Telstra to overhaul billing systems, views open source

Telstra Corp. Ltd. is to embark on a major overhaul of its billing systems, switching to a predominantly Intel-based, open-source architecture in an attempt to rationalize the number of systems and platforms the telco currently operates, Telstra CIO Jeff Smith has revealed at an analyst briefing in Sydney on cost reductions.

Confirming one of the worst-kept secrets this year, Smith told Computerworld that outsourcer Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS) is already heavily engaged in work on the project, which will see a move away from current proprietary systems in an effort to dramatically reduce the operational expenditure confronting Australia's largest telco.

"The switch will be on the software side. The cost dynamics from a proprietary (system) to the Intel switch are around (a) 90 percent (reduction in operating costs)," Smith told Computerworld, adding that cost-efficient large enterprises were now engaged in a "big standardization on platforms for Linux