ACE*COMM launched the next generation of its industry-leading enterprise operations support system (EOSS) at VoiceCon 2003 in Washington, DC on February 18. NetPlus 6 EOSS brings a new level of usability and interoperability to this advanced enterprise and network management system. The browser-based interface eliminates the need for time-consuming client installation and upgrades, and the new distributed architecture is a huge leap forward in terms of flexibility, extensibility, and mobility.
NetPlus 6 EOSS enables the full-spectrum of FCAPS functionality in one solution. All regular and one-time network operations are made easy with NetPlus 6 EOSS's comprehensive tools, reporting capabilities, and centralized Oracle database.
NetPlus 6 EOSS includes a configurable Workflow Engine that lets you define internal and external process flows and routing rules, and lets you interface directly with other systems and databases. This enables you to automate your labor- and paper-intensive processes for improved efficiency and data accuracy.
Zero Client Installation Effort
Easy to Learn, Easy to Use
Customize, Standardize, Grow
Unprecedented Mobility
Tight Security
Workflow Efficiency
NetPlus's new open application programming interfaces (APIs) let you incorporate NetPlus business rules into virtually any Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE)-compliant application, and to build your own customized, platform-independent applications. You can also use cascading style sheets (CSS) and other easy browser tools to customize and standardize the look and feel of your NetPlus EOSS. With the standard capabilities of J2EE-compliant application servers, there are no practical limits to NetPlus's interoperability and scalability.
NetPlus 6 uses the n-tiered J2EE architecture for its flexible and open framework, as well as for its built-in load-sharing and efficiency-enhancing capabilities. NetPlus's Java source base gives it platform independence and enables object sharing with other applications. It supports most open industry-standard interface mechanisms such as XML. It is built on top of a highly scalable, single-image Oracle database providing a single, integrated location for all data. Crystal Reports has been integrated with NetPlus for ad hoc report generation.
With NetPlus 6 EOSS's new interface and Workflow Engine, enterprises will find it easier than ever to perform vital enterprise and network operations, boost performance, and reduce costs. Its architectural improvements make it more robust and flexible than ever, so it can easily scale and adapt as enterprises change and grow.
Read about the features and benefits of NetPlus® 6 EOSS here,
or download the NetPlus®
6 EOSS data sheet.
Westlake Makes Strategic Investment in ACE*COMM
Westlake Global Technology Solutions and ACE*COMM have formed a strategic alliance to accelerate business development in the Asia-Pacific marketplace. Westlake is focused on delivering advanced U.S. technologies into the telecommunications and enterprise sectors in China.
Westlake acquired approximately five percent of the common shares of ACE*COMM. The investment capital will be used to further build-out ACE*COMM's infrastructure in China, and to accelerate its business development efforts in the Asia-Pacific region. The Companies also executed a Master Reseller Agreement, under which Westlake will work closely with ACE*COMM on business development efforts and will be responsible for importing and distributing ACE*COMM products in China.
"Westlake brings domain knowledge to our market penetration efforts in China," said George T. Jimenez, ACE*COMM's Chairman and CEO. Martin Demers, ACE*COMM's Chief Marketing Officer added: "As a company, our momentum in China is being driven by customers and prospects who realize the critical value of mediation as a business development technology."
Tangible results can be seen already. On February 26, ACE*COMM and Westlake announced a deal to provide China Telecom Group's Shaanxi Telecom Company with ACE*COMM's DCMS mediation solution. The deal plays a vital role in the updating of Shaanxi's large network and its call accounting system, extending the service life of existing switches and improving information quality for billing systems. It will enable Shaanxi to eliminate bottlenecks, improve service quality, and increase profitability.
ACE*COMM presents at UN ITU Forum
In December 2002, ACE*COMM Chairman and CEO George Jimenez, spoke at the International Telecommunications Union (www.ITU.int) on behalf of the Internet Protocol Detail Record Organization (IPDR.org). His presentation was focused on enabling ITU experts to apply the Network Data Management-Usage (NDM-U) technology to the tariffing of next-generation services.
The ITU, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, is an international organization within the United Nations System (www.unsystem.org) where governments and the private sector coordinate for the development of global telecom networks and services. As an increasing number of operators reorient their business plans to include Internet Protocol (IP) networks, ITU's work program is encompassing developments in IP-based systems.
The presentation took place at the ITU headquarters in Geneva, as part of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) Study Group 3 plenary meetings on tariff and accounting principles. ITU-T embodies the ITU's longest-running responsibility -- developing internationally agreed-upon technical and operating standards, and defining tariff and accounting principles for international telecommunication services. Representatives from more than 80 countries attended.
Visit the AcePort!
AcePort is ACE*COMM's customer support portal for customers under warranty or who have purchased a support package. It provides easy access to documents, incident reports, and other items of interest through a password-protected Web site. While you're there, check out the customer "score cards," which give you an opportunity to rate our service and performance every month!
AcePort features:
Contact information for your Program Manager.
Customer score cards: choose the service and performance measures that are important to you, and evaluate us on a monthly basis.
Quick links and telecom resources.
Important documents and manuals.
Support information such as contact coordinates and corporate holiday listings.
Online access to your incident reports through a secure database that allows you to view existing reports and open a new report from your Web browser.
FTP server access.
Discussion forums for enterprise and mediation customers: discuss ideas, questions, opinions, and more. Forums are monitored by ACE*COMM Customer Support, who will respond to technical questions.
Log onto the AcePort, or to request
a username and password, contact your ACE*COMM Program Manager or send an e-mail to
Mediation Q&A
In response to the frequent queries we receive on various mediation topics, ACE*News presents Mediation Q&A, a regular Q&A column with Jonjie Sena, ACE*COMM's Director of Product Management and Architecture for Convergent Mediation.
Jonjie has over 10 years' experience deploying mediation solutions around the world. In his previous role as software engineering manager, he was involved in architecture, design, implementation and deployment issues. Today, Jonjie expands his hands-on involvement with a perspective on the industry and marketing. He is a participating member in key industry organizations such as the International Softswitch Consortium, IPDR.org, and the International Engineering Consortium (IEC), and has published articles in leading industry magazines.
Question:
"Does the data validation process create a bottleneck in the data processing system?" Fred C., U.S.A.
No. Most validation functions are optimized because they are performed on every single record that passes through the system. Furthermore, these functions are performed on records that have already been loaded into memory for further processing, so it rarely involves additional I/O.
Even if the potential were there, validation would still be worthwhile. It catches a majority of the data integrity problems, so if validation were not performed it would be difficult to trust any output that the system produces.
Question:
"Is mediation an option for smaller service providers, or is it scaled only for the big players?" Meredith H., Canada
Mediation -- and its revenue assurance benefits -- is applicable to service providers of all sizes. All service providers are concerned with recouping whatever revenue potential is available on their networks, so it is imperative to have revenue assurance features in all of their processes. The cost of the mediation system (software, hardware, and support) is usually commensurate with the size of the service provider and is partly based on the total number of usage records produced on the service provider's network.
ACE*COMM has delivered its mediation solutions to a variety of carriers, small and large.
Question:
"Can I run a test to see if I'm losing revenue before committing to a mediation revenue assurance system?" Oscar R., Brazil
For the most part, yes. ACE*COMM has a "rapid deployment" implementation of its N*VISION® application that is designed to be installed in just a few days. It provides a battery of reports that are used to identify some well-known causes of revenue leakage, such as data corruption, incomplete reference data, etc.
However, service providers may have their own operations and deployed technologies, so a more complete evaluation process is usually necessary. This involves activities such as conducting interviews with the operations people and possibly some reconfiguration or customization of the system to focus on the priorities of the service provider. Granted, these reconfigurations/customizations are very minor and would likely add only a few days to the implementation time before a test can be conducted.
Email questions to
Only your first name and your initial
will appear, and not your company name. Not all questions will appear in ACE*News. Questions will
also be answered directly via email.
Go to the "Press Coverage" page to see what is being
said about us in the media!
Upcoming Events
Visit ACE*COMM at these upcoming events!
CTIA Wireless, March 17, 2003, New Orleans, LA. Booth #6314 Contact ACE*COMM for a free pass!
Revenue Assurance Spring 2003, April 10-11, 2003, New Orleans, LA.
ACE*COMM's Jonjie Sena -- Director of Product Management and Architecture for Convergent Mediation -- will present a carrier networking roundtable discussion called "Eliminating Non-Billables Can Actually Save You Money".
Caspian Telecoms, April 14-16, 2003, Istanbul, Turkey. Booth #I168
ACUTA Spring Seminars, April 27 - 30, 2003, Norfolk, VA. Booth #6
Feature Quote
ACE*COMM is one of the most experienced mediation companies in the business. It delivers a broad range of mediation software and services for wired and wireless voice, data, and internet service providers... Having mediated everything from old-generation analog circuit-switching equipment to the latest softswitch and ATM technology, ACE*COMM recognizes that its strongest selling point may be its ability to bridge next-generation and classic (legacy) networks.
Dan Baker, Research Director, TRI - Technology Research Institute, "Revenue Assurance, Mediation & Cost Management Solutions in Telecommunications" Report, 2003
Customer Support Contact Info
Hours: 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM U.S. EST
Weekdays, except for ACE*COMM-observed holidays. After-hours calls are handled by the ACE*COMM answering service.
Contact Customer Support:
800-989-5566
301-721-HELP (4357)
Escalation Path:
(1) Customer Support
(2) Bob Lintvedt, Director of Customer Service
(301-721-3089)
(3) Charles Wood, VP of Customer Service and Program Management
(301-721-3031)
About ACE*News
ACE*News is a publication for ACE*COMM customers and partners. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions on how
we can improve this publication, please contact our
.
ACE*COMM launched the next generation of its industry-leading enterprise operations support system (EOSS) at VoiceCon 2003 in Washington, DC on February 18. NetPlus 6 EOSS brings a new level of usability and interoperability to this advanced enterprise and network management system. The browser-based interface eliminates the need for time-consuming client installation and upgrades, and the new distributed architecture is a huge leap forward in terms of flexibility, extensibility, and mobility.
Westlake Global Technology Solutions and ACE*COMM have formed a strategic alliance to accelerate business development in the Asia-Pacific marketplace. Westlake is focused on delivering advanced U.S. technologies into the telecommunications and enterprise sectors in China. 
In December 2002, ACE*COMM Chairman and CEO George Jimenez, spoke at the International Telecommunications Union (
The ITU, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, is an international organization within the United Nations System (
AcePort is ACE*COMM's customer support portal for customers under warranty or who have purchased a support package. It provides easy access to documents, incident reports, and other items of interest through a password-protected Web site. While you're there, check out the customer "score cards," which give you an opportunity to rate our service and performance every month!
In response to the frequent queries we receive on various mediation topics, ACE*News presents Mediation Q&A, a regular Q&A column with Jonjie Sena, ACE*COMM's Director of Product Management and Architecture for Convergent Mediation.
