Comments
Good subject for the Feb. 18 for the next radio show...
Great question LightRay. As mentioned, I'm interested in hearing what small to midsize service providers are doing.
Hey, just a shout out that we have a contest going at http://www.telcotransformation.com
Looking forward to the next show!
And as a last question - does anyone have a suggestion for a telco that has transformed itself and doing great things that is maybe an 'unsung hero' that we should go talk to?
thanks Mike, Iain and Ray for a great show. Bye all. Till next time.
NewlPLiz- Agreed. And I believe it will be a differentiator.
Everyone, thanks again for taking the time listen and participate today! Not cutting anyone off but I know some people have to jump off. So don't forget to tune in Feb. 18 for the next radio show.
analytics play into everything, CEM, IT, security --
oh we didn't talk about analytics
Yes, absolutely - having a kick-ass analytics platform and skilled people who know how to get meaningful data from it is gong to be a differentiator, in my view. But I know that 'data scientists' are the 'unicorns' of the current comms market...
LightRay - In other words a "Smart" System - which then includes the analytics.
I agree Mitch! and if its frustrating to use they'll go elsewhere. Gee, I hope I'm not the guy defending Comcast!
LightRay - CRM systems need to also give the customer service reps visibility into all the times a customer has contacted the organization. Many companies have customer service silos.
Mike Robuck - No matter how great the product is, it still has to be put into customers' hands!
Customer service models, yes -- the old way of doing things is redundant. An integrated real-time system that enables a customer service rep to see everything about a customer and undrstand not only what their situation might be but how that customer can be helped and even up-sold is vital.
@lightray culture impacts everything after all...
NewIPLiz - When technology reaches the adoption stage, discussion of standards takes a back seat to implementation practicalities.
Ray, good point. X1 rollout was initially hurt by lack of boxes to install. So I guess it didn't matter how cool the UI, etc. were.
@mikerobuck is it just me or has the standards issue fallen a bit by the wayside in terms of hype? Maybe its gone into the trough of disillusionment now?
Digital partnerships - a MASSIVE opportunity if only all parties could get theirs heads out of their backsides and strike some symbiotic deals instead of always trying to land the lion's share
Mike - is X1 about dealing directly with customers? I have no doubt that Comcast is great at developing and delivering new services but if that service, for whatever reason, doesn't work properly, a customer wanst to be treated as a valued customer.... I think Comcast has a reputation for not being g reat at that and PERCEPTION counts for so much
@lightray you are right there about anyone could be a customer anytime -- the move to digital partnerships will make a huge impact there
LightRay, So it's customer service models as well as the service itself.
@LightRay Ooh, nice point Ray on everyone as a potential customer, even if only briefly.
What's everyone's take on SDN/NFV standards?
Pacnet move very interesting from Telstra's perspective and they are developing that offering all the time - http://www.lightreading.com/carrier-sdn/sdn-architectures/telstra-launches-new-sdn-services/d/d-id/720485
Also on customers --- that's another thing that has to cjhange. Telcos have to start thinking about how ANYONE could be a customer, even if only for 1 hour
NewlLightRay, That is interesting- will be anxious to see the outcome.
Customer experience management is something you could put at the pinnacle --- that's where all these efforts have to have an impact
@NewIPLiz On the question of vCPE, there are advantages to keeping networking communications local in some cases and not always connecting back to the Internet. Sometimes it's about security, sometimes bandwidth or latency.
understanding the customer journey, mapping it out ... especially as customers move into things like ordering their own services on demand is going to be a chjallenge
@LightRay so you don't think X1 adds value? It's Comcast, you will be assimilated!
DHagar - if yo are asking about Telstra, I think the way they took something of a gamble with the acquisition of Pacnet and are now developing that acquisition to fight their way into the global enterprise and wholesale comms sector in a bigger way than they had ever done before is really really interesting
@lightray yeah, customer experience management is something you didn't talk about on the show but that is so important
msilbey: Sounds like a good model!
It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out and whether Deutsche Telekom can do what it says it wants to do, but in the words of DT's CEO - "In the future there will... be the option of booking a service with assured quality in exchange for a few euros. This would be a fair contribution for the use of the infrastructure."
Re Comcast - ha, OK, and I think this is going to be a major challenge for a lot of operators. AT the end of the day everything they do has to end up with delivering great services that are PERCEIVED as delivering value for money alongside great customer service - if you suck at customer services badly and don't fix that then the other efforts are to a large part wasted
LightRay, Why? What are they doing that has put them in the lead?
@LightRay This is already happening with companies like Verizon and Comcast building wholesale services for other media distributors. I'd say that trend is supported at least in part by new IT systems.
@lightRay i think we are only seeing the beginning of wht telstra is going to do
Iain, Interesting. So that is still unchartered territory?
Great call on telstra actually - that is a compmany that is starting to impact the global comms scene in a much bigger way
What I'm really looking forward to discovering is how traditional operators are able to create new business cases and opportunities through the development and introduction of new IT systems
Hi DHagar. Yes, net neutrality is a big deal in Europe and they seem to have taken less of a hardline stance on this than the US, which is why Deutsche Telekom thinks there are still opportunities to charge OTT players for assured-quality services.
Verizon, AT&T, Masergy, CenturyLink, DT, Colt, Telefonica -- those would be my top 6. Telstra is starting to move into SDN with the pacnet acquistion
Ha, I combined @LightRay and @NewIPLiz. That was for @LightRay
Lots of questions to get to! I know it's hard to believe, but Comcast has undergone a cultural transformation of its own, but maybe it didn't have customer service first!
Thanks Mike, Ray and Iain. Mark your calendars now! Feb. 18th with TM Forum's Carl Piva.
@NewRay Yes, that Comcast. I didn't say they'd successfully transformed everywhere. (ahem)
comcast - is that the Comcast that is known for truly appalling customer service?
Verizon is also making quite some inroads in this transformation.
Is there an equivalent Net Neutrality in other countries, or what is the regulatory environment and affect internationally overally?
@LightRay Don't know that I can pick one, but I do think Comcast doesn't get as much credit as it should for the transformation it's executed over the last five years. Comcast has been a champion of open source, dev ops and software-driven services. That's a huge change from how the company used to approach its business.
@msilbey vCPE make so much business sense -- what kind of backlash are you imagining? Maybe based on security issues or something else?
any examples of small service provider?
Is Huawei leading across each of those markets or competing in each differently?
Spaniard Telefonica - it´s tacking big steps
Are we likely to see a backlash at all against virtualized CPE? I'm thinking of the investments taking place now in in-home hubs and gateways on the residential side. There seems to be a bit of a push-pull dynamic.
Different regulations in each country, and different cultures.
@dhagar I think the us is leading in some cases but following in others.
@lightRay that's a tough question to answer because each has a different approach --
Will the US lead, participate, or follow?
I want to ask everyone - which telco is, in your view, the most advanced in transforming itself and adapting to the new world?
Who do you see as the drivers? Not just leading the market, but reforming the platform?
Sky unfortuately tries to keep everything proprieritary, which stifles innovation.
@LightRay def think its a combo of both --
Is there a likelihood of more collaboration between traditional network operators and newer web-scale companies?
Hi, I agree as well. Technology has opened the door but our cultural systems and new designs have not taken place.
More questions for online chat, please!
@aduran that's an interesting angle I hadn't considered -- might be cheaper to outsource skills but that could actually hold up change
this is very interesting - culture and business model looks to be the most favored responses!
Yes, that´s why it´s so hard to change culture and move to next step, outsourcing lower cost in operation but limits improvement
Agree, Culture. Tradition
@aduran so they are just outsourcing?
Feel free to add to your vote, why did you vote for "culture" or any of the others? Thanks
How much new opportunity do you see for traditional infrastructure companies in the media space? I'm seeing a lot of bulking up on media processing and delivery capabilities, particularly as systems migrate to IP.
Cultural - biggest issue for most operators to address; once that is determined the rest is technology & implementation.
Neither education or skills are important for the present employees, LATam Industry just switch to a new subcontractor with knowledge and less people to do the job. It´s just money must have to be representative in the implementation.
Netflix is going to put even more OTT pressure on operators now that its footprint is virtually global.
Masergy is also pretty advanced in virtualization which brings me to my question, does size matter for telcos and transformation?
The C level sometimes is hard to get them going.
printing out their emails....ha
Retraining and skill upgrades indicate a company which may actually value their employees. Rare in the IT industry.
education and skills are important, but as long as managers incl. C-level are present who are still printing out their emails, cultural change and "digital attitude" will be slowed down. It's more about attitude.
mobile money is an interesting move for european telcos in europe.
in the forefront of reskilling? or in terms of overall transformation?
Great point Carol - let's come back to that point in the audio Q&A
WELCOME TO ANYONE JUST TUNING IN NOW! Remember to turn up your volume on the computers. Be sure to post your questions, comments and thoughts on the message boards and Ray, Iain and Mike will join us on the chat post audio stream.
On the culture side, it's interesting to see that AT&T is investing heavily in retraining its folks -a skills pivot - versus trying to hire talent. Does that approach make more sense and can you get employees to really change their mindset for how they work along with their skills?
it may be cold where you are but this topic is HOT!!
AT&T is really pushing hard on the reskilling front...
BSS/OSS has really come back to the forefront with the whole transformation...
-12 sounds really cold....need to do the math to convert it to F
It is minus 12 degree celsius at Ottawa
what is the biggest challenge to change in the major telcos? is it the mindset? Some are really trying to address that now but it's got to be a huge undertaking
depends who you listen to - 6 in, 12 in, 2 feet if you believe some of them...
how much are you going to get? 12-14? the snow is frozen into a tundra in chicago
It is sunny and very cold at Ottawa, Canada.
waiting for the SNOW in NYC!
cold and clear here in Chicagoland
welcome to all our guests!
Hi everyone. Loooking forward to today's chat!
and to the questions!!
Alan, cable, mobile, OTT, Facebook, Google, etc. Ask Ray and Iain hard questions
Good morning. Looking forward to an interesting discussion today.
looking forward to the great discussion today!
The show will be archived and available immediately after we finish the live interview.
Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone! Remember to turn up your volume on the computers. At the top of the hour an audio player will pop up on your screen. If you don't see it, try to press F5 to refresh your screen. Remember, there's no slides for this it's just a discussion, so be sure to post your questions, comments and thoughts on the message boards and Iain and Mike will join us on the chat post audio stream. Looking forward to this inaugural event!!
Mike, I'm curious about what telcos are doing to transform themselves into better competitors on the small business front? Cable operators are making big gains against them there.
Will you be talking about cable operatorsat all too?
Good morning, Mike. Congrats on your first show. Looking forwared to your special guests.
Good morning! Thanks for joining.
should be interesting, hope to attend
Someone needs to design a cell phone that connects up to obsolete analog devices. Like Samsung and Apple. And without price gouging customers.
should be interesting hope to attend :)
Looking forward to this discussion
Thank you and looking forward to it!
Hello..Interested in the concepts and contents
Looking forward to the discussion.
Thank you and looking forward to it!
Thank you and looking forward to it!
Greetings from Sunny Los Angeles
Looking forward to attend Telco Transformation session. Thanks.
Good afternoon y'all. This should be good stuff.
Looking forward to finding out more about Telco Transformation! Should be a great show.
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