in-a-box solutions that will succeed are those that solve product catalog integration problems and have the staying power to survive with few customers. Economies of scale do not develop until a relatively large number of customers are acquired. There are many solution vendors that claim to have delivered an OSS-in- the-box, but the reality is that none truly exists to support the IIC today. There are relatively comprehensive offerings available, but it is unlikely that they will meet unique IIC requirements without a major development effort. A best-of-breed approach is recommended based on the availability of required functionality. Pre-integration of various aspects of the OSS suite based on best-of-breed applications can deliver the prime benefits of both approaches. velOSSity is one industry example where systems integrators are investing in pre-integration with leading OSS package vendors to suit various IIC business models. In-House or Outsource? Another major consideration, related to the build-buy decision, is whether or not to outsource, and then how to outsource if it is the right choice. An IIC will have a number of outsourcing options, from traditional service bureau vendors to ASPs and hosting providers. By outsourcing its OSS, an IIC will generally sacrifice control over the OSS functionality it has available. At the same time, it will not have to shoulder the expensive, experienced staff necessary to maintain the OSS platform. Rather, vendor management becomes a concern. An IIC that chooses to outsource must excel in this area and be able to both manage its outsourcer and make sure its application The Ultimate Guide to Building and Delivering OSS/BSS vendors are incorporating the functionality it needs in future releases. IICs also must be careful when choosing outsourcers, making sure that the outsourcing partner is reliable and experienced, and will be around for the long term. One option some IICs pursue is to build their OSS platform to suit their business, then retain an outsourcer to run it 