TM Forum
Encyclopedia
The TeleManagement Forum (TM Forum) formerly the Network Management Forum, is an international non-profit industry association, for service provider
s and their suppliers in the information industry
, the telecommunication
s industry and the entertainment industry.
Members include telephone companies, cable operators, network operators, software suppliers, equipment suppliers and systems integrators. The Forum has over 700 member companies in 75 countries.
, technology roadmap
s, best-practice
guidebooks, software standards and interface
s, as well as certified training
, conferences and publications. The Forum also provides its member community with marketing
and networking
opportunities.
s and operational management
issues with the OSI protocols
. In 1998 the name was changed to the TeleManagement Forum.
The IPsphere Forum was founded in June 2005 at the Supercomm 2005 trade show in Chicago
.
It evolved from a group called the Infranet Initiative Council when created by Juniper Networks
in 2004.
Other notable founding members included Cisco Systems
and Alcatel
.
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone
(NTT) joined in 2007,
and it established a liaison with the Tele-Management Forum later that year.
By September 2008 IPsphere Forum merged with the TM Forum.
TM Forum held marketing events called "Content Encounters" at the Management World trade shows in 2007 through 2009.
TM Forum's work includes Frameworx, Enhanced Telecom Operations Map (eTOM), Frameworx Shared Information/Data Model (SID) and Telecom Application Map or TAM).
Service provider
A service provider is an entity that provides services to other entities. Usually, this refers to a business that provides subscription or web service to other businesses or individuals. Examples of these services include Internet access, Mobile phone operators, and web application hosting...
s and their suppliers in the information industry
Information industry
The information industry or information industries are industries that are information intensive in one way or the other. It is considered one of the most important economic sectors for a variety of reasons....
, the telecommunication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
s industry and the entertainment industry.
Members include telephone companies, cable operators, network operators, software suppliers, equipment suppliers and systems integrators. The Forum has over 700 member companies in 75 countries.
Description
TM Forum provides information and support to help its members with creating and delivering profitable services. These include industry research and benchmarksBenchmarking
Benchmarking is the process of comparing one's business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and/or best practices from other industries. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost...
, technology roadmap
Technology roadmap
A technology roadmap is a plan that matches short-term and long-term goals with specific technology solutions to help meet those goals. It is a plan that applies to a new product or process, or to an emerging technology. Developing a roadmap has three major uses...
s, best-practice
Best practice
A best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark...
guidebooks, software standards and interface
Software interface
Software interface may refer to:* graphical user interface* interface...
s, as well as certified training
Training
The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...
, conferences and publications. The Forum also provides its member community with marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
and networking
Business networking
Business networking is a socioeconomic activity by which groups of like-minded businesspeople recognize, create, or act upon business opportunities. A business network is a type of social network whose reason for existing is business activity...
opportunities.
History
The OSI/Network Management Forum was founded in 1988 by eight companies to collaboratively solve systemSystem
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
s and operational management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
issues with the OSI protocols
OSI protocols
The Open Systems Interconnection protocols are a family of information exchange standards developed jointly by the ISO and the ITU-T starting in 1977....
. In 1998 the name was changed to the TeleManagement Forum.
The IPsphere Forum was founded in June 2005 at the Supercomm 2005 trade show in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
It evolved from a group called the Infranet Initiative Council when created by Juniper Networks
Juniper Networks
Juniper Networks is an information technology and computer networking products multinational company, founded in 1996. It is head quartered in Sunnyvale, California, USA. The company designs and sells high-performance Internet Protocol network products and services...
in 2004.
Other notable founding members included Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...
and Alcatel
Alcatel
Alcatel Mobile Phones is a brand of mobile handsets. It was established in 2004 as a joint venture between Alcatel-Lucent of France and TCL Communication of China....
.
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone
, commonly known as NTT, is a Japanese telecommunications company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Ranked the 31st in Fortune Global 500, NTT is the largest telecommunications company in Asia, and the second-largest in the world in terms of revenue....
(NTT) joined in 2007,
and it established a liaison with the Tele-Management Forum later that year.
By September 2008 IPsphere Forum merged with the TM Forum.
TM Forum held marketing events called "Content Encounters" at the Management World trade shows in 2007 through 2009.
TM Forum's work includes Frameworx, Enhanced Telecom Operations Map (eTOM), Frameworx Shared Information/Data Model (SID) and Telecom Application Map or TAM).