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ILOG Connection is produced by the Communication Department of ILOG S.A. in Gentilly, France |
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COMMUNICATIONS NEWS Powering Critical Systems As a major technology provider, ILOG sells software that is already powering numerous and widely different critical solutions. Our telecom R&D backs the communications technology provider as a key enabler with unique offerings of the three fundamental technologies of communications software: visualization, business rules and optimization. In this issue we see how NDH applies ILOG JTGO to network design, and BizzEngine and UshaComm use ILOG business rule components in customer care and billing. 
NDH Revamps Interface Network Design House (NDH) has embedded ILOG visualization components in its planning and design software, using ILOG JTGO and ILOG JViews to power the front-end interface of NetScene-SDH 3.3. NetScene is a powerful optimization package that enables the user to design and dimension networks. The application provides telephone companies and other business organizations with a highly flexible package for designing next-generation telecommunications networks and storing key data concerning them. NetScene can be used to plan and design networks based on a variety of architectures, including SDH, ATM, IP and Frame Relay. NetScene is a modular package that can be tailored and adapted to meet each customer's needs. The ILOG front end is an integral part of the NetScene development program. The highly sophisticated interface was made as a direct response to NetScene user requirements in Europe and the United States, and significantly enhances the NDH design and planning product set. The pure Java ILOG JTGO and ILOG JViews are embeddable components that make the development of interactive, intuitive graphical interfaces a turnkey operation. These 2D visualization software components typically halve development time and cost, accelerating new product development and deployment. Founded in 1996, NDH develops software and services for the telecommunications industry. Backed by substantial private funding, it has become a specialist in network design and planning software for the competitive, service-driven market. NDH has brought together professionals with a wide range of experience in network design, computer programming and system integration, all of which contribute to the development of NetScene, a suite of software for designing network architectures. The company also provides network design consultancy and software development, including customized applications using NetScene and bespoke products.
BizzEngine Ships BillXpert BizzEngine Pte. Ltd. has integrated ILOG JRules, the industry's leading Java business rule engine, into the new state-of-the-art BillXpert customer care and billing system. 
BillXpert is a comprehensive solution for communications service providers. It is ideally suited for Internet services, including data centers, and broadband and application access services. Written entirely in Java, BillXpert uses Enterprise Java Beans to ensure robustness, and a 100% Web-based interface that is deployable across multiple servers and highly scalable for handling hundreds of thousands of customers daily. "BizzEngine integrates the best components into its products," says Zuan Lim, managing director of BizzEngine. "We believe ILOG JRules lets us offer our customers the most advanced high-performance billing and billing mediation engines. We are very excited to have ILOG as a technology and business partner." ILOG JRules is the cornerstone of two strategic modules in BillXpert: packages and plans, and mediation. Its user-oriented editor allows BillXpert to enable telecom marketing staff to quickly and easily define, change and implement new pricing plans by offering innovative service bundles and personalized pricing, resulting in a superior advantage for BizzEngine customers. ILOG JRules high performance and flexibility make the BillXpert mediation module able to format and correlate millions of network usage data records per day, paving the way for future network data types or network growth, with minimal system changes. "We are delighted to increase ILOG JRules' presence in Asia with BizzEngine," says Foo Jong Tong, general manager of ILOG Singapore, "especially after the component's increasing success in Europe and the United States, where it has become a key component for powering billing and billing mediation solutions, and giving a competitive edge to communications service providers." A partner in ILOG's Infocomm Local Industry Upgrading Program (iLIUP), BizzEngine specializes in next-generation billing solutions for service providers striving to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Through iLIUP, BizzEngine has been able to benefit from ILOG's technological expertise to upgrade product development capabilities. "The winning partnership between ILOG, a leading global technology player, and BizzEngine, a local company, ensures BizzEngine an edge over global competition and serves as evidence of the success of iLIUP," says Seah Lye Khim, deputy director of Software and Services Industry Development, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore.
UshaComm Builds for Speed Revving up the latest release of Unicorn, billing and customer care solution provider Usha Communications Technology added top business rule engine ILOG Rules. The ILOG component enables communications service providers to bypass billing system vendors while shifting policies more quickly and smoothing, and showing better performance at the bottom line. UshaComm is an international software and consulting company that specializes in operations support services for the communications industry. Its flagship product, Unicorn, is a comprehensive billing and customer care application whose high flexibility and scalability let telecommunications and Internet service providers compete in diverse markets with millions of subscribers. The latest version of Unicorn uses ILOG Rules to give users the ability to change the application themselves, bypassing the need to call in a consultant from a billing system vendor to update the system. ILOG Rules comes with a business rule editor that simplifies rule creation by letting non-technical businesspeople use their own jargon. Now Unicorn users can implement policy changes in only a few hours or even minutes, a competitive advantage that enables them to react immediately to changes in the marketplace. "Business is changing dramatically, with innovations like 3G mobile and the new convergence of telephony and IP," says V. Ole Kilgore, CEO of UshaComm. "Although networks and services are becoming more complex, ILOG Rules can greatly enhance a business's reactivity to these changes by enabling them to more quickly stimulate business by deploying unique service packages and pricing schemes, running aggressive sales campaigns with personalized promotions, and offering customized discounts at any time." With ILOG Rules, Unicorn works with any operating system, database or computer platform. Service providers can implement the most aggressive pricing schemes, regardless of their complexity, and proactively offer new services in anticipation of changes in customers' needs. This includes the ability to offer personalized rates and support creative, event-driven marketing campaigns. "ILOG Rules gives us a tremendous advantage over the competition by enabling us to dramatically reduce the time needed to implement new rating policies," adds Mr. Kilgore. Business rule engines like ILOG Rules are currently the most timesaving, cost-effective way to impart outstanding customization for managing ever-changing complex rates and promotions. ILOG Rules and its Java version, ILOG JRules, are increasingly being used throughout the communications industry in a wide variety of applications, from Internet site automation to alarm and call record filtering and correlation.
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