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Tiscali selects the Sigma Cloud ServiceBroker

News Tiscali selects the Sigma Cloud ServiceBroker
Hansen News
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Hansen News

Sigma’s latest solution enables operators to order and provision full suite of cloud services for business and residential subscribers

TORONTO —May 13, 2013 Sigma Systems, the leader in catalog-driven service fulfilment solutions, announced today that Tiscali, one of the leading independent telecommunication companies in Italy, has selected the Sigma Cloud ServiceBroker™ for the provisioning and management of its cloud services. The Cloud ServiceBroker enables Tiscali to offer a full suite of cloud services for business and residential subscribers along with its traditional telecommunications services.

The Sigma Cloud ServiceBroker enables Tiscali to manage its cloud services on the same platform as its existing on-network services, which include VoIP and high-speed broadband, thereby reducing its overall CapEx and OpEx. The Cloud ServiceBroker enables communication service providers to extend value-added IaaS and SaaS services to SMB and residential customers in a scalable, economic manner while shortening overall time to deployment.

“Sigma’s service fulfilment solutions will help Tiscali to accelerate the launch of new services while significantly decreasing our associated operational costs. With the addition of the Cloud ServiceBroker, we can offer our customers an even broader selection of services, and simplify the selection and management of business-critical cloud applications,” said Salvatore Pulvirenti, CIO at Tiscali.

Sigma has collaborated with Tribold to integrate its Enterprise Product Management (EPM) catalog with Sigma’s Cloud ServiceBroker. With this approach, Sigma & Tribold together enable service providers to accelerate the introduction of new cloud services since they can be immediately incorporated in the service provider’s product catalog and drive the customer self-care portals in the Sigma Cloud ServiceBroker.

“With the extension of the Cloud ServiceBroker to its Sigma Service Management Platform, Tiscali can offer its customers a one-stop, trusted source for the cloud solutions that can help them to grow and manage their business, or simplify their everyday lives,” said Tim Spencer, President and COO of Sigma Systems. “The agility offered with the integration of the Tribold product catalog can enable them to keep pace with their customers’ demands for immediate delivery of new services.”

Tiscali is the latest major service provider to announce the integration of the Sigma Cloud ServiceBroker with their Sigma OSS platform. “Operators of all types, whether fixed or mobile, telco or cable, are realizing there is great opportunity in the SMB market if they can equip themselves to leverage the wave of new, independent apps, services and content providers that SMBs are demanding,” added Spencer. “With the Cloud ServiceBroker, Sigma Systems is helping operators tap into this innovation, expand service offerings and packages, and accelerate their time-to-revenue from several months to just a few weeks.”

INFORMATION ON TISCALI
Tiscali S.p.A. (Borsa Italiana. Milan: TIS) is one of the leading alternative telecommunications companies in Italy. Tiscali provides its private and business customers with a vast range of services: Internet access through dial-up and ADSL, as well as voice, VoIP, media, and added-value services and other technologically advanced products. As at 31 December 2012 Tiscali reported around 479 thousand ADSL customers in Italy. Of these, around 348 thousand are Dual Play customers The Tiscali website may be accessed at www.tiscali.it.

About Sigma Systems
Sigma Systems is the authority in ordering and provisioning converged broadband services. Sigma’s extensible Service Management Platform delivers precise automation for rapid and error-free introduction of new services. Sigma’s SMP provisions all access networks including xDSL, FTTx, 2G, 3G, 4G-LTE and DOCSIS. Sigma’s SMP activates all of the key valued added services including VoIP, IPTV and cloud-based SaaS, and M2M applications. Sigma’s OSS can integrate with your existing legacy systems, enabling you to extend the return on your past investments. With Sigma, you have access to an experienced Customer Enablement team that is committed to superior delivery assurance and empowers you to realize the full benefit of the platform, continuously improve your service delivery, and achieve operational success. For more information about Sigma Systems, visit http://sigma-systems.com  and follow the company on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sigmasystems.

1. What does “modernise with precision” mean for Tier-1 telecom operators?

“Modernise with precision” describes a low-risk, targeted approach to BSS/OSS modernisation where operators upgrade only the parts of their digital stack that create the greatest impact. Instead of embarking on high-risk, multi-year full-stack replacements, Tier-1 telcos selectively introduce cloud-native BSS/OSS, API-driven telecom architecture, AI-ready data layers, and TMF-compliant BSS components.
This modular strategy reduces cost and disruption, allowing operators to strengthen areas such as product agility, order orchestration, customer experience, and operational efficiency while maintaining stability in core environments. It aligns directly with TM Forum’s Open Digital Architecture (ODA), which encourages a composable, interoperable, future-proof approach to telco transformation.

2. Why is time-to-market so important for telecom monetisation today?

Telecom monetisation increasingly depends on the ability to respond quickly to new commercial opportunities – from enterprise IoT solutions and digital services to 5G monetisation, wholesale partnerships, and B2B vertical offerings. In this environment, operators that can design, package, and activate new services in days rather than months gain a clear revenue advantage.
Legacy catalogues, rigid product hierarchies, and tightly coupled BSS architectures make rapid innovation difficult. Modern operators therefore prioritise catalog-driven architecture, agile/composable BSS, and cloud-native BSS capabilities to give business teams control over offer creation without relying on long IT delivery cycles. Faster launch cycles = faster monetisation.

 

3. What is slowing down product launch cycles for many telcos?

The primary obstacles are deeply entrenched in legacy architecture: hard-coded product models, outdated catalogues, nonstandard integrations, and heavy IT dependencies. These constraints slow down even minor product changes, creating friction between commercial teams and IT.
Modern telcos are replacing these bottlenecks with TMF-compliant BSS, cloud-native catalogues, API-driven BSS integrated via TMF Open APIs, and low/no-code configuration tools. These solutions allow product owners to create and test offers independently, ensuring the Digital BSS backbone supports true agility.

4. How can telecom operators reduce order fallout and manual intervention?

Order fallout typically stems from fragmented systems, inconsistent data models, and brittle custom integrations across BSS/OSS chains. When orchestration spans numerous legacy systems, even small discrepancies can cause orders to fail.
Operators can dramatically reduce fallout rates by adopting zero-touch service orchestration, modern order management modernisation, end-to-end automation, and a unified data model across their Digital OSS and Digital BSS layers. Cloud-native telecom systems and order orchestration for telecom remove reliance on manual rework, minimise delays, and improve service accuracy – all essential to delivering predictable customer experiences.

5. Why is accuracy so important for B2B and wholesale customer experience?

For enterprise and wholesale customers, trust is built on precision. A single misquote, incorrect configuration, or missed activation can lead to delays, SLA breaches, revenue disputes, and strained relationships. These segments rely on highly controlled, predictable fulfilment processes – particularly as operators expand into 5G edge services, network slicing, managed security, and outcome-based contracts.
Improving accuracy requires strengthening the underlying architecture – through modern CPQ for telecom, clean data models, cloud-native BSS/OSS, and robust API-driven telecom architecture. When quoting, ordering, provisioning, and billing are accurate, customer satisfaction increases naturally.

6. How does cloud, AI, and API-driven architecture support telecom modernisation?

Cloud-native platforms provide the scalability, flexibility, and deployment speed needed to support modern telecom services. AI introduces intelligence into operations, enabling predictive analytics, anomaly detection, and proactive assurance. APIs – especially TMF Open APIs – ensure new components integrate cleanly with legacy systems.
Together, AI-powered BSS/OSS, cloud-native architecture, and API-driven integration create a digital foundation that supports continuous innovation, reduces technical debt, and enables operators to deliver new services more efficiently. This trio is central to future-proofing the telco stack.

7. What is TM Forum’s Open Digital Architecture (ODA) and why does it matter?

TM Forum’s Open Digital Architecture (ODA) is an industry-standard framework designed to help telcos simplify, modularise, and modernise their BSS/OSS environments. ODA promotes interoperability, composability, and openness so operators can integrate new capabilities without heavy customisation or vendor lock-in.
For Tier-1 operators, ODA serves as a blueprint for transitioning from monolithic legacy stacks to cloud-native, API-driven, modular BSS/OSS infrastructure. By adopting ODA-aligned solutions, operators speed up integration, lower deployment risk, and reduce long-term operational cost.

8. How is Hansen involved in TM Forum and ODA?

Hansen aligns its architecture directly to TM Forum’s ODA principles and has contributed to the development of one of TM Forum’s recognised industry standards. This reinforces a commitment not just to following best practices, but to shaping them.
Hansen’s portfolio of cloud-native, AI-powered, API-driven Digital BSS/OSS modules is built on TMF Open APIs and composable design principles. This ensures seamless interoperability in multivendor environments and helps operators modernise safely and incrementally.

9. Can operators modernise their BSS/OSS without a full-stack replacement?

Yes – and in fact, most Tier-1 operators now prefer incremental transformation. Full-stack replacement is high risk, slow, and expensive. By contrast, modular modernisation allows operators to introduce new BSS/OSS capabilities – catalogues, orchestration layers, charging engines, customer management, monetisation components – without destabilising the existing ecosystem.
This approach reduces risk, accelerates value, and aligns with ODA’s principles of composability and openness. Operators can modernise at their own pace while still maintaining service continuity.

10. How does modular modernisation reduce risk?

Modular transformation focuses on improving specific parts of the architecture – such as product agility, order accuracy, unified data, or 5G monetisation – without changing everything at once. Each module is integrated, tested, and scaled independently, which reduces disruption and improves predictability.
It also allows operators to retire legacy systems gradually, reducing technical debt over time while still realising near-term efficiency and revenue gains. This is why agile/composable BSS is now the preferred model for Tier-1 telecom transformation.

11. What operational improvements can telcos expect from a unified data model?

A unified, AI-ready data model brings real-time visibility across commercial and operational processes, enabling faster decision-making and more reliable service execution. It also allows operators to detect issues earlier, automate root cause analysis, and reduce order fallout.
This consistent data foundation is essential for AI-powered BSS/OSS, predictive assurance, next-best-action recommendations, and advanced analytics. It ultimately improves operational efficiency, accuracy, and customer experience – three core pillars of modern telecom performance.

12. Why is Customer Experience (CX) tightly linked to operational excellence?

Most customer experience problems – delays, incorrect orders, billing errors, missed SLAs – originate from inefficiencies within the internal BSS/OSS engine. When operators modernise their Digital BSS/OSS processes, eliminate manual workarounds, and ensure accurate orchestration and service activation, the customer experience improves naturally.
This is particularly true for enterprise and wholesale customers, where CX is defined by precision, predictability, and contract performance. Improving CX requires improving the processes beneath it.

13. How do Hansen’s solutions fit into a Tier-1 telco transformation strategy?

Hansen provides cloud-native, API-driven, TMF-compliant, AI-powered Digital BSS/OSS modules that integrate smoothly into hybrid and legacy environments. Operators can use them to strengthen catalog agility, automate order flows, unify data, enhance monetisation, or improve service reliability – without needing to replace their entire BSS/OSS stack.
This flexibility supports transformation at the operator’s own pace, aligned to business priorities, regulatory requirements, and commercial objectives.

14. What benefits can operators expect from a layered or hybrid modernisation approach?

A layered or hybrid approach allows operators to combine existing systems with cloud-native components, enabling transformation without disruption. Key benefits include:
• Faster time-to-market for new offers
• Improved order accuracy and reduced fallout
• Lower cost-to-serve through automation
• Stronger customer experience
• Gradual reduction of technical debt
• Alignment with ODA and modular architecture principles
This approach balances stability with innovation – ideal for Tier-1 operators.

15. How do industry standards such as ODA accelerate telecom digital transformation?

Industry standards like TM Forum ODA and TMF Open APIs reduce integration complexity, promote interoperability, and give operators a trusted blueprint for modernisation. They ensure that new BSS/OSS components can plug into existing environments without custom engineering.
By reducing dependence on bespoke integrations and enabling modular deployment, standards significantly lower long-term cost and accelerate transformation across the business. They also future proof the architecture for new technologies, including AI, automation, and 5G service innovation.


 
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