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Q
The IT and telecoms sector is subject to
high levels of volatility and has significant
potential for disruptive innovation. Looking to
the future, what are some of the key trends that
you see will have a bearing on Vodacom’s
current business model?
A
Mobile network operators (MNOs) of the future will have
to choose whether they are ‘infrastructure-only’ players,
or whether they will be providing mobile and related
services as well. The current business models of current MNOs
are being increasingly disrupted at both an infrastructure and
service level. In the future, one can envisage that Google’s
Project Loon (balloon-powered Internet service provision) and
other non-traditional infrastructure players being able to provide
both long-haul and last-mile digital services.
As innovation increases and the number of players increases,
the real game will be won on services and customer loyalty.
Those who can create ecosystems that are relevant and
sustainable will win.
The future lies in data. To win, you have to make it easier
for people to analyse, store and consume data. This will require
an increase in investment and intelligent infrastructure so that
we can scale and adapt with our customer needs.
Q
How is Vodacom positioning itself in
response to these trends?
A
We are continuing to invest in our infrastructure to make
it more flexible and agile. We are also increasingly
investing in the provision of digital services. We have
invested in data centres and continue to do so.
We are also maintaining a very strong focus on customer
excellence. In the last year, we implemented our CARE
programme that is designed to ensure we understand and
anticipate our customers’ requirements. We have also moved
to a segmentation of our customers in clusters that are
insight-led instead of spend-led. This drive to an insight-driven
organisation should bring us closer to our current and potential
customers and should make us much more responsive to the
potential changes across the consumer sector.
Q
Taking a longer-term perspective, how
might you imagine Vodacom’s business
ten years from now?
A
I foresee Vodacom as an integrated total
communications business that will be touching every
part of one’s personal and work life from the time you
wake up till you go to sleep. To be relevant in such a future,
Vodacom will be active in both the infrastructure and services
areas. At the infrastructure level, Vodacom will continue to be a
telecommunications market leader, but with a much expanded
network portfolio, covering not just mobile communications but
also fixed and other services. The ‘Internet of Things’, a huge
growth area for Vodacom, will require specialised networks and
core systems, so this will be an area of particular importance.
I believe that virtualisation will transform the networks and
systems as we currently know them, allowing Vodacom to
deliver more agile and cost-effective services across all
our operations.
At the Services level, Vodacom will be providing a wider suite
of services to both its Consumer and Enterprise markets.
These services will range from traditional telecommunications,
such as voice and data, to more specialised services such as
video, security, smart homes and cities, health and financial
services. In the Enterprise space, convergence will ensure
Vodacom will be intimately involved in all areas of the small,
medium and large enterprises, delivering a suite of
telecommunications and other virtualised services.
Taking a longer-term perspective:
Some views on the future
Interview with Yolanda Cuba
– Chief Officer: Strategy and New Business
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