nagers - intelligent software resident on network elements, such as switches and multiplexers. Activation applications, often designed to support only specific types or makes of network equipment, send commands to network element managers to fulfill the service requests received from the provisioning system. One activation system may account for hundreds of network elements, thus centralizing their management. Without such a system, engineers would have to access each network element's command interface individually to activate a service across a network. Automating this process is therefore a time, cost and error saver. Extending flow-through provisioning capability to customers using the Web is a big step toward creating eBusiness for the Internet infrastructure industry. Ideally, any service that does not require an installation of some kind would be provisioned without intervention, and in as close to real time as possible. The creation of such an environment relies heavily on integrated activation software designed to communicate with multiple network technologies. Activation systems that can manage diverse types of network equipment have become increasingly important as network equipment technologies and manufacturers have proliferated. More network elements are being delivered with element management software designed to simplify configuration. In the ideal model, element managers would also report their equipment characteristics and functionality to upstream systems, such as activation and network management applications. This increase in automation and intelligence reduces the need for IICs to maintain large staffs of engineers who need constant training to remain familiar with equipment-specific command interfaces that frequently change. Chapter 2 - A Detailed Look at OSS Provisioning with Trading Partners Another area where automation, integration, and more efficient processes must be established is provisioning among trading partners. IICs currently face major frustrations trying to deliver service wh