orms (SDP) on traditional OSS/BSS systems. OSS/J delivers standard functional OSS APIs, each including specifications, reference implementations, conformance test suites, and certification process and source codes. Open IT standards form the basis of OSS/J technology. Use of OSS/J leads to a market of interoperable and interchangeable OSS com- ponents. OSS/J APIs include EJB and XML/JMS profiles, WS profiles, and WSDL interfaces for the common API. Vendors can be compliant to OSS through Java API by supporting any one of these profiles. Though OSS/J is generic it can be specialized to be model and technology specific. It provides coverage throughout the eTOM processes. OSS/J can be extended to meet specific operational requirements by use of a disciplined extension mechanism. It also supports metadata and queries. The best practices and design patterns implemented in each of the API back up OSS/J deliverables. eTOM can define a common map for communications industry business processes and a reference point for internal process reengineering needs, partnerships, alliances, and general working agreements with other providers as a result of endorsement by a large majority of the world's leading service providers. When applied to the full range of Telco operations, maximum flexibility is pro- vided by the technologies of OSS/J. Standard Interfaces OSS/J has the following characteristics: OSS/J uses J2EE as middleware. This is an open standard middleware. J2EE can provide tightly coupled system implementation. It comes with implemen- tation conformance test tools and certification process. OSS/J uses XML over JMS that enables loose coupling among systems and interfaces. OSS/J components are Web services-enabled using WSDL specifications. OSS/J offers open standards for its APIs. The standards come with a source code. They are certifiable at implementation level and come with conformance test tools. Before we conclude the discussion let's look into OSS/J certification. The OSS/J API specification and reference implemen