Rapid service creation has become a mantra for network operators, with first Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Sub-system (IMS) and lately Web 2.0 technologies promising to enable it.  However, creating new services is one thing;  launching them at a speed to match is quite another.  It is now widely recognized that the first step to rapid operationalization is the creation of a common set of operations support system (OSS) and business support system (BSS) tools that will manage any service an operator wants to launch, cutting the time taken to develop or procure new fulfillment, assurance, and billing systems for each new service – the "silo" model of operation that growing numbers of telcos are trying to dismantle.  But what should these tools look like in order to meet the needs of next-generation services? Services are becoming more complex, particularly as operators look to repackage services into bundles and "mash" them together into new products, i.e., a bundle of services.  Ultimately, customers (subscribers) will drive product composition, creating bundles of services personalized to their unique requirements.  Operators want to present customers with an intelligent catalog of services that have the same rules for composing services together into products, given the customer's network connection(s), pricing rules, and other relevant information, such as the customer's status, affiliations, or credit history.  Once the customer has composed a suitable product, it will become a new service that must be provisioned, charged for, and assured – and customers increasingly expect that such services will be delivered on time, available when wanted, and competitively priced.  These expectations, as well as the new model of product composition, are driving new operational requirements. To accomplish these objectives, service providers and OSS-BSS vendors could use Coscend's component-based custom communications software:  component-based architecture, software-building blocks, software-integrating blocks, utilities, and tools.