Transformation Timeframes

TRI: TRI: Is there a rule of thumb for how long it should take to transform a telecom business?

I heard from a Tier 1 provider today who started its transformation in 2006 that their timeline takes them to 2014.

Now if I were presenting that transformation plan to my board and CEO, I guarantee you I would be fired. They are not going to wait 6 years. The world will change in six years. Standards, technology, the services you sell, and the customer's need for those services will probably all change dramatically in six years.

So transformation needs to be done so fast that you adjust yourself and you're agile enough to let the customer requirements drive you. If the agility isn't there, you fail to transform. Frankly, a lot of service providers fail because their architecture isn't agile enough to adapt to the business changes the customer drives.

If I have a project today and I go to any systems integrator and tell them, "I have a state of the art idea," they're going to tell me to come back in 9 months.

Why? Because the IT group can't handle the funnel of projects coming in. The complexity of their environment is dragging them down.

Speed is absolutely critical. On the web, new businesses are being formed every day. It's that kind of speed you need to aim for.

In the 4ESS and 5ESS circuit-switched networks we had at AT&T, upgrades to those switches would take 18 to 24 months. But in today's IP routing environment, I upload new software almost every day.

So the IP business model is driving the BSS/OSS model and that transition hasn't happened yet.