Unified Messaging System Remote Upgrade
A case study on the setup and implementation of a structured process to enable remote upgrade of a newly installed Next Generation Unified Messaging VAS system
Operational Requirements
Customer, a Unified Messaging System vendor, had engaged Bohiyaanam for the initial on-site implementation of its system, its configuration and integration with the GSM network for an operator in a country declared as war zone. Subsequently, customer needed to upgrade the solution to obtain final acceptance
Approach
- Assemble knowledge gained from previous implementations to perform remote upgrade with minimal downtime
- Staging of the system in the vendor’s lab setup, carrying out upgrade in the lab to understand and solve issues beforehand
- Create more detailed step-by-step instructions to be followed by operator’s in-country staff during remote upgrade along with verification steps at each point
- Handholding of operator’s in-country staff for testing of various scenarios as well as gathering of traces and system data
- Swift co-ordination with vendor’s development and support teams and round-the-clock support for troubleshooting of issues
- Maintain repository of issues & resolutions for tracking purposes with accountability to each team member and share it with customer
Challenges
- Security restrictions due to dynamic political environment were delaying travel of resources
- Remote upgrades had not been tried by customer due to complex integration dependencies with GSM components
- Quandary between waiting for favorable conditions for onsite travel vs. achieving final acceptance within deadline
Value Proposition
- Bohiyaanam’s ‘can-do’ attitude towards complex technical problems and ability to take ‘first-time’ challenges enabled complex software installation and integration activities remotely
- Vendor received final acceptance from operator with no outstanding items or conditions from our ability to deliver the right solution within schedule, thereby achieving significant cost efficiencies
- Our culture of comprehensive documentation facilitated remote technical support and value- addition for testing of another release of the vendor’s product
Technologies
- TCP/IP, HTTP, SNMPv2c, SS7, MAP, SMPP, FTP, IMAP
- LinuX, OpenBSD
- MySQL, Apache Tomcat, Apache Web Server, JBoss, PHP, WebDAV, XML, VXML
- RMS, DotHill, CISCO Catalyst, 3COM, MSC, MGW, SMSC, MMSC, SGW
