1. An object-oriented system for one of relating network elements to a customer and relating a customer to the network elements, the system comprising: a network element data module containing network element data arranged in a form that can be manipulated using an object-oriented application; a customer data module; and a mapping module in communication with the network element data module and the customer data module for creating an object-oriented model of the network elements, wherein the output of the mapping module comprises: a plurality of sub-tree layers, wherein each layer represents a layer of abstraction, wherein a root represents the highest sub-tree layer and the highest level of abstraction; and a plurality of unique customer identifiers assigned to network elements that relate the customer to certain network elements.