Overview

Provisioning is the integration of CRM.COM with conditional access (CA) systems, over-the-top (OTT) platforms and internet service provider platforms. The module manages provisioning adapters developed to connect with third-party systems.  

You can select from a number of integrations already present in CRM.COM:

Provisioning module is tightly coupled to Subscriptions module as it is through the subscriptions that provisioning will be requested and initiated.

Provisioning at a Glance

The provisioning module is primarily responsible for handling the activation and deactivation of signals transmitted to customer devices whether this is a modem, smart TV or a decoder. The CRM.COM provisioning provider integration submits requests to which the CA/OTT platform responds. Requests are submitted either asynchronously or in real-time. Providers that follow a real-time model also support batch processing and can synchronise subscriptions that get out-of-sync (what we call a hybrid model).  In the hybrid model, both real-time communication and batch processing are supported. If either of the two systems (CRM.COM or the CA/OTT platform) suffers from downtime or if the connection from CRM.COM to the platform is lost, subscriptions go out of sync. When this happens, out of sync subscriptions are identified and can be reset through 'Reset Subscription Runs'.

Setting Up Provisioning 

Provisioning Providers

Provisioning is used given that at least one provisioning provider is enabled and configured accordingly. To add a new provider select Set up a Provisioning Provider. Once you configure a provider you need to activate it using the action Set as Effective from the Actions menu.

According to the Provisioning Protocol selected, the information required to connect to it as well as the necessary special parameters must be provided.

For each provider you must create the Provisioning Distributors. Distributors are used to associate the services and devices (installed items) of a subscription with the provisioning provider. Multiple distributors on a subscription represent separate viewing locations. Each device can offer different services. In a pay TV subscription, for example, two distributors can represent the decoder and channels available in a living room and a bedroom.

Create the distributors that can be provisioned through the provider. One or more provisioning distributors must be present for a provider to be 'Effective'. For each distributor you define the Allowed Services Scope available through the distributor. Once a distributor is selected, only the services defined as 'Allowed' will be available for selection when adding subscription services.

Two options are supported:

• All Provisioning Services: All services provisioned by the provider can be distributed.

• Specific Provisioning Services: Only the services in the list can be distributed. 

For each distributor you can define Restrictions; Restrictions include Minimum/Maximum Optional/Mandatory service restrictions which determine the number of Main Services that can be added to the distributor, or define the minimum and maximum number of Add on Services that can be added to the distributor, for specific service types or physical good types. Through Dependencies you can define services, service types, physical goods or physical good types that must be added to the distributor, if enabled.

For each distributor you can provide a Required Provisioning Distributor, that is, a distributor which should already be in use in order to activate a second one. E.G. to have Twin 1 you must already have Main.

In addition to distributors you must add the Services that can be enabled for each distributor and for each one provide the CA ID which represents the unique identifier for the service at the CA/OTT platform. Note that an ID is not mandatory for a non-provisioning service (i.e. a service whose product type is not set as 'Used for Provisioning'). 

Depending on the provisioning provider you may need to provide additional information in the parameters. Refer to the specific provisioning provider manuals for more information.

A list of devices that are necessary for provisioning through the provider can be added in the Hardware section. For example, a decoder and a smartcard, or only a decoder or only a modem. A specific device type may be mandatory for a certain provider. Depending on the provisioning provider you may need to provide additional information in the parameters. Refer to the specific provisioning provider manuals for more information.

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Using Provisioning

Managing provisioning requests

Provisioning requests are commands sent from CRM.COM to the CA/OTT platform, used for subscription management and for keeping the state of subscribers (activated/deactivated) identical in both systems. Requests are generated by the system and cannot be created, modified, or deleted by the user. The creation of provisioning requests can be triggered by:

• Subscription Actions
  
  • Execution of actions related to activation and deactivation.
• Batch Runs (created through definitions)

  • Reset Subscription Run

  • Mail runs

• Utilities
  • Mail & Bark Messages
  • PIN setup
  • Subscription reset

• Web APIs

Individual signals are created and sent for each subscription action based on a predefined mapping of commands. If there is downtime between the two systems and subscriptions get out of sync, then the 'Reset Subscriptions Run' is executed which retrieves out of sync subscriptions and sends the commands required to reset them.

You can monitor provisioning requests through the respective screens available under each provisioning provider.

Using provisioning batch processes

Batch processes gather data from multiple subscriptions and process them in one flow. 

• Each provisioning provider offers a number of optional batch processes.
• In the hybrid-processing model also set up the 'Reset Subscriptions' definition. This is necessary for creating provisioning requests to synchronize CRM.COM with the provider when downtime occurs during real-time communication.

A definition must be configured for each batch process. Definitions must be submitted once created, and are executed once or on a recurring basis, depending on the scheduling settings. Each time a definition is executed, a process run is logged; once the run is completed the log information becomes available in the respective tab.

Each process available in the provisioning module has a specific purpose, such as creating provisioning requests or sending mail notifications to subscribers.

Using provisioning utilities

Utilities are typically used to process a single subscription at a time. Utility actions can be:

• Processed immediately, for example, to send a request directly to the CA/OTT platform.
• Scheduled to be created immediately and sent to the CA/OTT platform subsequently, when the 'Process Provisioning Requests' run is executed. 

It is also sometimes possible to set a priority on the request. A high priority (such as 'Express') places the request at the beginning of the processing queue of the CA/OTT platform.

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