1987
Open was born.
Since its inception in 1987, Open International has provided technology that helps Telecommunications and Utility service providers meet their business goals and implement innovative business strategies. Open’s software solution has allowed our clients to stay on top of their industry’s biggest challenges by giving them the agility to act on current-day and future problems. We believe that through truly great technology, we can help simplify the way service providers operate, create value, and increase customer satisfaction. With these core values, we created our single, state-of-the-art, comprehensive product: Open Smartflex is a holistic, multi-service, preconfigured software solution that provides a powerful billing engine, a robust customer care suite, an agile mobile workforce management system, a smart metering engine and hundreds of other functionalities to satisfy our clients’ core needs.
History
1987 – 1994
Open built a world class software solution for utilities and municipalities that offered electricity, water, and telephony landline services.
1997
Open introduced the first known rules-based billing engine in the world allowing utilities to configure new products and non-utility service offerings.
2001
Open implemented its first customer in Nicaragua and Ecuador.
2005
Open Smartflex was born and expanded to several additional countries in South and Central America including Brazil, and Costa Rica.
TM Forum awarded Open with the “World’s Best Billing Implementation” recognition
2006
Open’s Innovation and Development Center received the CMMI (Carnegie Mellon’s Capability Maturity Model Integration) level IV rating and initiated operations in Guatemala.
2008
Open finished implementing one of the largest cable and broadband distributors in Argentina as well as in Chile. It also increased its Central American footprint closing its first deal in Puerto Rico.
2009
Open launched its sixth generation of products and implemented in Bolivia’s top telecommunication company.
2010
Open continued locking its presence in the Central American market with customers in Panamá and Honduras.
2011
Open implemented its first customer in México.
2018
Open initiated North American commercial operations and landed its first customer.
World Class Certifications and Standards
TM
TM Forum
Open uses eTOM, the Business Process Framework included in the TM Forum’s blueprint for enabling successful business transformation. This model includes processes to develop strategies, manage the enterprise, enhance infrastructure, design, develop and manage applications, and create consistent and high-quality end-to-end process flows for key enterprise areas, including CRM. TM Forum describes eTOM as a “comprehensive, industry-agreed, multi-layered view of the key business processes required to run an efficient, effective and agile digital enterprise.” The TM Business Process Framework is widely recognized as the gold standard for technology implementations.
PMI
PMI
Open’s Implementation Methodology and Project Management Office (PMO) organization has modeled Project Management Institute’s (PMI) best practices. In addition, all of Open’s Project Managers are PMI certified.
Project Management Institute is the world’s leading not-for-profit professional membership association for the project, program and portfolio management professions. Founded in 1969, PMI delivers value for more than 2.9 million professionals working in nearly every country in the world through global advocacy, collaboration, education and research. PMI advances careers, improves organizational success and facilitates the professional development of project management through its globally recognized standards, certifications, resources, tools, academic research, publications, professional development courses, and networking opportunities
IQNet
IQNet Certification
Open has been certified by the IQnet Association (The International Certification Network) for our quality management systems and processes. It is the largest international network of certification bodies for management systems that measure rigorous standards of quality and environmental management, with approximately 40 partners worldwide. A certificate from IQnet provides global recognition and worldwide market access.
CMMI
CMMI Level 4 certification
The Capability Maturity Model, (“CMMI”) is a process improvement framework that provides guidance for organizations in high-performance operations. Implementing this model requires that the organization conduct an appraisal of its business practices. Evaluation of the data collected then results in an assessment of the organization’s compliance, graded as a level of “maturity” between 2 and 5. Organizations implement the CMMI model for several reasons:
- To compare their operations to the best practices defined within the CMMI framework and to make improvements
- To inform customers and suppliers that they have met the rigorous standards of CMMI
- To comply with client’s contractual requirements
Open is proud to have achieved an assessed CMMI level of 4, which asserts that its development processes are predictably managed and controlled and that the organization can improve its work processes using statistical and other quantitative techniques. This rating places Open in the company of the best-managed organizations in the industry.
Awards and Recognitions
TM FORUM
The Open Smartflex implementation for EPM Medellin, Colombia, earned the 2005 “Best Billing Implementation Worldwide” award from the GBA, Global Billing Association, now part of the TM Forum, a global industry association providing thought leadership to 850 member service providers in 195 countries.
Analdex and Proexport Colombia 2009 National Exports Award
In 2009, Open received the Analdex and Proexport Colombia National Exports Award for its contribution to the strengthening of export activity. The award recognized that exports accounted for 50% of Open’s sales, and that Open experienced a two-year growth rate of 630%.
Portfolio Award Winner, Human Resources Management
Open is committed to creating a work environment that engenders loyalty from its employees.
Job satisfaction is 8.64 out of a possible 10, and the implementation of a structured plan to ensure that its employees are trained creates an attractive work environment that retains quality personnel. Open’s turnover of less than 4 percent is especially notable in the technology sector which has a turnover rate averaging 15 percent annually.
Open’s efforts were noticed by Colombia’s leading newspaper in economics and business, Portfolio, in 2012.
TM Forum
The Open Smartflex implementation for EPM Medellin, Colombia, earned the 2005 “Best Billing Implementation Worldwide” award from the GBA, Global Billing Association, now part of the TM Forum, a global industry association providing thought leadership to 850 member service providers in 195 countries.
Analdex and Proexport Colombia 2009 National Exports Award
In 2009, Open received the Analdex and Proexport Colombia National Exports Award for its contribution to the strengthening of export activity. The award recognized that exports accounted for 50% of Open’s sales, and that Open experienced a two-year growth rate of 630%.
Analdex and Proexport Colombia 2009 National Exports Award
In 2009, Open received the Analdex and Proexport Colombia National Exports Award for its contribution to the strengthening of export activity. The award recognized that exports accounted for 50% of Open’s sales, and that Open experienced a two-year growth rate of 630%.
Portfolio Award Winner, Human Resources Management
Open is committed to creating a work environment that engenders loyalty from its employees. Job satisfaction is 8.64 out of a possible 10. To achieve its goals, Open has implemented a comprehensive process to ensure that its employees are trained, and it strives to create a work environment to attract and retain quality personnel.
Open won the Portfolio award for Human Resources Management because of its success in attracting and retaining talent, especially engineers. The citation noted that while these capabilities are important in any market, they were especially critical when Open’s growth rate was close to 20 percent per year. Open’s turnover of less than 4 percent is especially notable in the technology sector which has a turnover rate averaging 15 percent annually.
Open has established partnerships with universities, inviting selected graduates or final-semester students to participate in its internship program. The program provides real-world training and experience over a period of six months. If their performance meets Open’s standards, the intern will receive a job offer from Open or from one of its clients. Two-thirds of Open’s new hires come from this very successful program.