My API Story: Enabling real-time fulfillment, rating and charging
We talk to Globetom's Philip Stander about how TM Forum Open APIs enable real-time fulfillment and why they are essential to breaking down monolithic applications in communications service providers’(CSPs’) operations and achieving a “composable telco enterprise”.
06 Jul 2021
My API Story: Enabling real-time fulfillment, rating and charging
We talk to Philip Stander, Group CEO of Globetom, a company specializing in solutions for real-time fulfillment, rating and charging. He explains why TM Forum Open APIs are essential to breaking down monolithic applications in communications service providers’(CSPs’) operations and achieving a “composable telco enterprise”.
Tell us about yourself and your job.
I have been in the ICT industry since 1993 in various software design, development and leadership roles. I hold a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a master’s degree in physical chemistry from the University of Pretoria. I also hold a master of arts degree in Leading of Innovation and Change from York St. John University. I have 28 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. I lead Globetom’s contribution to industry standards through the company’s membership in TM Forum.
TM Forum Open APIs are an essential catalyst to breaking down monolithic application deployments in CSPs and digital service providers (DSPs). The Open API program is therefore crucial to achieve a composable telco enterprise. CSPs and DSPs can leverage prepackaged components to fulfill niche functions typically available only in larger monolithic applications. Monolithic applications often result in slow systems of record-paced changes that lack the agility needed by telcos to become successful DSPs.
The Open APIs and the Open Digital Architecture (ODA) are the industry standards for achieving the composable telco enterprise. The Open APIs also impose standard resource models for each API and leverage the TM Forum Information Framework (SID) wherever possible. Therefore, the standardized underpinning resource models of the Open APIs deliver confidence to telcos, which lies in the knowledge that their information model manipulated by API calls is based on an industry-standard canonical data model.
Globetom is in the process of adopting and implementing approximately 20 Open APIs on our Open API program for 2021. It’s quite tricky to single out a few, but I would say that the Product Catalog API (TMF620), together with the underpinning Service and Resource Catalog APIs, stand out for us. Another standout is the Loyalty Management API (TMF658).
As an organization specializing in real-time fulfillment, rating and charging, the resource models of these three catalog Open APIs provide the entire information framework for fulfillment operations. These catalog APIs further drive seamless integration of offers across the fulfillment, assurance and billing verticals to ensure operations based on a single, unified resource model. If correctly implemented by telcos and DSPs, this can improve customer satisfaction and eliminate billing errors owing to siloed and fragmented configuration across fulfilment, assurance and billing operations.
The Loyalty Management API delivers a complete loyalty program management and rewards event processing interface for CSPs and DSPs, and delivers a catalyst for agile loyalty programs.
We are presently implementing these APIs for two large telcos and have performed data migration using the APIs to migrate proprietary catalogs that became technical debt in these organizations. We are helping customers to migrate proprietary and fragmented catalog definitions spread across many systems into a single, standard resource model that is accessible using especially the TMF620 Product Catalog API.
Globetom benefits from the use of the underlying resource model as a master data model artefact. We leverage our real-time object store to store the entire resource model in canonical data stores that act as a master data management (MDM) function. This feature helps to achieve MDM irrespective of the integrated operational support system (OSS), business support system (BSS), or digital platforms accessed as part of API operation fulfillment. This allows our customers to attain data standardization regardless of the underpinning technology ecosystem.
Our APIs are predominantly in use at telcos in South Africa and digital service providers in the Middle East. We are also starting to use the Open APIs across industry verticals. APIs such as TMF632 (Party Management) and TMF658 (Loyalty Management) form part of our roadmap in other industry verticals that we serve with our cloud offerings.
Globetom uses TMF684 (Shipment Tracking) as part of a digital payment platform providing access to Mobile Money as a payment instrument. We use the API resource model as shipment tracking master data pre-integrated with other logistics APIs that various logistics companies use commercially. This capability creates the value-add to our customers where payment transaction fulfillment results in automated goods delivery tracking.
Why do you believe in TM Forum’s Open API program?
TM Forum Open APIs are an essential catalyst to breaking down monolithic application deployments in CSPs and digital service providers (DSPs). The Open API program is therefore crucial to achieve a composable telco enterprise. CSPs and DSPs can leverage prepackaged components to fulfill niche functions typically available only in larger monolithic applications. Monolithic applications often result in slow systems of record-paced changes that lack the agility needed by telcos to become successful DSPs.
The Open APIs and the Open Digital Architecture (ODA) are the industry standards for achieving the composable telco enterprise. The Open APIs also impose standard resource models for each API and leverage the TM Forum Information Framework (SID) wherever possible. Therefore, the standardized underpinning resource models of the Open APIs deliver confidence to telcos, which lies in the knowledge that their information model manipulated by API calls is based on an industry-standard canonical data model.
Which TM Forum Open APIs are most valuable to your company?
Globetom is in the process of adopting and implementing approximately 20 Open APIs on our Open API program for 2021. It’s quite tricky to single out a few, but I would say that the Product Catalog API (TMF620), together with the underpinning Service and Resource Catalog APIs, stand out for us. Another standout is the Loyalty Management API (TMF658).
Why did you choose to highlight those APIs?
As an organization specializing in real-time fulfillment, rating and charging, the resource models of these three catalog Open APIs provide the entire information framework for fulfillment operations. These catalog APIs further drive seamless integration of offers across the fulfillment, assurance and billing verticals to ensure operations based on a single, unified resource model. If correctly implemented by telcos and DSPs, this can improve customer satisfaction and eliminate billing errors owing to siloed and fragmented configuration across fulfilment, assurance and billing operations.
The Loyalty Management API delivers a complete loyalty program management and rewards event processing interface for CSPs and DSPs, and delivers a catalyst for agile loyalty programs.
How do you use the APIs?
We are presently implementing these APIs for two large telcos and have performed data migration using the APIs to migrate proprietary catalogs that became technical debt in these organizations. We are helping customers to migrate proprietary and fragmented catalog definitions spread across many systems into a single, standard resource model that is accessible using especially the TMF620 Product Catalog API.
How have you benefitted from using the APIs?
Globetom benefits from the use of the underlying resource model as a master data model artefact. We leverage our real-time object store to store the entire resource model in canonical data stores that act as a master data management (MDM) function. This feature helps to achieve MDM irrespective of the integrated operational support system (OSS), business support system (BSS), or digital platforms accessed as part of API operation fulfillment. This allows our customers to attain data standardization regardless of the underpinning technology ecosystem.
Where do you use the APIs?
Our APIs are predominantly in use at telcos in South Africa and digital service providers in the Middle East. We are also starting to use the Open APIs across industry verticals. APIs such as TMF632 (Party Management) and TMF658 (Loyalty Management) form part of our roadmap in other industry verticals that we serve with our cloud offerings.
Have you used them in conjunction with any other APIs?
Globetom uses TMF684 (Shipment Tracking) as part of a digital payment platform providing access to Mobile Money as a payment instrument. We use the API resource model as shipment tracking master data pre-integrated with other logistics APIs that various logistics companies use commercially. This capability creates the value-add to our customers where payment transaction fulfillment results in automated goods delivery tracking.
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