SHARED VIEW OF CUSTOMERS ACROSS BUSINESS SUPPORT SYSTEMS (BSS) AND A SERVICE DELIVERY PLATFORM (SDP)

• US 20090112875A1
• Filed: 10/29/2007
• Published: 04/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: MAES, Stephane
• Granted Patent: US 8,073,810 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0807 using tickets, e.g. Kerberos cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using tickets or tokens H04L9/3213

Abstract

An identity management tool provides identity management across multiple domains, providing a single access point not only for information for runtime, network, and service layer information, but also for systems such as business support systems (BSS), operational support systems (OSS), and third party systems. The identity management tool creates a unified user profile that maps customer identities across the various domains, and presents the information in a virtual directory wherein the information appears to come from a single source, creating a central data hub for the various systems. This aggregation provides for the same experience and service across various access networks and using various channels. Such an architecture allows billing and service information to be shared with subscription and customer information, even though the data is substantially unrelated data from disparate data sources, without the need to combine schemas or aggregate the data into a single data store.

Claims

1. A system for providing a common view of customer data across multiple data domains, comprising:

a plurality of data repositories operable to store customer information related to a customer, at least two of the repositories storing a portion of the customer information in different data domains according to different schemas and including different identifiers for the customer;

at least one network access component providing access to the plurality of data repositories; and

an identity management tool maintaining a unified user profile for the customer, the unified user profile including a mapping for each data repository including one of the customer identifiers whereby access to each of the data repositories is possible using a single customer identifier, the identity management tool further including at least one adapter operable to provide access to customer information in the data repositories through a single interface, the interface including a virtual directory of the customer information whereby the customer information from the data repositories appears to come from a single data source.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of data repositories include a data repository for a business support system (BSS), whereby the virtual directory is operable to provide a common view of data from the BSS and service resource.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein:

the virtual directory is further operable to provide a common view of data from at least one of the network layer, a runtime component, an operational support system (OSS), and a third party system, along with data from the BSS and service resource.

4. A system according to claim 2, wherein:

the virtual directory provides a common view that further includes at least one of service-specific data, network data, and credential data.

5. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

additional adapters providing access to the plurality of data repositories.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein:

the identity management tool provides a common view of the customer information through the virtual directory for multiple access networks and access channels.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein:

the identity management tool provides for a aggregation of billing, subscription, service, and customer information across a domain.

8. A system according to claim 2, wherein:

the SDP includes a charging enabler operable to charge against a billing system and a rating system using identifiers managed by the unified user profile.

9. A system according to claim 1, wherein:

the multiple data domains include an OSS domain, a BSS domain, a network domain, and a service layer domain.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein:

the service layer domain includes a service delivery platform.

11. A system according to claim 1, wherein the virtual directory is operable to provide pre-mapping of the customer data.

12. A system according to claim 1, wherein the virtual directory is operable to apply at least one of policies and scripts to the customer data.

13. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an application operable to access the customer data from any of the multiple data domains through the virtual directory.

14. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a management tool operable to aggregate data in the virtual directory.

15. A system according to claim 1, wherein:

the unified user profile and virtual directory effectively extend the data repositories of different domains.

16. A system according to claim 15, wherein:

the data repositories are effectively extended by utilizing at least one additional data source using a common schema or an extended schema, along with a common interface or reference point for accessing each data repository.

17. A system for providing a common view of customer data across multiple data domains, comprising:

storing customer information related to a customer in a plurality of data repositories, at least two of the repositories storing a portion of the customer information in different data domains according to different schemas and including different identifiers for the customer;

mapping each data repository including one of the customer identifiers using a unified user profile such that each of the data repositories is able to be accessed using a single customer identifier;

in response to a request for customer information, providing access to the customer information in the data repositories through a single interface, the interface including a virtual directory of the customer information such that the customer information from the data repositories appears to come from a single data source; and

generating a single response including all the customer information from each of the data repositories that corresponds to the request.

18. A method according to claim 17, further comprising:

storing subscription information for the customer and providing services to which the customer has subscribed.

19. A method according to claim 17, wherein:

the plurality of data repositories include data repositories for a business support system (BSS), an operational support system (OSS), a service layer, a runtime component, and a network component, the virtual directory providing a common view of data from each of these data repositories.

20. A method according to claim 17, further comprising:

pre-mapping the customer data in the virtual directory.

21. A method according to claim 17, further comprising:

applying at least one of policies and scripts to the customer data in the multiple data domains via the virtual directory.

22. A computer program product embedded in a computer readable medium and including instructions that, when executed by a processor cause the processor to provide a common view of customer data across multiple data domains, comprising:

program code for storing customer information related to a customer in a plurality of data repositories, at least two of the repositories storing a portion of the customer information in different data domains according to different schemas and including different identifiers for the customer;

program code for mapping each data repository including one of the customer identifiers using a unified user profile such that each of the data repositories is able to be accessed using a single customer identifier;

program code for providing access to the customer information in the data repositories through a single interface in response to a request for customer information, the interface including a virtual directory of the customer information such that the customer information from the data repositories appears to come from a single data source; and

program code for generating a single response including all the customer information from each of the data repositories that corresponds to the request.

23. A computer program product according to claim 22, further comprising:

program code for storing subscription information for the customer and providing services to which the customer has subscribed.

24. A computer program product according to claim 22, further comprising:

program code for pre-mapping the customer data in the virtual directory.

25. A computer program product according to claim 22, further comprising:

program code for applying at least one of policies and scripts to the customer data in the multiple data domains via the virtual directory.