What are you leaving behind? Behaviours that can block you from transforming your OSS/BSS

Transformations aren’t just a technical change, but a very human change to navigate too.

Overcoming Challenges in OSS/BSS Transformation

Advanced OSS/BSS platforms like SunVizion offer extensive features and efficiencies, allowing operators to perform many new actions. This is the plus side of the decision to commence an OSS transformation. However, there are many human considerations involved and the “fear of change” often resides on the minus side of the decision to proceed with a transformation. The real challenge, typically, lies in helping prospective clients move away from established practices and systems, even if the status quo is widely acknowledged to be out of date and no longer fit for the company’s needs. Transitioning to a new OSS/BSS solution involves overcoming existing workflows and ingrained habits, as well as the inertia of legacy thinking, systems and data. 

So, how can vendors effectively help telecom providers make that leap? That’s the question that this article helps to answer for you.

1. Identifying and Replacing Legacy Processes

For OSS/BSS buyers, the switch to a new solution means leaving behind complex, often fragmented, processes that were built up over years—sometimes decades. Legacy systems may lack integration, require manual data input, require offline reference data (e.g. spreadsheets) and have limited responsiveness in an industry where speed is critical. The problem is that these systems, while outdated, are familiar and ingrained within the individual and company culture. Whilst not necessarily the most effective, they still form the backbone of daily operations and decision-making for the network operator today.

Advanced OSS/BSS systems, like SunVizion Service Order Management, allow telecom companies to replace these legacy processes with automated, streamlined workflows. For instance, many legacy OSS systems require teams to work across multiple interfaces to manage inventory and provisioning tasks. With a unified Network Inventory solution, these workflows are consolidated, enabling real-time updates and reducing the need for manual data transfer. Understanding what will no longer be needed—such as manual data entry and redundant interfaces—helps the customer visualize the efficiency gained in replacing these processes. 

However, the term “visualize” is the key term in the previous sentence. Having a solution described in words or in a design document is not the same as showing users the actual workflows in actual user interfaces.

 

2. Building Confidence by Easing the Learning Curve

One major hurdle in moving to a new OSS/BSS system is the anxiety around learning unfamiliar technology. Fried's observation on "habit, momentum, familiarity, anxiety of the unknown" is directly applicable here. Telecom professionals have likely developed considerable skill and efficiency using their current systems and methods. Even the best OSS/BSS solutions can feel daunting if users aren’t equipped with adequate training and support.

Addressing this, modern OSS/BSS vendors must prioritize customer enablement. Leading vendors not only deliver robust OSS/BSS solutions but also provide extensive knowledge transfer, training and user onboarding. This helps staff at telecom companies understand the software’s architecture, features, user-experiences and benefits. The key is providing a guided knowledge transfer / training approach with actual systems that helps teams feel confident and empowered. This significantly reduces the “unknown” aspect that often causes hesitation. The most advanced OSS/BSS solutions today come with intuitive interfaces designed to feel familiar and easy to navigate, minimizing the learning curve while maintaining an advanced, feature-rich core of functionality.

 

3. Highlighting Immediate Gains to Overcome “Switching” Anxiety

Transitioning to new technology often comes with an upfront investment—in terms of both time and money—and telecom providers need assurances of immediate, measurable improvements to justify this change (during and after the transformation). OSS/BSS buyers need to understand what new possibilities open up and, equally importantly, what frustrating issues they’ll leave behind. However, OSS/BSS vendors need to truly feel what the current frustrations are before they can convey that message.

With network automation features in an OSS solution, for instance, manual intervention in network operations drops dramatically, cutting down operational time and reducing human errors. Automated features in SunVizion's OSS, like AI-driven Net Planner, provide advanced forecasting and planning capabilities that eliminate the guesswork from network rollouts and reduce the chance of costly errors. By drawing attention to these immediate, practical benefits, vendors can help buyers see that the gains outweigh the risks associated with switching.

On the contrary, automation can introduce the fear of corresponding headcount reduction and fear of job loss. If not navigated carefully, operators may obstruct efforts to automate. This form of anxiety requires a more human treatment from the carrier.

 

4. Overcoming Inertia by Focusing on Future-Proofing

As Fried notes, "habit and momentum" are powerful forces that can keep companies from updating their systems, even when they’re not fully functional or efficient. In telecom, where competition and customer expectations are constantly rising, standing still isn’t an option. Legacy OSS/BSS systems may work today, but they are often not agile enough to adapt to the rapidly evolving demands of 5G, IoT, or AI-driven analytics. This isn’t always apparent to “business as usual” staff though.

To help customers overcome this inertia, vendors need to make a clear case for constant evolution and future-proofing. SunVizion OSS/BSS solutions are designed to adapt to evolving market conditions, offering scalability and seamless integration with emerging technologies. For instance, SunVizion’s AI Net Planner can leverage machine learning to optimize network rollouts, saving operators from the inevitable costs associated with delayed deployments. Highlighting this adaptability underscores the advantage of a flexible, future-ready system that prevents buyers from having to overhaul their OSS/BSS solutions repeatedly in the coming years.

 

5. Encouraging Buy-In Across the Organization

A common challenge in implementing new OSS/BSS solutions is the varied responses from different stakeholders. The leadership team may be eager to move forward with a new, high-performance system, while operations teams may be wary of disruptions to their workflows. For vendors, it’s essential to facilitate this transition by engaging stakeholders across the board.

 

Leading OSS/BSS vendors, like SunVizion, address this by working closely with telecom providers to understand the unique challenges faced at different organizational levels, from C-suite executives to field technicians. By emphasizing collaborative implementation and addressing specific pain points across teams, vendors can create a sense of shared vision and purpose in the transition, ensuring that each department sees the value in leaving old systems behind.

 

Conclusion: Positioning Change as an Opportunity, Not an Obstacle

Fried’s insights on the difficulty of leaving old habits behind are not written specifically for the OSS/BSS industry, but prove to be very applicable for the OSS/BSS market too. Telecom companies have been using legacy systems for years, and the change can feel intimidating. However, by focusing not only on what a new OSS/BSS system enables but also on what it replaces, vendors can help telecom providers recognize the value, but also overcome the obstacles, of moving forward.

For SunVizion, that means creating a bridge for OSS/BSS buyers to leave behind inefficient processes, reduce manual tasks and prepare for future market demands—all with a solution that minimizes the challenges associated with change. By providing a clear view of the old tasks customers can leave behind and a vision of the efficiencies ahead, vendors can help the telecom industry embrace innovation and transformation with confidence.