Transformation, Transparency, and Talent: Takeaways from TM Forum
Dr. Steffen Roehn
Nik Willetts01 Oct 2021
Transformation, Transparency, and Talent: Takeaways from TM Forum
The Digital Transformation World Series, a global event for network and digital service providers, highlighted stories of change and innovation at the beginning of the four-week digital series.
Telecommunications companies’ transformation initiatives are bearing fruit. Over the past year and a half, many have found a way not only to continue providing critical connectivity and other services to customers throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, but also sharpen their purpose and make headway on major overhauls of their businesses, technology, and operations.That was one of the main takeaways from the first week of the Digital Transformation World Series, an annual gathering of network and communications service providers, technology suppliers, consultancies, and systems integrators hosted by TM Forum.
After pivoting last year’s event to a virtual digital series due to the pandemic, the conference series is a combination of interviews, discussions, debates and masterclasses hosted in the studio for a 10,000 strong virtual audience around the globe. The conference runs through October 14.
Here are some of the highlights of the opening week’s sessions.
Telco operators have made real progress in their business transformation projects. Companies are being more and more transparent about what needs to change and how they’ll measure progress. Most are open about this internally. But Telia is taking the rare step of also publicly sharing the objectives and key results of its companywide transformation initiative. Group CEO Allison Kirkby and Chief Operating Officer Rainer Deutschmann of the Swedish multinational telco were candid about how past transformation projects struggled because they didn’t have employee buy-in or strong internal collaboration. This time, centered on the “5 Ps” of products, processes, platforms, partners, and people, Telia executives made a concerted effort to ensure the whole organization shares the transformation mindset and that they’re bringing the whole team on the journey.
Like many telcos, one of the key early questions for BT Group’s transformation was where to set the dial on the ratio of time invested on supporting the current core businesses vs. expanding into new ones, with BT CEO Philip Jansen sharing a conceptual target of a 50/50 split. Harmeen Mehta, Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, and Rob Shuter, CEO of Enterprise Business, explained how they break down this split into three horizons: existing legacy products and core, new products and services in line of sight, and growth beyond connectivity. Notably, the company has benefited from having a chief executive with a particularly strong tech business understanding and focus, which has helped the company advance its agenda.
More telcos are narrowing their focus and embracing a newfound clarity of purpose. Facing significant industry disruption and mounting pressure to increase growth, many operators remain stuck deliberating on what their business should look like in the future. But some have clearly defined their purpose and path. Verizon’s leaders are laser focused on getting connectivity right, for example. CEO of Verizon Consumer, Ronan Dunne, and Global CIO Shankar Arumugavelu noted how the company has used the advent of 5G as a catalyst for a larger business and technology transformation; a strategy laid out in 2018 is now paying off.
This growing clarity extends beyond products and business models. Deutsche Telekom’s Global Chief Information Officer, Peter Leukert, has played a leading role in transformation efforts, and the company has also ensured its Managing Director of the German business, Srini Gopalan, is aware of the transformation initiative’s technical challenges and opportunities. This shift in roles has provided more clarity for the rest of the organization. Indeed, we’re hearing that more companies are bringing the traditional CTO and CIO ‘towers’ together as both network and IT become truly software-driven, creating an environment that can deliver on the needs of the business for exponential gains in time-to-market, efficiency and customer experience.
Telcos in developing countries are providing a model for innovation and transformation. The Malaysian telco Axiata, for example, has embraced an Agile approach to its business, and it’s also investing in digital initiatives such as a marketplace for application programming interfaces (APIs). What stood out to us was the attitude and drive of group CEO Dato’ Izzaddin Idris and his leadership team; Axiata seems to operate with a different DNA than many telcos around the world.
Telcos are investing in their talent strategy—particularly improving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)—but they’re playing catch up. Almost all the executives speaking noted that greater DEI can not only improve the company’s ability to meet customer needs, but also help attract talent. Robert Finnegan, CEO of Three UK and Three Ireland, summed this up by saying that a company used to choose you, and now it’s the candidates choosing where they want to work. As telcos work to strengthen DEI within their organizations, executives recognize that real change starts at the top, and they’re making it a strategic imperative. But the telecoms industry still lags other sectors in DEI, and execs are increasingly concerned they’ll lose out on top talent because of it. This now business-critical topic is one the Series will return to in the coming weeks.
Telecommunications companies’ transformation initiatives are bearing fruit. Over the past year and a half, many have found a way not only to continue providing critical connectivity and other services to customers throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, but also sharpen their purpose and make headway on major overhauls of their businesses, technology, and operations.That was one of the main takeaways from the first week of the Digital Transformation World Series, an annual gathering of network and communications service providers, technology suppliers, consultancies, and systems integrators hosted by TM Forum.
After pivoting last year’s event to a virtual digital series due to the pandemic, the conference series is a combination of interviews, discussions, debates and masterclasses hosted in the studio for a 10,000 strong virtual audience around the globe. The conference runs through October 14.
Here are some of the highlights of the opening week’s sessions.
Telco operators have made real progress in their business transformation projects. Companies are being more and more transparent about what needs to change and how they’ll measure progress. Most are open about this internally. But Telia is taking the rare step of also publicly sharing the objectives and key results of its companywide transformation initiative. Group CEO Allison Kirkby and Chief Operating Officer Rainer Deutschmann of the Swedish multinational telco were candid about how past transformation projects struggled because they didn’t have employee buy-in or strong internal collaboration. This time, centered on the “5 Ps” of products, processes, platforms, partners, and people, Telia executives made a concerted effort to ensure the whole organization shares the transformation mindset and that they’re bringing the whole team on the journey.
Like many telcos, one of the key early questions for BT Group’s transformation was where to set the dial on the ratio of time invested on supporting the current core businesses vs. expanding into new ones, with BT CEO Philip Jansen sharing a conceptual target of a 50/50 split. Harmeen Mehta, Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, and Rob Shuter, CEO of Enterprise Business, explained how they break down this split into three horizons: existing legacy products and core, new products and services in line of sight, and growth beyond connectivity. Notably, the company has benefited from having a chief executive with a particularly strong tech business understanding and focus, which has helped the company advance its agenda.
More telcos are narrowing their focus and embracing a newfound clarity of purpose. Facing significant industry disruption and mounting pressure to increase growth, many operators remain stuck deliberating on what their business should look like in the future. But some have clearly defined their purpose and path. Verizon’s leaders are laser focused on getting connectivity right, for example. CEO of Verizon Consumer, Ronan Dunne, and Global CIO Shankar Arumugavelu noted how the company has used the advent of 5G as a catalyst for a larger business and technology transformation; a strategy laid out in 2018 is now paying off.
This growing clarity extends beyond products and business models. Deutsche Telekom’s Global Chief Information Officer, Peter Leukert, has played a leading role in transformation efforts, and the company has also ensured its Managing Director of the German business, Srini Gopalan, is aware of the transformation initiative’s technical challenges and opportunities. This shift in roles has provided more clarity for the rest of the organization. Indeed, we’re hearing that more companies are bringing the traditional CTO and CIO ‘towers’ together as both network and IT become truly software-driven, creating an environment that can deliver on the needs of the business for exponential gains in time-to-market, efficiency and customer experience.
Telcos in developing countries are providing a model for innovation and transformation. The Malaysian telco Axiata, for example, has embraced an Agile approach to its business, and it’s also investing in digital initiatives such as a marketplace for application programming interfaces (APIs). What stood out to us was the attitude and drive of group CEO Dato’ Izzaddin Idris and his leadership team; Axiata seems to operate with a different DNA than many telcos around the world.
Telcos are investing in their talent strategy—particularly improving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)—but they’re playing catch up. Almost all the executives speaking noted that greater DEI can not only improve the company’s ability to meet customer needs, but also help attract talent. Robert Finnegan, CEO of Three UK and Three Ireland, summed this up by saying that a company used to choose you, and now it’s the candidates choosing where they want to work. As telcos work to strengthen DEI within their organizations, executives recognize that real change starts at the top, and they’re making it a strategic imperative. But the telecoms industry still lags other sectors in DEI, and execs are increasingly concerned they’ll lose out on top talent because of it. This now business-critical topic is one the Series will return to in the coming weeks.
