Telecom Asia Awards 2018: Banking on digital to lead the industry

Intense competition and ever shifting customer demands are becoming the new normal for the telco industry. To compete smarter, Singtel took a different tact: digitalization.

“Competition is no longer limited to our telco peers but is coming from technological disruptors. Mobile carriers must keep innovating to differentiate their products and services so they can provide greater value to their customers and stay relevant,” said Siok Hoon Gan (pictured), vice president of mobile marketing & sales at Singtel.

The telco giant made strategic investments to digitalize its infrastructure. These helped the company to keep pace with consumers’ changing lifestyles while improving customers service levels. Together, these allowed “our customers to engage us at their convenience with our self-help platforms 24x7 and to make purchases seamlessly across all our online and off-line channels.”

Singtel understood digitalization is an ongoing journey - not a means to an end. It is constantly looking to disrupt and rethink the way it engages its customers, offering a refreshing experience that becomes a competitive differentiator.

For example, at its new Singtel Shop Comcentre customers enjoy integrated online and in-store shopping carts, smart WiFi-based queue system, automated checkouts and video bots that “roam the store to assist customers are some of the ways it is changing how it serves its customers.”

The company is also improving its online experience through its ubiquitous mobile app, My Singtel.

“Customers expect us to adapt to their needs and preferences, and power their digital lifestyles with relevant products and services. For example, we have enhanced digital engagement via My Singtel app, live webchat and social media channels, providing customers a convenient way to reach us online, over the phone and in-store,” explained Gan.

Singtel is also shoring up its cloud capabilities to address the growing needs of its business customers.

The Singtel Managed Cloud leverages the company’s comprehensive suite of services for public, private and hybrid cloud platforms to help businesses “move seamlessly to and operate in their digitalization journeys.”

“By coupling our cloud services with our cyber security, data centers, wide area network, and managed services, Singtel provides an integrated approach with the cloud ecosystem to help enterprises accelerate their digital transformation,” Gan said.

Singtel is not done yet. It is constantly looking to push its own boundaries to offer more value. It already plans to roll out more automated and better integrated cloud solutions” to reduce the risk, time and cost for migrating enterprise applications and data into the cloud.

“This allows our customers to quickly realize the benefits of cloud as a launch pad for their digital aspirations,” said Gan.

The company is also working with partners to drive digitalization. For example, the company recently launched the first Digital Transformation Foundry in Singapore with VMware. It will offer a “virtual sandbox” for its business users to test proof-of-concepts.

“Enterprises can test their solutions in a hybrid cloud environment, for example, allowing them to implement cloud-enabled workplaces more smoothly, in turn lowering costs, achieving better operational efficiencies and improving productivity,” Gan elaborated.

Singtel’s digitalization efforts are gaining industry recognition. They are also the key reasons for winning three awards: Best Mobile Carrier, Most Innovative Approach to Customer Experience and Best Cloud-Based Service.

This article first appeared on Telecom Asia December July 2018 Edition

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