tivity can be made easier by deploying an enterprise application integration (EAI) layer. The EAI allow opera- tors to quickly integrate diverse support systems and network elements. Electronic integration of support systems is required for an automated back-office in large-scale operations. This integration layer creates an open data exchange platform optimized for heterogeneous interprocess communication. The EAI is not limited to OSS and can be used to support communication between software systems in other domains also. Some of the key players in EAI development are Tibco, BEA Systems (acquired by Oracle), and Vitria. Additional Reading 1. Kundan Misra. OSS for Telecom Networks: An Introduction to Network Management. New York: Springer, 2004. 2. Dominik Kuropka, Peter Troger, Steffen Staab, and Mathias Weske, eds. Semantic Service Provisioning. New York: Springer, 2008. 3. Christian Gronroos. Service Management and Marketing: Customer Management in Service Competition. 3rd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons., 2007. Benoit Claise and Ralf Wolter. Network Management: Accounting and Performance Strategies (Networking Technology). Indianapolis, IN: Cisco Press, 2007. 5. Kornel Terplan. OSS Essentials: Support System Solutions for Service Providers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001. Chapter 21 NGOSS This chapter is about TeleManagement Forum's (TMF) New Generation Operations Systems and Software (NGOSS). The chapter is intended to give the reader a basic understanding of NGOSS concepts and life cycle. This author suggests reading TeleManagemet Forum publications for a deep understanding of NGOSS concepts and components. 21.1 Introduction Let us start by discussing why TMF introduced NGOSS. The telecom industry was changing rapidly both from technical and business perspectives. On the tech- nical front, the focus shifted from simple voice service to data services, which was required on an IP-based platform as against the previous circuit platform. Also the focus shifted from a fixed to wireless network and then to co