Interoperability: A Story Within a Story
Who is this story for? For people who enjoy reading things happening in front of them, it’s in front of their eyes, and they don’t know what’s going to happen next. It’s all true. Real-life drama. If you like that, you’ll like this story.
Where to begin. ah yes! It all started a year before last; the project kicked off in November 2018 and it was bobbing story from the beginning. Orange Maroc is the key contribution to the ambition of the Engage 2025 strategic plan to reach specific million euros in turnover by 2023, so stakes were high that made this project a top priority to complete in a year’s time. I joined the team in late March 2019 wherein I have had multiple roles to play i.e. Solution Architect, Vendor Management, Client Support, Project Manager. Before I became a part, we had teams working on the architecture and planning of the overall solution going to deliver to OMA. What zest they had! I have been responsible for a specific module developed by the Vendor.This module is connected to Central Bank Morocco switch to enroll subscribers on the switch and to allow transfer with other EDP(Establishment de Payment).
As our vendor was using the archaic way of deploying the solution on our OM cloud infrastructure, we assisted them with cutting edge technologies. Sometimes issues like codes, pipelines, integration did come up but I am most fortunate to work with a close-knit team who would stand beside me on a bad day & give 100% support at all times. I would be honest that I was also frustrated at times & that is when one of these friends stood by me. At times, they gave me a helping hand & at other times they just listened! This actually helped me progress in the project and made me realize that there are people who stand behind me like pillars of strength.
As Orange Maroc team was not specialized in Orange Money solution, we as a team at IOL India supported and assisted remotely which wasn’t enough. French team had travelled earlier for the training (in January) to assist OMA team but as the project was enormous and they required more knowledge on the subject, I packed my bags & left. As I have worked extensively on the Orange money solution, I was given the opportunity to travel to Morocco in the month of June to train the team on TANGO, Broker, Core API, Interop, Reporting, etc. And once I reached Morocco, my first reaction to the city was ‘Beautiful’, I would say DON’T LISTEN TO WHAT I SAY, GO SEE yourself. The experience of training the Orange Maroc team was very interesting both for them & for me. Eventually to my happiness, they started developing their own channels (Mobile App, Retailer App, Shop Terminal, USSD, etc).
A picture, clicked from the Hotel! The experience of OM Morocco has been as vibrant as the picture you see here.
On return, the challenge started, we had a lot of failed deliveries from the vendor & thus worked extensively on a lot of integration testing on Orange Environment. August 2019 marked the milestone of Orange gaining a status of a payment institution in Morocco, afterwhich began a fierce competition from other operators propelling us to launch at the earliest. Therefore pressure mounted that enveloped to homologate inter-op module with HPS soonest. Now as this was on, sometimes I felt down during the day very contrary to my nature!
My negative thoughts started to develop and filled my mind with, fear, anxiety, frustration and all kind of worries that took toll up on me. This started happening with a few of my colleagues too & we started feeling defeated almost on the verge of giving up. Somehow we held on to each other braving each day at a time.
Maybe that’s what you call a team!!
We soon realized that this wasn’t a successful way of working on a complex project like this! Following that day of realization, we made it a point to embrace a day with a smile, showing strong character, seeing it’s as a new possibility, so we get in that positive state of mind. Start being conscious about it, and work harder and won’t stop till we persuade ourselves that we have progressed, little by little. We started with our thoughts to be free in the desired manner. and always thinking positive about our goal. With this positive mindset, we are able to conquer every obstacle, working every day full of energy, full of enthusiasm, and full of joy.
In September, I travelled along with the vendor to Casablanca again so that Inter-op could be integrated with HPS for first-level integration. It took pretty long two weeks to integrate the first transaction service with HPS. Apart from that, we worked on the integration of Orange Money components with local channels (Mobile App, USSD). The travels to Casablanca made me accustomed to the criticalities the Moroccan team was facing on-field and interpret their requirements to practical implementation in our components. On return, our next target was to adapt global reporting in accordance to Morocco’s requirements and to finalize homologation, I would like to share the facts about my team which was the best team (mic- drop), not because they had the best skill in the software industry but they have passed every test we faced during the project. A test of courage, patience, grit, faith, perseverance, and humility. And they put every hour of the day to make this project forward, be it Core team, Broker team, Compi team, GR team, Interop team, etc. A special mention to the vendor who even though after numerous challenges rose up to the occasion & supported us in making it a success.
In December, I travelled again to finalize homologation of Interop module. We came close to the goal but still afar from completion. Morocoo team was very kind and helpful to me and they supported us in every aspect possible. At least most of the time. We all struggle in bad times, we all want the sun to shine. I cannot thank them enough for not losing hope in times of need, for hanging in there in the night, waiting for the dawn to make things work for OMA team, and they were amazingly patient to wait for the day i would make a call to give them the good news. That always gives me chills. With the french team, I have the same kind of bond where we trust & support each other , we proved that if ingredients are correct we can create our own magic. And we glued together through those days, through the tough times… the inside jokes especially my favorite one (#letsgettheshithomologated) and lending a helping hand to each other.
Brilliant work of collaboration!
On the dawn of 2020, we began with CAT for Orange Money Components and in addition we homologated with Inter-op switch which enables customers to make intra-country payment and money transfer services. This path paved way for steering launch of Orange Money Morocco on 10th March 2020. The experience was overwhelming and it took more than a year to complete but in the end, it all makes sense, that project success is not decided on it’s final day but a journey we all embarked on together.
It’s a funny thing about stories. It doesn’t feel like you make them up, more like you find them. You type and type and you know you haven’t got it yet, because somewhere out there, there’s that perfect thing — the unexpected ending that was always going to happen. That place you’ve always been heading for, but never expected to go.
That powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse. What would your verse be?
