The growth of the OSS/BSS market has been, since long, driven by technological advancements in the sector, along with widespread cloud adoption by communications service providers (CSPs) to keep up with evolving consumer needs. Additionally, the prevalent deployment of 5G technology and surging prominence of next-generation systems in customer and revenue management are likely to fuel OSS BSS system and platform market share in the coming years.
 

Operational support systems (OSS) contain specialized software tools for monitoring, configuring, analyzing, and managing all operations activities pertaining to the telecom network. On the other hand, business support systems (BSS) refer to software applications that facilitate all client-facing and business operations of the telecom network.
 

A key difference between both systems is that OSS focuses solely on network management, whereas BSS targets all goings-on in the organization. While BSS manages the business aspects and takes varied service orders, OSS fulfills the orders and offers service assurance information back to BSS. Both OSS and BSS together support technology and customer experience, serving as a chief driving force for digital service providers (DSPs).
 

Owing to rising awareness pertaining to the advantages of these systems, the global OSS/BSS market size is projected to reach a valuation of more than USD 130 billion by 2028. Here are some key factors positively influencing OSS/BSS system and platform market progression over the forecast period.
 

New waves in Cloud OSS/BSS market  

With the rapid evolution of networks, CSPs have felt the need to migrate their OSS and BSS to the cloud in order to gain and retain a competitive edge in the industry. For this purpose, many CSPs are opting for cloud-native approaches to realize the advantages of cloud adoption.
 

By redesigning or building OSS/BSS applications to run on the cloud natively, CSPs can upgrade only certain components instead of the entire infrastructure and leverage software-as-a-service (SaaS) commercial models to obtain real business benefits. As a result, the growing emphasis on cloud adoption by industry players through the implementation of effective strategies is slated to be lucrative for cloud OSS BSS market expansion.
 

To cite an instance, in September 2021, Oracle, a major firm in the global OSS BSS software market, inked a multi-year collaboration with Telefonica España, a Spanish telecom leader, to expedite Telefonica’s cloud adoption and development of novel communication services for businesses and consumers. As part of the deal, Telefonica planned on migrating its Oracle database systems in bulk to Oracle Exadata Cloud@Customer to build a dedicated on-premises cloud platform that could support delivery and provisioning of new services and Telefonica’s commercial and operational systems, including its OSS and BSS platforms and applications.
 

Furthermore, Oracle has also been redefining the telco sector with its Oracle Cloud for Telcos that is built on the firm’s cloud platform, the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Introduced in January 2022, Oracle Cloud for Telcos helps companies modernize their OSS/BSS in the cloud with over 50% improvement in performance and about 60% reduction in costs.
 

In effect, companies are relying heavily on digital transformation initiatives, which has resulted in many CSPs forming similar alliances with suppliers and partners, boosting the market share BSS//OSS integrators occupy in the global industry. In brief, while cloud migration remains a laborious and lengthy process, CSPs have been working on introducing novel offerings in the market, delivering customized solutions, and creating new revenue streams from 5G capabilities as well as vertical market opportunities.
 

Lucrative growth opportunities for industry players

Soaring need for novel services among subscribers as well as mounting competitive pressures have prompted service providers to innovate and simplify their OSS to take advantage of faster time-to-market and time-to-revenue timeline. Service providers have been working to bolster their own OSS integration capabilities and timeline, which has enabled them to be more agile in offering new services while managing their subscribers’ experiences proactively.
 

• For instance, in February 2022, Netcracker Technology Corporation, a major provider in the OSS/BSS market, announced that T-Mobile, the American 5G expert, extended its BSS and managed services alliance for its wholesale operations, which contains the IoT and MVNO markets. With the deal, T-Mobile gained access to Netcracker Digital BSS, which was aimed to give T-Mobile US the ability to improve consumer experience along all channels.
   
• Another example is the May 2021 announcement by Amdocs, a leading software and services company, regarding the extension of its collaboration with tech behemoth Microsoft to broaden the availability of its portfolio for Microsoft Azure and the AFO (Azure for Operators) initiative. The collaboration was designed to allow service providers to facilitate their move to the cloud by leveraging Amdocs’ cloud-native OSS/BSS services & solutions. The integrated platform was intended to help service providers virtualize and automate their network and seek opportunities to monetize 5G for enterprises and consumers.
   
• In yet another instance, in October 2021, Ooredoo Group, a global telecom leader, selected 5G specialist Ericsson as its next-gen digital transformation partner for BSS solutions. Under the agreement, Ooredoo planned to employ Ericsson BSS solutions to bolster innovation and customer satisfaction through shorter time-to-market and better efficiency and flexibility. Such developments, partnerships, and collaborations are set to favorably impact the competitive scenario of the OSS/BSS market in the years ahead.
   

COVID-19 impact on telecommunications industry

The COVID-19 pandemic has played a crucial role in boosting the importance of telecom network infrastructure in keeping governments, business, and societies running and connected. Some telecom operators benefitted from the unprecedented surge in data traffic and escalating use of broadband services since more people were working from home and relied on video conferencing and virtual meetings, which fueled consumer interest in robust connectivity and digital services.
 

The OSS and BSS architecture, which is sometimes described as the backbone system of the telecom sector, supports end-to-end services that enhance customer engagement, representing the operational and business sides of telecommunications respectively. Moreover, with the advent of 5G technology, service providers have been emphasizing on modernizing OSS/BSS infrastructure.
 

A next-gen OSS/BSS could help transform network systems while simultaneously enabling DSPs to automate business processes, swiftly introduce an array of digital services, and provide better customer and revenue management. As a result, COVID-19-induced focus on modernizing telecom infrastructures is anticipated to promote next generation OSS and BSS market growth.
 

In conclusion, notable advancements in OSS and BSS architecture, backed by increasing efforts by industry leaders to innovate and accommodate prevalent data demand across the globe, is creating massive growth potential for OSS/BSS uptake. As digitization gains further traction and the need for cloud migration becomes even more acute, the demand for OSS/BSS systems will subsequently see a rise in the future.