Ericsson & Netcracker
Ericsson & Netcracker: Overview
Ericsson is one of the world's largest telecommunications equipment manufacturers, and its BSS/OSS software capabilities come primarily through Netcracker Technology, a wholly-owned subsidiary. This combination of network equipment heritage and software capability creates a unique position in the market: a vendor that can bridge the gap between network infrastructure and IT systems.
Understanding the Ericsson/Netcracker relationship is important: Ericsson provides the network infrastructure (RAN, core, transport) and the overarching brand, while Netcracker provides the BSS/OSS software suite. In practice, Netcracker operates with significant autonomy, maintaining its own product development, sales, and delivery teams.
Ericsson BSS/OSS Portfolio
Ericsson's BSS/OSS portfolio spans both its own products and Netcracker's offerings. The combined portfolio covers a wide range of BSS and OSS domains, with particular strength in areas where network and IT converge.
Ericsson-Branded Products
Ericsson itself offers several BSS/OSS products, particularly in charging, mediation, and network management:
- Ericsson Charging — Real-time convergent charging system; strong heritage in mobile prepaid and postpaid charging
- Ericsson Mediation — Usage data collection and mediation; processes CDRs from network elements
- Ericsson Network Manager — Network element management, fault management, and performance monitoring
- Ericsson Orchestrator — Network service orchestration aligned with ETSI NFV MANO standards
- Ericsson Expert Analytics — Network analytics and customer experience management
Netcracker Product Suite
Netcracker provides the core BSS and OSS software platform. Its product suite has been developed over decades and covers a broad range of telecom IT functions.
Netcracker Digital BSS
Netcracker Digital BSS covers the commercial domains: customer management, product catalog, order management, and digital commerce. The platform positions itself as a cloud-native, microservices-based BSS with TMF Open API support.
- Customer Management — Customer and account lifecycle, B2C and B2B
- Product Catalog — Catalog-driven product and offer management with TMF620 alignment
- Order Management — Commercial order capture, validation, and orchestration
- Digital Commerce — Self-service portals, digital storefront, partner marketplace
- CPQ — Configure, Price, Quote for complex enterprise offerings
Netcracker has been investing heavily in modernising its BSS suite to cloud-native architecture. Recent versions show significant progress, though some legacy modules remain in the transition.
Functional Coverage Matrix
Ericsson/Netcracker Functional Coverage by Domain
| Domain | Coverage | Maturity | Provider |
|---|---|---|---|
| CRM / Customer Management | Native | Medium-High | Netcracker |
| Product Catalog | Native | High | Netcracker |
| CPQ | Native | Medium | Netcracker |
| Order Management (COM) | Native | High | Netcracker |
| Billing | Native | High | Netcracker |
| Real-Time Charging | Native | Very High | Ericsson Charging |
| Mediation | Native | Very High | Ericsson Mediation |
| Service Catalog | Native | High | Netcracker |
| Service Orchestration (SOM) | Native | High | Netcracker |
| Resource Orchestration (ROM) | Native | High | Netcracker |
| Service Inventory | Native | High | Netcracker |
| Resource Inventory | Native | High | Netcracker |
| Network Management | Native | Very High | Ericsson |
| NFV Orchestration | Native | High | Ericsson / Netcracker |
| Service Assurance | Native | High | Netcracker |
| Digital Channels | Native | Medium | Netcracker |
Strengths
- Network-IT Integration: Unique ability to connect BSS/OSS software to Ericsson network infrastructure; particularly valuable for operators using Ericsson RAN/core
- OSS Depth: One of the most comprehensive OSS suites in the market, covering service/resource catalog, inventory, orchestration, and assurance
- 5G Readiness: Strong positioning for 5G monetisation through network slicing, dynamic service creation, and real-time charging for network capabilities
- Charging Heritage: Ericsson Charging is one of the most proven real-time charging systems, handling massive prepaid/postpaid volumes globally
- Full CFS/RFS Support: Genuine catalog-driven decomposition from product through CFS to RFS to resource activation
- End-to-End Orchestration: Multi-layer orchestration from commercial to service to resource to network, aligned with TM Forum ODA
- TM Forum Leadership: Active ODA contributor; extensive API conformance; Catalyst project leadership
- Scale: Proven at large operator scale; global deployment and support capability
Limitations
- BSS Modernisation: While Netcracker has invested in cloud-native BSS, its BSS modules are generally considered less modern than some competitors (e.g., Cerillion, Qvantel) in terms of architecture and user experience
- Complexity of Portfolio: The combined Ericsson + Netcracker portfolio has overlapping products (e.g., Ericsson Charging vs Netcracker Billing) that can confuse evaluation
- CRM Maturity: Netcracker CRM, while functional, is not typically considered best-in-class compared to Amdocs CES or telco deployments of Salesforce
- Digital Channel UX: Self-service and digital commerce capabilities are functional but may lag behind vendors focused specifically on digital experience
- Deployment Complexity: Full-stack Ericsson/Netcracker deployments are complex, requiring significant professional services and long implementation timelines
- Network Vendor Bias: The value proposition is strongest when the operator uses Ericsson network equipment; for operators with multi-vendor networks (Nokia, Huawei), the integration advantage diminishes
- Market Perception: Ericsson is primarily perceived as a network equipment vendor; BSS/OSS software may not receive the same focus and investment as the core network business
- Cost Structure: Like Amdocs, Ericsson/Netcracker is positioned at the higher end of the cost spectrum, making it less suitable for budget-constrained operators
Typical Deployment Patterns
The most natural deployment pattern for Ericsson/Netcracker is OSS-focused, leveraging the tight integration between Netcracker OSS and Ericsson network infrastructure. In this pattern, an operator retains its existing BSS (or uses another vendor's BSS) and deploys Netcracker for service/resource orchestration, inventory, and assurance.
- Operators with significant Ericsson network footprint benefit most
- Resource inventory auto-discovery from Ericsson network elements reduces manual data entry
- Service assurance leverages network-level data not available to BSS-only vendors
- Integration with BSS layer typically via TMF641 (Service Ordering) and TMF638 (Service Inventory)
TM Forum Conformance
Key TMF API Conformance
| TMF API | API Name | Product |
|---|---|---|
| TMF620 | Product Catalog Management | Netcracker Product Catalog |
| TMF622 | Product Ordering | Netcracker Order Management |
| TMF633 | Service Catalog Management | Netcracker Service Catalog |
| TMF638 | Service Inventory Management | Netcracker Service Inventory |
| TMF639 | Resource Inventory Management | Netcracker Resource Inventory |
| TMF640 | Service Activation & Configuration | Netcracker Service Orchestration |
| TMF641 | Service Ordering | Netcracker SOM |
| TMF652 | Resource Ordering | Netcracker ROM |
Architecture and Technology
The Ericsson/Netcracker architecture combines network-level components (Ericsson) with IT-level applications (Netcracker). Think of it as two layers: the network layer where Ericsson equipment runs, and the IT layer where Netcracker software manages the business and service processes on top of that network.
Netcracker has been progressively moving to a cloud-native, microservices architecture. Recent versions of the platform are built on Kubernetes with containerised microservices, API gateways, and event-driven messaging. However, like most legacy vendors, the transition is gradual.
- Core platform: Microservices on Kubernetes (newer modules)
- Database: Combination of relational (PostgreSQL, Oracle) and NoSQL
- Integration: TMF Open APIs, event streaming (Kafka), traditional messaging
- Orchestration engine: BPMN-based workflow with custom extensions
- Deployment: On-premises, private cloud, public cloud (AWS, Azure)
The unique architectural proposition is network-IT convergence: Netcracker OSS components can communicate directly with Ericsson network functions through proprietary and standard interfaces (NETCONF/YANG, SNMP, TL1, and REST). This enables scenarios like closed-loop assurance (detect fault in network → correlate to affected services → trigger remediation) that are difficult to achieve with a BSS-only vendor.
The convergence extends to resource inventory: Netcracker Resource Inventory can auto-discover and synchronise with Ericsson network element managers, maintaining an accurate view of physical and logical resources without manual data entry. This is a significant operational advantage in large, complex networks.
When to Consider Ericsson/Netcracker
Ericsson/Netcracker Suitability Assessment
| Scenario | Suitability | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Operator with Ericsson network | Very High | Maximum value from network-IT integration |
| OSS transformation / modernisation | High | Comprehensive OSS suite with strong orchestration |
| 5G monetisation / network slicing | Very High | Native 5G integration with charging and orchestration |
| BSS-only transformation | Medium | BSS is capable but not the strongest in market |
| Multi-vendor network environment | Medium | Integration advantage reduced; still capable OSS |
| Small operator / MVNO | Low | Overkill for small scale; cost structure too high |
| Rapid digital-first launch | Low-Medium | Cloud-native progress helps but not fastest-to-deploy option |
Source of Record Mapping
Ericsson/Netcracker Source-of-Record Assignments (Full-Stack Deployment)
| Entity | System of Record | System of Engagement | System of Reference | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer / Account | Netcracker CRM | Digital Commerce Portal | — | B2C and B2B customer management |
| Product Offering | Netcracker Product Catalog | CPQ / Storefront | — | TMF620 aligned catalog |
| Commercial Order | Netcracker Order Management | Digital / Agent Channels | — | TMF622 conformant |
| CFS Instance | Netcracker Service Inventory | — | — | TMF638 conformant; strong CFS/RFS model |
| RFS / Resource Instance | Netcracker Resource Inventory | — | — | Auto-discovery from Ericsson network elements |
| Rating / Charging | Ericsson Charging | — | — | Real-time convergent charging engine |
| Billing / Invoice | Netcracker Billing | — | — | Convergent billing; integrates with Ericsson Charging |
| Network Element | Ericsson Network Manager | — | Netcracker Resource Inventory | Network-level SoR with inventory as reference |
Section 7.4 Key Takeaways
- Ericsson/Netcracker uniquely combines network equipment heritage with BSS/OSS software capability
- Netcracker provides the BSS/OSS suite; Ericsson provides charging, mediation, network management, and the network itself
- OSS is the strongest domain: comprehensive service/resource catalog, orchestration, inventory, and assurance
- Network-IT integration is a genuine differentiator for operators using Ericsson network equipment
- 5G readiness is a key strength: network slicing, dynamic charging, and API-based network exposure
- BSS modules are capable but not typically considered best-in-class versus BSS-focused competitors
- Deployment complexity and cost structure are significant; best suited for large operators with Ericsson network footprint
- Active TM Forum participation with 15+ API conformance certifications and ODA leadership