TM Forum has awarded Suntech conformance certification for three open application programming interfaces (APIs): TMF639 - Resource Inventory Management, TMF652 - Resource Ordering Management, and TMF667 - Document Management.
It underlines the commitment of Suntech, through its SunVizion OSS/BSS product suite, to TM Forum Open APIs. They form a central part of our IT architecture. We fully endorse TM Forum’s vision of open and integrated digital ecosystems — comprising communications service providers (CSPs), systems integrators and vendors — capable of speaking the same language.
Certification is also a direct response to what CSP customers are demanding. In their requests for proposals (RFPs), CSPs are insisting more and more that vendors certify their APIs with the TM Forum.
They also want to see the results publicly displayed on the TM Forum website, which is where Suntech now sits. It gives peace of mind that different IT systems, from multiple vendors, can be integrated more easily. In turn, this speeds up CSP digital transformation programmes designed to make them more agile in delivering new services and streamlining operations.
We understand fully that Open APIs can dramatically reduce costs, risks and time-to-market compared with traditional point integration, as well as lower implementation and operating costs for the entire supply chain.
It’s why Suntech signed up to the TM Forum Open API Manifesto last year, and it’s why we’re not stopping our certification commitment to three Open APIs. That’s just the start. Later this year we’re planning TM Forum conformance certification for a wide range of other Open APIs crucial for digital ecosystem-building: Service Catalog; Service Order Management, Service Inventory; Service Qualification; and Address Management.
Standardized access to SunVizion inventory…
To kick off our TM Forum Open API certification journey, we’ve focused on SunVizion Network Inventory.
Lying at heart of the SunVizion OSS/BSS product suite, SunVizion Network Inventory provides up‑to‑date records and visibility of all CSP network assets — physical, logical and even virtual infrastructure overlays — as well as across different silos and domains (mobile, broadband and enterprise).
Moreover, by having a central repository of network inventory across different domains — geographically represented on a highly accurate HD map — network planning, service assurance and O&M become much easier.
With our certified SunVizion Resource Inventory Management API — adhering to TM Forum specifications — it’s now possible to provide a consistent and standardized mechanism to query and manipulate the resources of the inventory. It’s a major step forward in ensuring SunVizion interoperability with other players in the digital ecosystem.
…and resource order management, documents
The SunVizion Resource Order Management API provides a standard mechanism for placing a network resource order. Accommodating all necessary order parameters, the Open API can be used to trigger manual or AI-powered automatic processes — whatever is the most suitable — to either make modifications to network resources or prepare projects that requires new resources (including their configuration).
The SunVizion Document Management API exposes, in a standardized way, the meta-data related to a Document This includes related parties, the creation date, version, and lifecycle status.
Again, it’s another way of ensuring Suntech’s tighter integration with the broader digital ecosystem.
