A Legacy of Innovation in Telecommunications

Few companies can claim a history that stretches back before the invention of the lightbulb. BT Group’s roots trace back to 1846, when the Electric Telegraph Company pioneered a nationwide communications network. Fast forward to today, BT Group stands as the UK’s leading provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications, as well as cutting-edge digital solutions and services.
With a clear mission—to connect for good—BT Group harnesses the power of technology to foster seamless communication, drive innovation, and support customers in their personal and professional lives.

Meeting the Challenge of an Expanding Network

Ensuring seamless connectivity across the UK is no small feat. BT Group’s extensive infrastructure consists of:

  • 20,000 cell sites
  • 1,900 high-bandwidth ethernet exchanges
  • 150,000 ethernet-based circuits

As internet demand surged in 2023, BT Group recorded peak traffic exceeding 30Tbps—demonstrating the need for efficient and scalable network management.

“The Neo4j SRIMS platform provides significant performance improvements over our previous solution, enabling radical new levels of efficiency and insight.” – Sreenath Gopalakrishna, Director of Software Engineering, BT Group

Transforming Network Inventory Management with SRIMS

Behind the scenes, BT Group manages vast volumes of hardware components crucial for network stability. The complexity of maintaining such an expansive network led BT Group to seek a cutting-edge solution: the Service and Resource Inventory Management System (SRIMS).

"We saw an opportunity to move our systems to real-time data processing for greater operational insight, faster service delivery, and streamlined network planning,” says Gopalakrishna.

To achieve this, BT Group developed SRIMS using Neo4j’s graph database technology. By integrating APIs with existing business systems, SRIMS facilitates rapid order processing while ensuring cost efficiency.

A Unified View for Smarter Network Planning

Previously, BT Group managed its inventory across 350 disparate IT systems, making maintenance costly and cumbersome. A lack of centralized data meant that inventory planning required extensive manual effort.

Seeking a unified system of record, BT Group evaluated multiple graph databases, ultimately selecting Neo4j for its enterprise-level support and security capabilities. The transition to SRIMS involved:

  • Technical integration and data migration from legacy systems
  • Implementing an Object Graph Mapper (OGM) to maintain existing code structures
  • Establishing a digital twin of the Wholesale Network Inventory

The result? A seamless transition to a highly efficient, consolidated inventory platform.

SRIMS: A Scalable, Intelligent Inventory Solution

SRIMS is more than just an inventory system—it’s a game-changer. By providing real-time visibility into network resources, engineers can swiftly allocate switches and routers where needed, ensuring optimized network performance.

Key benefits include: ✔ 50% reduction in capacity planning time ✔ Thousand-fold performance improvement over previous systems ✔ Processing of 5,000+ order progress reports per hour ✔ Automated service design and provisioning ✔ 3D visualization for enhanced network planning ✔ 3,000 employees and 1,500+ concurrent users at peak performance

"SRIMS enables us to diagnose and resolve network issues faster, ensuring our customers stay connected. By reducing human decision points by 60%, we allow our engineers to focus on next-generation advancements in telecommunications," says Gopalakrishna.

The Future of Connectivity Starts Here

By leveraging Neo4j’s advanced graph database technology, BT Group has transformed its inventory management, paving the way for a smarter, more efficient future. With SRIMS, BT Group not only ensures data integrity and automation but also reinvests in its commitment to driving the next era of digital connectivity.