Telecom Argentina's CIO on digital transformation during the global pandemic
Pablo Esses, CIO of Telecom Argentina, discusses how Telecom Argentina's digital transformation has helped prepare it for the network challenges and new ways of working brought on by the global pandemic.
10 Aug 2020
Telecom Argentina's CIO on digital transformation during the global pandemic
Pablo Esses, CIO of Telecom Argentina, discusses Telecom Argentina's digital transformation and how it has helped prepare the company for the network challenges and new ways of working brought about by the global pandemic.
What are your priorities in response to the new challenges brought about by the pandemic? What is your outlook on the evolving "next normal" and how is Telecom Argentina adapting to prepare for this?
The isolation situation triggered by COVID-19 accelerated, in several aspects, the digital transformation we had already started. When the government ordered mandatory, preventive social isolation in Argentina we were already working on a deep transformation at enterprise level.
Due to this transformation process and the investments we have been making in network infrastructure and systems - which over the last three years has exceeded US$3.5 billion - we were prepared not only to handle the unusual increase in data traffic on our networks, but also to adapt our ways of working to continue operating, providing essential services to our more than 28 million customers, while taking care of the health of our more than 23,000 employees and all those who take part of our value chain.
In one week we were able to operate the entire company – including call center, commercial and technical areas and business support – remotely, ensuring business continuity.
We understand that the progress made in digital transformation in societies is here to stay. ICTs will be even more embedded in the new normal, which some have started to call the “low touch economy”, posing new challenges increasingly relevant for companies like Telecom, not only in connection with the services that we provide, but also in our way of working. We are currently rethinking our operational paradigm to capitalize on this experience in our path towards a full digital transformation.
Digital transformation is not just about changing processes and technology; it also involves a shift in organizational culture, or more broadly "the human factor". How is your teamwork changing and what advice would you give to your peers in this industry with regards to “the human factor”?
One of the greatest challenges in the digital transformation of an organization is certainly the cultural dimension. At Telecom Argentina, the transformation of our core systems and processes comes with a deep cultural shift that runs across the company.
We moved from a vertical structure organized by functions towards an organization arranged by product, in which we integrate collaborative squads (including business, development and operation), under the concept “you build it, you run it”. This allowed us to transition from a waterfall to an Agile methodology, with business goals and the customer at the center of our management model.
A diverse workforce is defined as one that is made up of individuals with a wide range of characteristics and experiences, such as race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, ability and sexual orientation. What does diversity and inclusion mean at Telecom Argentina and how important is it to your culture?
At Telecom Argentina, we focus on building a culture that fosters diversity among our employees. Not only because diversity is in our DNA, but also because we are convinced that the different points of view and approaches add value to the development of our business. We value the capacity to take risks. We are not afraid of mistakes; we learn, correct and move forward. Our talent management process is based on attracting, retaining and developing our people based on technical skills and qualifications, in addition to the soft and leadership skills to build the best teams and continue driving our digital transformation.
What key learning would you like to share for others in the industry as to why they should embed equality and inclusion into overall business strategy?
There is no chance of achieving a big transformation without diversity of points of view. At Telecom we are implementing an operational model that puts the client at the center supported by cross-area teams bringing together people with different skills who contribute ideas, creativity and capabilities to generate business value. This model helps us develop a career path for our employees who can leverage their individual capabilities by participating in transformation programs, projects or initiatives.
What are your three internal priorities for the rest of the year and why?
Following the merger of Argentina’s two main ICT companies, Telecom Argentina and Cablevisión, this year, we have big challenges ahead. On one side, regarding the transformation of our core, we are developing world-class solutions that involve both the front, with a convergent CRM and solutions that encourage self-management and boost e-commerce, and the back office, with projects that allow us to optimize both the administrative processes and our OSS.
We are also consolidating our strategic domains in big data (with the aim of becoming a data driven company), the apification and cloudification with a hybrid multi-cloud model, an open digital architecture, and native cloud components. In addition, we are making progress with the transformation of our operational model to consolidate the company as an agile organization, organized by products.
In terms of the wider societal impact of digitization, what are you looking forward to over the next decade?
Over the next years, without a doubt, we will be a key player in the acceleration of digital economy towards models in which self-management and connected life will prevail. As the trends that we have already begun to experience grow even further, we are making intensive investments and adopting the most state-of-the-art technologies in the market. The boom of e-commerce with new engagement models with our customers; hyper-customized experiences arising from the massive use of artificial intelligence, big data, 5G and IoT, are just some examples of what we envision in the near future.
What concerns you?
In the short term, and within the context of the health emergency raised by COVID-19, we are devoting ourselves to maintaining a balance between providing our customers with essential services for life in society, and preserving the health of our employees, customers and all those who take part of our value chain.
In the medium term, we will focus on continuing to accelerate our digital transformation and the related cultural shifts, as well as attracting and retaining new digital talents to support the speed of technological and social shifts.
Read our full series of interviews with digital transformation leaders from around the world, and learn more about their stories and experiences.
What are your priorities in response to the new challenges brought about by the pandemic? What is your outlook on the evolving "next normal" and how is Telecom Argentina adapting to prepare for this?
The isolation situation triggered by COVID-19 accelerated, in several aspects, the digital transformation we had already started. When the government ordered mandatory, preventive social isolation in Argentina we were already working on a deep transformation at enterprise level.
Due to this transformation process and the investments we have been making in network infrastructure and systems - which over the last three years has exceeded US$3.5 billion - we were prepared not only to handle the unusual increase in data traffic on our networks, but also to adapt our ways of working to continue operating, providing essential services to our more than 28 million customers, while taking care of the health of our more than 23,000 employees and all those who take part of our value chain.
In one week we were able to operate the entire company – including call center, commercial and technical areas and business support – remotely, ensuring business continuity.
We understand that the progress made in digital transformation in societies is here to stay. ICTs will be even more embedded in the new normal, which some have started to call the “low touch economy”, posing new challenges increasingly relevant for companies like Telecom, not only in connection with the services that we provide, but also in our way of working. We are currently rethinking our operational paradigm to capitalize on this experience in our path towards a full digital transformation.
Digital transformation is not just about changing processes and technology; it also involves a shift in organizational culture, or more broadly "the human factor". How is your teamwork changing and what advice would you give to your peers in this industry with regards to “the human factor”?
One of the greatest challenges in the digital transformation of an organization is certainly the cultural dimension. At Telecom Argentina, the transformation of our core systems and processes comes with a deep cultural shift that runs across the company.
We moved from a vertical structure organized by functions towards an organization arranged by product, in which we integrate collaborative squads (including business, development and operation), under the concept “you build it, you run it”. This allowed us to transition from a waterfall to an Agile methodology, with business goals and the customer at the center of our management model.
A diverse workforce is defined as one that is made up of individuals with a wide range of characteristics and experiences, such as race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, ability and sexual orientation. What does diversity and inclusion mean at Telecom Argentina and how important is it to your culture?
At Telecom Argentina, we focus on building a culture that fosters diversity among our employees. Not only because diversity is in our DNA, but also because we are convinced that the different points of view and approaches add value to the development of our business. We value the capacity to take risks. We are not afraid of mistakes; we learn, correct and move forward. Our talent management process is based on attracting, retaining and developing our people based on technical skills and qualifications, in addition to the soft and leadership skills to build the best teams and continue driving our digital transformation.
What key learning would you like to share for others in the industry as to why they should embed equality and inclusion into overall business strategy?
There is no chance of achieving a big transformation without diversity of points of view. At Telecom we are implementing an operational model that puts the client at the center supported by cross-area teams bringing together people with different skills who contribute ideas, creativity and capabilities to generate business value. This model helps us develop a career path for our employees who can leverage their individual capabilities by participating in transformation programs, projects or initiatives.
What are your three internal priorities for the rest of the year and why?
Following the merger of Argentina’s two main ICT companies, Telecom Argentina and Cablevisión, this year, we have big challenges ahead. On one side, regarding the transformation of our core, we are developing world-class solutions that involve both the front, with a convergent CRM and solutions that encourage self-management and boost e-commerce, and the back office, with projects that allow us to optimize both the administrative processes and our OSS.
We are also consolidating our strategic domains in big data (with the aim of becoming a data driven company), the apification and cloudification with a hybrid multi-cloud model, an open digital architecture, and native cloud components. In addition, we are making progress with the transformation of our operational model to consolidate the company as an agile organization, organized by products.
In terms of the wider societal impact of digitization, what are you looking forward to over the next decade?
Over the next years, without a doubt, we will be a key player in the acceleration of digital economy towards models in which self-management and connected life will prevail. As the trends that we have already begun to experience grow even further, we are making intensive investments and adopting the most state-of-the-art technologies in the market. The boom of e-commerce with new engagement models with our customers; hyper-customized experiences arising from the massive use of artificial intelligence, big data, 5G and IoT, are just some examples of what we envision in the near future.
What concerns you?
In the short term, and within the context of the health emergency raised by COVID-19, we are devoting ourselves to maintaining a balance between providing our customers with essential services for life in society, and preserving the health of our employees, customers and all those who take part of our value chain.
In the medium term, we will focus on continuing to accelerate our digital transformation and the related cultural shifts, as well as attracting and retaining new digital talents to support the speed of technological and social shifts.
Read our full series of interviews with digital transformation leaders from around the world, and learn more about their stories and experiences.
