Early on Day 1 CEO Nick Read talked about the plan to transform from a traditional Communications Service Provider to a “Technology Communications Company”. He talked a bit about being purpose-driven, a new social contract for the organisation, being ‘Digital First’, deepening customer engagement, radical simplification and so forth.
As ever I was looking for some zingers. And there were two big ones for me. In IoT he described a move from being a good connectivity business in IoT to providing end-to-end services. More on that later. He also described the plan to insource IT development, imitating technology companies in some of the adjacent areas to those in which Vodafone plays. This push on in-house software engineering is potentially game-changing, allowing for way more differentiation.
Mobile networks are increasingly becoming IT-driven as telcos undertake their own digital transformations, so having the firepower to develop products will make an interesting dynamic, albeit a challenging one to manage and there are risks attendant with pursuing the independent path.
