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Definition
The term operations support system (OSS) generally refers to the system (or systems) that perform management, inventory, engineering, planning, and repair functions for communications service providers and their networks.

Overview
Originally, OSSs were mainframe-based, stand-alone systems designed to support telephone company staff members in their daily jobs. Essentially, these systems were designed to automate manual processes, making operation of the network more error-free and efficient. Today’s "Next-generation service providers" are required to manage a much more complex set of products and services in a dynamic, competitive marketplace. As a result, these service providers need next-generation OSS solutions that take advantage of state-of-the-art information technology to address their enterprise-wide needs and requirements. Next-generation OSSs help service providers maximize their return on investment (ROI) in one of their key assets information. OSSs ultimately help enable next-generation service providers to reduce costs, provide superior customer service, and accelerate their time to market for new products and services.

There are four key elements of OSS

Process: The sequence of events.
Data: The information that is acted upon.
Applications: The components that implement processes to manage data.
Technology: How we implement the applications.

During the 1990s, new OSS architecture definitions was done by the ITU-T in its TMN model. This established a 4-layer model of TMN applicable within an OSS:

• Business Management Level (BML)
• Service Management Level (SML)
• Network Management Level (NML)
• Element Management Level (EML)