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Oracle BRM Upgrade: A Strategic Roadmap to Near-Zero Downtime Migration

Why Oracle BRM Upgrades Matter for Business Modernisation

Modern Oracle BRM releases introduce capabilities that transform how telecommunications companies serve customers and manage revenue. Latest versions use artificial intelligence to recommend the best offers to customers at the right time, helping increase conversion rates and customer satisfaction. Automated notification systems keep customers informed in real-time, whilst the ability to generate preview invoices allows for better revenue planning and transparent customer communication.

Financial management becomes more flexible with configurable revenue recognition that adapts to different business models and regulatory requirements. Enhanced tax calculation capabilities ensure compliance across multiple markets, whilst improved contract management accommodates complex partnership and wholesale arrangements without operational constraints.

Operational improvements include simplified collections management through user-friendly interfaces, reducing training time and manual effort. The system now handles large-scale billing operations more efficiently, processing hierarchies with thousands of accounts without performance issues. Better integration with customer relationship management systems ensures accurate, consistent information across all customer touchpoints. Modern payment processing options, flexible product bundling capabilities, and customisable billing criteria provide the agility needed to compete in today’s fast-changing telecommunications landscape.

Business Value Delivered Through BRM Upgrades

Revenue Optimisation:

Support for 5G network slice monetisation through convergent charging capabilities
Implement usage-based and subscription hybrid models for IoT and B2B services
Enhanced revenue assurance through automated billing validation reducing invoice errors

Time-to-Market Acceleration:

Rapid service creation via low-code/no-code Pricing Design Centre configuration tools
Improved product catalogue management for launching new digital services
API-first architecture enabling seamless integration with CRM, ERP, and digital platforms

Operational Excellence:

Automated collections management and Business Operations Centre reducing manual operations
Intelligent workflow engines for dispute resolution
Enhanced rating accuracy and real-time validation

Enhanced Customer Experience:

Real-time balance notifications and self-service capabilities
Omnichannel billing presentment (mobile app, web portal, email)
Granular usage visibility for enterprise customers

Technical Modernisation:

Cloud infrastructure deployment (OCI, AWS, Azure) for elastic scalability
Containerised deployment for DevOps agility
Microservices architecture for independent component upgrades
Enhanced partner settlement modules for MVNO operations

Quantifiable Benefits of Oracle BRM Upgrades

Organisations upgrading their Oracle BRM systems typically achieve:

Millions of billing accounts per hour processing capacity with modernised Cloud Scale Billing architecture
Millions of invoice accounts generated in 8 minutes enabling rapid billing cycle execution
Millions of enterprise accounts billed within 4-hour window for large-scale batch processing requirements
Reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) through cloud-native deployment eliminating infrastructure overhead
Faster time-to-market for new services via low-code/no-code Pricing Design Centre configuration tools
Billions of daily transactions supported with horizontal scaling for 5G monetisation and real-time charging
Reduced manual operations through automated collections management and Business Operations Centre
Enhanced revenue assurance with automated billing validation reducing invoice errors and improving revenue capture
Compliance readiness for evolving regulatory requirements across telecommunications markets

Understanding Oracle BRM Migration Complexity

Any billing system upgrade is challenging — and BRM is no exception. The complexity arises from the extensive customisation capabilities. Based on unique business and industry needs, organisations tailor their BRM implementations, creating additional migration complexity. The more extensively a system has been customised, the greater the upgrade challenge.

Selecting Your Target Oracle BRM Version

Though BRM upgrade activities may vary from customer to customer and system to system, the most critical task before initiating any migration is to select the optimal target version and patch level. The target version and patches should vary based on specific business requirements and strategic roadmap. Below is a pictorial representation of the basic activities involved in a BRM upgrade project.

Key Oracle BRM Upgrade Activities

Oracle SR & Patch Analysis

Oracle Support Requests (SRs) raised for the current BRM system must be analysed during the system upgrade. This is a critical activity in the upgrade, as some SR solutions may have been addressed in the version release or in specific patches.

Feature Analysis & Comparison

We need to perform a comprehensive feature mapping of the existing BRM system against the target version and patch set. The features of the existing BRM system may have been carried forward in the latest versions and patches. Similarly, customisations implemented in the existing BRM system may be available as standard features in latest versions and patches. In case of any feature deviations from Oracle, teams should raise a Support Request to obtain clarification. If customisations aren’t available as standard features, these must be migrated to ensure business continuity.

Code Merge

The baseline code of the latest target version should be obtained from a fresh installation of the target version/patch. Merge the customised policy opcodes and custom facility module codes with the baseline code to create the target deployment package.

Proof of Concept

Once the deployment package is ready, deploy it in the latest version/patch of the BRM system and initiate the environment. If the system is up and running, the deployment package is validated. Otherwise, the deployment package must be refined until the system becomes stable and running.

Scripting

Build automation scripts to automate the deployment into pre-production and production environments. This approach avoids repeated manual intervention and enables proactive issue resolution in every environment.

Testing

Once the BRM system is ready with the upgraded version, conduct comprehensive functional, performance, regression, and end-to-end testing activities. Resolve any issues identified during these testing activities. The fixes could originate from internal development teams or Oracle’s product support, based on issue severity and root cause.

Production Go-Live

After all the successful testing activities, the production go-live can be planned. To achieve near-zero downtime, organisations should prepare a parallel database (DB) server with the production data.

Achieving Near-Zero Downtime in Your BRM Upgrade with Oracle Golden Gate

Once the DB server is ready, we can leverage the capabilities of Oracle Golden Gate (GG) to synchronise the data between the existing DB server and the new DB server. Once the GG lag is zero, we should break the replication temporarily. We then perform a complete upgrade on the new DB server, and after the upgrade, the GG replication can be re-established in upgrade mode to synchronise the data from the old version of the BRM database to the new version.

On the scheduled go-live date, the live traffic can be routed from the old server to the new server. To synchronise data from the new DB server to the old DB server, Oracle GG can be deployed in downgrade mode. Based on the overall performance and stability, the legacy database server can eventually be decommissioned or upgraded once the migration is validated.

Conclusion

Successfully upgrading Oracle BRM requires meticulous planning, comprehensive testing, and strategic use of tools like Oracle Golden Gate to minimise business disruption. By following this structured approach—from initial patch analysis through production go-live—organisations can modernise their billing infrastructure whilst maintaining operational continuity and delivering enhanced capabilities to business stakeholders.

For expert guidance on your Oracle BRM upgrade journey, contact Covalense Digital’s Oracle BRM specialists at reachus@covalensedigital.com or complete our contact form to begin your upgrade journey.

Author

Vilva Sabarikanth, Senior Principal Architect
A technology enthusiast with multi-domain expertise in Oracle BRM, PDC, AWS, OCI, and cloud-native architectures. Vilva is passionate about designing innovative BSS solutions and mentoring teams on emerging cloud technologies to deliver value-driven frameworks that accelerate digital transformation. With deep experience across the Telecom, Utility, and MSO landscapes, he bridges the gap between evolving technology and industry-specific needs, delivering scalable, enterprise-grade solutions for global operators.

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