Operations systems: A perspective

The U.S. communications industry today is experiencing great change. Telecommunications companies are vying with — and in some cases merging with or acquiring — cable television companies to bring interactive broadband services into the home. Computer companies are developing products to provide video-conferencing and other interactive broadband capabilities. In Washington, lawmakers are grappling with such issues as the “Information Highway,” loop communication, access, local service monopolies, and equipment manufacturing. One result is that the telecommunications industry will soon evolve into a new industry, with less regulation and more intense competition. These developments will lead to rapid technological innovation and plummeting prices — the same phenomena that shaped the computing industry in recent years. Like other parts of the telecommunications industry, operations systems will be dramatically affected by these events. To respond to the changes and to remain innovative and competitive, AT&T's Operations Systems Business Unit (OSBU) is revamping not only its methods for developing software, but its entire business strategy.