BT and Sonic Software Show Automated Telecom Service Management Based on NGOSS Methodology in TeleManagement Forum Catalyst Project.

NICE, France -- NGOSS/MDA Catalyst Project Demonstrates Faster Development and Easier Maintenance for Telecoms, Puts NGOSS Development and Design Theory into Practice

BT, a leading provider of communications solutions, and Sonic Software, the inventor and leading provider of the enterprise service bus (ESB), today announced the results of a TeleManagement Forum (TM Forum) NGOSS/MDA Catalyst project demonstrating a model-driven approach (MDA) to telecom operational support system (OSS) integration and service automation. The NGOSS/MDA project puts the New Generation Operations Systems & Software (NGOSS) methodology into practice, showing how a model-driven approach can reduce development time and ease ongoing system maintenance.

Service providers have the challenge of integrating hundreds of OSS/BSS applications to address key business initiatives, including bringing new services to market faster, increasing customer satisfaction and achieving greater reuse of distributed assets. To achieve these objectives, they are adopting NGOSS methodologies, service-oriented architectures (SOAs) and standards such as OSS/J and Web services. Through a model-driven approach, which combines these technologies into code-generating artifacts, the task of building the next generation OSS system is simplified.

"As service providers implement SOAs across their networks, typically connecting, mediating, and controlling hundreds to thousands of OSS and BSS components, the need for models such as NGOSS/MDA becomes immediately apparent," said Paul Moxon, senior director product management of Sonic Software. "The pain and effort in hand coding service interactions, which are typically replicated across every business unit, can be simplified and made consistent through a model-driven approach. The NGOSS/MDA Catalyst is a proof point which illustrates the benefits of common models and the automatic generation of configuration artifacts."

"This Catalyst project shows that NGOSS provides the foundation for a model-driven, knowledge-based approach to solving critical issues for telecommunications providers," said Nektarios Georgalas, senior researcher in BT Group CTO. "The successful demonstration of NGOSS principles in practice will encourage broader adoption of NGOSS standards, which will ultimately benefit the entire industry."

"BT is currently planning for the transformation of its infrastructure into new generation, IP-based networks in order to successfully face the market challenges of the 21st Century," said Mick Reeve, group technology officer for BT. "In this effort, architectural principles underpinning NGOSS, such as shifting towards service-oriented architectures with well-defined, standard and re-usable OSS system capabilities, have been recognized as a key enabler."

Reeve continued, "Using commercial products, the NGOSS/MDA project provides a valuable proof-of-concept demonstration. The project further showcases how the capture of standard OSS system capabilities in technology-neutral models and specifications can drive flexible, low-cost integration and expedite development of technology-specific OSS solution implementations."

Key Findings of the NGOSS/MDA TM-Forum Catalyst

--Faster development and easier maintenance through modeling instead of coding--The process of coding, testing, and debugging across multiple languages is simplified through automatic generation of processes and services.

--"What if" impact analysis--Dependent resources are identified and better decisions can be made as the model extends across the network and lifecycle.

--Better alignment between business and IT--MDA allows changes at the business process level vs. the code level, so there are less development iterations and the solution matches the requirements. The people who define the business requirements are empowered to implement the changes.

The NGOSS/MDA demonstration shows how Sonic ESB(R) and Sonic Orchestration Server(TM) are used to automatically generate and deploy the appropriate business processes and Web services in real time based on changes in a NGOSS-based trouble ticket UML model, without disrupting in-process transactions or rebooting OSS/BSS systems.

The results of the NGOSS/MDA Catalyst project will be available during TeleManagement World at booth #CS-4.

About The TeleManagement Forum

The TeleManagement Forum (TM Forum) is a non-profit global organisation that provides leadership, strategic guidance and practical solutions to improve the management and operation of information and communications services. TM Forum Catalyst projects attract telco service providers, system integrators, and hardware/software vendors to work together to solve common, critical telco industry challenges. They utilise real and prototype products to automate key processes and deliver integrated business solutions. The TM Forum's Catalyst projects are all sponsored by service providers who define the OSS/BSS (Operations Support Systems/Business Support Systems) problems and customer requirements. http://www.tmforum.org.

About British Telecommunications PLC

BT is an international telecommunications and Information Technology group with a turnover of about GBP 18.52 billion in 2004/05. BT is an UK wide communications solutions provider with a global reach in the business market.

BT is one of the world's leading suppliers of fixed and mobile communications services. In the UK, we support around 27 million customers' lines and over three million mobile connections. Our main services are providing applications, services and networks on a local, national, and international basis for residential and business users in the areas of voice, data and multimedia, through fixed, mobile and Internet communications. For further details see http://www.bt.com.

About Sonic Software Corporation

Sonic Software is the inventor and leading provider of the enterprise service bus (ESB). Sonic enterprise integration and messaging products deliver flexibility, scalability, and continuous availability through patent-pending innovations. Sonic Software enables over 700 customers to integrate their organizations from the department to the extended enterprise with a standards-based, service-oriented architecture (SOA).

Sonic Software is an independent operating company of Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS), a US$300+ million global software industry leader. Headquartered in Bedford, Mass., Sonic Software can be reached on the Web at http://www.sonicsoftware.com, or by phone at [phone] or 1-866-GET-SONIC.

Sonic ESB, Sonic Orchestration Server, and Sonic Software (and design) are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sonic Software Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Any other trademarks or service marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.