Competition will force telecom proces down: Article from UK:
European telcos must learn to work with
the Net
Old-school European telcos will only survive
into the next century if they use Internet
technology, according to Elek Straub,
president and CEO of former Hungarian state
telco, Matav.
Straub, an ex-IT director, told the ETIS 99 conference in The
Hague yesterday that a company's biggest challenge is to work
out which technology will have the most impact on its business.
He said his own company must learn "how to react to the
IP/Internet phenomenon", and stated: "There is only one way left
for any telecoms company that wants to be successful in the
future - that is to use IT as a strategic tool."
Len Morris, Andersen Consulting senior partner, electronic and
high-tech market unit, said: "Telcos are changing their systems.
It won't be a tidal wave, but mini-ripples."
However, Eric Steeghs, European vice president of IT at ABN
Amro, was damning about the progress of telcos in Europe,
many of which have only operated in deregulated markets since
the start of last year.
ABN Amro offers retail and investment banking services around
the world, but Steeghs said many telcos don't understand these
businesses. He was also critical about not getting proper quality
of service and reliable billing, and warned high European prices
would ultimately not be "sustainable in a competitive global
environment".
Straub admitted that incumbent operators are often handicapped
by a recent past featuring poor customer service and lacking in
IT know-how and competent marketing, but said he believes they
will draw on other technical expertise, market presence and
international resources.
Asbjorn Eide, CEO of Telenor 4tel, the IT services and systems
integration arm of Norway's former monopoly provider, was
blunter still. He said: "A lot of technology from telcos is quite
new to the telcos. We need to gain more experience in providing
consultative services. We're not used to customers - with plain
old telephony services we had clients."
All agreed that IT representation at board level - for telcos and
other companies - is the way forward.
Tony Hallett / Feedback
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