o maintains a repository of best practices and methodologies that can be referred by users of the application to get necessary templates and guide- lines in preparing artifacts in the project. 70. Data synchronization: Synchronization of data is a major issue in telecom management. This has led to development of data synchronization solutions that check for discrepancies in data between application databases and syn- chronize the data. For example, the data available in the network manage- ment module might be different from the inventory management module. When a device goes down and is deallocated from an operation, the net- work management solution will get immediately notified. When the faulty element is shown as deallocated in the network management solution, this ele- ment might have an active status in the inventory management module when Fundamentals of EMS, NMS and OSS/BSS the data is not synchronized. The data synchronization solution routinely checks for discrepancies and will ensure that the network and inventory data base are synchronized. 71. Integration tools: These tools enable operators to quickly integrate diverse support systems and network elements. EAI tools like Vitria, WebM, and Tibco are examples of integration tools. Electronic integration of support sys- tems is required for an automated back-office in large-scale operations. Tools like EAI creates an open data exchange platform optimized for heterogeneous interprocess communication. These tools are not limited to OSS and can be used to support communica- tion between software systems in other domains also. Compliancy to standards can significantly reduce integration costs and minimize the integration effort. 23.3 Conclusion With evolution in technology new and improved, networks are coming up in the market and there is an increased demand for management solutions that can man- age these next generation networks or its elements by hiding the inherent complex- ity of the infrastructure. The capital and operational expenditure in managing 