My API story: Driving standardization across multi-vendor networks

Tell us about yourself and your job

I am an active member in technology innovations and help enterprises create value from digital initiatives. As a Chief Technology and Information Officer at 6D Technologies, I strategize digital initiatives and new disruptive technologies in the telco domain. I love to meet people with similar ideas and teamworking in the technology space.

Why do you believe in TM Forum’s Open API program?

Open APIs drive standardization across the multi-vendor network and IT solutions. It’s very important for suppliers’ systems to talk to each other about standard protocols and interfaces because it saves a lot of effort on custom developments for each customer, which means our focus is on new innovations rather than on the integration layer.

What TM Forum Open APIs are most valuable to your company?

TMF620 – Product Catalog Management
TMF622 – Product Ordering Management
TMF629 – Customer Management
TMF632 – Party Management
TMF637 – Product Inventory Management
TMF641 – Service Order Management
TMF648 – Quote Management
TMF666 – Account Management
TMF670 – Payment Management
TMF676 – Payment Management
TMF678 – Customer Bill Management

Why did you choose to highlight those APIs?

We have used these APIs according to business demands and product roadmap involvement for the Digital BSS suite. Industry is continuously evolving and to maintain the uniformity of interoperability across various vendors and operators, it's very important to follow the standard. TM Forum Open Digital Architecture (ODA) is one of those standards that we follow for our BSS product line.

How do you use those APIs?

These industry-led APIs are used and exposed by BSS solutions where such APIs will be used to communicate with customer side IT and network systems. Both southbound and northbound interfaces use these APIs for exchange and update of information.

How have you benefited from using those APIs?

We’ve benefited from these APIs in numerous ways, such as:

1) Open APIs will be used for creating faster and more cost-effective integrations within the customer BSS/OSS environment.

2) Using TM Forum Open APIs has enabled us to build interoperability around cross-digital marketplaces.

3) Open plug-and-play model is useful for integration of digital OSS/BSS applications.

4) TM Forum API agility in our deliveries has improved time-to-market for new product and network introductions.

5) TMForumOpenAPIsaligncloselywithour product design goals such as mandating an ‘API-first’ strategy, low-cost integration, and more.

Where do you use them?

We use Open APIs with our customers across East Africa, Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East.

Have you used them in conjunction with any other APIs?

We use these APIs with other APIs which are used in our Digital Gateway, where non-standard interfaces are provided by our customers.