As a core component of enterprise operations management, telecom operation and maintenance (O&M) management is characterized by complexity, independence, interconnectivity, and dynamic nature. Through analysis of telecom operation processes and long-term practical experience, people’s understanding of telecom O&M management continues to deepen. Telecom O&M capability must be analyzed from a macro perspective of telecom operations. The relationship between telecom O&M and operations manifests in three aspects: first, a strategic whole-to-part relationship; second, a core process whole-to-part relationship; third, an indicator-based whole-to-part relationship.
O&M management systems are categorized into three types. Based on current network technologies, telecom carriers’ services and networks are still bundled together, meaning one type of service is carried on one specific network. Networks involve multiple specialized networks such as switching, data, and value-added service platforms, and each specialized network is further divided into inter-provincial, intra-provincial, and local layers. There are two approaches to organizing O&M structures: one is organized by specialty, namely dividing maintenance into several management departments according to network specialties; the other is organized by functional levels (network management layer, network maintenance layer, on-site maintenance layer). Organization by functional levels is more suitable for the end-to-end, network-wide nature of communication networks. Looking at the evolution of O&M organization building both domestically and internationally, the latter approach is the commonly adopted method. Based on different distribution forms of maintenance requirements among group, provincial, and municipal O&M departments, corresponding O&M management systems emerge. Considering that group companies, subsidiaries, and branch companies embody different management responsibilities, telecom enterprises’ O&M management systems can mainly be divided into three types: traditional, transitional, and modern, with the primary difference being the degree of centralization in maintenance operations. Among these, the modern system offers distinct advantages in service provisioning capability, service assurance capability, cost control capability, and overall competitiveness, making it a model widely respected and adopted by more advanced foreign telecom enterprises.
O&M management systems are constrained both by the overall management system of telecom enterprises and by the development level of network and network management technology conditions, as well as the strategic thinking of leadership. Therefore, in the actual management practice of telecom enterprises, different telecom enterprises have formed different O&M management systems. Even within a telecom enterprise group, different maintenance management systems may be adopted due to the influence of various factors. Domestic telecom enterprises primarily adopt a decentralized system, which is caused by the specific development history of China’s telecom enterprises, the current state of network and network management technology, and the overall traditional management system of the enterprise.
Six Major Trends in Telecom O&M Management
The evolution of telecom O&M management systems is influenced by various factors, exhibiting clear development trends that drive the continuous evolution of telecom O&M management systems.
First is technology-driven, which comes from two aspects. One is the development of network technology towards high-capacity, flat, and centralized networking; the other is the continuous advancement of network management technology enabling centralized, integrated network monitoring and management to replace decentralized management. Second is competition-driven, as market competition forces enterprises to focus on developing comprehensive capabilities, involving changes in corporate governance structure, organizational structure, and process adjustments. The telecom O&M management organization is an organic part of the telecom operation process and is subject to the development of the company’s overall environment. Leadership awareness, company management mechanisms, actual network conditions, and support system capabilities all significantly influence the choice of O&M management system. How to embody customer-centric O&M system selection and reform is a strategic issue of great concern to the company. Finally, there is operational transformation-driven. Network technology drives operational transformation, with services and networks moving from binding, decentralization, and segmentation towards layering and convergence. As TDM technology evolves towards IP technology, centralized O&M becomes more suitable for technological development. It requires sharing of network facilities and O&M functions, making the advantages of centralization even more apparent.
Based on the influence of these driving forces, the development trends of telecom enterprise O&M management are manifested in the following aspects:
First, shifting from device-oriented to service-oriented.
With the breaking of telecom monopolies and the intensification of telecom market competition, all telecom enterprises are currently adjusting their internal and external operational models. Correspondingly, O&M departments are also changing their mindset, gradually adjusting from the previous O&M management approach that purely faced the network and network elements to a direction that faces services and customers. That is, network O&M departments must serve as a strong technical support force for various telecom services, customers of telecom services, the customer service departments and business operation departments of telecom enterprises, adjusting the internal organizational structure of O&M departments and their horizontal collaboration with other departments within the telecom enterprise oriented towards service implementation, service assurance, and service metering. This provides strong support for the transformation of marketing, services, and customer support.
Second, moving from decentralized maintenance operations towards relatively centralized and highly centralized approaches.
Looking at the development history of telecom enterprises worldwide, their O&M management methods are closely related to the development of communication technology, computer technology, and network management monitoring technology. Each advancement in technical means impacts the organizational mode of O&M management. It has mainly gone through three stages: Stage one, decentralized management, decentralized maintenance; Stage two, centralized management, decentralized maintenance; Stage three, centralized management, centralized maintenance. Currently, the planning and construction of O&M management for newly built specialized networks by both emerging and established domestic telecom enterprises are oriented towards a highly centralized approach, namely “centralized monitoring, centralized maintenance, centralized management.” Established telecom enterprises are also continuously adjusting their existing specialized networks towards this “three centralizations” model. The main reason is that this can concentrate dispersed technical forces into a network management center and an equipment maintenance center (or combined into a network management and maintenance center), improving O&M efficiency and network operation quality. At the same time, this ensures data consistency (including office data, software version data, circuit data, network resource data, network operation quality data, device performance data, etc.), thereby enhancing the enterprise’s core competitiveness.
Third, scientific, standardized, automated, and information-based telecom O&M management.
As a foundational department of telecom enterprise operations, the O&M department must ensure maintenance quality while improving work efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to establish an advanced, scientific, and reasonable O&M organizational management system, adopt advanced information technology, and formulate reasonable work processes to standardize every link of O&M. This helps improve service provisioning capability, fault response capability, network operation quality, and enables low-cost O&M operations.
Fourth, flattening of the organizational structure setup and construction for O&M management.
The development of information technology and the construction and improvement of O&M management support systems make flat organizational management of O&M possible. Flat management can simplify production workflows and management processes, enhance the flexibility and adaptability of O&M work, improve work efficiency, and reduce O&M costs.
Fifth, shifting from purely pursuing network quality (QoS) to focusing on user-perceived experience (QoE) networks.
Sixth, transitioning from extensive management to intensive, refined management, and from functional management to process management, improving O&M efficiency.
O&M system reform focuses on enhancing service capability. The system is a strategic choice, but this choice requires sufficient conditions. It is not centralization for the sake of centralization, but to fundamentally improve service capability. The main trends of next-generation networks are IP-based, converged, and intelligent. With network transformation, a large number of IP packet switching technologies have been and will continue to be adopted in existing networks. These technologies are essentially computer technologies and are most suitable for a centralized monitoring and maintenance approach. If traditional networks delayed the process of network management centralization due to limitations in network management system functions, then before the introduction and construction of next-generation networks, early determination of O&M management systems and standardization of network management technical capabilities should present a good opportunity to transform the O&M model.
We can use 3G as an example to briefly analyze telecom O&M management system reform. 3G adopts MSC SERVER/MGW for centralized networking, further breaking the concept of administrative region-based networking. Resource control and allocation need provincial-level centralization, making it most suitable to adopt a modern O&M management system of centralized monitoring, centralized maintenance, and centralized management. Thus, domestic telecom carriers will have multiple O&M management systems coexisting. This has the greatest impact on China Telecom, China Netcom, and China Unicom, followed by China Mobile. The coexistence of 3G/2G networks requires further integration based on existing centralized O&M management systems. Telecom O&M management system reform mainly involves adjustments to organization, responsibilities, processes, systems, and indicators. During the reform process, practical work should focus on the following aspects:
Resource Management Application Capability
Resource management systems, divided by specialty, involve pipelines, transmission, switching, access, data, signaling, wireless, NGN, etc.; divided by resource hierarchy, include physical resources, network resources, service resources, and product resources; divided by supported services, include service provisioning, resource allocation, fault handling, project construction, network planning, etc. Telecom operators need