innovation. As an established thought-leader in service creation, management and delivery, the Forum serves as a unifying force across industries, enabling more than 900 member companies worldwide to solve critical business issues through access to a wealth of knowledge, intellectual capital and standards.

The Forum provides a unique, fair and safe environment for the entire value-chain to collaborate and overcome the barriers to a vibrant, open digital economy, helping member companies of all sizes gain a competitive edge by enabling efficiency and agility in their IT and operations. For more information about TM Forum, visit www.tmforum.org.

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