Microsperience

RiverMuse (not to be confused with TEM vendor Rivermine, or former network management vendor Riversoft) announced the availability of its open source fault management platform in November 2009. Teresa Cottam looks at RiverMuse’s offering and asks: how is open source technology impacting BSSOSS?

‘Is open source software a viable option for telecoms IT?’ It’s something I keep getting asked. So I thought it was about time we explored the role of open source technology in telecoms IT.  NB: One annoying detail is the duplication of acronyms, which means OSS can stand for both operational support systems and open source software. To avoid confusion, in this article we use OSS to refer to operational support systems and don’t abbreviate open source systems.

RiverMuse has launched open source fault management platform

In case you missed the press releases, RiverMuse announced in November 2009 that the enterprise version of its fault management platform was now available. If the name RiverMuse seems somewhat familiar that’s probably because it is. The company has its feet planted firmly in the OSS space, with experienced founders including Phil Tee, who previously had a hand setting up Micromuse and later Riversoft (so now you get where the name comes from).

RiverMuse is currently available in two flavours. RiverMuse Core, which is downloadable for free, is (like it says on the tin) the core of the RiverMuse suite. Its development is driven by the RiverMuse community, with community members being encouraged to contribute ideas, techniques and code.

RiverMuse Core provides a browser desktop that features the Alerts Console, Alerts Rule Wizard, User & Process Management and Systems Settings.  Need your solution to be indemnified and supported? Well in that case you need  RiverMuse Enterprise, which includes additional functionality to support the enterprise user plus formal tiered support services.

For more demanding environments you’re going to need RiverMuse Pro (coming Q1 2010). RiverMuse says this system will support heavy duty operations environments, will allow business logic templates to be shared between customers, and will automatically configure the event system as new equipment, systems and applications are added.

Barriers to open source adoption

So far so good. But is RiverMuse as good as existing COTS applications? Well this is a question that haunts the entire open source community, fuelled by accusations from established vendors and encouraged by other interested parties. Any software labelled as ‘open source’ faces a number of barriers to credibility and needs to overcome the confusion and mythology that has grown up around the term. Some of these objections are mistaken; others based on reasoning that is no longer valid; some are true. Separating fact from fiction is therefore imperative. Objections raised to open source tech and misunderstandings frequently include:

• it’s free and therefore probably isn’t any good because in life you get what you pay for…
  But then again they say the best things in life are free. Actually it’s a bit of a myth that open source means free. In fact, way back when the open source initiative kicked off, the term ‘open source’ was deliberately chosen to avoid the term ‘free software’. Commercial offerings may provide the basic, standard or core version for free but customers pay for additional services such as, training, support, documentation, premium functionality, advance availability of new features and so on. Some open source projects are funded by subscription or donation. In other words, open source technology is supported by a wide range of business models and it is important to clarify what these are during the early stages of sourcing
• I’ll get all the source code
  You might get all the source code, but not necessarily. Some companies publish only part of their source code – hence the distinction between free open source (FOSS) and commercial open source technology (COSS). You need to be clear how much you’re getting
• I need a lot of in-house expertise to assemble an open source solution
  You’re thinking about 1G open source technology which was developed by geeks and perhaps wasn’t all that easy to use or consume by the less-than-technically-astute. But open source tech has come a long way in the last 10 years. We now have open source solutions which you can expect to be as easy to configure and use as standard COTS software.That said, you’re still going to need some in-house expertise – just as if you were implementing COTS software. It’s possible that you could just surf the benefit deriving from an active community and select from enhancements developed by others; in reality though you’re likely to want to get involved. If you really don’t have or want in-house expertise then you’re probably better off with some type of SaaS or managed service. But just to make things more interesting, open source tech is sometimes now available on a SaaS basis
• I won’t get the support I need
  This probably was the case years ago, but things have changed. Open source solutions providers should now be giving you support at a similar level to COTS vendors – but don’t expect to get this for free as usually it’s the support you’ll pay for
• it’s not going to be scalable or offer high enough performance
  This is a bit of a red herring: not all COTS solutions offer high enough performance or scalability now do they?  Open source technology is widely used today in lots of large and demanding environments and one of the dirty little secrets of the software industry is that vendors are utilising open source tech to lower their costs (think Linux) while telling end users that it’s not reliable. Likewise, large IT vendors such as IBM and Oracle are making tidy sums indirectly from open source tech. Initially, you need to judge open source software on its merits and not on the business model it operates under. As per usual you need to decide whether the solution you are choosing has the features, attributes and cost profile that suits your needs (NB: keep reminding yourself that open source doesn’t mean free!)
• “I won’t get sacked for buying IBM”
  In other words, if I buy from an established, named vendor then it’s less risky and I’m less likely to suffer negative personal consequences if things go wrong. This defensive position is the bane of the small vendor market, who often complain that while they won the ‘bake off’ they still lost the contract due to this type of reasoning. Ultimately, whatever I say won’t convince an exec to take a risk if he’s mentally or emotionally tied to a specific vendor or vendors. But, the downsides of this approach are numerous and ultimately also career threatening. I’d like to think that modern execs are now more inclined to evaluate vendors and their offerings solely on rational technical and commercial grounds, but then maybe I’m a dreamer.

In short, open source technology is simply another sourcing option for service providers and such software should not be dismissed out of hand because it’s open source, nor should it immediately be assumed it’s going to be cheaper or better than the alternative. Menahem Fuchs made just this point in a <
a href="http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&gid=65866&discussionID=10614061&goback=.anh_65866" target="_blank">recent discussion on Linked In. He commented: “…I do not go along with the rhetoric that open source software is cheaper than COTS, which in turn is cheaper than bespoke…What counts is TCO, and an objective TCO comparison may go in favour of open source, COTS or bespoke solutions.” Menahem makes a very important point here that it’s very hard to generalise in BSSOSS, which is why on Microsperience we often point out things you should factor into decision-making, but we know there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategy as each CSP’s requirements will depend on a unique combination of political, commercial and technical factors.

That said, many observers have noticed an upsurge in organisations using open source technology, which has been boosted by current economic conditions. IDC, for example, revised its open source forecasts upwards, predicting CAGR of 22.4% to 2013, with global revenues reaching USD8.1 billion. And in a recent poll of CSPs we conducted in December 2009, 18% of respondents told us they currently used open source technology; 9% said they were actively investigating it; 55% said they wouldn’t rule out using it in the foreseeable future.

Advantages of using open source technology

So what advantages does open source technology offer to the telecoms IT market? Advantages that are particularly resonant with our current priorities include:

• free to try
  The global telecoms market is in a phase of experimentation with new services, technologies and business models. Buying software to support experimentation can be lengthy and costly, but open source offers a low-cost model to support innovation and experimentation. Open source solutions can offer a lower cost profile, and this is particularly important currently since CSPs are seeking to free up budget to fund innovation. However, in my experience while lower costs are the most talked about benefit of open source tech, they are not necessarily the most valued. CSPs generally tell me that benefits such as improving their agility, flexibility and adaptability are more important to them. So while the initial attraction may be lower costs, usually customers deploy and continue using open source technology to gain benefits other than a lower cost profile
• benefit from modern tech
  Many open source solutions are built from the ground up using the very latest technology and architectural approaches – this can lower costs and makes the resulting solutions more flexible, adaptable and so on. Employing modern architectural techniques such as SOA and web services can help with integration, which is one of the major hidden costs and challenges associated with a multi-vendor COTS environment
• speed up innovation
  This is the benefit that users of open source technology tell me they value most. With an active community of expert users problems get solved fast, and new features get added quicker. When this works well it results in a rate of innovation that’s hard to match. Some CSPs may be wary of whether they can cope with a large number of changes and updates but while this can be problematic, commercial open source solutions vendors should provide software lifecycle management as part of their support programme (you know, the bit you pay for!)
• get the features and technology previously only available to the rich
  One of the great benefits of open source tech, which is also true of SaaS, is that now smaller CSPs can benefit from technology they may previously not have had the budget to buy or the expertise to develop
• retain expertise & control and the ability to tailor the software to your needs
  Having control of your own destiny is very important for many CSPs, which now see their IT systems as offering the crucial differentiation they desire. The ability to steer development of the product to address their needs rather than being held hostage by a vendor’s roadmap and vision can be very attractive. This benefit is not unique to open source technology, but fear of vendor lock-in is still significant in telecoms IT and is one of the reasons why larger CSPs still have bespoke systems, and still operate diverse, multi-vendor environments. Having said that, senior managers may worry about the lack of a roadmap for open source solutions. My response to this is that using open source technology involves some cultural change. Having a two-year development roadmap also does not guarantee more features, better features or a better direction. An open source approach can and does result in feature-rich solutions, and some of the open source start-ups (like RiverMuse and Transverse, for example) have been set up by industry veterans who have the vision and expertise to guide product development
• insulate yourself from market change
  We may not be at peak M&A levels, but acquisitions inevitably continue apace. Many CSPs worry about their current product being discontinued, or de-supported, or being migrated over to some other package they may not have otherwise selected following the acquisition of their favoured vendor. To some extent an open source solution can mitigate against this risk because you have the code and so are able to continue running and developing a solution (but remember you need to be clear how much of the code you have access to at the outset)
• benefit from high quality software
  Since open source software is open, you get to see how it works. It is being peer-reviewed, revised and examined for flaws constantly, arguably resulting in much better code. There’s a tendency to assume that when you buy third-party products these are well-engineered: they may be, but they might also be pretty horrible (and we’ve probably all heard some edifying stories over the years). This one may seem counter-intuitive to business managers, but if you don’t believe me then go and talk to some code monkeys and they’ll give you the low-down on what’s really under the wrappers and how this affects performance etc
• benefit from good security
  I’ve often heard people say that open source solutions aren’t secure. I think the basis of this is a belief that because the code is open this somehow decreases security. However, all the evidence I hear from the coal-face is that security is pretty good. For example, since the code is being constantly examined by a large number of users for vulnerabilities and bugs, this means these are identified and fixed quickly.

It’s not a quick fix, but neither is it something to be scared of

In all probability you’re already using some open source technology somewhere in your stack – even if you’re not aware of it. Whether you should implement an open source solution instead of a COTS solution will depend on your circumstances, and needs to be determined using the same consistent and rigorous approach you would use to evaluate any software. Don’t select open source technology just because you think it might be cheaper – it may be, but as Menahem told us you need to conduct a rational TCO exercise in order to determine whether this is really the case. Instead, judge open source solutions as you would any other software: that is, on whether it solves your business problems and provides the functions you need now and in future at a cost profile you’re comfortable with.

Transverse’s James Messer puts this succinctly thus: “Open source is not a magic bullet, but rather an important part of an overall business strategy and IT architecture. However, adding up all the benefits it provides naturally leads to the conclusion that commercial open source business support solutions will play a significant role in the technology refresh taking place in the telecoms back office.”

James argues that legacy platforms and vendors are preventing CSPs from evolving and innov
ating: “In order to move forward, CSPs will move from a focus on platform uptime to utilize systems that allow them to follow the Web 2.0 world and experiment with new business models.   By utilizing an open source model, CSPs are able to break the cycle of vendor lock-in and the billions of dollars spent annually on proprietary licenses can be redirected towards creating real value – rolling out two-sided business models and truly monetizing the relationship with their customers.”

Selection of open source technology solutions and vendors

Android - mobile OS

Glassfish - application server, Java EE 5 compatible

Java - programming language

jbilling – billing and mediation system

Linux - operating system

Nagios – IT and network monitoring

mySQL - database

OfBiz - a tool for building enterprise business solutions

OpenNMS – network management

OpenSolaris – OS

Opentaps – ERP and CRM

Pentaho – business intelligence

RiverMuse – fault management solution

Sailfin – SIP server, telco grade platform

sugarCRM – CRM solution

Talend - data integration solution (Talend Open Studio)

Transverse - provider of billing and customer management solution blee(p)

Vyatta - network operating system, enterprise class routing and security features

If you have further suggestions to add to this list then please feel free to do so.