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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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Product Improvement of the Month

 Diagnostic Data Documentation for New Service Locations

(Object Birth Certificate)

When a new service location has been installed, and the ONT is activated for the first time, the installer should test and document the new fiber connection’s quality. With the new Object Birth Certificate functionality in COS Business Engine, this task is automated, thereby saving manual work and eliminating the risk of human error.

The system saves relevant information automatically as part of the installation work order process, and the stored data can later be used for comparison if there is a problem with a service location.

Diagnostic Data from ONT Saved During Installation 

When the ONT is connected to the service location in the COS Business Engine installation workflow, diagnostics information for the installed ONT is automatically retrieved and stored. This is done through the COS Zero Touch Provisioning integration with the hardware vendor EMS (Element Management System). The diagnostics information includes

  • OLT/ONT status
  • light levels
  • active alarms and more

Screenshot showing the COS installer portal and the step where the ONT is documented as installed at that specific address by scanning the ONT QR-code

(Screenshot showing the COS installer portal and the step where the ONT is documented as installed at that specific address by scanning the ONT QR-code?)

Speed Test Step to Verify and Document Upload and Download Speeds

If there is a service order waiting, the service will be automatically activated by COS Business Engine as soon as the ONT has been installed and turned on. Now the installer can run a speed test as a mandatory step in the work order process. It can be run against the ONT or any wifi gateway installed as part of the installation process. Speed test results are also saved within COS Business Engine.

Screenshot showing the COS installer portal and the step where the installer is required to run a speedtest once the installation has been completed and the service has been automatically provisioned by COS Business Engine.

Screenshot showing the COS installer portal and the step where the installer is required to run a speedtest once the installation has been completed and the service has been automatically provisioned by COS Business Engine.

Benefits – Improved Operation and Support Capabilities

The benefit of storing the performance data in the system is likely obvious. If there are problems with the service location, it’s easy for the person troubleshooting to go back and compare current values to the original values from when the ONT was initially installed and the service first activated. 

Moreover, when a support ticket is created, a diagnostics snapshot is automatically retrieved and stored, including a link to the support ticket. This gives the support representative a unique edge in troubleshooting as they can review what the status was at the time the ticket was created and the customer experienced the problems. Perhaps to ONT was down due to a power issue, but is up and running again when the support rep is working on the ticket. 

All stored diagnostics and speed tests for the service location are listed on the Object page.

Screenshot showing the COS Admin Interface, where the saved ONT diagnostic data is stored and time stamped under the “Historical Technical Information” list. The table below lists saved speed test results.

 

It is also possible to manually store diagnostics snapshots at any time from the admin interface and give them a descriptive name. 

Screenshot showing the COS Admin Interface and the “Technical Info” page on a specific Object – service location, where the live data from the ONT is displayed.

 

Summary

Being able to see and compare historical diagnostics and speed tests is a great tool when troubleshooting and finding out if the problem was pre-existing or new or if the issue has already been resolved at the time of troubleshooting. As COS Systems documents this history automatically, you save time and eliminate the risk of human error such as with staff forgetting to document properly. Moreover,  this functionality reduces the need for training of new staff and the time it takes for new staff to be up and running.

 

Book a consultation with one of our experts to learn more
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COS Business Engine for Enterprise and wholesale services

Person working on a computer, illustrating the efficiency of Enterprise Network Solutions with COS Business Engine.

Enterprise services are integral to any fiber operator’s business to utilize the network and support customer segments that require more advanced and customized services. Typical customer segments include large Enterprises, property owners, other operators/ISPs, mobile operators, cloud providers, etc. Services to these customer segments include

  1. Standardized internet services (automatically provisioned) 
  2. Internet/DIA and IP transits with static IP configuration or routing of IP subnets
  3. IP-VPN and FW services, point-to-multipoint networks
  4. Transparent Ethernet services, point-to-point or point-to-multipoint
  5. Dark fiber or Wavelengths, point-to-point
  6. Other offerings like hosting, colocation, SLA, QoS, patches etc.

COS Business Engine helps your sales department keep track of every enterprise deal and where it is delivered in the network so that you always have the correct information for support, maintenance, and invoicing.  

  1. Enterprise deals and ISPs’ residential customers on the open network – we provide you with everything on the same billing specification. 
  2. To manage processes for order fulfillment and keep master data for all orders, services, statuses, and billing data. 
  3. Manage network incidents and planned O&M in one process and notify Enterprise customers as well as residential customers at the same time, using the “Disruptions” functionality. 
  4. Integrations to any external CRM tool where you manage the sales process to create orders/customers (Partner API), 
  5. Built-in customer portal for customer communication, tickets, and store contracts (PDF or “digital order”) Customer Portal

Optimize the ticketing process by using one process where you can manage all your customers and differentiate depending on customer type and SLA. 

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Welcome our new customer Cityside Fiber!

We’re pleased to announce Cityside Fiber as our new customer and are very excited to help them bring fast, reliable fiber to businesses and homes in Orange County!

COS and Cityside: Standing Together for Fiber Internet

Experience the future of fiber connectivity with Cityside Fiber and COS Systems. Join us in transforming Orange County into a hub of technological innovation and limitless possibilities.

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The City of Rexburg prepares to launch Open Access Network with WideOpen Networks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watch how our software comes into use here!

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