Defense Industry takes the front seat at TM Forum’s Management World 2009

Morristown NJ April 8, 2009 – TM Forum, the world’s premier industry group focused on business effectiveness for the communications and media sectors, today confirmed two further defense conference tracks, a security management workshop and a live defense Technology Catalyst demonstration, as it continues to build on an already impressive defense line-up at the Forum’s Management World 2009 conference in Nice next month.

With global interest from the defense industry in utilizing TM Forum best practices and standards already at an all time high, the conference tracks follow a theme of “Transformation Challenges in Coalition and Federated Defense Network Operations,” and feature six new presentations:

· Federated Service Management Concept and Related OSS Integration Challenges, NATO C3 Agency

· Business Transformation for Core Network Convergence to an Open Network Services Architecture, QinetiQ Ltd.

· Transforming the Management of UK Military Satellite Communications, Logica

· NetOps Agility: A Key Enabler of Net-Centric Operations over the Global Information Grid, MITRE Corporation

· Mission Collaboration and Service Management in Space Communications, Progress Software and Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc.

· US/NATO Information Sharing for NetOps

Management World will also include a defense-related Technology Catalyst demonstration project as part of Forumville, TM Forum’s Innovation Zone. “Collaborated End-to-End Operation and Service Management in Defense Communications” will demonstrate the first-phase results of a project developed through collaboration by six TM Forum member companies, showcasing an integrated solution for collaborative service level management across the Areas of Responsibility (AOR) and operational Communities of Interest (COI).

Using a Search and Rescue Mission as the backdrop, the project utilizes current and extended TM Forum standards to provide a common data and service representation in the enterprise information domain, while policy management facilitates service automation in the complex cross-operator service. The project team decided to use the Forum’s Technology Catalyst environment to accelerate the development of this solution due to its critical nature for satellite communications and as a way to quickly prove cost-saving measures that are necessary in tight budgetary times.

In addition, at the request of the Forum’s Defense Interest Group, a Security Management Workshop has been added to the agenda. This roundtable working session will identify priorities and develop a work plan for incorporating Security Management into core TM Forum specifications. The Forum sees this as an opportunity to greatly enhance their standards with input from the world’s foremost security experts.

According to Christy Coffey, Defense Sector Head TM Forum, “This impressive line-up showcases the variety and depth of defense focused activities at Management World this year, and demonstrates an on-going commitment to evolving TM Forum standards and participation in our collaborative programs and conferences by the global defense community. Other Forum members will also benefit from the work being undertaken to evolve TM Forum standards in the areas of Policy Based Network Management and Security Management.”

According to Tamas Halmai, Principal Scientist NATO C3 Agency, “The NATO Network Enabled Capability (NNEC) is a new networking paradigm, alongside the proposed federated service management system, gluing it together. To make NNEC a reality, interoperable and standardized management solutions are of crucial importance both on the procedural and technical levels. The NATO C3 Agency (NC3A) is pleased to work with the TM Forum together in its standardization effort by utilizing already available TM Forum standards and tailoring them to special military requirements. Management World 2009 in Nice is seen by the NC3A as a great opportunity to meet with other industry participants and collaborate on the future of NNEC and the related federated management concept.”

Nick Shave, Program Manager, Logica commented, “As a major European systems integrator in the Telecoms and Defense sectors, Logica is sees tremendous value in participating in Management World 2009. This is a key annual event for us that helps enable important collaboration with industry partners and clients. In the defense conference track, Logica will highlight the innovation we have helped to introduce in the provision of secure satellite communications services through the comprehensive OSS/BSS we have recently delivered as part of the SKYNET program for Paradigm Secure Communications in the UK.”

Additional information on the TM Forum’s Defense Sector is available at: www.tmforum.org/defense.

For more information on Management World 2009 including a full conference agenda, keynote and speaker profiles, as well as information surrounding certified training courses available in Nice, please visit http://www.tmforum.org/ManagementWorld2009/.

Press and analysts interested in attending Management World 2009 and connecting with speakers for the conference should contact Geoff Devlin, gdevlin {at} tmforum(.)org, to apply for press access to the conference and arrange meetings.

About TM Forum

With more than 700 member companies in 75 countries, TM Forum is the world’s leading industry association focused on improving business effectiveness for service providers and their suppliers. Serving the information, communications and entertainment industries, the Forum provides practical solutions, guidance and leadership to transform the way that digital services are created, delivered and charged. Members include the world’s largest service providers, cable and network operators, software suppliers, equipment suppliers and systems integrators.

TM Forum provides a wide range of information and support to help its members reduce the costs and risks associated with creating and delivering profitable services. These include industry research and benchmarks, technology roadmaps, best practice guidebooks, software standards and interfaces, as well as certified training, conferences and publications. The Forum also provides its member community with extensive marketing and networking opportunities, enabling business with new customers and partners.

To learn more please visit www.tmforum.org.

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About NATO C3 Agency

With roots going back over 50 years, the mission of the NATO C3 Agency is to support NATO through the seamless provision of unbiased scientific support and common funded acquisition of Consultation, Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities. The NC3A is a valued and effective arm of the Alliance, delivering products and services across the entire C4ISR life cycle, from system concepts and requirements to fielded systems and other operational assistance.

About Logica

Logica, a world-wide company with over 40,000 employees, serves more than 300 telcos in over 130 countries including more than half the world’s digital mobile operators and has delivered one out of every four multimedia messaging centers installed by wireless service providers across the globe. Logica developed a fully integrated Operational and Business Support System (OSS) and (BSS) containing over one million lines of code which enables the delivery of secure, modern and complex communications services to the UK Ministry of Defense.