Telecom architecture is highly complex, with hundreds of connected systems. This complexity becomes the hurdle when scaling an AI pilot.
By Evan Ramzipoor, Workflow contributor
When ServiceNow created the inaugural Enterprise AI Maturity Index last year, the goal was to understand how AI is transforming organizations across the globe—and how organizations are responding to the rise of generative AI (GenAI). At the time, maturity levels were low across all industries, including telecommunications.
This year, we surveyed almost 4,500 executives worldwide—including 276 from telcos—to track how maturity levels have changed. The results are surprising.
Maturity scores this year are even lower than in 2024, and telecoms are not immune to the slowdown, according to a new report from ServiceNow. Telecom maturity scores dropped an average of 10 points on our 100-point AI maturity scale, compared to nine points for all respondents.
(Click here to read the full Telecommunications AI Maturity Index report.)
As AI innovation continues to accelerate, telecom firms need a better roadmap for deploying AI, says Dirk Grote, assistant vice president, telecom and media go to market at ServiceNow.
Many have struggled to deploy new technologies in a highly regulated environment, mired in legacy technologies.
“Telecom architecture is highly complex, with hundreds of connected systems. This complexity becomes the hurdle when scaling an AI pilot—suddenly 15 systems are involved, and that’s where things can break down,” says Grote.
Despite the drop in overall maturity, the research turned up good news too. Nearly nine out of 10 telecom firms are already seeing benefits from AI, including greater productivity for employees. More than 80% have seen increased gross margins, lower costs, improved experiences, and increased competitiveness.
"These technologies offer a powerful tool to drive down operating costs at scale, elevate experiences, and reimagine how functions are performed and optimized,” says Vishy Gopalakrishnan, chief transformation officer at ServiceNow.
Our research has identified an elite group of telecom companies that we call Pacesetters. These top-ranking firms are ahead of the pack across all five pillars of AI maturity: (1) AI strategy and leadership, (2) workflow integration, (3) talent and skills, (4) data governance, and (5) realizing value in AI investment. Telecom Pacesetters outscored the industry average (32.1) across all five areas, with an average score of 44.
Moreover, Pacesetters in the telecom sector saw greater improvements in gross margins, risk management, revenue growth, and competitive positioning than their peers.
However, strict regulations and high long-term capital costs mean that only 15% of surveyed telecom companies are Pacesetters, one of the lowest percentages among industries. By contrast, 32% of firms in the tech sector are Pacesetters.
Here are five best practices that set Pacesetter telecoms apart from the rest.
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