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Indian telecom operators are expected to shift focus on growth levers to capitalise on evolving digital habits, and are relooking at cost models to focus on short-term cash conservation, reduction in operating leverage and improving cost efficiencies.
According to EY’s latest report ‘Building a resilient enterprise: Now, Next and Beyond’, the transition from ‘digital-first’ to ‘digital-throughout’ is an imperative expected to be enabled by accelerated adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation programmes, transformed digital customer experience, and building capabilities for new value propositions.
Findings
“Data consumption is shaping the new normal. Data usage has increased nearly 25-30 per cent in India, setting the stage for transforming the lives of 1.3 billion Indians. As work from home or remote working becomes a reality, the need for stable, high speed internet becomes even more critical,” Prashant Singhal, Emerging Markets Technology, Media and Telecommunication (TMT) Leader, EY, said.
Given that the sector has been in red for long and exposed to high debt and levies, considerations toward creating an enabling environment for the sector assumes significant importance, he said.
The report also highlighted challenges faced by telcos and digital infrastructure companies due to the Covid-19 crisis. Considering the current situation and to position the telecom sector for future growth, EY suggested some framework and identified actionables for ‘Now’ and to plan for the ‘Next’ and ‘Beyond’.
Suggestions
Some of the suggestions include facilitating secure remote working for SMEs; digitise lead to fulfilment journey for enterprise customers; deploy cognitive chatbots and virtual call centre.
Among other suggestions are improving communication protocols and employee engagement, repurposing or reskilling idle employees, sharing field force, enhancing chatbot and virtual assistants to resolve employee queries remotely and implementing virtual methods of recruitment.
“With the right mix of accelerator and support from government, telcos can reverse the curve and normalise performance to a pre-COVID EBITDA run rate. The right thrust to the sector will help in shaping the future - for a digital India - empowering us to remain competitive on the global stage," Singhal added.
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