e process create an even bigger problem than the one we started out to fix? This brings us almost full circle. The reason that many vendors do not provide a mechanism to import product catalog definitions is that in order to make sense of what is being imported, the API would have to provide considerable functionality to "hook-up" the definition in some meaningful and useful way. The amount of data and contextual information that would have to be pushed through the API in order to achieve synchronization would have to effectively mimic the product catalog configuration utility provided by the vendor. The above discussion may appear overly pessimistic, but it highlights what is probably the Achilles' Heel of the "best-in-breed" approach. While no truly satisfactory solution exists today to solve the general product catalog The Ultimate Guide to Building and Delivering OSS/BSS integration problem, specific solutions based on the integration of product X and product Y, e.g. OE/OM and billing, have been successful. This is an area of opportunity waiting for a solution from some farsighted vendor. Additionally, an independent industry group such as the TeleManagement Forum could possibly move the solution process forward by defining what the Universal Product Catalog should look like. This issue is also receiving considerable on-going research and development in BusinessEdge Solutions' velOSSity solution centers. 11. BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS INTEGRATION While most of this chapter focuses on techniques for integration of internal OSS packages, do not lose sight of the broader set of requirements for eBusiness integration among trading partners. Fortunately, many of the approaches discussed can be applied to business-to-business (B2B) integration, which falls into two major categories. The first involves creating Web-based portals for the use of business partners. The other involves the electronic exchange of messages between business partners. In the Web-based approach, the business providing the portal will typically host