Telstra Case Study
Making Telecom Programmable
To unlock ecosystems with digital transformation
PROBLEM: This largest telecom provider in Australia faced significant regulatory disruption, and a need to keep pace with innovation by harnessing the creativity of startups and internal software teams to quickly launch new solutions.
SOLUTION: A consolidated enterprise data strategy enabled by a common API framework is the new foundation for innovation across the business. A central API team is responsible for quality of service and developer satisfaction, dramatically reducing incidents and improving service levels regardless of whether the applications are internal or external.
Preparing for Deregulation.
In the context of opening competition in the telco market, Telstra initially tasked a central team with creating Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) programmable interfaces that would make services of the telco available to new business models. We created several strategy workshops from insights learned from carriers and startups around the world. The team developed several promising initiatives that aligned with Telstra’s unique position in the Australian market as well as anticipated active industry restructuring efforts. Telstra insiders championed the proposals to their executives.
Islands of Innovation.
In response, multiple innovation teams across Telstra that were already working on related projects came forward to refine and align the ideas being proposed. Precise Change surfaced many similarities and many inconsistencies, setting the stage for the internal enterprise architecture team to develop a consolidated technical approach. We then helped structure new services from an ecosystem perspective, and developed return on investment theses, including direct monetization. This work lead to significant improvements in cyber-security, consistent data usage, transparent programmability, and clear value propositions across these digital teams.
Unlocking the Ecosystem.
Sponsored by Telstra’s own CTO, the central API team then launched a series of open events for developers and partners, celebrating a new innovation culture and inviting participation. Precise Change collaborated across internal organizations to support the API program, from the CTO’s office to the Telstra app development teams. The initiative was also backed by its investment and public relations arms, operationalized with a new API platform, and drove adoption of Telstra’s services through new use cases and digital experiences.
“Over the course of several years, Michael served as a key partner to the Telstra digital transformation team. Michael brought fresh perspectives directly from Silicon Valley, advised and workshopped with our internal telco subject matter experts to develop actionable strategies. Michael’s contributions spanned the organization, and drove alignment conversations across-multiple functional areas of the business. I recommend Michael to any enterprise leaders looking to shift their internal culture to become more data and software driven, or looking to develop a digital strategy that encompasses their supply chains and partner ecosystems.”