nting fraud. 8.6 Business Relationships with Suppliers/Partners Joint service arrangements have arisen in support of interconnection between serv- ice providers, referred to above as "partnering". This arose from the growth seen in the 1990s in partnerships, alliances, mergers, acquisitions, new market entrants and competitive access providers. To provide a service, one service provider must inter- face with one or more other service providers or network operators. When provid- ing a joint service or subcontracting services, service providers may interface with different functions at multiple layers of the TOM (see Figure 8.1). The interface points vary depending on: the degree of process automation of the service providers involved the service or technology being supported whether a service provider is acting as a wholesaler or retailer OSS for Telecom Networks whether a service provider is using their own network infrastructure or is merely acting in support of a specific customer service instance. With the advent of e-business, a service provider's processes must increasingly be viewed as part of an overall value chain. Hence the interfaces with suppliers, other providers and network operators are important. Since many processes that were once entirely internal to the service provider may now have external aspects, it is critical to understand the relationships with other service providers of a service provider's internal processes. 8.7 Service Provider TOM Application The service and network management structure and the process design of a service provider depend on their corporate mission, target markets and strategies. The basic operational functions identified within the TOM are process blocks that can be applied to various service providers' infrastructures and organizations. The specific process boundaries shown in the model do not correspond to orga- nizational boundaries. In one service provider, a single work group may have responsibility for taking orders and for receiving notification of problems fr