Product Improvement of the Month

OBJECT HIERARCHIES

Our latest feature update lets you establish hierarchies for serviceable locations that have dependencies on each other.

For example, if you want to collect signups from potential customers in a multi-dwelling unit (MDU), you can create a parent-child relationship and hierarchy in COS Business Engine:

In this case, the “Parent Object” is the MDU, and the apartments are set up as “Children”. 

After establishing these levels, individual apartments/customers can pre-sign up for services but will have to wait for the “Parent,” the associated MDU, to be connected and ready before these signups can proceed to actual orders. 

A typical use case would be to sell to customers in MDUs where you don’t have the property owner’s permission to come into the building without overpromising.

Of course, this works in conjunction with Work Orders, which means that you can create installation workflows specific to MDU buildings to streamline that installation process.

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We keep expanding our fantastic (US) team – Meet Marcus Kitchens

Tell us a little bit about yourself – who are you, and what is your background?

Hi! I’m Marcus Kitchens. I started my career as a GIS Analyst for a Houston, TX based firm after graduating college and interning @ Esri. After working in Houston for two years, I joined NISC as a MapWise Support Specialist. At NISC, I helped their members solve any mapping questions/concerns that they had. While @ NISC, I focused on the Telecom side of things. I spent three years @ NISC before I had the opportunity to work for Esri as an Account Manager for Local Government out of the St. Louis Regional Office. In this role @ Esri, I helped cities/counties (under 50k in population) in Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Kentucky modernize their ArcGIS platform. I worked in this role @ Esri for (almost) 5 years before joining COS Systems as a Senior Sales Executive. I’m ecstatic to be a part of this great team @ COS Systems and can’t wait to see what the future holds.

What caught your interest in COS Systems?

COS’ end-to-end-automation approach is what ‘caught my interest.’ I’m a big fan of automation when it comes to helping people with their work. The GREAT team spirit and the dedication to customers at COS Systems piqued my curiosity, too. I love working with a fun team dedicated to helping their customers. So – COS Systems was a no-brainer. The chance of participating in Fika may have played a role, too 😉 

What are your goals for the coming months?

To learn as much as possible about how our software works and how our software can help deliver services to the community! Also, I look forward to meeting my COS Systems colleagues and getting to know them.

Why should people contact you and press the “connect with Marcus” button?

We want to connect as many people as possible to fast and reliable internet. However, building, running, and operating fiber networks that can offer just that is extremely complex, and we have made it our goal to make it as automated, effective, and viable as possible. As part of the Sales Team, I would love to have a conversation about how COS Systems can make your job easier. No matter if you are a traditional operator who wants to offer your subscribers a better customer experience or if you own an Open Access Wholesale Network and want to increase take-rates and extend the number of services on your network – we can help automate your processes from beginning to end; from broadband survey and demand aggregation to zero-touch provisioning and automated, (wholesale) billing.

Tell us fun facts about yourself.

I can play the piano! I have 2 long-haired dachshunds that are a bundle of cuteness, but both of them keep me busy with their shenanigans. I LOVE riding bikes whether it’s mountain biking, gravel biking, road biking, or even an exercise bike! I love it all when it comes to biking. One of my dreams is to follow the Tour de France in person. I’ve been watching it on TV for 20+ years with my dad. I would love to see it in real life one day.

CONNECT WITH MARCUS
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Press Release Joint White Paper by SNG, VALO and COS Systems

COS Systems, SNG, and Valo Publish Joint White Paper on Options to Bridge Broadband Gaps 

 

November 9th, 2023, Umeå Sweden — Strategic Networks Group (SNG), Valo, and COS Systems today announced that they have published a white paper exploring the challenges that bridging broadband gaps in unserved and underserved areas entails, as well as presenting possible approaches to address them.

This whitepaper explores the challenges faced by localities (communities, regions, etc.) and presents four potential options to address their broadband gaps: do nothing, subsidize an ISP, become an ISP, or develop a digital infrastructure public-private partnership.

After thorough evaluation, the digital infrastructure public-private partnership (PPP) approach emerges as the most recommended solution because it leverages the strengths of both public and private sectors to ensure affordable broadband access is available to all.

The release of the white paper “Leaving No One Behind in an Increasingly Digital World–Options for Unserved and Underserved Areas to Bridge Broadband Gaps” is the outcome of a long partnership between SNG, COS, and Valo to enable stewardship of localities’ digital future that is sustainable, inclusive, and cost-effective.

Ensuring that no one in your locality is left behind in an increasingly digital world means that everybody can access reliable and affordable high-speed internet. This broadband connectivity has become an essential infrastructure for localities. However, there are still areas where broadband services are non-existent (unserved) or inadequate (underserved).

This joint whitepaper compares the various options available to localities seeking to bridge their broadband gaps and ensure equitable access to digital opportunities. Recognizing that a one-size-fits-all solution does not exist, the paper analyzes the advantages and drawbacks of each proposed option to help decision-makers make better-informed choices about their locality’s digital future.

“We are delighted to jointly announce this white paper highlighting different options to solve broadband gaps,” said Mikael Curri, founder and President of SNG. “We will continue to work with localities and the private sector to build a sustainable broadband and digital inclusion ecosystem.”

About Strategic Networks Group

If you want to learn more about digital infrastructure, public-private partnerships, digital inclusion, and how to get started, reach out to us at www.sngroup.com

About Valo

For more information on what it takes to set up, operate, or commercialize digital infrastructure, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at www.valonetworks.com

About COS Systems

COS Systems delivers cloud-hosted software to plan, build, and manage broadband networks globally. COS Business Engine is a proven network management solution (BSS/OSS) supporting traditional ISPs and Open Access networks.

Read the whitepaper here
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