As a global company that focuses on supporting multinational businesses, we are in a prime position to see how crucial globalization has become to the development of the economy. According to the OECD, 70% of international trade involves global value chains, with raw materials, components and services crossing borders multiple times before being made into products that are shipped to customers worldwide. Competition is universal and disruption can appear from anywhere, thanks to digitization driven by the cloud and rapid software development.
Businesses operate in global ecosystems, and the technologies they adopt must reflect this imperative. The Internet of Enterprises is gathering momentum because it gives companies the ability to connect with their ecosystems by collecting, processing and exchanging data in real time. This focus on data is one of the reasons that enterprises will create and manage 60% of global data by 2025, versus only 30% in 2015, according to IDC.
Furthermore, the increasing convergence between the network and traditional IT will mean that the frontiers between the two areas will disappear. Enterprises need partners who understand their business and can support them along the whole data value chain. This includes delivering solutions that integrate and manage different technologies from right across the ecosystem.
Our strategy defined
To take up the challenges we set ourselves for 2025, it was key to clearly define who we are and what we do. Having the DNA of a telco and the expertise of a service integrator, we are a “network-native digital services company.” Our role is to connect, protect and innovate for our customers’ sustainable business growth.
We will grow, scale and transform through our Engage 2025 strategy to meet customers’ needs. This is reflected in our target to generate 60% of our business from IT, integration and next-generation connectivity services by 2025. To achieve this, we are focusing our efforts on three ambitions, backed up by three commitments to our stakeholders.
Ambition 1: Build end-to-end value propositions
Our first ambition is to build the end-to-end solutions that address our customers’ requirements to be hyper-connected, data-driven, multicloud-enabled and end-to-end secured.
For hyperconnectivity, we are transforming our core networks with higher bandwidth, delivering new IP and cloud telephony, and virtualizing networks with SD-WAN. We are also working on networks to connect employees, customers, objects, sites and machines, in real time, with high standards of latency, reliability and security. This includes developing our 5G and edge computing offers.
In terms of data-driven solutions, we will put AI and analytics at the core of all our offers, drawing on the expertise of our 3,900 data and AI experts. In addition, we will support the multicloud strategy of our customers by building cloud-based solutions located whenever needed closer to the customer at the edge.
Finally, as enterprises shift their IT to the cloud, the need for security is universal. We are making all our offers secure and are looking to establish leadership in cloud-native security. Our “secured-inside” solutions are a vital part of our Engage 2025 strategy.
Ambition 2: Develop our integration and services capabilities
Our second ambition is to build upon our existing integration and services capabilities. In the era of the Internet of Enterprises, this is vital to support customers who are facing increasing complexity and need to manage a multiplayer ecosystem.
Our telco DNA provides us with unique knowledge in the integration, execution and orchestration of solutions. With telecom and IT converging, we will build a systems integration offer by integrating our solutions and those of our ecosystem partners, creating a unique services value proposition. Improved integration capabilities will also allow us to industrialize our services. In addition, we will increase our focus on multisourcing services integration (MSI) and roll it out to other areas, such as mobility.
Ambition 3: Reinvent ourselves for the next technological wave
Our third ambition is to transform ourselves to prepare for the next technological wave. This will allow us to support customers in their own transformations and help them navigate the emerging software-powered ecosystem.
Crucial to this ambition is embracing the cloud-native revolution. It holds the answer for enterprise requirements in agility, customer-centricity, speed and multicloud. Already, 15% of applications in our Digital and Data division are cloud native, and we will accelerate this transformation across the company. This includes the widespread adoption of container technology and DevOps practices, along with developing our API and software capabilities. Ultimately this will allow us to build an ecosystem-based platform, using APIs to aggregate products and services.
Following on from our three ambitions are three commitments to our customers, employees and the public.
Commitment 1: Grow the trust of our customers
Dedication, trust and expertise have always been at the core of our commitment to customers. This trust has become even more important as we help them navigate the fragmented ecosystems of the future – and it is therefore at the core of our first commitment.
We are simplifying our customer journey by integrating digital and data acceleration combined with a focus on customer-centricity. We will improve customer satisfaction by building a 360° omnichannel view of the account experience that will allow us to tackle any issues proactively. On technology development, we will continue to drive co-innovation initiatives to ensure that our solutions meet customer needs.
Commitment 2: Invest in our people
People are at the heart of our evolution towards a services company, and we are committed to ensuring that they are ready to face the market, technological and cultural changes of the next decade.
We will achieve this by reinforcing a culture of innovation and agility right across the organization. Skills development is vital, and we are focusing on becoming a learning company. This includes significantly increasing the number of experts we have in key growth areas, such as cloud. In addition to up-skilling our existing employees, we are focused on being an attractive place to work to attract the new skills that we need in the future.
Commitment 3: Drive sustainability in our business
Sustainability is a necessity to build long-term growth and trust for our customers and people. Through to 2025, we will minimize our impact on the environment and contribute to our Group commitment to reducing CO2 emissions by 30% compared to 2015.
We will achieve this by designing eco-responsible solutions, adopting a circular economy approach and helping our customers leverage digital to reduce their own footprints. Examples include minimizing carbon emissions through better fleet management or remote monitoring. Because sustainability is also about contributing to a more equal society, gender equality and digital inclusion will be a key area of commitment.
Our customers and their needs and expectations are the driving force for our business, processes and value creation. I’m excited by the opportunities that this digital-first world offers enterprises, and our Engage 2025 strategy is designed to help our customers compete effectively.
Editor in Chief, International, at Orange Business. I'm in charge of our International website and the English language blogs at Orange Business. In my spare time I'm literally captain of my own ship, spending my time on the wonderful rivers and canals of England.