Communication providers facing complex data integration projects would benefit from common information models, a Bedford, Massachusetts-based company that provides infrastructure software said today.

 

Officials at Progress Software Corporation say their survey of nearly 700 respondents showed that use of common information models is becoming more and more common among businesses.

 

According to John Wilmes, chief technical architect in the company’s communications sector, most companies are struggling with the notion that data integration would change their operations. Yet change is “the hallmark of a new operating environment for telecommunications providers and it continues to accelerate,” he said.

 

“Communications providers that ignore the challenge will find themselves at a severe competitive disadvantage,” Wilmes said.

 

According to the survey, 41 percent of respondents believe that a key integration challenge is the “increase in complexity which has led to an increase in maintenance costs; 31 percent are having “difficulty with managing change”; and 5 percent are concerned with “unforeseen failures in other systems.”

 

Yet in the long run, if they want to work faster, improve customer satisfaction and reduce costs, businesses must adopt a common information model, according to Progress Software (News - Alert).

 

Lacking what the company calls an “agile infrastructure,” those who responded to the survey said they had problems launching cost-saving survices.

 

According to the survey: 27 percent of respondents are “challenged with quickly rolling out new revenue generating services”; 25 percent believe that “improving customer service” is the greatest challenge; and  4 percent see “adding new distribution channels” as a key business challenge.

 

Progress Software says that those companies adopting the new systems will save time and money.

 

“For example, providers reported success using a common model to support their data interoperability initiatives,” the company said. “When asked about plans to use the TM Forum (News - Alert) Information Framework, or another common information model, in integration projects, nearly half the respondents revealed that they were either planning to, or already using this standard for their projects today.”

 

According to the survey, 37 percent of those projects are currently in development; 25 percent plan to develop within the next 12 months; 25 percent are investigating the use of common models; and 9 percent have no current plans to use common models.

 

The figures uncover “critical data points” for today’s communications providers, Wilmes said.

 

“For example, they are experiencing extremely complex integration issues that can no longer be successfully solved through manual efforts. As the data illustrates, slowly but surely, these providers are adopting common information models, such as the TM Forum Information Framework, to aid in integration projects,” Wilmes said. “These results also show the increasing need for providers to mange product innovation initiatives and improve the customer experience while reducing the cost of growth.”