What it is (plain English)
A structured model of everything in a carrier's network — the physical equipment, the logical services running over it, and how they all relate — so order management and assurance know exactly what exists, what's available, and what a change or fault affects. It's the telecom-grade version of a CMDB.
Problems it solves
- No single source of truth for network resources and services.
- Order fulfillment blocked by unreliable knowledge of network availability.
- Fault and change impact impossible to assess without a network model.
What must exist first
Platform Core Setup and CMDB Foundation concepts — TNI is a specialized inventory model; the platform and CI foundations underpin it.
What the customer needs to provide
- Your network resource types (physical and logical) and their relationships.
- Existing inventory data sources to migrate/federate.
- How the model must support order and assurance processes.
- Data ownership and reconciliation approach.
Where it can go next
Feeds Telecom Service Management (TSM) order management and assurance; supports fault/impact analysis; part of the broader TMT solution.