Just-In-Time? It’s About Time!
I attended the TeleManagement Forum’s “Management World Americas” show in Dallas last week, and one of the more notable talks I sat in on was by Phil Dance, British Telecom’s CIO for technology. During his talk about BT’s 21CN migration, Phil noted that the rate of change in the industry continues to increase and that in response, network transformations are no longer something done every 20, 5 or even 2 years anymore - it has become a continuous process.
This shift comes as no surprise to me and, if anything, has me thinking, “It’s about time!” Carriers are finally catching on to what other technology-centric industries have known for years - continuous adaptation and transformation are necessary to keep customers happy. With “the next big thing” arriving mere weeks after consumers adopt the current “it” technology or product (and sometimes before!), companies have to continually evaluate, update and transform their offerings to stay on the cutting edge, or risk being left behind.
As carriers move away from a batch model of transformation to a more continuous model, they will need their supporting partners and service providers to adapt and evolve as well, both individually and as a collaborative ecosystem, to support that move. It looks like just-in-time is finally coming to telecom.
