he network. Several data collection methods can be used to populate the database initially, or to perform real-time vali- dation of the "as-built" state of the network as recorded in the Visionael Repository. Visionael provides a network inventory, configuration, circuit and change manage- ment solution that can be integrated with other business and network management applications. Such a broad suite of features is not uncommon in the OSS industry. It can also be seen in the offerings of Clarity International, Cramer Systems, Dimension Data and TTI-Telecom. 34 Visionael's network inventory management solution links the network planning, provisioning, customer service, operations and engineering staff to a single, up-to- date knowledge base of network connectivity and configuration. Visionael announced its next-generation Visionael 6.0 product, which is based on the company's three-tier application architecture. Visionael 6.0 addresses the needs of OSS and Next Generation OSS (NGOSS) and migration to NGOSS by including change management functionality. The Visionael network inventory application is designed for telecom, DSL and web-hosting service providers, long-haul fibre service providers and network outsourcing companies. Visionael aims to support the life- cycle of communications networks with auto-discovery of SNMP-managed network devices, network design utilities, circuit provisioning, comprehensive reporting and the mapping of logical to physical views of the network down to the port-to-port level. Visionael's API strategy has some similarities to that of AdventNet, and is based on CORBA, Java, C++, COM and XML languages, facilitating one-to-one integration with OSS components and data exchange through a middle layer messaging bus sys- tem. The APIs are mostly intended to be used at the time of implementation, so that systems integrators and customers can set up interfaces to exchange data in the Repository with other OSS applications such as service order management, activa- tion and fault management tools