Telcos must cut legacy costs to invest in future technologies

Vikram Puranik, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Head of the Consumer, Communications, and Media vertical at GlobalLogic – India & APAC, addresses the pressing challenges telcos face today without sugar-coating the reality. These challenges include commodification, relevance, legacy costs, open standards, hyperscale-head-start, and a lack of confidence at the C-suite level. With two decades of IT industry experience and a strong blend of technology, operations, and business acumen, he leads the business unit focusing on edtech,
retail, communication and media, NEP, and telecom. An entrepreneurial leader with a hands-on approach to digital technologies, he has extensive expertise in complex programmed management for Fortune 500 clients. In this interview with Pratima Harigunani, he shares insights
on telcos’ long overdue yet complex transition into techco.

Why should telcos transition to techcos? Is this shift suitable for all, and is it being embraced by everyone?

The idea of telcos transforming into techcos has been widely discussed for quite some time in the industry. However, the transition, its imperatives, speed, and drivers depend on two key factors. First, where does a telco stand in its transformation journey? Second is its geographical focus. The adaptation is relatively straightforward for a greenfield telco in an emerging market. On the other hand, for an established telco in a mature market, the shift is more of a phased journey involving both internal transformation and market-facing changes.

What path should Indian telcos take? Should they focus on becoming netcos, service providers, software companies, or enterprise-focused telcos or continue to serve as communication utilities, especially considering the dip in ARP and the impact of Big Tech on the sector?

Irrespective of the chosen path, exploring adjacencies and building ‘Platform as a Service’ offerings and partnerships to facilitate B2B and B2C use cases is much easier than taking a completely divergent route. Some areas that need attention include smart and secure home solutions with integration of the Internet of Things (IoT), edge and location-based platforms and services, privacy and security-focused solutions, and private 5G networks for large open factories or sports venues instead of competing with Wi-Fi 7+ and AI-driven, demand-based connectivity solutions.

How crucial are moves like digital twins, AI, automation, and Anything-as-a-Service (XaaS) on this path?

You have mentioned diverse initiatives, and yes, all of them are important. Digital twins are foundational for intelligent factories and represent a compelling use case for low-latency, high-speed private 5G, making them a critical area for telcos to address. As for AI, it plays a vital role in enabling intelligent and efficient networks. Efficient networks with AI-enabled micro data centres and a large consumer data set open up immense possibilities, including sustainable networks, enhanced products and services, improved retail
customer experiences, drone deliveries, smart homes, and intelligent medical devices. Regarding XaaS, it is worth noting that all the hyperscale's use XaaS as their go-to architecture. For telcos, adopting XaaS—or starting with PaaS—is a journey, not something that happens with the click of
a button. Telcos must prioritize and adapt, particularly when shaping their enterprise B2B strategies.

Please find the snapshots of the print coverage attached and click here to view the interview.

Source - Voice & Data