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Rating: 
Summary: A timely and invaluable piece of work
Review: Dr. Terplan has written a book (only one of the two available in thisarea) that will be invaluable for any person involved in either development or implementation of supports systems. The author obviously expects the reader to have a high level understanding of OSS related areas to appreciate and make the most this book. This book is a "must have" for all managers and consultants in the OSS segment.
Rating:
Summary: OSS Essentials -- must have for managers / architects
Review: I highly recommend OSS Essentials by Dr. Kornel Terplan. The book covers an immense array of topics, explaining how they relate to each other and offering editorial that encompasses the authors many years of real-world experience. Whether you are assessing various alternatives in designing applications, or are simply trying to understand what various technologies are and how they can be used, this book will save you many hours of research. Because the author has lived through design and implementation of many advanced OSS systems, his insight will serve to guide you toward success. Chuck Reid states: "In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice; In practice, there is." This book explains both so the differences are clear.W. Nathaniel Mills, III Chief Architect, High Volume Web Site Research and Design, IBM Research
Rating:
Summary: OSS Essentials -- must have for managers / architects
Review: I highly recommend OSS Essentials by Dr. Kornel Terplan. The book covers an immense array of topics, explaining how they relate to each other and offering editorial that encompasses the authors many years of real-world experience. Whether you are assessing various alternatives in designing applications, or are simply trying to understand what various technologies are and how they can be used, this book will save you many hours of research. Because the author has lived through design and implementation of many advanced OSS systems, his insight will serve to guide you toward success. Chuck Reid states: "In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice; In practice, there is." This book explains both so the differences are clear. W. Nathaniel Mills, III Chief Architect, High Volume Web Site Research and Design, IBM Research
Rating:
Summary: Great comprehensive first book on OSS
Review: If you work in telecom or just want to learn about the highly complex world of OSS (Operations Support System), this book is a great introduction. It also has details about some commercial products. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Essentials of the BSS/OSS industry
Review: It's the only public published book on BSS/OSS industry i can find. Reading all TMF's documents is a big challenge, and reading this book is easier. It tells almost every key concepts about TMF's NGOSS program. I strongly recommend this book to everyone seting his/her career on OSS industry.
Rating: 
Summary: Some excellent info, but wanders around in places
Review: The eight chapters in this 610 page book tie together operational support systems and how they relate to network operations, business support systems and network management. In some respects this book is less about OSS than it is about the network, which is evidenced by the structure of the book and page count given to each topic.
It starts with an encompassing overview of operations, business and marketing support systems. This is entirely focused on OSS, and has one of the best descriptions of a service delivery cycle I've seen in print. This is followed by a chapter discussing a service provider's portfolio of products and services, which sets the context for OSS. Chapter 3, however, seems out of sequence, because it breaks the flow by addressing management protocols - a topic that is peripherally related to OSS, but is not central. The author gets back on track in chapter 4 with a solid, information-packed treatment of customer care and billing processes. Thi!s is the heart of OSS and the author provides some great information, which is continued in chapter 5's discussion of provisioning and order processing. Unfortunately, the author drifts off into network operations management, which is the topic of chapter 6. This is certainly related to OSS, but does not warrant the 74 pages this topic consumes. Chapter 7, covering support, documentation and management systems is really a catalog of products, which eats another 104 pages of peripherally related material that could have better been provided on a companion web site since product-specific information is a moving target and only renders a book prematurely obsolete. The final two chapters covering workforce management and trends for service providers were valuable, especially the comprehensive tables and lists devoted to job profiles and organizational structures.
Overall this book has a lot of excellent information, most of which is not available elsewhere. However, the aut!hor wanders and drifts into too much detail on topics that are not central to the theme of this book. Since it is the only book on the market on OSS and does provide a wealth of information I decided to be lenient and award it 4 stars. I hope the next edition benefits from some good editing and focuses on OSS, and the product-specific information is moved to a companion web site the way other publishers handle this time sensitive material.
Rating:
Summary: Good book but could be better
Review: This book assumes that the reader has already had a basic grasp of technology and protocols on which OSS systems are based and therefore is somewhat technicality-inclined from the perspective of an average reader who simply wants to understand OSS in plain English. The basic structure is pretty good, however, it will definitely help sell itself if it could be written from a totally layman's angle.
Rating: 
Summary: Has potential to be great - lacks coherency & focus
Review: This could have been *the* definitive reference on operational support systems. The author's uneven treatment of the subject and tendency to frequently go off topic or emphasize peripheral systems while leaving large gaps in the main subject have reduced this book to merely mediocre. The strong points: the chapter on customer care and billing processes is remarkable. Here is a list of things that caught my attention and make this chapter so valuable: (1) the customer care maturity model is well thought out and serves as an excellent benchmarking tool, (2) the customer analysis and acquisition is on the mark, and (3) the customer interface management process and associated diagram comprise an excellent model for OSS processes. I also thought the way the author covered the problem handling process represents best practices, as does the section on SLA management. This is the stuff OSS is made of and it's covered both well and contains ideas and models in which service providers will be interested. The chapter provisioning and order processing is also strong and filled with excellent information for those who are seeking OSS-specific knowledge. Weaknesses: Not only does this book overemphasize the network operations, which is important, but not central, but the author manages to drop this information into unexpected areas throughout the book. An example: Section 4.4 is an engrossing piece on the sales process that is succinct and filled with information, including tables and a diagram that reinforce the excellent information the author is imparting. Right in the middle of all this is a diagram that shows the use of a DMZ to separate intranets and extranets - not something anyone interested in sales processes cares about and is a big distraction. This happens throughout the book. Also, I agree with the comments made by a previous reviewer about wasting page count on product-specific information. This information needs to be moved to a web site where it can be maintained in an up-to-date fashion. Ironically, the publisher does this for other books. Finally, there are some major gaps: (1) no mention of the TeleManagement Forum, which is a global non-profit organization that is devoted to OSS. This organization has a technology integration map and numerous OSS-related processes that are De Facto standards in the OSS world, yet no mention of the organization and no mention of the wealth of material available that is directly related to OSS. (2) Section 7.4, which addresses migration from an existing to new billing system, misses some key considerations, which could have been developed into a discussion of strengths and weaknesses. For example, how do you segment and migrate subscribers? By CSA? Bill cycle? Region? Price plan? As the industry consolidates this particular issue keeps cropping up and a more in-depth treatment here is warranted. (3) No mention of TL 9000, which is an encompassing quality standard for telecommunications service providers. A portion of this standard applies directly to OSS. Overall, this book contains some of the best information about OSS that has been collected and compiled into a single book. In fact, it's the only book on the subject. What is needed to make it great is a strong editor who understands OSS and who is not reticent about removing large pieces of superfluous material from this book. More information about standards that are directly related to OSS should also be included. If you work with operational support systems you really have no choice but to buy this book - I just hope that the next edition addresses the weaknesses.
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