Swisscom – brochure 2021

Pursuing trust-based

growth Project partner

Pursuing trust-based

growth

Following the success of an exciting B2C portal, we revisit the dynamic partnership between Swisscom and Accenture to find out more about the follow-up: brand new B2B offering

Written by

Nell Walker

Produced by

Andy Lloyd

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n June 2020, Interface Magazine published an in-depth feature on telco giant Swisscom’s new omni-channel platform – created in conjunction with Accenture – which transformed Swisscom’s B2C offering. Accenture delivered the framework for this digital omni-channel platform (DOCP) and, over time, Swisscom was able to run it independently. In the story, we mentioned that the company was also planning a B2B transformation. At the time, the plan was in its infancy.

Now – again, hand-in-hand with Accenture – Swisscom launched this exciting new element of its

A n n e -T h é r è s e M o r e l , H e a d o f C a p a b i l i t y M a n

business. We spoke with three people

customer centricity. That has remained

directly involved with this next step –

the focus with both the B2B and B2C

Stephan Schneider, MD of Accenture;

digital transformation projects, because

Anne-Thérèse Morel, Head of Capability

customer needs are ever-changing and

Management at Swisscom Business

cannot be overlooked or underestimated.

Customers; and Matthias Piller, Solution

“In their private lives, customers are

Train Engineer at Swisscom – to gain a

used to interacting digitally,” says Morel,

broader insight on what has changed

“and everybody expects everything to

since our last catch-up.

always be working. The telco industry has to evaluate everything based on these

Customer-centricity

market changes, as do big IT companies.

Let’s start off with what hasn’t changed:

These changes in the industry bring new

“ I love solving complex problems, and it’s important that you have a solid team around you when tackling them”

nagement

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Move to the cloud with the people who know how We embrace the power of change to create 360° value by putting cloud at the core of your business. Our approach puts your business needs first, creating industry-specific solutions to get you moved to—and benefiting from—the cloud now.

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w w w.th e in te r fa ce . n e t

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risks, but also new opportunities. We felt this was the right moment to start the B2B transformation; we had a chance to get it done, now.”

A major element to consider when slotting together the puzzle pieces for the B2B transformation was security – something the pandemic has highlighted more than ever before. “All companies, today, have to think about the security exposures we have, so this is really a USP,” Morel continues. For Swisscom, trust is integral, and part of the value proposition.

“As the saying goes, trust is the hardest thing to win and the easiest thing to lose,” says Schneider. “It’s important to

M a t t h i a s P i l l e r, S o l u t i o n Tr a i n E n g i n e e r

customers of Swisscom but also between our partners – and within Swisscom

opportunities available through the part-

itself. I think we’re really in this complete

ner ecosystem, and understanding the

360-degree relationship where every-

competition.

body builds it together, and we grow

In response, Swisscom began a journey

based on that trust, and it makes us

to create a simplified, unified user-cen-

successful.”

tric B2B hub. So exactly what does this improvement of B2B relationships, via

The evolution to B2B

technology, actually mean for Swisscom?

Swisscom already held a unique posi-

Why was it a necessity? “Swisscom, as

tion in the B2B market, thanks in part to

a B2B domain, has a really broad port-

its existing work with B2C customers.

folio of services,” says Morel. “The chal-

The first consideration, when under-

lenge, today, is to have the availability

taking this shift, was facing the market

to integrate these different services

conditions themselves, which included

and to simplify and automate within the

bringing together the split landscape of

back-office.”

SME and corporate clients, assessing the

“We had the analytic ability to reduce

“ It took a while to come together, and now, it operates like a well-oiled machine ”

complexity into simple blocks which we

“The technology we have is also

could then implement – something that’s

flexible, of course,” Morel continues.

really key in this setup,” Schneider adds.

Swisscom had the architecture in place

“We had a common goal in our relation-

from its customer-centric and inter-

ship with Accenture, which was to take

nal-based projects, making the expan-

the core of our customer portal and apply

sion into B2B so much smoother – which

it to partner interactions,” Morel says.

bodes well for any new adaptations down

“We are aligned with Accenture in terms

the line. “I really believe that we have

of road map and vision, and we have the

the correct architecture and mindset to

flexibility to react to situations.” This agil-

tackle the digitization challenges of the

ity was tested by COVID-19 of course,

future.”

but thankfully, Swisscom’s digital trans-

“It helped us a lot that we did not had a

formation has occurred over the course

fixed masterplan but an agile and adapt-

of several years, so, fortunately – and

able operating model. We were able

thanks to that long-honed flexibility – the

to re-prioritize the features whenever

pandemic didn’t slow it down.

we had changes in business priorities, 9

including those caused by COVID,”

them, because digital transformation

Schneider continues. “But what we

is like electricity – nobody thanks you

did have was a shared objective and

when it works, but everybody is there to

the trust that we mentioned before.

complain when it stops working,” Morel

Incremental steps will guide you to

explains. Good customer experience

a successful product. You need to

looks always simple, but it’s complex to

accept that some will fail but you will

realise it, and it has its costs.

create a better product when you use every step as learning experience.”

“Of course, when you have around 300,000 customers, you will find that, for a few of them, it will be diffi-

Complexities It’s fortunate that Swisscom was prepared for the pandemic in terms of its advanced technologies and its flexibility, because COVID-19 forced digital services forward with an almighty shove. Swisscom had to provide consistent support, all while each team member was working remotely and the business was going through a transformation.

“I love solving complex problems, and it’s important that you have a solid team around you when tackling

cult to find the right solution. A lot of

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“ Incremental steps will guide you to a successful product. You need to accept that some will fail, but you will create the best solution, when every step is a learning experience” S t e p h a n S c h n e i d e r, M D o f A c c e n t u r e

communication is needed to make it in

For Morel, this way of working

a way that is acceptable for everybody,

brought an additional level of matu-

so that, at the end, we add value for the

rity to the project, and Accenture still

customer.”

had the access to the Swisscom team that it needed to help it connect with

Accenture as a partner

the customer and develop its business

A major part of why this flexibility has

understanding. “You have people who are

been possible is, of course, down to the

speaking the same business language,

relationship between Swisscom and

and that helps collaboration and trust. Of

Accenture. Before the pandemic, every-

course, we are not always on the same

body was able to work together and

page when it comes to understanding a

have regular meetings in Switzerland,

problem that comes up, but we have the

but the first lockdown put a swift stop to

ability to bring people to the table and

that. The B2B portal was in trial mode

talk openly about it, and say ‘we have to

and Swisscom was having two-day plan-

change something’.”

ning sessions every 10 weeks to plan the following 10 weeks, so being unable

Data-driven transformation

to meet initially seemed like a serious

It’s one thing saying that everything

problem.

needs to be automated and digital, but

“We were starting to work together for

for that to happen, a good, solid database

B2B beginning of 2020,” Piller says. “And

is required. Transformation is not linear,

we were forced to do it virtually from the

but driven by the examination of data and

beginning, which was not a problem tech-

new ways of using it to solve problems.

nology-wise, but we were concerned

“You have to have all your data about

about how it would work with 300 people

your customer, about your services, your

involved. But everybody was in the same

contracts, and everything needs to be

situation – including the Accenture team

clean, consistent and complete,” says

members, wherever they were in the

Morel. “It seems really easy, when you say

world – and we looked at it as a chance

that, but when you’re a large company

for better collaboration. It was not an ideal

with a long history, the data is not always

solution, at the beginning, but it worked

compatible.”

well and we haven’t lost efficiency along the way.”

Centralisation of information has been the key, here, in a way that is structured 13

enough to evidence to the customer.

Agility

Historically, this data was only used inter-

For Piller, the focus for Swisscom’s B2B

nally – now, with a digital strategy at the

transformation was always agility – the

forefront of business, everything is visi-

glue that holds everything together – and

ble. “It’s a huge amount of work, to get all

the vision was always to create a B2B

the data in place,” says Morel, “but it’s a

portal once the B2C one was in place.

discipline that you need to introduce to

“One of the biggest aims of the develop-

your company – the understanding that

ment value stream we decided to imple-

your data needs to be clean and organ-

ment 16 months ago was to have this

ised, because it’s needed for so many

omni-channel portal also installed in B2B,

purposes. We’re still not at the end of this

which meant optimising a lot of the migra-

challenge.”

tions we do. We took the old world and

as well as the corp clients, on this solution. That’s the goal.”

While the ramp-up phase continues, Swisscom is doing what Piller calls “enhancement work”, where it continues to look closely at the requirements of its B2B customers – whether it’s a huge bank or an independent barber shop – and make sure it can cater to both successfully. “There is a big spread of requirements,” Piller says. “Our goal is to have this DOCP for all channels, and agile methodologies are helping us to get all of this done.”

While this latest project has been largely – and successfully – informed by the B2C model, there have been specific B2B challenges to overcome along the way. “The difficulty is everybody wants everything all at the same time, and they want it immediately,” Piller says. “When moved it to the new world.”

we started the B2C transformation, that

Examining the DOCP architecture

was happening at the same time as our

provided by Accenture for a B2B focus,

agile transformation, and it was so diffi-

Swisscom realised it wouldn’t fit 100%,

cult – new technologies, new people,

so some tweaking was required. Each

a new partnership we weren’t used to

decision was taken extremely carefully

yet. It took a while to come together, and

and the user experience was always

now, it operates like a well-oiled machine.

at the forefront of the team’s minds.

So, with B2B, even with a framework

The B2B platform is, in Piller’s words, in

largely in place, we knew we couldn’t do

“the ramp-up phase”, with around 250

everything at the same time – you need

customers using it at the time of inter-

to orchestrate, organise, cost things, and

viewing. “We’re trying to bring in all SMEs,

operate in an agile way, which is a super 15

cool way of working that I’m passionate about.”

Swisscom culture Part of the reason that agile working is so successful for Swisscom is the culture of free thinking that it promotes. While most people are used to a hierarchical way of working, the aim at Swisscom is that people think for themselves – something that has only become more prevalent and encouraged as the business continues to transform. And, unsurprisingly, this has been accelerated by COVID-19 and the rise of remote working. Piller himself is part of the crisis management team at Swisscom, alongside his usual role, and helped in the orchestration of a task force to deal with how the organisation would cope during the pandemic. He focused on decentralising a lot of tasks and projects and giving people more freedom and responsibility.

In these unprecedented times, Swisscom has managed to not only weather the storm, but successfully navigate to shore thanks to its future-orientated outlook and agility. And, of course, solid, trusting relationships with partners like Accenture.

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