61 2023 Directory | CHANNELV ISION All service providers, from small rural providers to large national carriers, need some level of operation and billing support. In the OSS/BSS (operations support system/business support system) realm, providers have been turning to Communication Data Group (CDG) for OSS/BSS solutions since 1970. Now, under the ownership of the Palmetto Holdings, a subsidiary of Palmetto Rural Telephone Cooperative (PRTC), CDG is taking OSS/BSS solutions to the next level by employing a unique operator-driven vision and reimagining the delivery and experience of its MBS and BDS-I systems. “Being an OSS/BSS provider that is owned and operated by a service provider gives us a unique perspective,” said CDG president and CEO, Jason Dandridge, who is also the CEO of PRTC. “One of the challenges we faced in the past was always having to explain our operational, industry-driven needs to our provider. They understood programming requests and requirements, but they didn’t always fully grasp the operational motivators driving them because they were not providers themselves. We are a provider, and the same leadership that is guiding PRTC is guiding CDG. We think that offers a big advantage over other traditional OSS/ BSS vendors.” Since the acquisition, CDG has been positioning itself for new growth internally and externally. In the last two years, the company has increased its staff by almost 40 percent and expanded its available subject matter expert resources through utilizing PRTC’s experienced staff, increasing client involvement and communication, and building relationships with external support partners including Manatee, Onica/ AWS and Core. As Dandridge noted, “Through these personnel and network expansions, CDG is able to tap a deeper well of resources that lends unique guidance into potential product enhancements, assists in meeting milestones and helps establish a roadmap for future industry developments.” CDG’s product development of its consumer and enterprise system, MBS, and its industry-leading access system, BDS-I, has already benefited tremendously from this new development vision and company growth. MBS recently rolled out its CX enhanced 8.0 release, and BDS-I has started a major UI project. MBS is also implementing UX improvements across multiple modules, including E-Care, and a new MBS subscriber mobile app is scheduled to launch in 2023, along with a series of other new integrations. Another major development of note is CDG’s migration to the Amazon Web Services (AWS) public cloud environment. This will transition CDG to a fully SaaS model, making it one of the only providers in the industry to serve from the public cloud and giving it the unique ability to offer nearly instant – and virtually unlimited – scalability. One of the major driving goals behind all of these development projects is to expand CDG beyond being thought of as just a “billing” provider to being seen as a “business and operations” partner. “We want to be the business and operations solution hub for service providers,” said Dandridge, “to bring together what we’ve developed with the offerings of our system partners to provide a flexible, integrated system that allows you to provide the best customer experience in the most efficient manner possible. “I’m very excited for the future and for all of the things that are still to come,” continued Dandridge. “The relationships that we have as an operator have created a lot of our buzz. People are excited to have somebody like us in this sphere, and that’s a big validation in my mind. It’s always nice to confirm that the vision that you have lines up with the needs of providers you want to help.” For more information on CDG and its OSS/BSS capabilities, visit www. cdg.ws or call (217) 355-7104. PROFILE By Brady Hicks CDG’s Jason Dandridge CDG Offers Unique Perspective on OSS/BSS
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