How does the Digital Transformation Change the Strategy of a Telecommunication Company?

Abstract

Digital transformation is a major factor in the rapid changes that are occurring in our general surroundings. The Telecom industry is no exception to this and is seeing large-scale changes in its market. This industry is considered a key driver in global evolution. The various technological developments from the advent of 5G to block chain formation are all the clear signs of the arrival of the telecommunications industry to the digital era.

However, the use of technology and the achievements of information technology alone will not lead to a digital transformation in the organization, but digital transformation is something of a strategic nature. In other words, when we talk about digital transformation, we're not going to be entertained with new technology tools and applications. Instead, we are going to respond to this inquiry: ‘What changes should be made to our business strategy with respect to the development of information technology?’ This study examines the necessary changes that have been made in telecommunication company strategies; for the successful implementation of digital transformation on a base of linking literature reviews and empirical findings. We encountered digital transformation in MTN Irancell Company, one of largest private telecommunication companies in Iran. Digital transformation in MTN Irancell started in the beginning of 2016. In this project MTN Irancell converted its Business Support Systems to a quality oriented intelligent system.

This thesis provides a comprehensive set of changing effectiveness on management strategies; that Irancell Telecom have adopted for the implementation of digital transformation, which provides a framework and management tools for telecom companies keen to implement digital transformation. The empirical evidence of this study shows that digital transformation has affected all of the company's strategies. Particularly, the two dimensions: process and content; of all strategies at different levels are subject to many changes. These changes are very evident at the functional level and explicitly includes digital activities in an interface with or fully in the customer's side. But all these activities should be aligned with business strategies in order to enable an active business transformation with information technology. The assessment of our results is based on available literature; revealing this research is a unique study which demonstrates the effects of digital transformation across a wide range of organisational strategies in the telecom industry.