Greg Russell, senior vice president, Asia, Telstra International
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| The need to communicate doesn't go away in a down market but actually increases. | ||
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Q: What challenges in 2009 are you prepared for, with the financial downturn?
Changes in global economic conditions during 2008 demanded increased focus on how customer value is created and sustained. The telecommunications industry is no stranger to this having already undertaken initiatives to realign and right-size during the meltdown in the early 2000s.
One constant has been the need to communicate, which doesn't go away in a down market but actually increases. For example, pressure on reducing travel expenses will mean businesses will need to collaborate more electronically.
As such, I believe the industry is far more prepared to weather this financial storm. In fact, our business outlook remains unchanged and we remain cautiously optimistic for 2009.
What we do expect however, is that the current climate will compel CIOs and CTOs to rethink how they maximize returns on their IT investments, resulting in more time being dedicated to exploring innovative approaches to stretch budgets to achieve more.
We anticipate more companies will acknowledge and adopt solutions such as managed services, hosted infrastructure and virtualized environments as a pragmatic way to liberate value without having to exhaust limited capital resources. This can lead to a far more fluid environment, allowing tighter alignment of spending with objectives and achievements.
What will companies focus on in 2009 to cope?
I believe the key focus in 2009 will be on how service providers can help customers achieve desired business outcomes without needing to stall programs due to capital constraints.
This may be achieved through focusing on optimising existing technology more effectively, such as consolidating data center services into key hubs or harnessing new working practices like remote working and telepresence.
Initiatives such as these can help reduce tactical costs including IDD, roaming charges and travel expenses and can often be executed across existing, or slightly upgraded, IP data networks.
Of course this will inevitably drive up the volume of IP data traffic and service providers must plan carefully to ensure the timely availability of a robust, ubiquitous and secure network infrastructure. But as the price per bit continues to go down, this will help customers increase the proficiency of contact, wherever, whenever and however it occurs.
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