Interview: Vodafone CTO juggles bequest network and cutting-edge technology

Besides network performance, one of a biggest pressures on Vodafone’s teams is a ongoing sustenance of fast and predicted systems to conduct mission-critical billing and customer attribute management (CRM) systems for a users.

There has also been a vast diversification of channels by that users can hit Vodafone is also increasingly severe Fernandes’ teams. Customers design and need to be means to interface with a user by mixed means and on mixed devices.

“For us, a plea is being means to decouple a large, mission-critical IT systems, such as your standard OSS/BSS systems, from these digital interfaces that business use,” says Fernandes.

Fernandes is actively positioning Vodafone during a slicing corner when it comes to creation in patron services both internally and externally. Since Dec 2016, a employees have been means to take advantage of an artificial intelligence (AI) driven desktop support system, that uses chatbots for IT support requests, and is now means to solve about 30% of a problems it encounters.

“About 30% of a sum communication with business is already by chat, so we’re holding advantage of that to launch AI as an initial interface to speak to customers”

Jorge Fernandes, Vodafone

Meanwhile, a chatbot named Toby is now actively articulate to Vodafone’s customers. “About 30% of a sum communication with business in call centres currently is already by chat, so we’re holding advantage of that to launch AI as an initial interface to speak to customers,” says Fernandes. “We make it really transparent it’s Toby they are articulate to – we’re not perplexing to trick a patron into meditative they’re articulate to a human.”

Today, Toby is still learning, and specialises mostly in information sustenance – such as revelation business how they can use their inclination abroad, for instance – rather than active problem solving, though Vodafone hopes to start to boost a capabilities over time.

The digitisation of Vodafone’s business processes is also changing a approach a association goes about building IT; while it maintains a some-more recognized rapids growth complement internally, Fernandes has been relocating to adopt flexible growth operations practices, too.

“We’re changing not only from a record indicate of perspective though also from a business indicate of view, so you’re bringing in a business you’re bringing in a user knowledge designers and sourroundings out teams to build record where a business silo is sitting down with a technologists around a table, elucidate solutions and building new products,” he says.

As a outcome of this, Vodafone is now undergoing vast informative change internally. Having spent 3 decades using networks formed on predictable, usually elaborating record and timeless interfaces and standards, a appearance of software-based, virtualised networks and a augmenting significance of developers in this universe is something that, by Fernandes’ possess admission, a user has not nonetheless worked out.

“I consider there will be a new era of technologists that will be means to welcome these dual worlds,” he says. “In a sense, a guys that are entrance from a IT sourroundings have an advantage since radically IT is entrance to a networks rather than a other approach around.”