Telecom Circuit Inventory Management Software [CASE STUDY]

The client is a provider of optical fiber networks and circuits in the state of South Carolina. It leases capacity to all prominent telecommunications carriers providing intrastate and interstate services through the fiber optic network it owns spanning in excess of 3100 miles.

Client wanted to automate its existing circuit data available in spreadsheets. The perceived ‘circuit inventory management software’ system had to help users make single data entry, avoid inconsistency and provide easy information access.

Client wanted an application that would provide features where user will be able to maintain circuit, equipment and customer information. The application had to provide extensive search facility which would help users to see list of circuits, availability of circuits, customer and site wise details, etc. With the help of an export facility using, the user had to be allowed to export the data to spreadsheets.

Rishabh Software understood the importance of having a detailed inventory and developed a flexible inventory solution that allowed the client to view all of its assets by type, location, etc. In the past, equipment utilization and circuit capacity had been difficult to understand without an accurate, up-to-date circuit inventory system. With Rishabh’s Circuit Inventory Management Software solution, this comprehensive view of the network created the opportunity to accurately plan and predict capacity and diversity requirements.

The Inventory Management Software Solution could include any data field required. The information in the inventory was regularized across all vendors (ex. circuit type, router) to enable simple searching capabilities and enable robust reporting capabilities. A user had the ability to search for circuits by speed, or class of service without having to search by vendor. The standard fields for all vendors included: contract information, disconnect dates, and allocation of services down to the item level.

The Circuit Inventory Management Software was integrated with client’s Provisioning solution to manage and track service requests, and maintain an up-to-date inventory. Client’s Provisioning solution had been modified to automatically update the inventory as orders were completed, ensuring the inventory was up-to-date at all times, allowing for accurate monthly invoice validation.

Enhanced business architecture was laid out to support automation, integration and communication with other client’s business modules. The architecture and application were designed to handle subsequent phases without any rework to handle future development and enhancements.

Specific features of Circuit Inventory Management Software Solution included:

• Ability to support Telecom Assets including circuits, stations, contracts, locations, and wireless devices
• Integration with the Provisioning solution, so updates to the inventory were made automatically when new services are added or terminated
• Maintenance of accurate inventories of physical assets
• Centralized storage of asset data, allowing different business units (i.e. finance, telecom, engineering) to utilize the same system, and access relevant data sets

• Client handled his core circuit inventory management and allocations through the web enabled application. Many of the tasks being handled manually were automated which increased client’s operations efficiency
• Seamless integration of the application with other client’s application reduced the time needed to process circuit inventory providing faster updates of provisioning data to process customer orders.
• Central repository of information and enhanced reporting features simplified access to relevant information.
• Robust platform ensured future enhancements integration with existing processes

• .NET Framework 2.0 (ASP.NET, C#)
• SQL Server 2000
• Windows 2000 / XP
• Crystal Reports
• SQL reporting services
• AJAX