04 March 2024
Bob Driver, head of adoption, UKTIN
New technologies keep the telecoms sector moving ahead and AI is a recent example of this. It has the ability to cut through network complexity, increase performance and enable automation. However, AI risks becoming the latest buzzword with no real follow through in terms of adoption.
According to Richard Waters at the Financial Times, many tech companies are not seeing the commercial benefits of AI just yet, despite the raised level of discourse for the last year. Of course, in the complex world of telecommunications, automation has been the norm for many years.
It feels that everywhere you look, there is a discussion about the role we can expect AI to play in how we connect and operate across our personal and professional lives. However, part of the problem with this type of innovative tech is that people keep skipping ahead to the next shiny new thing before they put in the hard work of adoption at scale. To avoid these short-term fixations, business leaders must focus on the practical considerations of how to deploy these technologies effectively.
Sector-specific knowledge as the downfall
There is no doubt that emerging technologies, including AI, will continue to play a vital role in enabling advanced connectivity solutions in the UK. However, when it comes to implementing tech, a lack of sector-specific knowledge can pose a real challenge. It can seem as though different sectors each have their own specialist language, built through the intimate knowledge they possess of their industry and product. Translating this to a range of decision makers with different responsibilities can be difficult.
We see this problem occurring at all stages in the telecoms ecosystem, whether it’s telecoms companies trying to sell into vertical sectors; supply chains trying to sell into telecoms networks; or telecoms engineers using specialist language which is baffling to a demand-side end user who just wants a solution.
Translating technical knowledge to broad-level stakeholders, including senior leaders, is a challenge - but it is vital to securing investment for adopting new technologies. This is where different end-user departments must come together to present a united front to key stakeholders when looking to justify investment. Organisations often have siloed ways of working together and when different departments aren’t communicating with one another, it can have a detrimental impact on building a convincing rationale.
This disparate way of working is often derived from each team having different sets of objectives. For example, procurement may not be aligned with those departments focused on innovating and scaling the business. Or in local government, there may be a team within an authority who wants to embrace the deployment of small cells to improve local connectivity, but the team who looks after a specific area - say transport and highways - might not appreciate the economic value such connectivity brings.
It is the ‘stackability’ of multiple use cases across an organisation that can justify an investment in network capability.
Collaboration is vital to ensuring the right tools and products are being implemented to help the organisation become more efficient. Businesses must come up with a way to navigate complexities and need to better understand the challenge, pressures and language of each other and their potential customers.
Bridging the language gap
To bridge the language gap, organisations need access to a forum that can connect the dots to ensure everyone is on the same page and in a position to implement the tech they need to ensure business progresses.
The UK Telecoms Innovation Network (UKTIN) plays an important role here. UKTIN’s work across the telecoms ecosystem means it connects with a variety of experienced individuals and organisations. For example, the network’s adoption working groups comprise a collection of highly experienced individuals from both key industrial sectors and the supply side of telecoms.
They are currently working with UKTIN to develop adoption toolkits aimed towards helping a company understand the steps they must take to adopt advanced connectivity solutions. This means creating end-to-end guidance exploring the full process - finding a supplier; working up a proposal; managing the procurement process; ensuring the deployment works; and maintaining long-term functionality. All in a straight-forward language that doesn’t require an engineering degree to understand!
UKTIN is also well positioned to offer insights into the impact a specific technology or solution can have on a business, ensuring companies have access to cross-sectoral experts who can help them adopt the right solutions into their organisation.
The establishment of a central unit of reference in the telecoms industry has the ability to serve as a repository of knowledge and expertise. It can provide stakeholders across established and start-up telecoms companies with knowledge from academia, government bodies, and private sector investors.
By consulting widely across the ecosystem and supporting organisations with bridging the language - and resulting comprehension - gap, UKTIN is working to understand the needs of all parties, enabling the forum to provide a coherent and informed voice into business leaders and the decisions they make.
