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6 reasons why digital transformation fails at every telecom operator

6 reasons why digital transformation fails at every telecom operator

by Telecom Truffle

Gergo Toth
April 17, 2023

Read this article before spending millions of dollars (double digits) on digital transformation. Such initiatives in the telecommunications industry can face unique challenges that contribute to their failure, including:

1.) Legacy systems and infrastructure: Many telecommunications companies have outdated legacy systems and infrastructure that can hinder digital transformation initiatives.

- Do you expect that your Siebel or in-house developed CRM can be the backbone of a digital experience?

- Are you planning to expose your spaghetti order management services as digital APIs?

Modernizing these systems can be costly and time-consuming.

2.) Complex regulatory environment: The telecommunications industry is highly regulated, and compliance with regulations can slow down digital transformation initiatives.

- How can you migrate to the cloud if the regulatory authority prohibits customers’ PII data in a public cloud?

- How can you implement an MVP with KYC quickly, if you need to integrate with cumbersome government APIs?

Companies need to carefully navigate the regulatory environment to ensure that the initiatives are compliant.

3.) Competitive pressure: The telecommunications industry is highly competitive, and companies need to move quickly to stay ahead of their competitors.

- Does your competitor offer system integration B2B services and you haven’t built such competency?

- Can you afford to lose market share when your competitor comes out with the next unlimited plan and you are not able to follow?

Digital transformation initiatives can be slow and costly, which can put companies at a disadvantage.

4.) Resistance to change: Like other industries, telecommunications companies can face resistance to change from employees who may be comfortable with existing processes and systems.

- Is your organization agile or did you just rename certain meetings to ceremonies?

- Will your MVP have 173 functionalities in 26 submenus?

This can make it difficult to implement digital transformation initiatives.

5.) Limited talent pool: The telecommunications industry requires specialized skills and expertise, and there may be a limited talent pool available to support digital transformation initiatives.

- Does your business stakeholder think User Testing and UAT are the same?

- Does your Enterprise Architect understand that CDN is not just a bunch of web servers?

Companies may need to invest in training or hire new talent to support their initiatives.

6.) Inadequate collaboration: Digital transformation initiatives require collaboration across different teams and departments, but telecommunications companies may have siloed departments that make collaboration difficult.

- Did you get to know by accident that there is an ongoing Master Data Management implementation why you are delivering a CRM revamp?

- Have you reached a joint agreement on whether your MVP shall be for Prepaid or Postpaid customers?

This can result in initiatives that are not properly aligned with business objectives.

Join me to explore how digital transformation initiatives can perform better in the telecommunications industry.

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This is a personal post. The views and opinions expressed here are only those of the author and do not represent those of any organization or any individual with whom the author may be associated, professionally or personally.