eTOM 101 - A Primer In Three Parts

Today, we're posting the first of a three part series of articles looking at the TeleManagement Forum's eTOM.

First let's look at how eTOM compares and contrasts to ITIL. Using the familiar as a basis of comparison we can quickly build up our knowledge.

From Jenny Huang's excellent six page document (the best we've found so far!) we can learn just what eTOM actually is - here's a small extract...

"eTOM is a business process framework to guide the development and management of key processes within a telecommunications service provider.
It provides this guidance by offering a catalogue of industrystandard names and descriptions, with scope at multiple hierarchical levels. eTOM started back in 1995, known then as the TOM.

Based on traditional network management standards, TOM added the perspective of business process.

TOM very much focused on just the operational process needs. Since starting in 1999, eTOM has gradually added strategic, marketing, and product lifecycle planning and Enterprise process elements."

So why should we learn more about eTOM?

Why shouldn't we stay beneath our ITIL rocks and get on with doing that?

Well, there's several articles on the web that highlight possible "discussions" that may or may not be ongoing between parties such as the UK's OGC, the ITsmf and the TeleManagement Forum about possibly combining ITIL and eTOM in some way.

Have a read of Jenny's document and see if you could start to see how combining ITIL and eTOM could be done.

eTOM and ITIL Compared - Learn More Here...

There's no doubt that eTOM has some very dashing features within it - and in many ways is a more business focussed "envelope" which ITIL fits within but when you learn in tomorrow's article about the family that eTOM belongs to - there's a much much bigger picture to consider.

If you're experienced in eTOM and ITIL - we'd love to hear from you! Why not post a few words below and let us know what you think...