1. A method comprising: receiving, by a network alarm message processing system, a network alarm message provided by a network element of a network, the network alarm message being in a first message format; converting, by the network alarm message processing system, the network alarm message in the first message format to a new network alarm message defined in accordance with a network universal message format, the converting comprising mapping content of the network alarm message in the first message format to a plurality of fields of the network universal message format based on a mapping data file associated with the first message format, translating the content of the network alarm message in the first message format based on a translation rules data file associated with the first message format, and populating the plurality of fields with the translated content to generate the new network alarm message in the network universal message format; and providing, by the network alarm message processing system, the new network alarm message for use in conducting surveillance of the network.