• Telcos are looking to evolve into techcos
• The transformation was discussed at the recent DSP Leaders World Forum
• Poll results suggest the major challenge of such a transition will relate to human resources

Hiring and holding onto staff with particular cloud-native and leading-edge software development skills will be the toughest challenge facing those telecom operators looking to become a techco (tech communications company), according to the results of a poll conducted during the recent DSP Leaders World Forum 2023 that was held in-person in Windsor, UK, and streamed live.   

The poll was linked to the forum’s opening session, entitled ‘From telco to techco: The impact of next-gen operations on skills, talent acquisition and retention’

That session was co-hosted by Scott Petty, CTO at Vodafone Group, who noted during his opening address that, to achieve the company’s operating model goals, which have previously relied on outsourcing and vendor relationships, “we need to insource. We need to have our own engineering talent… if we’re going to manage these ecosystems of technologies and capabilities” – see Vodafone CTO: Insourcing is key to the techco transition.

The poll asked: What will the most difficult challenge be for a telco wanting to become a techco?

Respondents were able to select all options that they deemed relevant.

As the chart above shows, 55% of respondents selected the option ‘Attracting and retaining the appropriate staff’. The fact that this will be a significant challenge was made clear during the panel discussion which, in addition to  Vodafone’s Petty, featured executives from BT (also insources digital development talent), Dell Technologies, Red Hat, Telecom Argentina, the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) and Three Group Solutions. 

Attracting 43% of respondents was the option ‘Aligning such a move with company strategy’, while 41% of voters believe that ‘Revamping day-to-day operations’ will be a major challenge for those aiming to become a techco. 

You can watch all of the DSP Leaders World Forum 2023 sessions here. 

And if you have any insights into, or direct experience of, the telco-to-techco transition that you’d like to share, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the TelecomTV editorial team at [email protected]

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV