Scaling Telco Innovation with ODA-Compliant, API-Driven BSS

The rapid adoption of digitalisation is pushing new waves of growth across every business. Telecoms is no exception. Telecom operators are embracing digital transformation at a pace and scale never seen before, building out digital infrastructures and cloud capabilities such as SaaS, NaaS and PaaS. These enhancements are expected to strengthen their value proposition in a market increasingly challenged by commoditisation, shrinking margins, and the onslaught of competition from both established players and powerful new entrants such as Amazon and Google, who are steadily expanding their market footprint in the industry. As a growing number of telecom workloads are digitalised, virtualised and moved to the cloud, operators are realising new levels of agility and flexibility that enable them to respond to customer demands faster, boost monetisation and increase market share.

How open architectures are driving telecom's digitalisation initiatives

At the forefront of the industry's digitalisation initiatives is TM Forum, an alliance of leading operators and technology players that is driving the development of open and agile IT environments. A key initiative by TM Forum is the Open Digital Architecture (ODA), a comprehensive framework of standards and principles jointly developed by its members to expedite the adoption of modular and interoperable architectures. The framework also includes an industry manifesto that promotes member participation in research, case studies, Catalyst projects and the co-development of open components such as the ODA integration canvas, a standardised and modular cloud-native deployment environment.

Etiya, a leading digital BSS vendor, is actively shaping the industry's efforts in this space. Etiya's 'Ready for ODA' Digital BSS solution is built on ODA principles and provides highly modular components that can be deployed in a plug-and-play fashion in any ODA-compliant environment. The solution provides a comprehensive set of modules, including CRM, product catalog management, configure, price and quote (CPQ), order management, customer service management, revenue management, and API Gateway. Supporting cloud-native deployment environments, Etiya's Digital BSS platform uses a microservices architecture, which allows operators to quickly spin up the modules they need and deploy them in any ecosystem. Modularity grants operators the flexibility they require to build up their services and products gradually according to the evolving requirements of their business units. Modularity also means that operators can continuously optimise their BSS without having to upgrade or downsize the entire suite, as each component can be updated or scaled individually, as needed.

Eliminating unnecessary complexities with simplified integration

Adhering to ODA principles, Etiya's Digital BSS solution can be integrated seamlessly with components from other ODA-compliant vendors—leveraging common taxonomies, definitions, and execution environments. This tackles multi-vendor integration complexities, primarily the long cycles of integration and testing that plague operators using legacy architectures.

Etiya's Digital BSS solution also allows operators to achieve the desired component mix needed to introduce new products or enhance existing business processes. ODA not only eliminates vendor lock-in but also ensures complete freedom in how operators choose to deliver these improvements. The impact of this on operator innovation is tremendous as operators can:

• continuously refine their internal processes for improved efficiencies
• tailor and launch exciting pricing schemes
• implement new retention programs; and
• launch attractive upsell bundles in no time using both best-of-breed and best-in-class offerings.

Simplified integration also has a significant impact on operator expenditures. Operators can cut down the resources typically allocated for software deployment and upgrade cycles, especially across complex, multi-vendor projects. Through automation, operators can benefit from leaner operations with reduced labour usage and lower overheads. Operators can also make more targeted investments, focusing only on the capabilities they need instead of making large upfront outlays. The saved resources can be reallocated toward value creation and service improvement.

Adding APIs to establish new ecosystem connections

The ODA builds on TM Forum's Open API initiative, which focuses on the use of standardised, open and extensible APIs to create an integration layer that connects different software and ecosystems, improving business partnerships and spurring innovation. TM Forum Open API requirements cover various elements including the RESTful design, URL structures, JSON data formats, data models, field naming conventions, authentication, error handling and pagination. These detailed specifications help operators harmonise their API communications, enabling them to seamlessly link different internal and external components in multi-vendor environments to support modularised architectures and 'zero-touch' automation.

Etiya has made several noteworthy achievements in the Open API space. In 2023, the vendor achieved TM Forum's Platinum-level Open API conformance certification. Prior to that, its business processes and entities attained the TM Forum Frameworx Version 21.0 certification, in addition to securing the highest number of conformant TM Forum Business Process Framework Level 3 Certifications and SID entities of any vendor. These open APIs cover a wide range of modules across BSS, network commerce and management, customer service, AI, campaign management and resource inventory management. Etiya has also signed both ODA and API manifestos since their inception.

Apart from speeding up integration processes and time-to-market (TTM), an API-based architecture drives operator business in many other ways. For example, by synchronising transaction updates across modules related to product catalog, ordering, customers, product inventory and shopping carts, Etiya's TM Forum-certified APIs (illustrated in figure 1) support the omnichannel experience layer, enabling operators to provide consistent and up-to-date information across all customer touchpoints.

Figure 1: Etiya's APIs supporting operator omnichannel experience layer

Unlocking new revenues through partnerships

Etiya's open APIs can also help operators capitalise on emerging revenue opportunities. This includes establishing seamless links to third-party channels that can serve as additional sales avenues. Likewise, through APIs, services and products from partner merchants can be offered on operators' own channels, expanding traditional offerings to cover attractive services (e.g. video-on-demand) and products (e.g. movie tickets, holiday packages). This is crucial for supporting operators' B2B2X and multi-partner business models that underpin operators' monetisation strategies across high-growth sectors such as smart healthcare, industry 4.0 and connected automotive. For example, Etiya's Digital Business Platform for Automotive enables car makers to leverage a consolidated data platform and cutting-edge AI capabilities to streamline its interactions and drive customer engagement across dealer platforms, customer applications and online channels.

Bouygues Telecom's success story

In a recent deployment, Etiya supported Bouygues Telecom to launch multiple digital sub-brands on an ODA-compliant BSS platform. Bouygues Telecom required a solution that would support a fully digital customer journey, integrate seamlessly with existing IT and network environments, and allow for agile expansion across multiple sub-brands.

Etiya delivered a cloud-native, microservices-based platform with modular components, including but not limited to Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Product Catalog Management (PCM), Order Management (OM), Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ), and Customer Service Management (CSM), fully aligned with TM Forum Open APIs and Open Digital Architecture (ODA) principles.

The platform's omnichannel experience layer empowered Bouygues Telecom to deliver a consistent and unified experience across web and digital channels, while the integrated content management and campaign management modules enabled targeted, data-driven engagement.

With its multi-brand capability, Bouygues Telecom could operate and grow several digital brands from a single core system, maintaining strict data segregation and customising catalogues, offers, and experiences for each brand. Integration with Bouygues Telecom's network, external partners, and legacy systems was streamlined through Etiya's Open API Bridge, minimising project complexity and deployment time. Automated workflows, low-code tools, and real-time analytics enhanced operational agility, allowing the business team to configure and launch new digital offerings in hours rather than months.

The results included a significant reduction in time-to-market for new products, lower operational costs due to automation and simplified processes, and increased ability to respond rapidly to market opportunities. Bouygues Telecom gained the flexibility to introduce innovative offers, manage risk, and provide optimal customer support—all on a future-ready platform built for continuous evolution and easy integration with emerging technologies.

Taking the lead with AI

Drawing guidance from TM Forum's ODA, Etiya also offers low-code/no-code software, which provides operators with greater flexibility and autonomy in managing their BSS platforms without always relying on vendor expertise. It also uses DevOps methodology and CI/CD to ensure continuous improvements with near zero disruption to operations. Another major capability offered by Etiya is its AI engine, which is at the heart of its deep analytics and predictive insights that enhance API-driven automation with smarter and more contextual decisions. The engine incorporates the latest techniques, including LLMs and GenAI, aimed at facilitating users and removing mundane, time-consuming tasks. With AI-native integration, where intelligence is built into every system and process, Etiya creates true differentiation that enables operators to address industry needs more swiftly, intelligently and effectively. These capabilities, combined with Etiya's long-standing deployment experience and global reach, have contributed to its success in both telecom and non-telecom environments. Etiya's AI leadership, more specifically, positions it ahead of the curve in both environments, with its solutions equipping players with the tools they need to drive their present and future goals.

As more players embark on their digital transformation journey, Etiya will continue standing out as a partner of choice for a BSS platform that is agile, responsive and highly interoperable – supporting them as they respond to market shifts, create new revenue streams, and deliver improved experiences for their customers.

To explore how Etiya open BSS can accelerate your digital transformation journey, visit: https://www.etiya.com/en/solutions/digital-business-platforms