My Upskilling Story: TM Forum Support Cubastion in Delivering Exceptional Value to Clients

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your role in the company?
My name is Umesh Sharma, and I serve as the Delivery Manager for our telecom clients, including industry leaders like Telstra, STC and Airtel. With over 17 years of experience in the Customer Experience (CX) domain and as an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, I bring a blend of technical expertise and industry insight to my role. My primary focus is on overseeing the delivery of high-quality, technology-driven solutions tailored to meet our clients’ evolving needs. I ensure that our teams apply industry best practices and leverage innovative frameworks to drive efficiency and results in our telecom projects.

Which training program(s) have you taken with TM Forum and why?
Cubastion’s engagement with TM Forum training is a core part of our strategy to integrate global best practices and deliver exceptional value to our clients. Our team members have completed several foundational programs, including the Business Process Framework (eTOM) Foundational Level, Information Framework (SID) Foundation Level, Open Digital Framework Foundation Level Exam, and TM Forum Open API Foundation Level. These programs provide a comprehensive understanding of key frameworks and standards, ensuring that our teams stay ahead in implementing structured processes, effective data management, and standardized integration solutions. This alignment with TM Forum standards strengthens our capability to support clients through scalable, consistent, and high-quality telecom solutions.

How has TM Forum training equipped you/your team with the skills needed to address current industry challenges?
TM Forum training has been instrumental in equipping our teams with the skills required to lead digital transformation initiatives, manage product catalogues, and integrate microservices architecture through Open APIs. For example, in one of our partner projects, we used TM Forum standardised APIs to streamline product catalogue management and ordering processes. By aligning with the Business Process Framework (eTOM), our teams have been able to implement strategic frameworks for campaign execution and customer engagement. This approach allowed us to move from a monolithic framework—where issues often led to project-wide downtime—to a more flexible, modular setup that improves reliability and response times across projects.

What specific skills or knowledge gained from TM Forum courses have proven most valuable in your daily operations?
The Open API knowledge has been invaluable for implementing microservices architectures, which are crucial in today’s digital environment. Understanding Product Catalogue Management and Product Ordering APIs has allowed our teams to develop seamless integration processes that are foundational in telecom operations. Additionally, TM Forum’s ODA (Open Digital Architecture) concepts have given us the tools to transition from traditional architectures to more adaptive systems, which translates into better service continuity and efficiency for our clients.

Can you share any examples of how TM Forum training has contributed to achieving team or company goals?
TM Forum’s training has enabled us to foster industry knowledge that improves collaboration and brand marketing, supporting our long-term goals of brand awareness and market leadership. By adopting TM Forum’s Open APIs and a unified terminology, our teams have been able to standardize processes that enhance information gathering, clarity, and execution speed. This shift toward standardized frameworks has also allowed us to meet client needs more effectively, helping build stronger relationships and solidifying Cubastion’s reputation as a trusted telecom solution provider.

How would you describe the impact of TM Forum training on your organization’s ability to stay competitive and innovative in the telecom industry?
The impact of TM Forum training has been profound, especially as we engage in multiple ongoing member projects focused on innovation, such as End-to-End ODA and Open API integrations. These initiatives keep us at the forefront of industry advancements, ensuring that we can continuously offer cutting-edge solutions and remain competitive. TM Forum’s frameworks and standards also provide a collaborative platform where we can contribute to—and benefit from—global industry knowledge, which fuels both our strategic and technical growth in the telecom sector.