NetAM

The asset management challenge

Asset management has moved from a finance function to an operational necessity. The common challenge is accurately keeping track of fixed assets accumulated across the organisation — Finance, Procurement, Operations, Logistics, Health & Safety and Support all depend on accurate tracking. Multi-vendor networks make this hard: a network may run Huawei and Ericsson side by side, each on its own proprietary operating system rather than a common platform, so many operators have little real insight into their equipment. NetAM provides a centralised repository for analysing every piece of equipment, identifying it across all sites and searching by location, vendor, serial number and lifecycle stage.

How it works

NetAM acts as a Master Asset Registry for active and passive assets across technologies and vendors. It is typically not the master of every field of asset data, but is the central repository tracking all changes throughout the asset lifecycle, with built-in controls to catch discrepancies. The ETL process is the foundation — extract, transform and load gathers asset data from multiple sources, converts it to a standard format, and loads it into a single database while capturing every change in an audit trail.

• Typical sources: OSS (RAN, TX, Core across vendors via MML and XML), inventory from warehouse or financial systems, site information from planning tools, project/as-built data, and trouble-ticket or fault-management systems.
• Each source or technology can be loaded into its own schema, with ETL rules set per interface.
• Data is usually uploaded on a schedule, typically once a day, depending on source and change frequency. ETL can also perform a once-off import when first standing up asset management.
• Formats and methods: MML, XML, CSV and Excel, delivered via HTTP, FTP or API.

Five functional submodules

Working with your asset data

• Element Browser — a hierarchical tree view of network topology, distinguishing live network data from planning data, with parameter-level detail per element.
• Search and Edit — bulk analysis across large groups of elements, exportable to Excel.
• Asset Query — finds equipment by site, vendor, serial number and advanced criteria; date ranges identify equipment created, deleted or moved in a period, including the historical position on a chosen date.
• GIS — plots sites and cells on a map, colour-coded by technology, with Google Street View where supported.
• Dashboards and Reports — the Network Breakdown dashboard shows total asset count per vendor and how the network has changed over time, and can compare in-house asset registers against what is actually discovered in the network.

Active and passive assets

Active assets are auto-discovered via the OSS — cabinets, racks and cards by serial number for RAN and TX, plus network licences and features. Passive assets are captured by barcode or RFID and correlated to the same topology: antenna mounts and masts, RAN and TX antennas, TMAs, feeder cable, polyphasers, outdoor containers, batteries and combiners, with focus on items that change regularly or are high value. Passive capture is handled through SiteSURV.

An RFID proof of concept at an indoor equipment container attached 14 tags (including on-metal types) to batteries, network power, triplexers, RBS/BTS and air conditioning. Using only a mobile hand scanner with no fixed readers, all tags were read at up to 1.5 metres in under 3 seconds, accurately across repeated tests.

What makes it different

• OEM independence is the core differentiator — NetAM integrates into most network elements and domains (RAN, CS-Core, PS-Core, IP-Core, TX microwave and optical fibre, IMS-Core) across multiple vendors, removing the need for several vendor-specific asset tools.
• It spans all technologies from legacy 2G/3G/4G through to 5G on a single unified platform.
• It reconciles belief against reality — comparing in-house asset registers to what is actually discovered in the network, highlighting unmatched products and discrepancies.

Integration & support

NetAM can be deployed on the same servers as NetCM as an extension of existing capability, using common resources. A fully automated data-integration component supports multiple replication methods, connecting to resource management, RF/TX planning tools, financial systems, fault management, configuration management, performance management and BI dashboards. It integrates with external systems via ODBC or API, including ERP and warehouse management, and can act as a central repository or mediation layer correlating the fixed asset register, warehouse, and active and passive assets. Third-party asset and inventory solutions referenced for integration include Hardcat, IBM Maximo, Oracle and SAP. Support is tiered: first line for day-to-day operation and fault investigation, second line for specialised escalation, third line for source-code-level fixes.

Proven in the field

• A Latin American operator group runs daily OSS integration of its 3G and 4G networks from Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia into NetAM, with dashboards, reports and GIS implemented to requirement and in-time Asset Query per site.
• A Tier 1 European operator group extracts RAN asset data via ETL into a single database, with Element Browser, Search and Edit, GIS, dashboards and reports across 2G/3G/4G/5G and a multi-vendor estate — deployed as an extension of an existing NetCM installation.
• An Asia-Pacific operator engaged NetAM as part of an enterprise asset management programme within the broader Digitata Networks portfolio.

Customers anonymised by region and tier.