BT’s transformation strategy: connectivity, data and self-service

Communication and connectivity are at the heart of BT‘s transformation strategy, according to the telecom giant’s chief strategy and transformation officer.

Michael Sherman is accountable and responsible for driving the overall transformation of BT. The aim is to be more lean, agile, digitally capable and technology native type of business. In his role as strategy officer as well, he defines how the communications landscape of the future will change and explores what type of business models BT should be developing and growing to ensure that it’s delivering the most value for its customers.

“We have to transform into a simplified business with lean and agile business processes enabled by new digital capabilities, tools and techniques,” said Sherman, while speaking to Information Age.

“Communication and connectivity are essential in enabling individuals businesses to thrive and deliver better outcomes. That’s where we start and then the customer is at the heart of our strategy,” he continued.

“We have to deliver differentiated value added customer experiences to the product and to enable that we utilise our largest asset, which is our network,” added Sherman.

Having the best network is a foundational pillar of BT’s business and from that it can then deliver the most value adding experiences.

By tapping into that network, BT look to identify areas where its customers are not getting the best experiences and then aims to reimagine the model in which it’s servicing those customers by leveraging digital tools and solutions.

Without connectivity it’s impossible to be what Sherman called a “modern day digital”.

“If you’re not connected, you’re isolated and compute doesn’t really work,” he said. “In this hyper mobile world the number of use cases dependent on connectivity continue to evolve at a fast rate.”

The UK has a problem though. Connectivity isn’t as robust as it is in other parts of the world — an issue the government has promised to address — and businesses are suffering. They often can’t leverage the modern digital tools and digital capabilities needed to be more efficient, effective and customer-centric.

As more ‘things’ get connected and new services emerge, such as drone delivery or autonomous vehicles, connectivity is going to be the foundation of those digital business models.

“If you’re going to have a real digital transformation, you’ve got to be very well connected.