3 insights on telecom transformation

Almost all business leaders I speak with are focused on some kind of transformation.

The telecom industry is arguably one of the fastest transforming sectors, investing in and experimenting with hundreds of innovations each year. According to Infosys, the telecom market is projected to expand from $3 trillion in 2024 to $4 trillion by 2028.

This growth is fuelled by several factors, including the enterprise adoption of generative AI, the proliferation of internet of things (IoT) devices, continued mobile internet usage and ongoing demand for high-speed internet.

Major players are rethinking their operating models to boost efficiency, cut costs, and open new revenue streams. Early waves of AI adoption, particularly agentic AI, are accelerating the change.

What can we learn from their progress? In my recent conversations with customers, I’ve noticed a few emerging trends:

1. New partnerships can unlock value

The “telco-to-techco” transition—where traditional telcos evolve to deliver more technology solutions—has been top of mind for executives in recent years.

According to McKinsey, operators could build $80 billion in value by 2028 by offering holistic technology products and services such as cloud infrastructure and cybersecurity systems. The change is happening now.

One mobile phone operator in Japan, for example, is transforming into a one-stop shop for enterprise services. The organisation is driving business growth through an ecosystem of technology partnerships and helping develop applications for the metaverse and smart cities.

Major European telcos are introducing similarly ambitious partnerships, including new levels of personalisation and enterprise offerings.

Telcos must own more of their customers’ business outcomes and work closer with partners to deliver revenue in new areas. This can mean in-store experiences for consumers, more efficient factory floors, or a whole world of other opportunities.

2. AI should be measurable and scalable

I recently joined more than 150 business leaders at a ServiceNow Executive Circle event to discuss transformation in telecom. AI is playing a central role in accelerating the telco-to-techco change.

I had the pleasure of hosting a panel with two telecom leaders at the event. A main theme was their focus on measurable impact.

One example was using AI to build more autonomous networks. By proactively resolving network problems with minimal human intervention, organisations can reduce downtime and improve customer retention.

The conversation highlighted how AI isn’t just about automation, but it’s also about embedding intelligence into business operations. This can help deliver hyper-personalised services and uncover new monetisation opportunities.

One multinational telco shared how it’s future-proofing its tech operations, automating routine IT tasks to free up employees for innovation and new areas of support. This is the shift to techco in action.

AI value can’t live in pockets. Scalable success demands a platform mindset – one that breaks silos and makes data truly actionable for AI.

For one major operator in North America, scaling AI started with getting the foundations right — embedding AI into core workflows early through self-diagnosis and human-AI collaboration. This approach built trust, created usable data, and made scaling easier across other functions.

Attendees were also interested in how we measure value for our own AI use cases at ServiceNow. We do this across three levels of AI:

• Analytical AI uses machine learning and natural language processing to support business decision-making, including case routing and predicting customer churn.

• Generative AI produces new content from data, automating the creation of customer case summaries and software code.

• Agentic AI can reason, plan, orchestrate, collaborate with other agents, and learn. It can execute full workflows independently, such as diagnosing a network outage or coordinating self-healing protocols.

3. People must be on board

Transformation is about more than technology. During the Executive Circle event, we heard about the importance of leadership in driving successful strategic transformation. To ensure new initiatives deliver, organisations must navigate challenges with clarity of vision, accountability, and agility.

When introducing new automation, people are the catalyst for real change. Success depends on shifting mindsets, encouraging adoption, and empowering people to experiment and shape how AI can support their work.

One major North American operator described their transformation as “wall-to-wall”, powered by on courageous leadership and a willingness to make “big bets.”

We had our list of small things, medium things, and three big things. We said yes to all three big things.”, said the group president. They call ServiceNow the “keep your promises” platform—driving progress towards business goals, enhancing customer-centric services, and delivering return on investment.

Transformation at scale means empowering people, scaling smart AI, and leaning into bold partnerships – that's how telcos are turning ambition into growth.

Find out how ServiceNow helps put AI to work for telecom.