Telkom October 2020

TELKOM BUSINESS

DIGITAL REPORT 2020

Telkom and Yep!: Transforming into the Platform for SMBs IN ASSOCIATION WITH

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Telkom and Yep!: Transforming into the Platform for SMBs 03

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TELKOM BUSINESS

Lunga Siyo, CEO of Telkom Business and Yep!, reveals the technological and cultural transformation enabling it to become a one-stop platform for SMBs

T

elkom is a diversified group of companies, which started out as an incumbent fixed line operator in South Africa. Over the

years, it has diversified into a mobile business and an IT business, alongside Towers and Property and a network infrastructure business. Lunga Siyo heads 04

up the small and medium business division of the company, which evolved out of its Yellow Pages business. “We had three entities within the group that were servicing these small and medium businesses,” says Siyo. “An IT company, BCX, selling IT solutions, then a fixed line operator selling voice lines and data and broadband. Yellow Pages was selling marketing services and advertising. We’ve combined all of those three entities into one we initially called Telkom SMB.” The organisation has since evolved, however, into a brand known as Yep!. “It’s a marketplace business, in essence,” says Siyo. “We wanted to serve our customers using a digital marketplace rather than physical stores or via telephone, just to make it easier for businesses. Think about a bakery. They want to make sure that they bake cakes, and sell them to

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TELKOM BUSINESS

“ What we needed to do was to first look at legacy systems, look at processes and start automating them” — Lunga Siyo, CEO, Telkom Business and Yep! 06

their customers. They don’t want to be bogged down in administration and the services that enable them such as broadband, telephony, IT. They also want to market themselves.”

Yep!’s offering caters to both such impulses, as Siyo explains: “We can create a marketplace for them so that they can drive traffic into their own physical stores, while also creating new revenue streams through digital channels. We started by linking up small businesses with customers. Beyond creating an online store, we were creating an entire ecosystem of products and services

Telkom and Yep! CLICK TO WATCH

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0:30

07 that small businesses could buy from the

do was to first look at legacy systems,

platform itself, starting with connectivity

look at processes and start automating

products, but also looking into adjacent

them. For instance, the credit scoring

solutions such as financial services.”

process previously involved an individ-

Making that a possibility has required

ual taking your details, going to another

internal transformation at the company,

team, looking at the credit check and

which Siyo has overseen. “We wanted

only then could they tell you what kind of

to serve our customers better. Now,

product that you qualify for.”

instead of calling someone at a contact

That process has now been auto-

centre, you can actually go online and

mated through an online, web-based

self service. You can buy more products

platform which relies on APIs to interact

online via an ecommerce platform for

with legacy systems. “These systems

customers.” Another big focus has

have been put in place to make sure

been on improving the capacity to sign

that we can transform ourselves as a

up new customers. “What we needed to

business, but also to transform how our www.t e l k o mbusi ne s s . co. z a

Copyright Š 2020 Accenture. All rights reserved.

EXPERIENCE MATTERS Your customer experience powered by our transformation experience Digital commerce can account for 50% of B2B revenue, but to unlock that revenue, your digital marketplace has to be smart enough to feel simple. B2B buyers think just like consumers—because they are.

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customers interact with us,” Siyo says.

The technologies involved in the trans-

has been another cornerstone of the company’s approach, with the use of

formation have been various, but one

robotic process automation (RPA) tech-

of the standout examples has been the

nology widespread.

harnessing of data, whether it be struc-

Accompanying Telkom on its journey

tured customer data or the unstructured

have been a number of key partners.

variety. “Data is key,” says Siyo. “The

BCX, a sister company, is one such

question is how do you pull that together

example, offering extensive IT capa-

and create a view of the customer in

bilities with both homegrown and third

terms of what they have with you, and

party software. “They’re a systems

what they might actually be buying

integrator, but they’ve also developed

elsewhere. That actually allows us to

systems themselves, such as RPA,

create better solutions, or even look at

which we utilise. They’re our technology

products that we can aggregate on their

partner, who works with us to create our

behalf and offer to them.” Automation

platforms.” Consultants Accenture play

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Lunga Siyo Title: CEO

Company: Telkom and Yep!

Industry: eCommerce

Location: South Africa

Lunga Siyo is an experienced business and ecommerce executive leader, an expert in creating, executing and scaling digital as a strategic capability in many organisations. A consummate business leader with extensive experience in Business Management, P&L, Finance & Accounting, Sales & Marketing and an Executive in a listed entity, he holds a Bsc honours in Accounting and is an MBA graduate. www.t e l k o mbusi ne s s . co. z a

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DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IS COMPLEX, IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE COMPLICATED.

FROM THE INNOVATORS BEHIND BCX WE BRING YOU OUR NEW DIGITAL WING

SIMPLY NAVIGATING THE COMPLEX FIND OUT MORE

Our most important customer is yours.

“ These systems have been put in place to make sure that we can transform ourselves as a business, but also to transform how our customers interact — with us” Lunga Siyo, CEO, Telkom Business and Yep!

a particularly important role in the user

Our customer research approach

experience design process. “Everything

and design philosophy ensured that

that we develop is led by experience

human-centric experiences were

design,” says Siyo. We first listen to the

placed at the core of the Yep! brand

customers and then we design a cus-

and value proposition in this new digi-

tomer journey. Accenture helped us to

tal channel. Accenture is proud to have

develop customer journeys that meet the

contributed in bringing this vision to life

demands of our customers. Most impor-

and leaving a lasting impact in terms of

tantly, we were looking for a partner that

new ways of working and a ‘lean start-

is not just a digital marketing company

up’ culture at Telkom SMB.”

or a consulting firm, but a firm who really

Alongside the introduction of tech-

understands customer service, as they

nology has been an attendant focus

do, and can develop seamless customer

on culture. That cultural evolution has

journeys for our platform.”

also helped to make articulating the

Greg Cress, Digital Innovation and

vision for the introduction of technol-

Client Account Lead for Accenture

ogy easier. “We started implementing

in Africa, adds: “Right from the outset

an agile way of working from a tech

of the project we connected with

development perspective, with daily

Telkom’s vision to build a digital mar-

stand ups, scrums, sprints and all of

ketplace unique to the needs of the

those things,” adds Siyo. “To create a

South African small business owner.

business case, you have to know what www.t e l k o mbusi ne s s . co. z a

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TELKOM BUSINESS

“ We started implementing an agile way of working from a tech development perspective” — Lunga Siyo, CEO, Telkom Business and Yep! 12

Yep! Overview CLICK TO WATCH

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2:55

do on a daily basis? How do you drive proper outputs from your own people that are driven by certain key indicators that would add value to your business?

You look at productivity and output.” It’s also provided an opportunity to accelerate Telkom’s approach into ecommerce by virtue of changing consumer patterns in response to COVID 19.

Thanks to the changes that have been put in place, Siyo is confident that the company is very ready to thrive, even with the current circumstances. “We’ve become a platform business, completely - aggregating both the demand and supply side. We’re evolving out of being just a normal telco, into a platform you’re developing and how much money

player that is able to help small busi-

you’re going to make out of it before you

nesses scale and grow.” That tallies

can get any capital released to change

with his wider mission to grow the South

the organisation.”

African economy by allowing small busi-

Common to all organisations the

nesses to thrive and contribute more.

world over, COVID-19 has impacted

“Right now they probably contribute

Telkom’s way of working. Remote

around 25% towards our GDP. We think

working has left an impression, with

it should be around 50- 60%, more like

plans to change policies and enable

in developed economies. Large enter-

flexible location and working hours. Siyo

prises don’t drive GDP growth - small

emphasises the fact that this requires a

businesses do.”

change in management style. “How do you manage people that are working virtually instead of focusing on what they www.t e l k o mbusi ne s s . co. z a

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