UPC – Brochure 2019

UPC Switzerland and a Catalyst for B2B digital transformation P R O J E C T PA R T N E R S

UPC Switzerland and a Catalyst for B2B digital transformation WRITTEN BY D a l e B e n to n PRODUCED BY A n d y L l oyd

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UPC BUSINESS

BRUNO SCHENK, HEAD OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AT UPC SWITZERLAND, EXPLORES HOW THE COMPANY SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATES A DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

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In today’s technology-driven world, many stakeholders are seeking answers to the question: what is digital transformation? It is

something that we hear more and more as companies look to embrace a new era of business and industry through digital transformation. The challenge for many is discovering what it means for them. Over the last few years, there has been a shift in the role of the traditional CIO, moving away from managing an isolated business unit and becoming more of a business enabler. This is certainly the case for Bruno Schenk, Head of Digital Transformation at UPC Switzerland. Having started his career in the healthcare sector, Schenk moved into the technology space with UPC almost seven years ago.

Over this period of time, his role has evolved and he is now tasked with leading a transformation of business through a Simple & Digital program, called Catalyst. He has seen first-hand, the changing perspective of IT and, in particular, the definitions of digital transformation. “It takes discipline to re-think, re-design, re-model and w w w.upc .c h

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TRANSFORM YOUR BUSINESS We are the motor of digital transformation twim GmbH provides consultancy services in the area of digitization. Innovative and customized solutions to help you master the digital revolution:

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twim.ch

Successfully making the cultural transition with digital natives The digital revolution is only at its beginning; enterprises as well as current lifestyles are still strongly influenced by the industrial age. This contrast requires re-thinking which currently poses a major challenge.

Headquartered in the Swiss municipality of Zug, twim GmbH relies on the knowledge and understanding possessed by digital natives. As a result, it can support its customers as a key strategic partner in complex transformation processes.

Initiated at the beginning of the 20th century by the development of modern information technologies, digitization is a recent phenomenon: According to the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, the word „digitization“ was printed - relatively rarely - in national German daily and weekly newspapers at a frequency of 0.01% in 1975, and 1.09% in 1995. The frequency rose to 19.85 % just 20 years later in 2015, and 30.57 % in 2018.

From history books, we are familiar with the course and implementation of the industrial revolution, which had a tremendous impact on economic and social conditions in the 2nd half of the 18th century, and fundamentally changed living and working conditions in the following decades. The impact of this change is so great that about 20 years ago, a proposal was even made to name the period since the beginning of industrialization Anthropocene, to mark a new era in the history of the world.

As present-day witnesses, we are experiencing the digital revolution from such close proximity that we cannot yet simultaneously grasp and gauge its extent and development. Evidently

and indisputably, the dimension of this

ving had to adapt to digitization culture,

development is at least equal in im-

but instead being originally based on

portance to industrialization, but most

it. The enterprise‘s mindset regarding

likely much greater.

technological, financial, ecological and human requirements as part of digital

To cope with this social and digital

transformation at companies stems

transformation,

require

from a direct and unmediated fulfilment

a mind set which sees workers not

of these requirements in its everyday

enterprises

only as a resource. If duly practised

business. Through cooperation with

at enterprises, digitization raises the

established businesses currently making

motivation and potential of employees.

the digital transition, twim knows and

Successful digitization begins in the

understands the challenges and tests

mind.

faced here.

We see ourselves as a partner of our customers in the field of digitization. With the perception needed to consider their requirements and recognize their expertise as well as experience as key success factors, we support their enterprises during digital transformation.

Deepak Kumar, CEO twim GmbH Though complex, digital transforma-

twim received an opportunity to imple-

tion offers tremendous advantages to

ment a smart solution demonstrating

enterprises.

its native approach for UPC Schweiz

Decreasing process costs, shorter

GmbH. In partnership with the custo-

reaction times, new market opportu-

mer, a decision was made to advance

nities, improved customer & employee

the elaborate procedure of manual

experience, and increased competitive-

IP allocation not on the basis of the

ness are just the start.

original process. Instead, twim was

Competitors are inevitably compelled

commissioned to develop, as an entirely

to face the challenge for the sake of

new concept, a special software

higher profitability too. However, if this

which not only simplifies the process

compulsion is the sole driver for a

and makes it more efficient, but also

company‘s digitization project, without

fully automates it in Salesforce.

simultaneous implementation of a comprehensive cultural change invol-

Its native handling of digitization allows

ving all employees, then the project

twim to integrate, into all services forming

will fail.

part of its solution portfolio, strategies not limited to technological or financial

As a young enterprise where exclusively

aspects, but also promoting cultural

digital natives dedicate themselves to

change at enterprises as a whole,

counselling companies in digitization

and thus also fulfilling ecological and

projects, twim benefits from its not ha-

personnel-related requirements.

“ T HE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IS A CONTINUOUS INNOVATION PROCESS, WHERE YOU REVOLUT THE BUSINESS

BY FOCUSING TO DEFINE NEW VALUES, EFFICIENCIES AND CUSTOMER NEEDS” — B RU N O SC H E N K H E A D O F D I G I TA L T RA N S FO R M AT I O N UPC BUSINESS

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UPC BUSINESS

re-shape the business while ignoring IT restrictions in the first stage,” he says. “The digital transformation is a continuous innovation process, where you revolutionize the business by focusing on defining new values, efficiencies and customer needs to create a unique customer journey and experience, mainly focused on digital touch points.”

Schenk’s role requires him to act as a business-centric person that makes all the triage system decisions, driving the right streams and initiating the right trades in order to bring the ideas on paper to the lives of both internal and external stakeholders of UPC. A key part of his role is driving the digitalization program Catalyst.

The program prioritizes data-centric and future-forward technology such as AI and machine learning. Along with a future-ready digitized customer experience, the program aims to unlock higher revenues by supercharging sales, increasing efficiency and optimizing the entire customer lifecycle. “Where once manual processes and switching screens made selling a cumbersome process, today guided selling and automation have transformed sales productivity. Sales professionals can now worry less about processes and focus on selling and providing value for customers,” explains Schenk.

“We had a mixture of legacy systems, self-built CPQ engines and contract solutions that we needed to replace with a cloud-based solution. These systems were built to fulfill specific needs and couldn’t change to meet evolving customer expectations and technology requirements,” he explains. Schenk ascertains that a clear way of increasing revenue is through intelligent marketing and customer-based interaction, such as w w w.upc .c h

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journey automation and innovation in

Members worldwide. The TM Forum

customer interaction. For example, digi-

currently has more than 850 compa-

tal offer approvals cut customer approval

nies generating around US$2 trillion in

times from 3 days to 15 minutes, reducing

revenue. These projects bring together

up to 3 steps.

companies large and small to create inno-

The disjointed patchwork of systems,

vative solutions to common challenges,

glued together with mainly manual

demonstrating how this can be achieved

processes, slowed the sales cycle and

by leveraging key TM Forum best prac-

clouded data visibility. Fragmented tech-

tices and standards.

nology also made launching new products

Naturally, being part of a globally

and the provision of a fast, accurate and

collaborative forum has its advantages

coherent customer experience across

and Schenk highlights one clear boon:

every channel increasingly difficult.

vendors with the right capabilities to

The Catalyst program is a concept

drive value for UPC. “A big benefit for us

developed by the TM Forum, which sees

and the telecommunication division of

a number of proof-of-concept projects

the TM Forum is that there are a number

developed collaboratively by TM Forum

of major vendors that can deliver the

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right capability to your business in order for you to drive the change,” he says. “From a cost perspective, you can reduce your investment costs needed to bring up a system and benefit from proven solutions in other markets.”

UPC embarked on this transformational Catalyst program in late 2018 when the company created a road map on how to drive the program. The first item identified was the need to replace its current sales CRM systems. Expected to be completed in autumn 2019, UPC will have a new system in place that will increase the efficiency across the entire marketing, sales and operations. Following this, UPC will look to implement the marketing automation suite and in 2020, the company will aim to have completed the digital step forward from self-care to self-service. In around 12 months’ time, the goal will be to have implemented an entirely new CRM system.

In any transformational program, particularly one centered around new and improved systems, it is important to be able to understand what is and what isn’t the ‘right’ technology. Schenk admits as much: “The right technology is a complex question which needs to fulfill the requirements of your business, governance, customer, legal and more,” he says. “No matter what the technology is, the program challenges remain the same to ensure continuous improvements, and the introduction of future-proof capabilities, communication to the business and involvement of the organization and more.”

“We don’t rely on software questions of what, when, or how they need to be adapted because new 12

UPC BUSINESS

Bruno Schenk Head of Digital Transformation UPC Business An experienced technology professional, responsible for CRM, Projects, Processes, IT & Business Requirements in B2B. Having started his career in the health sector to create and define processes and standardise health sectors in the hospital space Schenk moved to UPC as the Head of Digital Transformation, overseeing the future of transformation, driving business change for business services for UPC and is also driving the catalyst project.

“IN ANY TRANSFORMATIONAL PROGRAM, PARTICULARLY ONE CENTERED AROUND NEW AND IMPROVED SYSTEMS, IT IS IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS AND WHAT ISN’T THE ‘RIGHT’ TECHNOLOGY” — B RU N O SC H E N K H E A D O F D I G I TA L T RA N S FO R M AT I O N UPC BUSINESS

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technologies evolve faster. You need to find a simple and digital way to adapt

model, each time.”

A key challenge in any transforma-

your entire business processes, oper-

tion is trying to strike a balance between

ating models, and more in a short time

performing and transforming. After all,

period. That’s why we focus our trans-

while a business looks to improve inter-

formation on designing the next 20 years

nally, it cannot simply press pause on its

of our business and driving the changes

entire operations. “The challenge here is

across the organization to achieve our

nothing new for us. The difficult aspect

ambition. All this with the help of an IT

lies in understanding how you can move

architecture vision based on an 80/20

or alter the service model behind the

out-of-the-box solution. We design an

technology to make it simple and digital,”

almost full end-to-end digital customer

explains Schenk. “So, let’s say we have

journey. The approach taken drives us

150 different portfolios from a service

to shape the business and the operating

base of around 200,000. In the end, it’s w w w. u p c. ch

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a question of understanding your tech-

and have one self-care

nical drive and on which level you need

and self-service portal in

to stop in order to do a hard, technical

place so that customers

migration. We tried to achieve a smart

can manage their portfolio

way by approaching the challenge with a

services and needs in one

commercial approach to secure a portfo-

single portal, thus reduc-

lio uplift by means of marketing and sales

ing all manual or agent

automation.”

interaction by around

Here, UPC looks to a commercial migra-

80%. As a technology

tion because it can contact 60-80% of its

professional in an industry

customer base with the remaining 20%

that continues to rapidly

contacted through proactive calling. If a

evolve, Schenk knows

base of around 5% remains in the end,

it’s easier said than done.

UPC will then move to hard migration and

What then will remain key

look to move or terminate the customer’s

to success for UPC?

service. “This is necessary because you

“The main key would be to have an

need to bring the old data source to the

innovative solution for the customer so

new systems with an almost completely

they can manage their services more

new data structure,” says Schenk. “It’s

independently and effectively; a digital

difficult because if you remain within the

customer journey,” he says. “I do see a

legacy structure (e.g. data, processes,

challenge coming from the introduction

values) then you have a problem sustain-

of 5G, not from the technology in itself,

ing the new system and introducing new

but the new customer behaviors and

capabilities based on new data structure.

needs that will arise from it. We will have

That’s why you need to think about how

to be ready for that and so we are already

to make the transformation smooth and

working on it!”

simply digital.”

With a clear roadmap laid out, Schenk can already begin to think about work beyond the Catalyst project. He is convinced that the business is well on track to completely roll out its programs 16

UPC BUSINESS

“A KEY CHALLENGE IN ANY TRANSFORMATION IS TRYING TO STRIKE A BALANCE BETWEEN PERFORMING AND TRANSFORMING” — B RU N O SC H E N K H E A D O F D I G I TA L T RA N S FO R M AT I O N UPC BUSINESS

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