Service delivery platform

A service delivery platform (SDP) is a set of components that provides a service(s) delivery architecture (such as service creation, session control and protocols) for a type of service delivered to consumer, whether it be a customer or other system. Although it is commonly used in the context of telecommunications, it can apply to any system that provides a service (e.g. VOIP Telephone, Internet Protocol TV, Internet Service, or SaaS). Although the TM Forum (TMF) is working on defining specifications in this area, there is no standard definition of SDP in industry and different players define its components, breadth, and depth in slightly different ways.

SDPs often require integration of IT capabilities and the creation of services that cross technology and network boundaries. SDPs available today tend to be optimized for the delivery of a service in a given technological or network domain (e.g. in telecommunications this includes: web, IMS, IPTV, Mobile TV, etc.). They typically provide environments for service control, creation, and orchestration and execution. Again in telecommunications, this can include abstractions for media control, presence/location, integration, and other low-level communications capabilities. SDPs are applicable to both consumer and business applications.

In the context of telecommunications only, the business objective of implementing the SDP is to enable rapid development and deployment of new converged multimedia services, from basic POTS phone services to complex audio/video conferencing for multiplayer games (MPGs). In the context of SaaS, similar business objectives are achieved but in a context specific to the particular business domain.

The emergence of Application Stores, to create, host, and deliver applications for devices such as Apple's iPhone and Google Android smartphones, has focused on SDPs as a means for Communication Service Providers (CSPs) to generate revenue from data. Using the SDP to expose their network assets to both the internal and external development communities, including web 2.0 developers, CSPs can manage the lifecycles of thousands of applications and their developers.

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