96% of our tier-1 telecom customers are already adopting Microsoft AI solutions. Our ecosystem of customers and partners are harnessing the power of AI to reimagine customer experiences, modernize networks, automate business operations, and drive growth.

Ahead of Mobile World Congress 2025 (MWC), we’re sharing new capabilities and customer momentum that show how telecoms are adopting the Microsoft Cloud and AI capabilities to support their AI journey and empower the next generation of telecom solutions. 

We invite you to join us next week at MWC to learn more about our new announcements and see firsthand how Microsoft AI is transforming the telecom industry. Experience live demos, attend insightful sessions, and meet our experts to learn how you can drive innovation and growth with Microsoft AI technologies.

Data is the fuel that powers AI: Telco data model

Telecom networks are recognized for their complex, data-rich environments. This data is the fuel that powers AI and forms the foundation upon which next-generation telecom systems are built. To convert this massive potential into actionable intelligence, organizations need a unified platform that can seamlessly connect, manage, and analyze their data. Microsoft Fabric is the end-to-end data platform designed to power customer AI transformation and help organizations reimagine how they unlock value from their data and revolutionize the services they offer.

Today we announce the Telco industry data model in Microsoft Fabric, designed to unify all data—from network performance metrics to customer interactions, within a single analytics environment. Telecom providers will be able to use the Telco industry data model to manage and streamline how all their data is ingested, modeled, and analyzed through:

• Native Fabric integration—a unified pipeline within Fabric’s analytics, governance, and visualization framework means faster time to market, with better insights. 
• Expanded data model—pre-built telecom-specific schemas covering network data, customer insights, and operational metrics drives operational efficiency.
• Developer and visualization tools—simplified, AI-ready solution building that dramatically reduces development and testing time, making networks more resilient. 

More than 50% of our telecom customers are leveraging Fabric for real-time business insights to optimize business and network operations. Leading customers like Telefónica, KPN, One NZ, and partners like Accenture, Infosys, and LigaData are using Fabric to achieve business results. The broader customer adoption for Fabric is more than 19,000 customers, including 70% of the Fortune 500. The Telco industry data model in Microsoft Fabric will enable telecoms to establish a strong data foundation to unlock AI-powered insights that fuel innovation, operational efficiency, and greater value across the entire organization. 

“Microsoft Fabric, powered by Telco data model and AI capabilities, has revolutionized our solutions by providing real-time insights throughout the customer journey, potentially increasing operational efficiency by 40%. Our solution offers preventive insights across the entire order lifecycle and its auto-healing capability for enhanced jeopardy management, significantly improving the management of complex B2B orders and enhancing the customer experience.”

Balakrishna D.R., Executive Vice President, Infosys Limited 

The Telco industry data model in Microsoft Fabric will be available early in April 2025.

Telecom customers are adopting Cloud and AI to innovate

Telecom customers around the world are taking advantage of the cloud and AI in new and innovative ways. The collaborations we recently announced with KT Corporation, Lumen, Telstra, and Vodafone demonstrate how telecoms are innovating to elevate customer experiences, streamline business operations, modernize networks, and unlock new revenue streams. Additionally, we’re introducing new collaborations with top telecom providers that exemplify how they’re building the foundation to successfully implement AI, benefiting their organization, employees, and customers. 

• Spark, New Zealand’s leading telecom provider, is joining forces with Microsoft in the country’s largest Microsoft public cloud partnership, highlighting how AI and the Cloud are helping to transform telecom worldwide. Spark will migrate a portion of its workloads to Microsoft Azure and roll out one of New Zealand’s largest Microsoft 365 Copilot deployments. For more, read the press release. 
• Microsoft and Telefónica are extending their strategic collaboration to co-develop digital solutions using Open Gateway, a GSMA-led initiative that transforms communication networks into programmable platforms via Telefónica’s AI platform, Kernel. Both companies will work together to migrate Kernel’s capacities to Azure as part of a software as a service (SaaS) offering. The collaboration also encompasses a joint go-to-market strategy, which will bring a suite of digital products and services to other telecoms, developers, and telecom entities—available on Azure Marketplace and integrated into Microsoft’s overall telecom solutions. For more, read the press release.

We are also announcing that Microsoft Surface Pro and Pro 10 for Business with 5G devices are available now through Verizon Business online, along with broader Microsoft 365 Copilot and Surface availability later in 2025. This launch marks a decade of partnership between Microsoft and Verizon Business, offering cellular connected Surface for Business devices and Microsoft services. Customers are choosing Surface Copilot+ PCs today for their exceptional performance, battery life, and security. Now, with the Verizon 5G network, the combination of Surface and Microsoft 365 Copilot offers an unparalleled mobile experience for business customers. For more, read the Surface IT Pro blog. 

*Requires subscription, sold separately.

Telecoms accelerate growth in the next wave of AI: Agentic AI

As the AI platform shift accelerates, it’s inspiring to see customers and partners harness AI, generative AI, and agentic AI to drive transformation—reshaping both their businesses and the industry at large. 

Elevating customer experiences

A recent IDC white paper showed AI-powered customer engagement is a top priority for businesses, with 92% of organizations currently using AI for marketing and public relations (PR) and 77% using it for customer service​. Telecom providers are delivering frictionless customer experiences with AI-infused customer care at-scale with Dynamics 365. With a comprehensive view of the customer, telecoms obtain real-time insights into accounts and next-best actions to take. They also enable their customers through AI-powered automation for self-service. Additionally, Amdocs has created the Customer Engagement Platform that is fully integrated with Dynamics 365, to reimagine customer experience and identify new revenue opportunities for telecoms. 

Since last MWC, we announced Dynamics 365 Contact Center, a powerful solution that works with existing customer relationship management systems (CRMs) and unifies interactions, streamlines support, and boosts customer satisfaction. With this solution, consumers can engage and self-serve in their channel of choice while reps can handle billing and tech issues faster with a single view. Built-in Copilot capabilities and real-time analytics drive improvements and upselling, enhancing loyalty, and revenue. 

Leading telecoms are also reimagining how they connect with customers by harnessing Microsoft 365 Copilot to capture real-time transcripts, gain contextual insights, and automate repetitive tasks. This reduces handling times, freeing representatives to tackle more complex customer needs.

Here are some examples of how telecoms customers are using Microsoft AI technologies to transform their business and reimagine customer experiences:

• Telkomsel’s AI-powered solution Veronika, built on Azure and introduced at the end of 2023, is delivering impressive results. Telkomsel has increased self-service interactions by 62% and cut escalations to agents by 38%. The average monthly active users of Veronika also grew by 67%, rising from 1.3 million in the first half of 2023 to 2.2 million in the second half. These improvements have boosted agent productivity and service quality, making for a smoother, more efficient customer experience.
• Vodafone is harnessing Microsoft 365 Copilot to empower 68,000 employees to boost productivity, innovation, and quality. They are also leveraged Azure OpenAI Service, Azure AI Studio, Kubernetes Service to develop Tobi and SuperAgent to empower their agents with real-time AI support to improve customer experience, decrease churn, and provide competitive advantage. This improved first-time resolution from 70% to 90%. 
• Lumen is leveraging Microsoft AI solutions to empower their employees and improve customer service.

“Lumen is building the trusted network for AI. By scaling our AI capabilities with tools like Copilot, Azure AI, and Azure ML, we’re empowering our employees to tackle complex challenges and prioritize high-impact activities that enhance customer experiences and satisfaction. As we navigate our transformation, Microsoft’s AI tools are essential in supporting our objectives and sustaining our competitive advantage.”

Ryan Asdourian, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Lumen Technologies 

Optimizing operations and modernizing networks

To keep pace with increasing business demands, leading telecoms are optimizing business operations and modernizing their networks with AI and an integrated data backbone. 

Here are examples of how customers are using Microsoft AI capabilities to drive operational efficiency, innovation and growth:

• AT&T automates code conversion and human resources (HR) inquiries with Azure OpenAI Service, improving employee experience, cutting costs and boosting customer service.
• KT Corporation is leveraging Microsoft AI to drive efficiency and innovation.

“The Microsoft AI-driven solutions have enabled KT Corporation to improve its work efficiency and drive significant work innovation. By introducing Microsoft 365 Copilot, KT Corporation empowered over 11,000 employees with the latest AI solutions. Additionally, by developing AI agents built on solutions such as Microsoft Sustainability Manager and Copilot, KT reduced task completion time by 50% and improved infrastructure efficiency by 20%.” Phil Oh, CTO, KT Corporation

• Proximus and TCS’s GitHub Copilot journey showcases how Microsoft generative AI accelerates IT delivery in telecom, improving productivity, code quality, and developer experience.
  

“In terms of developer experience, that’s where we got phenomenal, satisfactory feedback from developers—about 90% plus positive feedback from all categories of developers.”

Muralidharan Murugesan, Head – AI, Telco, Media & Information Services Industry, TCS 

• NTT DATA is leveraging Microsoft AI to build agentic AI workloads.

“NTT DATA leverages Microsoft Copilot Studio to deliver agentic AI advisory, implementation, managed services, and connectivity. By providing industry-specific automation and utilizing our integrated managed services platform, we support clients throughout their agents’ lifecycle. This collaboration is pivotal in achieving our clients’ outcomes, enabling us to deliver tailored, efficient, and innovative solutions that drive business success and enhance decision-making processes.”

Aishwarya Sing, SVP, Global Head of Digital Collaboration, NTT

• One NZ is using Microsoft Fabric for real-time analytics from unified data sources. With the integration of multiple systems and visualizing insights on a single pane, One NZ has rapidly streamlined processes and proactively addressed growth opportunities: 
  

“Previously, you needed to be a data engineer or scientist to access and understand customer information. Now we’re making it user-friendly, so anyone can easily make data-driven decisions.”

Strathan Campbell, Channel Environment Technology Lead, One NZ 

• Telstra scales in-house generative AI tools, saving 90% of employees’ time and reducing follow-up contacts by 20%.

Unlocking new revenue streams in the enterprise

A recent IDC white paper reports that 63% of telco and media companies say they are currently monetizing or using AI to boost revenue. As a trusted partner, beyond supporting their own transformation, we equip telecom providers with comprehensive business-to-business (B2B) offerings to drive topline growth and better serve their enterprise customers. 

For example, AT&T’s collaboration with Microsoft is reimagining enterprise connectivity. AI applications and AT&T’s connectivity are tackling the USD112 billion annual retail shrinkage issue head-on. By integrating Azure IoT with AT&T’s 5G network and leveraging Teams Phone Mobile for notifications, retailers receive alerts that minimize loss and ensure safer shopping experience. AT&T’s move into AI-powered connectivity has created new revenue streams, spanning cost savings, compliance, and collaboration.

“AT&T is a leader in enabling innovative AI solutions and continues to expand capabilities through our relationship with Microsoft. We’re excited to integrate Microsoft’s AI capabilities into our retail crime intelligence platform, which utilizes near real-time notifications via Teams Phone Mobile. This collaboration underscores the commitment of both companies to enhance retail security and contribute to a safer shopping environment for both employees and customers.”

Cameron Coursey, Vice President, AT&T Connected Solutions 

Another partner, Norwood Systems, is extending traditional voice services with Voice AI, opening up a new revenue stream for telecoms. Its OpenSpan solution, built on Azure OpenAI Service and Azure AI Speech, enables telecoms to bridge public switched telephone network (PSTN) and mobile services, to deliver advanced features like real-time recording, transcription, and summarization. This provides seamless call management for users and deeper insights for the telecom providers:

“By integrating Norwood’s OpenSpan with our mobile and voice networks, BT is unlocking new possibilities in voice technology. This innovation bridges our award-winning networks with AI, creating opportunities to enhance customer experiences, drive new efficiencies, and shape the future of voice communications.”

Jon Martin, Senior Director, Unified Communications, BT 

To continue our mission to help telecoms succeed in this era of AI platform shift, Microsoft is enabling telecoms to further capitalize on AI by offering generative AI-powered managed security services. This allows tier-1 telecoms to generate new revenue from reselling, implementation, and managed services, while also reducing security operations center (SOC) costs and accelerating threat responses.

AI-powered Microsoft platforms and capabilities for co-innovation

Microsoft offers arguably the most comprehensive AI solutions. As a platform-first company, we also provide extensive tools to empower partners, developers and customers to build innovative cloud and AI solutions that meet the needs of telecom businesses.

Our adaptive cloud approach unifies hybrid, multi-cloud, and edge infrastructure through a single Azure Arc platform. We enable customers to build distributed, low-latency, high-performance applications and establish a common data foundation for current and future AI investments. For ultra-low latency or regulatory scenarios, we’re expanding Azure with Azure Local—cloud-connected infrastructure deployable at edge locations like retail sites and central offices. We continue to support existing Azure Operator Nexus customers as the solution evolves as part of our overall approach for Azure at the edge.

Accenture is spearheading an enterprise-ready private multi-access edge compute (MEC) solution built on Azure Local to deliver low latency, localized data processing, and meet regulatory requirements. Tejas Rao, Accenture, Managing Director, Accenture says, “Private 5G and edge computing are no longer experimental technologies, they are catalysts for enterprise transformation. By leveraging Azure Local, we help organizations harness ultra-low latency and localized data processing to unlock real-time insights, automate critical operations, and meet industry-specific compliance needs.”

Another partner, Nokia, is using generative AI to accelerate the path to self-healing and self-managed networks. They are developing the capabilities to provision a fully autonomous “Level 5” telecom network, one that self-manages and optimizes itself in real-time. Nokia’s “System Intellect” architecture, built on Azure AI Foundry and Azure Open AI Service, unifies multiple AI agents under a single framework. This ensures reliability while delivering predictive insights, faster problem resolution, and continuous operational improvement. For more, read the Nokia blog: AI and generative AI: Key to Level 5 autonomous networks. 

We are also open sourcing the programmability of the Radio Access Networks (RAN) with Project Janus, now on GitHub. Project Janus streamlines real-time network telemetry into a unified telecom data estate, enabling AI-powered optimization and dynamic service models. It ensures that RAN intelligence, performance metrics, and radio resource usage seamlessly feed into operational and customer data, driving predictive maintenance and optimization for public and private networks.

Here are new Project Janus integrations within partner solutions:

• Capgemini is including Project Janus in a reference 5G stack, enabling its equipment provider customers to build highly customized 5G network solutions. 
• Mavenir is incorporating Project Janus-based probes into its latest RAN release, helping tier-1 telecoms reduce latency and improve diagnostics.
• Software Radio Systems (SRS) is integrating Project Janus into its srsRAN codebase, including the commercial Enterprise 5G offering and the open source srsRAN Project. 
• ZaiNar has built their 5G localization solution on top of Project Janus.

Microsoft has also performed an initial integration of Project Janus into Intel’s FlexRAN reference architecture, which ecosystem partners like Capgemini have adopted.

Academic institutions, such as the University of Edinburgh, are also adopting Project Janus, and Texas A&M University and the University of California San Diego are integrating it into 5G research platforms.

To learn more about how telecoms can modernize their networks with Project Janus, read this blog. 

Join us at MWC to learn more 

As the pace of AI impact accelerates, telecoms need a partner they can trust to navigate what’s next. Join us at Mobile World Congress 2025 to learn more about our latest AI innovations in theater sessions, see cutting edge demos, and meet with our experts. Let’s shape the future of telecom together—powered by AI, inspired by innovation, and built on trust. Read this brochure to learn more about Microsoft’s MWC presence, including in-booth theater sessions and demos showcasing the latest innovations from Microsoft and our customers and partners. 

The post Microsoft AI ignites telecom innovation and growth  appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

From proactive customer engagement to new digital marketplaces, the opportunities are vast. Telecom operators already have the foundational systems in place—billing, customer management, and network operations—but by incorporating AI and generative AI into these existing environments, operators can convert vast amounts of data into actionable insights, develop innovative business models, and deploy high-value services at scale.

Reimagining revenue generation in a data-driven era

Telecom operators have relied on strategies like incremental capacity upgrades, discounted bundles, or costly acquisitions to drive top-line growth for decades. But today, AI and generative AI are fundamentally changing that paradigm. By mining network and customer data, intelligent solutions can uncover hidden patterns, predict emerging needs, and guide the design of new offerings. This proactive stance transforms operators from mere connectivity providers into digital lifestyle supporters and strategic enterprise partners.

For example, PLDT in the Philippines utilizes advanced analytics powered by Microsoft Azure AI to understand customer behavior better, segment markets precisely, and create tailored promotions. These strategies lead to upselling, cross-selling, and even wholly new services that expand the bottom line.

Turning data into action: Personalized offerings at scale

Telecom networks generate immense amounts of data every second, covering usage patterns, content preferences, and interactions with support channels. AI-powered tools like Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and Azure AI Services help operators transform these streams into actionable insights. Operators can release timely, targeted propositions that resonate by pinpointing which customers are most likely to upgrade, adopt new offerings, or embrace premium tiers.

Vodafone, for instance, enriched its digital assistant capabilities with AI Service. This helped the company improve user experiences and gain critical insights into behavior. As a result, Vodafone can introduce niche content bundles, premium customer support tiers, and other value-added services—each contributing directly to incremental revenue growth. Similarly, One New Zealand utilizes Microsoft Power BI to turn analytical findings into finely tuned marketing campaigns and product strategies. This data-driven approach paves the way for new revenue streams—from curated entertainment packages to business analytics services and IoT-based connectivity solutions. Telkomsel in Indonesia takes a similar approach, using Azure OpenAI Service to personalize customer care experiences, driving new revenue opportunities from add-on content, international roaming, and enterprise-grade services.

Monetizing the 5G and IoT opportunity

As 5G networks expand, telecom operators are at the center of the Internet of Things (IoT) revolution, moving beyond merely providing connectivity to monetizing advanced capabilities—such as orchestrating connected devices, securing data flows, and delivering intelligent analytics across industries. By doing so, they can tap into lucrative verticals like smart cities, autonomous vehicles, telemedicine, and manufacturing automation. In particular, 5G offers a pivotal monetization opportunity through premium network slices for specialized use cases: media companies can pay a premium for ultra-low latency streaming, while industrial clients may invest in tailored bandwidth for IoT analytics—transforming existing infrastructure into a powerful, revenue-generating asset.

Integrating AI-driven tools like Microsoft Security Copilot into advanced networks creates a compelling monetization layer. Real-time insights help businesses enhance security, adapt to threats, and maintain compliance, while telecom operators can offer AI-enhanced security as a premium service. This integration of AI-powered security not only differentiates the 5G offering but also unlocks a recurring revenue stream for providers, positioning AI as a cornerstone of next-generation telecom strategies.

Voice AI: Reimagining public switched telephone network (PSTN) and mobile voice

In addition to these opportunities, Voice AI services present a significant new revenue stream for telecom operators. By integrating Voice AI capabilities, operators can bring PSTN (land lines) and mobile voice services up to par with those offered by voice over IP (VOIP) providers. Imagine a world where customers can record, transcribe, summarize, and store their cell phone voice calls seamlessly, just like they do in platforms such as Microsoft Teams.

Voice AI services can revolutionize customer interactions and create value-added services that customers are willing to pay a premium for. For instance, businesses can benefit from automated call transcriptions and summaries, enhancing productivity and compliance. Consumers can enjoy features like searchable call archives and personalized voice assistants, enriching their communication experience.

By offering these advanced voice services, telecom operators can differentiate themselves in a competitive market, attract new customers, and increase average revenue per user (ARPU). This integration of Voice AI not only enhances the customer experience but also unlocks a recurring revenue stream, positioning AI as a cornerstone of next-generation telecom strategies.

Partnering for growth: Ecosystem collaborations and marketplaces

In today’s digital economy, telecom operators can evolve into platform orchestrators. By collaborating with hyperscalers, system integrators, and independent software vendors (ISVs), operators can develop service ecosystems that span analytics, security, AI-powered customer support, and domain-specific solutions.

Telecom operators can offer ready-to-deploy AI solutions for healthcare, agriculture, logistics through platforms like Microsoft Azure Marketplace or their own marketplaces. This model supports operators to monetize their connectivity and the curated digital services sold through their ecosystems.

NTT DATA, in close collaboration with Microsoft, is another example of how digital workplace solutions and managed services are creating new value propositions for telecom clients. Operators offering these AI-enhanced packages can unlock subscription-based fees, revenue-sharing commissions, and integration services—extending their earnings beyond traditional consumer offerings.

Modernizing business models with AI-powered insight

AI and generative AI do more than personalize customer experiences; they support entirely new business models. Predictive analytics, for example, can forecast demand, segment customers precisely, and inform dynamic pricing strategies. Operators can quickly launch new service tiers, trial periods, and loyalty rewards, adapting their catalogs to meet shifting market demands.

Telstra uses Azure OpenAI Service to streamline operations, boost productivity, and support new revenue models such as network-as-a-service, real-time discounts, or enterprise connectivity solutions tailored to sector-specific needs. By analyzing customer usage in real time, AI-powered insights power personalized services and demand-based pricing, unlocking net-new revenue through premium value-added offerings. Using AI to create compelling, value-added services that enterprises are willing to pay a premium for offers significant potential for net-new revenue streams.

Maximizing customer lifetime value through AI-powered engagement

Beyond attracting new customers or verticals, AI and generative AI also help operators extract more value from their existing base. Predictive analytics can spot when a subscriber will likely upgrade devices, add content bundles, or embrace complementary services. Meanwhile, generative AI-powered chatbots and digital assistants can proactively suggest relevant offers at the right moment, enhancing the customer experience and boosting ARPU. For example, Vodafone uses Microsoft 365 Copilot to empower its teams to better serve customers by providing deeper insights and automated support tools. Employees can propose high-value add-ons that increase ARPU and strengthen long-term subscriber relationships. Similarly, Telkomsel uses AI-supported customer care to offer hyper-personalized recommendations, expanding lifetime value beyond initial subscriptions with high-value, targeted service and product upsell.

Scaling with cloud-native technologies and co-innovation

To scale these revenue streams effectively, telecom operators turn to cloud-native architectures and AI frameworks like Microsoft Fabric, which streamline development and integration. By co-innovating with hyperscalers, ISVs, and network solution providers, operators can access the latest AI capabilities without shouldering the entire burden of R&D costs. Partnerships with AT&T and Lumen Technologies showcase the power of combining network expertise with cutting-edge AI innovation to create dynamic value ecosystems. These collaborations allow operators to rapidly prototype and refine solutions, adapting quickly to customer feedback and market shifts.

Charting the next frontier of telecom monetization

Unlocking new revenue streams with AI and generative AI is not about marginal improvements but reimagining the telecom business model. Operators can shift from transactional interactions to sustained engagement, transforming their networks and platforms into hubs of digital innovation that create value across industries.

Achieving this requires a willingness to experiment, measure results, and refine offerings swiftly. With tools like Azure OpenAI Service, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Power BI, telecom teams can rapidly test new revenue strategies, monitor performance, and evolve their portfolios based on data-driven insights.

Ready to unlock your next revenue stream?

The transformation of the telecom industry into a platform-driven, AI-enhanced ecosystem is well underway. As networks evolve into intelligent, value-generating infrastructure, operators stand on the threshold of new, expansive revenue opportunities.

By embracing AI and generative AI, forging strategic partnerships, and using the Microsoft suite of cloud and AI solutions, telecom operators can turn data into high-value services, experimentation into reliable revenue channels, and customer relationships into long-term growth engines. The result is a new era of profitability, innovation, and leadership in an ever-evolving digital economy.

Explore Microsoft AI and generative AI solutions today and discover how your telecom business can thrive, innovate, and lead in this new era.

The post Unlocking new revenue streams in telecom with AI and generative AI appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

Microsoft for telecommunications

Accelerate telco transformation in the era of AI.

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But when we talk about “customers,” what do we really mean? Traditionally, it’s the subscriber, who interacts with telecom services daily. However, the reality is more complex. Telecoms must serve a dual audience: not only these external customers, but also their internal customers—their workforce and operational teams, whose efficiency and satisfaction are crucial for delivering seamless customer service. This dual focus reshapes how telecoms must approach innovation and transformation, making AI an important enabler for both external engagement and internal efficiency. 

AI-powered customer engagement and personalization 

When enhancing customer experience, it’s about delivering consistently excellent service at every touchpoint, including self-service systems and contact centers. Modern customers expect their telecom providers to understand and anticipate their needs, resolve issues quickly, and offer personalized solutions. Failing to meet these expectations can result in customer churn and lost opportunities. 

To meet these evolving demands, telecoms are increasingly partnering with technology providers to develop and implement advanced AI solutions that elevate customer engagement and operational efficiency. By using AI and cloud-based platforms, telecoms can create personalized, real-time responses and predictive support systems that align with customer expectations. This collaboration not only improves customer experience but also streamlines internal processes, enabling telecoms to adapt quickly in a competitive landscape. 

Telecoms deploy AI customer service solutions

A prime example of telecoms using AI to meet these demands is Vodafone’s AI chatbot, TOBi, showcased in a recent webinar². TOBi handles more than 45 million interactions per month³ across multiple languages, significantly reducing wait times and improving customer satisfaction by providing real-time, accurate responses. This capability is powered by Microsoft Azure, allowing Vodafone to efficiently scale support across 13 markets⁴. 

To fit the unique needs of telecom operators, Amdocs and Microsoft came together to create the Customer Engagement Platform, integrating advanced AI technologies and built-in capabilities, enriched with telecom-specific data. This platform integrates seamlessly with pre-sales, customer support, and beyond. For example, PLDT is partnering with Amdocs for digital transformation, leveraging real-time data from various touchpoints, such as billing and network usage to deliver highly personalized services.⁵ With the modular design of the Customer Engagement Platform, CSPs like PLDT can quickly deploy new services or updates, reducing resolution times, increasing agent productivity, and enhancing the overall customer experience, ensuring consistent and seamless interactions that enhance customer loyalty.

Optimizing delivery with more autonomous agents

Additionally, Microsoft Dynamics 365 has introduced autonomous agents that further extend these capabilities, helping telecom companies optimize service delivery. The Customer Intent Agent dynamically identifies emerging customer needs by analyzing past and current interactions, autonomously updating knowledge libraries, and delivering contextually relevant solutions. By using Microsoft data security and AI best practices, telecoms can scale their customer care operations while maintaining competitive advantages. 

These AI-powered solutions help to ensure telecom providers can rapidly adapt to customer needs, driving satisfaction, loyalty, and retention. 

AI as the assistant for employees 

Just as customers demand excellence, the needs of employees and teams such as customer service agents, field technicians, and network engineers are a priority. AI technologies are important for streamlining workflows, surfacing actionable insights in real time, and automating routine tasks, enabling employees to focus on high-value activities and innovate within their roles. 

Applying GenAI to help address customer issues 

To illustrate, Vodafone’s integration of Microsoft Azure AI acts as an assistant for agents, automating repetitive tasks and providing insights that support complex customer interactions. By automating routine processes, Vodafone has successfully increased employee engagement and productivity, leading to an overall improvement in customer care quality. 

Similarly, the Amdocs and Microsoft Customer Engagement Platform⁶ enhances the employee experience by incorporating Microsoft Teams and Office tools. This integration equips telecom agents with real-time insights and predictive analytics, enabling them to address customer issues effectively and personalize support. The platform’s modular AI capabilities streamline workflows by automating routine interactions and consolidating multiple systems and data sources into a comprehensive 360-degree customer view. This empowers agents to make informed decisions quickly, enhancing both customer interactions and employee productivity. 

Amdocs’ low-code environment also empowers telecoms to rapidly develop and deploy virtual agents and process automation tools. These technologies assist non-technical employees in resolving customer queries efficiently while optimizing back-office operations such as billing and order management. This approach not only enhances productivity but also increases agent empowerment and engagement by allowing them to focus on more complex, high-value tasks, ultimately improving overall service quality. 

New agents to enhance the employee experience

New agents, such as Case Management Agent, further enhance these scenarios. By automating key tasks throughout the case lifecycle, from creation to resolution and follow-up, the agent reduces handle times, equipping agents with the insights needed for complex customer interactions. 

Both Amdocs and Vodafone demonstrate how Microsoft AI technology empowers telecom employees, streamlining operations and increasing efficiency by automating routine tasks and providing real-time insights. This AI-powered approach allows teams to focus on higher-value tasks that elevate service quality. 

AI as a catalyst for telecom innovation 

Amdocs and Vodafone demonstrate how AI enhances, rather than replaces, the human element in customer service. Technology is positioned as an assistant for agents, supporting them in managing routine tasks so they can engage in more meaningful, complex interactions. This approach helps telecoms provide more value-driven customer service while maintaining the human touch crucial for building customer relationships. 

AI’s transformative power extends beyond customer support centers. AI can support field services by optimizing routing, dispatch schedules, and resource allocation based on real-time data. This proactive use of AI minimizes downtime, optimizes field service operations, and further elevates customer experience. Additionally, Vodafone’s partnership with Microsoft uses AI to support neurodiverse staff and optimize network management, driving efficiency and personalized service. 

The path forward 

The future of customer care in telecom is deeply connected with AI, as demonstrated by Vodafone and Amdocs. Investing in AI leads to higher employee satisfaction, sustainable customer retention and growth, as well as ongoing innovation in a competitive landscape. As the telecommunications industry continues to evolve, embracing AI is important. Microsoft’s innovative solutions and strategic partnerships are designed to empower telecom companies to navigate this transformation successfully.  

By using AI, telecoms enhance customer experiences, drive operational efficiency, and create unique service moments. Embracing modernization of networks and the integration of real-time data analytics further position telecoms to lead in the digital age. Together, we can improve customer experience, unlock new revenue streams, and help to ensure long-term success in a rapidly changing landscape.

¹CSPs moving ahead with GenAI for cost reduction and efficiency gains. Omdia, Dec 2023

^2,3Transforming Customer Care: Vodafone’s AI Journey and Vision for the Future

⁴Magherita Della Valle, LinkedIn, Vodaphone Insights

⁵PLDT Selects Amdocs to Digitally Transform its Network Operations for Greater Agility and Enhanced Customer Experience | AMDOCS

⁶Amdocs and Microsoft Customer Engagement Platform

The post AI-powered customer care elevates customer satisfaction  appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

Here are examples of what our customers are saying about the value they see: 

Generative AI is proving to be the key to unlocking unprecedented levels of personalization, performance, and customer engagement, as well as the opportunity to change the experience of being on the operator’s network. Microsoft’s strategy to support generative AI adoption in telecommunications centers on four pillars:

1. Elevating customer experience
2. Optimizing business and operations support systems
3. Modernizing the network
4. Unlocking new revenue streams

By focusing on these areas, we aim to enhance customer satisfaction through AI-powered support, streamline business operations with advanced automation, upgrade network infrastructure for better performance and security, and create new revenue opportunities through innovative AI-powered solutions. This comprehensive approach ensures that telecommunications providers deliver exceptional service while driving growth and efficiency.  

Elevating customer experiences 

Differentiation in the telecom industry is a growing challenge, and customer experience is emerging as a key competitive advantage. By leveraging AI-infused customer care, telecommunications companies are enhancing customer experiences through the use of branded service assistants. These AI-powered assistants provide personalized customer support and unique interactions—helping telecoms differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Vodafone Group is investing in both employee and customer experiences. Recently, they announced a plan to provide Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 to their workforce. This generative AI tool will be rolled out to 68,000 employees across the organization to further improve productivity, innovation, and digital efficiency. This follows a successful pilot where Copilot for Microsoft 365 saved over three hours per person, per week—freeing employees to work on more creative, innovative, and valuable tasks, improving work-life balance and enhancing services and supporting Vodafone’s 350 million customers worldwide.   

Vodafone continues to personalize services and improve customer satisfaction by leveraging Microsoft Azure AI Studio, Azure OpenAI Service, and Microsoft Copilot along with Azure AI Search to enhance its customer experience with their virtual assistant, “TOBi,” and their customer agent solution, “SuperAgent.”   

“We aim to provide fast, personalized customer experiences that inspire confidence, but to continue to do that in the face of rising customer expectations, we needed to find a way to better manage complex customer inquiries efficiently and ensure timely and personalized responses.”

Ahmed Elsayed, Chief Information Officer United Kingdom and Europe Digital Engineering Director at Vodafone Group

Today, TOBi engages in more than 45 million conversations a month with customers and is expected to grow to half a billion over the next few years while reducing average hold time by more than one minute.  

Recently, PLDT selected Amdocs’ market-leading Intelligent Networking Suite to transform their network operations. The solution operates on the public cloud, featuring unified network inventory, service and network orchestration, and business process automation capabilities. This agreement also includes the customer service solution for case management, which is part of the Microsoft and Amdocs Customer Engagement Platform (CEP). CEP is a comprehensive, AI-powered solution designed for telecommunications service providers. It offers a unified platform for marketing, sales, commerce, and customer service—enabling telecoms to deliver seamless, digital-first experiences to both consumer and enterprise customers.

Optimizing business and operations support systems 

Telecoms are benefiting from modernizing their Business Support Systems (BSS) and real-time Operations Support Systems (OSS) with data solutions and Copilot for Microsoft 365, an AI-powered productivity tool that integrates with Microsoft 365 apps. At Telkomsel, their chat–based virtual assistant Veronika contributed to a 15% reduction in customer escalations resulting in a net promotor score (NPS) that is 27% above the industry average.

Generative AI assistants for employees empower customer care agents to manage multiple inquiries efficiently, broadening their expertise and resulting in more personalized services leading to improved customer satisfaction and retention.  

Orange France is using generative AI to enhance customer service, marketing, internal and external communications, and network operations, with dedicated support from Microsoft. Use cases include fully integrated tools for rewriting FAQs, generating product sheets, and assisting developers with writing code. Laetitia Orsini Sharps, Consumer Department Director at Orange France, sees this technology as “a promising vector for improving customer service and making employees’ work easier,” allowing service teams to reduce the time it takes an agent to investigate and analyze the root cause of complex cases from 20 minutes to less than 3 minutes.

Modernizing the network 

Telecoms can improve security, network efficiency, scalability, and reliability by using a carrier-grade, AI-infused, and secure hybrid cloud. This modernization effort will reduce costs and drive revenue growth, positioning telecoms as leaders in the digital age.  

Telecoms are protecting their networks from increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. Nokia’s latest innovation, the integration of a generative AI assistant with its NetGuard Cybersecurity Dome, demonstrates this proactive approach to security. Leveraging Azure OpenAI Service, this assistant enhances the efficiency of threat detection and resolution. Nokia expects the generative AI assistant to reduce the time it takes to identify and resolve a threat by up to 50 percent, depending on the nature of a cyberattack. As telecoms continue to fortify their defenses, such advancements are crucial in ensuring the security and reliability of critical operations. 

Real-time analytics capabilities allow telecoms to monitor network performance, detect anomalies, and optimize resource allocation to make data-driven decisions. Microsoft Fabric provides telecoms with real-time data, bringing order to a diverse and complicated data estate, enabling them to scale AI efforts. Fabric integrates data from various sources, including other clouds or on-premises sources, extending to where their data resides, providing a holistic view of telecom operations. The platform’s data visualization tools enable telecom companies to present complex data in an understandable format, facilitating better communication and collaboration across the organization.  

Unlocking new revenue streams 

Using Azure OpenAI Service to scale personalized customer experiences can result in an annual increase in average revenue per customer of 3% to 7% and a reduction in annual churn of 20% to 30%.² Telecom investments in AI and network modernization are unlocking new revenue streams with a platform for rapid development, deployment, and monetization of new services.  

As digital ecosystems expand, telecoms are offering advanced services where applications interact with their networks through APIs, turning their networks into programmable platforms that adapt to changing demands. Azure Programmable Connectivity (APC) offers a seamless Azure experience, providing a unified, standard interface across multiple operator networks globally while abstracting the complexities inherent to network APIs, ensuring code consistency and reliability, as networks continue to evolve. Developers can focus on building applications without worrying about underlying network changes.  

Telecoms can enhance their B2B strategy by leveraging Microsoft’s advanced technologies and strategic partnerships. Yobi Data works with telecoms to better understand customer behavior without compromising privacy.

“Accessing and managing the data necessary for effective AI can be prohibitively expensive—not to mention risky, and inefficient. Yobi Data finds the signal in the noise, empowering telecoms with access to advanced analytics and AI-derived insights into consumer behavior, network performance, and operational efficiency, all based on our own Private-by-Design data set. With these tools, telecoms can reduce churn, increase revenue, and improve customer experience—all without the time, expense, or burdens of new data acquisition.”

Max Snow, Chief Executive Officer, Yobi

The integration of real-time voice AI services using Azure OpenAI Service, Azure AI Translator, and other services allows telecoms to differentiate themselves in the market.

“By partnering with Microsoft, Norwood Systems is pushing the boundaries of innovation in telecommunications. Leveraging Azure AI in our cutting-edge solutions like our CogVoice™ and Visual Voicemail platforms, we’re empowering telecoms operators to unlock new revenue streams, elevate customer engagement, and deliver next-generation experiences. Together, we’re reshaping the future of communication services.”

Paul Ostergaard, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Norwood Systems 

As telecoms continue to integrate AI into their strategies, the opportunities for growth and innovation are boundless. Recently Korea Telecom (KT) announced a multibillion dollar partnership with Microsoft to accelerate AI transformation for 650,000 companies and 17 million customers in Korea. “The partnership with Microsoft presents a pivotal opportunity, not only for technological collaboration but also for expanding Korea’s AI foundation and driving transformative innovation across industries and daily life,” said KT CEO Young-Shub Kim.

Microsoft’s commitment to supporting this transformation through advanced AI technologies and strategic partnerships will empower telecoms to stay ahead of evolving market and customer demands. 

Explore further how AI is reshaping the telecom industry

Microsoft for telecommunications

Accelerate telco transformation in the era of AI

Start your journey

• Learn more about Azure OpenAI Service capabilities.
• Read the white paper “Scaling telecommunications AI at speed.”
• Connect with us at Mobile World Congress in Las Vegas, Nevada from October 8 to 10, 2024, where Microsoft is a Platinum Sponsor for the Telco AI Summit. We look forward to welcoming you to our speaking sessions or in our executive meeting rooms in the West Hall, Level 2.

¹ IDC’s “Telecommunications Service Provider DX Plans and Strategies Survey Highlights Study”, IDC #US52480824, August 2024. 

² New Technology: The Projected Total Economic Impact™ Of Azure OpenAI Service In Reinventing Customer And Constituent Engagement, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting, July 2024. 

The post Transforming telecoms with AI appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

The telecommunications industry stands at a pivotal juncture, where the convergence of technology and communication is accelerating at an unprecedented pace. Microsoft’s role in this transformation is not just as a participant but as a leader, driving the conversation and action towards a more integrated and efficient ecosystem. Our efforts with the TM Forum and ODA over the years have been instrumental in setting new standards and fostering an environment of open collaboration.

Microsoft for Telecommunications

Accelerate telco transformation in the era of AI

Explore solutions

TM Forum DTW24-Ignite

This year’s TM Forum DTW24-Ignite event serves as a vibrant showcase of progress, partnership, and potential. Sessions will feature discussions on the latest trends and challenges facing the industry, while the Catalysts provide a hands-on look at the innovative solutions being developed.  

Catalyst projects are collaborative initiatives that bring together the collective power of the brightest minds and most influential industry figures to co-create solutions driving industry change through Open APIs, ODA, AI, and automation. Companies collaborate to unlock the possibilities of efficiency for businesses, optimize end-user experiences, and sustainable growth for all. This year Microsoft is thrilled to be actively contributing to two new phase catalysts alongside leaders from Vodafone, AT&T, Bell, Orange, Verizon, STC, Du, BT Group, and more.

• Responsible AI—Improving generative AI’s reliability for adoption at scale: This catalyst aims to address the challenges and risks associated with deploying generative AI models at scale, such as explainability, drift, and bias.
• DarkNOC: Generative AI propels insights driven NetOps—A new AI-driven cloud native stack for network assurance and service management: This catalyst aims to showcase how generative AI can enhance network assurance and service management, using a cloud native stack that aligns with industry-standard architecture, such as TM Forum ODA and Open APIs.

For those seeking a more granular view of the event, my LinkedIn post offers a wealth of information. My detailed account captures the essence of our presence at the event including information on all speaking engagements. 

Innovation Hub and ODA Accelerator

Our recent collaboration with the TM Forum Innovation Hub marks a significant milestone in our journey. By contributing to the ODA Accelerator initiative, we are helping to shape a modular, agile, and future-proof digital architecture that will serve as the backbone of the telecommunications industry for years to come. 

Microsoft has significantly contributed to the ODA program by signing the ODA Manifesto, joining the Innovation Hub, and supporting its development. We aim to transform the industry from legacy operation support system (OSS) and business support system (BSS) to cloud-native software, using standardized plug-and-play components, data models, and Open APIs. We have also created a cloud-based telecommunications ecosystem using the ODA reference canvas on Microsoft Azure, helping to drive digital transformation in the telecommunications sector.²

Our booth will serve as a hub for engagement, where attendees can experience our technologies and interact with our experts. Our in-booth presence includes stations covering: 

Developer velocity

At Microsoft, we believe that empowering developers is key to driving innovation. The ODA canvas and accelerator, along with GitHub Copilot for Open APIs, are revolutionizing the way developers work, enabling them to build more efficiently and effectively. The success stories from Orange and Lumen, as detailed in their respective case studies, are a testament to the transformative impact of these tools.

Our collaborations with TM Forum members Exos Systems and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have enriched the developer ecosystem, providing a range of tools and resources that enhance productivity and creativity. Notable projects with Jio, Proximus, Amdocs, Lifecycle Software, and the AT&T SHINE Catalyst further illustrate the breadth and depth of our commitment to developer velocity.

As part of the AI Service Portfolio, TCS has developed their AI First Telco Modernization framework leveraging their rich experience in TM Forum ODA and our strategic partnership with Microsoft.

It combines the power of TM Forum, ODA Framework, and GitHub Copilot for an accelerated modernization of software applications spanning across ideation, development, testing, and deployment. TCS has successfully implemented these generative AI tools for its clients resulting in higher productivity gains and faster innovation. TCS and Microsoft invite you to join our special GitHub Copilot session, featuring experts from Microsoft, TCS, and Proximus.

Jio is at the forefront of technological innovation within the telecommunications sector, consistently pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

To accelerate the TM Forum ODA Component project, Jio has contributed to the ODA canvas reference implementation. Their journey began with the deployment of the ODA Canvas on Azure, which has evolved to encompass a suite of components, each designed to enhance telecommunications operations:

• Jio Network Performance Management ensures optimal network functionality.
• Jio Integrated Inventory Management streamlines asset tracking and management.
• Jio Floworx revolutionizes product validation and ordering processes.

These innovative components showcase Jio’s commitment to leading the industry’s digital transformation.

Microsoft is excited to collaborate with Jio and TM Forum on this groundbreaking journey. We invite you to experience this innovation firsthand at Jio booth (Jio Platforms Limited—Booth 232) and the Azure ODA Canvas reference implementation at Microsoft booth (Booth—315J), where the future of telecommunications comes to life.

Customer experience

Customer experience is at the forefront of our efforts in the telecommunications industry. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center is a prime example of our dedication to improving customer engagement. With Microsoft Copilot Studio, we are enabling the rapid development and deployment of intelligent, generative AI-powered automated care bots capable of resolving the vast majority of customer inquiries.

To assist telcos as they move to incorporate AI across their business, Microsoft, Accenture, and Avanade collaborated on a whitepaper titled “Reinventing telecommunications in the era of generative AI.” This paper explores the transformative potential of generative AI in the telecommunications industry and discusses how AI technologies can enhance network efficiency, improve user experiences, and redefine communication.

Vodafone is a great example of the effectiveness of these bots in a real-world scenario, demonstrating how they can significantly improve customer experience while reducing costs, expediting care, and improving net promoter score (NPS).

Charles Lamanna’s keynote at Microsoft Build 2024 provides further insights into these advancements, highlighting how telcos can use Copilot Studio to rapidly create intelligent Copilots of their own. Charles details how telcos can evolve today’s virtual agents into powerful Copilots that don’t just chat, but are capable of running in the background, asynchronously, and executing workflows with true agent capabilities.

To boost productivity and streamline employee experiences, Lumen Technologies has embraced Microsoft 365 Copilot. This generative AI tool integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Teams, providing employees with an intelligent virtual assistant. Finally, the collaboration between Microsoft and ServiceNow is pivotal in this journey. By combining our expertise, we’ve created a smarter way to work, where generative AI assistants coexist and interact. By integrating Now Assist, ServiceNow’s generative AI experience, telco employees receive conversational responses to requests and connects them to AI-powered workflows on the ServiceNow platform.

Network intelligence

The transformation of network operations is a critical component of our vision for the telecommunications industry. Microsoft Fabric Real-Time Analytics is at the heart of this transformation, enabling the collection and analysis of massive quantities of network data from complex, multi-partner environments. 

Accenture and Microsoft are demonstrating the powerful capabilities of Microsoft Fabric and Azure Data Explorer, enhanced by Accenture’s crowdsourcing data and exceptional engineering.

This collaboration aims to deliver actionable insights for Network Quality of Experience (QoE) management and planning, transforming the optimization efforts of mobile operators.

Our focus is to visualize performance issues that are:

1. Easy to comprehend and analyze.
2. Prioritized based on Accenture, umlaut score, and subscriber impact.
3. Root cause analytics, such as coverage and interference issues.
4. Easily integrate with daily workflows and additional data sources.

We will showcase how Accenture, leveraging Microsoft technology, can deliver an advanced platform built using crowdsourcing data, enriched by our custom analytics, and delivered through a user-friendly web-based front end. 

The Accenture integration shows how these capabilities align with the TM Forum Autonomous Networks initiative. Our Azure Programmable Connectivity, detailed in Ricardo’s latest blog, along with the participation of leading carriers, underscores our commitment to adhering to industry standards like the TMF931 Open Gateway Onboarding and Ordering Component Suite. 

Tecnotree recently authored an article titled “Delayering in Telcos: A Path to Agility and Efficiency” which discusses the significant transformation in the telecommunications sector, driven by the need for cost optimization and operational efficiency. It highlights the importance of delayering organizational structures and the role of Azure Programmable Connectivity (APC) in enhancing agility and customer experience.

Our partnership with Norwood Systems in voice intelligence is another example of how we are enhancing network operations. CogVoice™, their innovative AI Agent platform, is designed to re-monetize communications service provider (CSP) voice networks by delivering highly personalized and low-cost cognitive AI agent applications with breakthrough dialog performance. Leveraging Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and Azure AI Speech, CogVoice brings exceptional natural language processing and speech-to-text capabilities to CSP-hosted agentic services. 

The new telco data model

We are excited to introduce a new Azure Synapse database template for wireless that promises to redefine how data is managed and utilized within the telecommunications sector. This model is designed to streamline operations, foster innovation, and enable a more seamless integration of services across the industry. 

The TM Forum Modern Data Architecture (MDA) is a strategic framework that outlines how data is collected, managed, and utilized—leveraging technologies like cloud computing and big data platforms to support scalable, flexible, and efficient data processing and analysis. We’ve been working with customers and partners to define and implement data platforms that apply this methodology. Most recently, Tech Mahindra launched a unified workbench on Microsoft Fabric, enhancing data workflow efficiency and accelerating digital transformation for enterprises. Similarly, LigaData offers a transformative approach to telecom data management with its Telecom Data Fabric, which leverages Azure to reduce integration time and enhance enterprise data agility and innovation.

Connect with us

Microsoft’s journey with the TM Forum and the ODA is a story of continuous innovation and unwavering support for the telecommunications industry. As we look to the future, our commitment remains strong—to foster an ecosystem where collaboration, technological excellence, and a shared vision drive us toward a more interconnected world. Join us at the event and connect with us online to be part of this exciting journey. 

¹Microsoft expands commitment to ODA and all other TM Forum highlights from MWC 2023!, TM Forum.

²Microsoft expands its commitment to TM Forum’s Open Digital Architecture, inform.tmforum.org.

The post Microsoft’s pioneering role in shaping the telecommunications landscape appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

The Microsoft Industry Clouds deliver the most comprehensive development platform, tools, and solutions to enable our customers and partners to take advantage of AI, driving high-value scenarios for their businesses. Over the last six months, we have delivered Microsoft Copilot across GitHub, Azure Security, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Power Platform, and Microsoft 365 for each business role in an organization that people can use today. At Microsoft Ignite 2023, from November 15 to 16, 2023, you’ll hear from many of our partners who are building copilots and other solutions on Azure AI to drive innovation across industries and help our customers achieve more.

Our global partner ecosystem plays an invaluable role in bringing this AI potential to life for our customers. Independent software vendors and system integrator partners bring deep domain expertise to build unique, industry-specific AI solutions on the Microsoft Cloud that add tremendous value to customers, while meeting the security, compliance, and regulatory needs of each industry.

Here is a small sample of the hundreds of partners accelerating innovation with AI in financial services, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, retail, sustainability, public sector, education, telecommunications (telco), nonprofit, energy, and line of business partners.

Financial services

LSEG’s (London Stock Exchange Group) leading financial markets data intelligence and analytics ecosystem is being integrated with Microsoft Fabric, enabling customers to discover and analyze trusted data faster than ever before to create differentiated insights. This ecosystem will offer a joined-up data experience for customers through seamless interoperability with LSEG Workspace, simplifying and automating workflows enabled by Copilot and Python-based analytics within Microsoft Teams and Excel.

At Microsoft Ignite, Microsoft is showcasing Meeting Prep for financial services, an example of the kind of work we are doing with partners such as LSEG to create value from their data using large language models and generative AI. This solution will automatically generate meeting preparation summaries combining insights from LSEG’s financial data with news, documents, emails, chats, and other relevant content from Microsoft Graph in Microsoft 365. 

Video 1. Meeting Prep for financial services: Application Concept for Microsoft Teams.

Healthcare

Teladoc Health is offering improved care management leveraging the Azure data platform and building a copilot on Microsoft Teams with Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service. Teladoc is using Azure OpenAI to personalize the “recommended for you” section of its Chronic Care Management weekly newsletter for three specific segments based on acuity and activity. This is to increase the engagement of the program and improve member health outcomes. They are exploring the option of a co-pilot for member engagement through counselors.

Epic and Microsoft have an ongoing strategic collaboration to develop and integrate generative AI into healthcare that can enhance patient care, increase clinician efficiency, and improve the financial integrity of health systems globally. DAX Copilot and Azure OpenAI integrations address many current issues affecting clinicians, including drafting message responses automatically, enabling natural language queries and interactive data analysis, producing clinical summarization, and providing ambient clinical documentation.   

Embedding DAX Copilot directly into existing Epic workflows can reduce the cognitive burden on clinicians, helping them focus on the patient as summarization notes are drafted for them through ambient listening. There are more than 50 Epic customers and thousands of clinicians signed up to use DAX Copilot in their workflows, and this integration will be widely available for increased adoption early next year. 

By using Azure OpenAI, Epic can also deliver generative AI exploration for users through Epic SlicerDicer to fill gaps in clinical evidence using real-world data and to study rare disease and more. Revenue cycle management is another area where generative AI will drive meaningful improved efficiency, providing coding staff with suggestions based on clinical documentation in Epic’s electronic health record (EHR) software. Additionally, Epic is working to aid campaign generation by incorporating generative AI into the Epic Cheers application. This will assist organizations on producing outreach programs to create a personalized experience for patients, nurture current relationships, and reach a wider patient population in a more efficient manner.  

Agriculture

Bayer’s vision, “Health for All, Hunger for None,” drives its commitment to using cutting-edge technologies that can bring new value to customers. In its early stages, Bayer is presenting an agriculture copilot and testing multiple scenarios with internal teams to discover where large language model capabilities can add value through the ability to interact with agronomic data using natural language. These capabilities are powered by Microsoft’s generative AI and Microsoft Azure Data Manager for Agriculture.

Video 2. Bayer leverages Azure Data Manager for Agriculture large language model APIs to bring actionable insights to farm data.

Learn about the latest updates to Azure Data Manager for Agriculture and how Microsoft is expanding support for Bayer’s Climate FieldView as a built-in data source, providing users with tools to leverage autosync planting, application, and harvest activity files from FieldView accounts.

Manufacturing

Siemens introduced Industrial Copilot, an AI-powered assistant that will enable users to rapidly generate, optimize, and debug complex automation code, and significantly shorten simulation times. Siemens is putting the power of product lifecycle management software into the palm of every employee’s hand with the release later this year of the Teamcenter application for Microsoft Teams. With this application, problem reports can be created in Teamcenter using a smartphone to take pictures and interpret spoken descriptions. That helps to close feedback loops and solve problems faster, all without sacrificing quality or reliability.

Sight Machine has introduced Factory CoPilot, that integrates Sight Machine’s Manufacturing Data Platform with Azure OpenAI. Using a natural language user interface similar to ChatGPT, Factory CoPilot offers an intuitive, “ask the expert” experience for all manufacturing stakeholders, regardless of data proficiency. In response to a single question, Factory CoPilot can automatically summarize all relevant data and information about production in real-time (such as for daily meetings) and generate user-friendly reports, emails, charts, and other content (in any language) about the performance of any machine, line, or plant across the manufacturing enterprise, based on contextualized data in the Sight Machine platform.

Retail

Sitecore OrderCloud powers custom ecommerce experiences and order management for some of the world’s most well-known brands. Sitecore OrderCloud is redefining the data hosting and online shopping experience by structuring their solution on the Microsoft platform. The Sitecore solution enables faster time to market with enhanced solutions layers providing ready-to-access capabilities utilizing Azure OpenAI.

AiFi, the largest provider of autonomous shopping solutions, is built on Microsoft Cloud technologies and works seamlessly with Microsoft Cloud for Retail. Their solution is enabling retailers like Żabka Group and Choice Market, among others, to offer consumers an autonomous shopping experience with frictionless check-out. The companion Microsoft smart store analytics app is helping retailers gain detailed insights into customer behavior and patterns, allowing them to be more informed and data-driven about store operations and merchandizing decisions. Together, AiFi and Microsoft, through AI technology deployed at the edge and cloud respectively, are helping retailers bridge the gap with ecommerce when it comes to a frictionless shopping experience and optimizing it using actionable analytics.

Video 3. Choice Market illustrates the next wave of convenience using smart store analytics.

Sustainability

Ekimetrics has developed a solution based on Azure OpenAI to automate the data collection process and enhance supplier experience. Typically, enterprises are requiring their supplier to complete lengthy questionnaires to capture environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data. Due to the high administrative efforts, they are struggling to get these completed and thus the ability to reduce ESG impact. The solution from Ekimetrics automates the creation of a supplier-relevant questionnaire and the extraction of the relevant answers from common documents. The output is a summary of suppliers’ response and prefill of a regulatory report, including comparisons with previous years.

Video 4. Ekimetrics’ future solution for accurate sustainability data collection is more efficient for companies.

Public sector

Axon is a technology leader in global public safety with a mission to protect life, preserve the truth, and accelerate justice. Since 2017, Axon has been pioneering the design and development of generative AI technology into their products built on top of Microsoft Cloud infrastructure. A few of Axon’s AI innovations include Redaction Assistant, which automates the process of sharing video footage while safeguarding privacy, and Auto-Transcribe, which extracts the audio from body camera to accelerate the process of report writing and evidence search. Axon has also introduced Automated License Plate Recognition in their Fleet3 in-car camera systems, ensuring swift and accurate detection. These initiatives are geared towards streamlining and enhancing the efficiency of public safety operations, allowing responders to focus on the primary task at hand. They persist in advancing their innovation pipeline by developing new AI-enabled applications that not only save time for their customers but also uphold the principles of ethics and fairness.

Education

PowerSchool is using Azure OpenAI to inform and deliver personalized learning pathways for individual students based on their learning goals within a secure platform. Educators are able to quickly create assessment items and formative assessments aligned to a desired grade level, subject, and learning objective or standard. They can then use intuitive reporting to track student progress thanks to the results of these standards-aligned assessment items created by generative AI.

Anthology is empowering instructors to spend more time with students and less time managing content with the AI Design Assistant in their flagship learning management system, Blackboard Learn. They’ve leveraged Azure OpenAI to streamline the course building process and give instructors a head start on creating engaging courses with recommended titles and descriptions, rubrics, questions, and images.

Telecommunications

Amdocs has launched its amAIz Platform to enable communication service providers to accelerate their journey into the generative AI era. Using amAIz, cloud solution providers can benefit from a growing set of out-of-the-box generative AI use cases integrated across different Amdocs applications such as Billing, Catalog, and CPQ (configure, price, quote) to save costs and streamline operations, as well as develop their own use cases on top of the platform. Aligned with the Amdocs and Microsoft collaboration, amAIz provides telco verticalization of the Microsoft capabilities in the Customer Engagement Platform, advancing generative AI use cases across the industry.

Nokia is transforming network security operations by leveraging AI to analyze large volumes of data in real-time to recognize subtle patterns and anomalies that are often missed, improving accuracy, and speeding up detection. Nokia’s flexible software as a service-based, telco-centric extended detection and response solution, NetGuard Cybersecurity Dome, uses AI and machine learning algorithms to analyze and identify potential security threats, enabling real-time detection and response.

Nonprofit

threshold.world has created b.world, the world’s first AI-powered impact measurement and storytelling app for nonprofit and social impact program teams. By unifying program design, impact measurement, project management, and digital storytelling in a single, easy-to-use app, b.world increases capacity to engage communities and drive stakeholders to action. It is based on industry best practice program design and impact measurement, and provides a common data model for nonprofit program operations at scale. See it in action by signing up for a free trial at b.world.

Submittable, powered by Microsoft Azure and Azure OpenAI, will release a new-to-market set of tools to further the mission of AI for good and improve the application process for grant givers and seekers. These tools include: an AI-powered service that will autofill grant applications based on an applicant’s own prior answers, saving valuable time to focus on critical work; an AI bot that can both create grant application forms and translate them into multiple languages, ensuring best practice adherence for funders while also extending opportunities across language barriers; and an AI-supported tool that extracts information from official documents into Submittable, creating a simpler experience for applicants and reviewers as well as reducing the potential for human error and fraud.

Energy

KADME has enabled a turnkey large language model workflow for ingesting and extracting insights from domain-specific energy documents. With Fabriq, the large language model orchestration platform, domain experts in upstream energy operations can ask domain-specific questions and retrieve multilingual tailored responses powered by these insights. Links to trusted source documents are provided with each response, with support for private repositories such as SharePoint or Microsoft Azure Data Manager for Energy.  

Line of business partners

In addition to industry solutions, our partners are also building line of business solutions leveraging AI to transform horizontal business processes to further support vertical solutions.

Seismic is the launch partner with Microsoft Sales Copilot and provides content recommendations, collaboration, task automation, and engagement intelligence for Microsoft Sales Copilot users across the meeting experience to help drive deals and relationships forward and making sellers more productive. As the first step in this journey, Seismic for Microsoft Sales Copilot will add AI-powered recommendations and summaries for virtual meetings, the key vehicle for modern sales teams to engage with prospects and customers.

Icertis is leveraging advanced Azure capabilities, including Azure OpenAI, to transform contracts into structured data that companies can analyze and leverage at scale. For example, the newly released Icertis Contract Intelligence Copilots allow companies to harness the power of generative AI to conversationally query contract language about risks and opportunities hidden in commercial agreements. The copilots offer users pre-defined prompts, which can be tailored to a company and its industry, to quickly surface insights relevant to their vertical.

ServiceNow recently introduced the Generative AI Controller that allows organizations to easily connect ServiceNow to Azure OpenAI. It includes built‑in actions so customers can quickly and easily integrate popular generative AI capabilities—like answering questions, summarizing content, and content generation—into custom apps and workflows. 

Typeface.ai has launched a new Typeface app for Microsoft Teams that uses the powerful combination of Microsoft Azure Machine Learning, Azure OpenAI, and Typeface’s brand-personalized AI to create content significantly faster than ever before. This enables companies to scale marketing efforts and produce a range of assets such as creative briefs, email campaigns, multimedia online ads, and more.

The investment continues at Microsoft Ignite

These examples highlight how partners are building copilots and developing custom solutions with Azure AI for every industry.

These solutions also showcase how the key AI patterns like natural language Q&A, summarization, and search are driving this unique moment of transformation for our customers, enabling them to improve employee productivity, enhance customer experience, and increase operational efficiency. You can learn more about these partner solutions and others at Azure Marketplace and Microsoft AppSource.

We’re excited to have you join us at Microsoft Ignite 2023 from November 15 to 16, 2023. Here are some key sessions that will give you an even deeper view into the innovations we are delivering with our partners and the latest updates to our Industry Cloud solutions.

Breakout sessions

• The AI-era of Industrial Transformation, Wednesday, November 15, 2023, 2:45 PM—3:30 PM PT

Learn how organizations are investing to optimize operations by extracting insights from information technology, operational technology, and engineering technology data with cloud-to-edge technologies, democratizing data access for better decision-making with copilots, and empowering frontline workers with enhanced mixed reality applications.

• Get ready for ESG Regulation with Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, Wednesday, November 15, 2023, 5:15 PM—6:00 PM PT

Learn how expanded functionality in Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, including AI, water, and waste data capabilities, can help address new and emerging reporting regulations like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive—enabling organizations to provide transparency into their ESG sustainability progress.

• Enabling Sovereignty with Microsoft Azure, Friday, November 17, 2023, 9:00 AM—9:45 AM PT

Learn how Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty can help customers meet their digital sovereignty and compliance requirements and still gain the benefits of the public cloud.

On demand sessions

• The future of financial services in the era of AI
• Empowering retail in the era of AI
• The future of data and AI across the entire healthcare journey
• Empowering impact with Cloud for Nonprofit and AI

There’s a lot to take in at Microsoft Ignite 2023! Be sure to also check out the on-demand discussion sessions or go to Microsoft Industry Clouds to learn more.

The post How AI helps Microsoft partners innovate across industries appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

Microsoft empowers telecommunications organizations to achieve more through a trusted and secure platform supported by a comprehensive partner ecosystem. At this event, we will look to demonstrate how Microsoft is the partner to help telcos leverage the power of AI and untap business-to-business (B2B) opportunities.

I am excited to attend TM Forum’s Digital Transformation World (DTW23) in Copenhagen from September 19 to 21, 2023, which is a global event for telecommunication leaders looking to define the building blocks of new operating models. Microsoft joined TM Forum over two decades ago, committed to innovation in the industry. Microsoft and our expansive partner ecosystem enable telecommunication organizations to transform into the techco of the future.

Unlock the potential of AI in telco

The time has come for telcos to seize this unique opportunity and harness the power of generative AI (GenAI) to remain competitive and stay ahead of the game. AI can be the game-changer for the telecom industry, and there are many ways to harness its power and potential. These past few months have put a spotlight on advancements in generative AI, and the possibilities of its application to deliver pragmatic business outcomes. This presents an incredible opportunity to enhance products and services while unlocking innovation and business value to help shape the future of the industry. The pace and scale of technological innovation happening today is unprecedented and breathes optimism into a demanding economy.

AI helps telcos to transform their customer service, using chatbots and voice assistants that can provide instant, personalized, and engaging support. AI assists telcos in refining their networks by leveraging predictive analytics and automation, which boosts performance, minimizes interruptions, and conserves energy. AI aids telcos in tailoring their marketing strategies through data-informed suggestions, fostering greater customer loyalty and retention. These are just some of the examples of how AI can help telcos to thrive in the digital era.

Telcos have a unique opportunity to leverage AI to stay ahead of the curve and gain a competitive edge. By investing in AI and adopting best practices, telcos can future-proof their operations and remain relevant in the years to come. As AI continues to evolve and advance, we can expect to see more amazing and disruptive developments in the telecom industry.

Learn from Microsoft and industry experts

We will be participating in several sessions where we will be discussing key industry trend—including GenAI—and how we have helped communications service providers (CSPs) on their digital transformation journey. We are excited to also share the stage with Amdocs on how we are reimagining customer engagement. Amdocs is empowering service providers to improve end-user experiences across all channels and applications with its Customer Engagement Platform that combines best-in-class cloud, AI, and telco technologies.

• Becoming a techco: are we there yet? From Telco to Techco: Transforming the Buzzwords into a Reality. Tuesday, September 19, 2023, from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM CEST. Featuring Jon James, Chief Executive Officer Nuuday, and Francesco Venturini, Corporate Vice President WW Telecommunication and Media, Microsoft.
• Becoming cloud native for growth and flexibility. Tuesday, September 19, 2023, from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM CST. Featuring Luna Cassani, Technology Strategist and Account Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft.
• Catalyst Session: Connecting with confidence: Embracing the potential of next-gen connectivity. Tuesday, September 19, 2023, from 2:00 PM to 3:57 PM CST. Featuring Sanjay Prasad, Global Telco Technical Consulting Leader, Microsoft.
• The Rise of AI: What it means for today and tomorrow. Tuesday, September 19, 2023, from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM CEST. Featuring Rick Lievano, Chief Information Officer WW Telecommunications, Microsoft.
• Opening Headliners. Wednesday, September 20, 2023, from 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM CEST. Featuring Silvia Candiani, Vice President WW Telecommunications, Microsoft, and Assif Sarat, General Manager, Amdocs.
• Global Architecture Forum. Wednesday, September 20, 2023 from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM CEST. Panel participation by Microsoft discussing “Conformance validation of ODA components and canvas.”
• Open Digital Architecture (ODA) on Microsoft Azure. Tuesday, September 20, 2023, from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM CEST. Featuring Jayant Mishra, Senior Industry Digital Strategist, Microsoft.
• AI in Action. AI Driven Telco: Unleashing Generative AI Across Your Business. Wednesday, September 20, 2023, from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM CEST. Featuring Lester Thomas, Head of New Technologies and Innovation, Vodafone, and Iain Thornhill, Telco Industry Advisor, Microsoft.
• Enabling the AI powered telco: Simplifying network operations to deliver world-class customer experiences with Azure and AI. Wednesday, September 20, 2023, from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM CEST. Featuring Iain Mulligan, Chief Network Officer, 3UK, and Paul Brittain, Principal PDM Manager, Microsoft.
• Xchange roundtable: Telco to TechCo evolving models: Maturing through transformational changes, which TechCo model are you? Wednesday, September 20, 2023, from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM CST. Featuring Silvia Candiani, Vice President, Telecommunications, Microsoft.
• Explore the Power of Generative AI in Telecom. Wednesday, September 20, 2023, from 3:30 PM to 3:50 PM CEST. Featuring Rick Lievano, Chief Technology Officer, WW Telecommunications, Microsoft, and Paul Brittain, Principal PDM Manager, Microsoft.
• Bring the power of AI to your customer. Wednesday, September 20, 2023, from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM CEST. Featuring Luca Cassani, Telecommunications Account Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft.

And more sessions to be announced.

Microsoft will be exhibiting generative AI innovations in the TM Forum zone in Hall C3.

Check out our TM Forum Catalyst projects

TM Forum Catalysts are rapid-fire proof-of-concept projects developed collaboratively by TM Forum members to solve common industry challenges, validated by communications service providers and industry stakeholders. They are member-driven and both inform and leverage TM Forum best practices and standards, connecting service providers, technology suppliers, and global enterprises to create innovative solutions to common industry challenges. Microsoft is participating in two Catalysts, which will be showcased in the Innovation Labs area of the event.

1. Simple hyperscaler integrated network experience (SHINE)
   Championed by AT&T, Telefonica, and Orange
   Participants include Microsoft, Amdocs, Infosys, ServiceNow, Prodapt
   Establishing an industry standard mechanism for making digitized network services available as native services in hyperscale portals.

2. Supercharge any activity in any metaverse
   Championed by T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom
   Participants include Microsoft, Amdocs, D-ID
   This Metaverse challenge Moonshot Catalyst showcases highly tailored on-demand connectivity with a relevant non-fungible token (NFT) to demonstrate immersive AI-driven customer service experience in any metaverse.

Visit the Innovation Labs at the event to learn more about each Catalyst and wish every participating team good luck on the competition for the best!

Come play with Microsoft and Nokia

We are excited to partner with Nokia to sponsor some fun at the event. Please join our teams for some friendly shuffleboard games in the lounge area. Security operations teams are struggling to keep up and the area where they need the most help is the intersection of security and AI. Combining the flexibility of SaaS with AI in security operations creates new capabilities to reduce the frequency and cost of cybersecurity breaches.

Want to meet with a Microsoft expert while at DTW23? Reach out to telcoindustry@microsoft.com to learn more and schedule a meeting.

Learn more

No matter where you are on your transformation journey, Microsoft can serve as a trusted partner at a pace that makes sense for your business. Should you want a deeper conversation with a Microsoft employee about AI, chances are you will find us in the shuffleboard area. For additional information visit our website.

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Empowering your future of insights, experiences, and growth.

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With the global AI in telecom market projected to reach $38.8 billion by 2031¹, the significance of AI in the industry is hard to ignore. The rise of AI-enabled smartphones, the availability of on-demand hyper-scale computing and storage, and the development of large language models such as GPT-3 are leading the charge for this transformation. The time has come for telcos to seize this unique opportunity and harness the power of AI to remain competitive and stay ahead of the game.

In this blog, we delve into the role of AI in the telecom industry, examining its practical applications, and exploring the ways in which telcos can adopt and utilize AI to drive their businesses forward.

AI has the potential to improve various aspects of the telecommunication industry

The use of AI in customer service within the telecommunication industry can greatly improve the customer experience by automating routine tasks and freeing up human representatives to handle more complex inquiries. Call centers in the telecom industry are often overwhelmed by repetitive requests—leading to long wait times and ineffective customer service. In an industry where customer satisfaction is critical and the cost of customer acquisition is high, improving the customer experience is crucial.

AI-powered chatbots can provide instant, everyday support to customers—reducing wait times and improving overall satisfaction. A recent study by TIDIO² suggests that AI-powered chatbots are gaining huge popularity and are set for big adoption in 2023 and beyond. The study found that about 88 percent of customers had at least one conversation with a chatbot within the past year and 62 percent of consumers would prefer to use a customer service bot rather than wait for human agents to answer their requests. Further, in 2022, the total cost savings from deploying chatbots reached around $11 billion, thus prompting a faster adoption of this technology by businesses of all sizes.

Conversational AI, in the form of chatbots, and voice AI powered by large language models, is quick, efficient, accurate, and real-time with its responses. Large language models like GPT-3 and its ChatGPT prompt-based interface can further improve the customer experience by providing human-like responses to customer inquiries. ChatGPT, for example, can understand the context of a customer’s query and provide accurate, relevant responses in real time. It has the ability to document, summarize, and index calls—enabling quick and easy access to customer information. This can significantly improve the efficiency of customer service and provide customers with a more personalized experience.

Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Service, is another example of how AI empowers Telco customer service agents to deliver exceptional customer care. Dynamics 365 Copilot drafts contextual answers to queries in both chat and email, in addition to providing an interactive chat experience over knowledge bases and case history so this AI-powered expertise is always available to answer questions.

From faster customer query resolution to driving self-service payments to automated field visit bookings, the potential for AI-powered chatbots to enhance customer service in the telecommunication industry is huge.

One good example is Vodafone, which leveraged the power of Microsoft Azure AI services to create a conversational digital assistant named TOBi. This bot was specifically designed to cater to the needs of Vodafone customers and was rolled out to 16 markets in 15 different languages. With the help of Microsoft, Vodafone was able to provide fast, relevant, and engaging customer support, which has increased customer satisfaction and reduced operational costs. Currently, TOBi handles 25 to 30 million customer conversations each month and is expected to reach 500 million conversations in the coming years.

Network optimization and maintenance

The complexity of networks is projected to skyrocket in the next five years as the deployment of 5G technology gains momentum. According to Nokia, Network growth is expected to increase by a staggering 73 percent, outpacing the growth rate of the previous five years by a factor of five. Ericsson has reported that the implementation of AI-powered solutions in networks can lead to a 35 percent decrease in critical incidents and a 60 percent decrease in network performance problems. Additionally, energy costs can be reduced by 15 percent through the automation, making the network more environmentally sustainable.

AI can help telcos optimize their networks by automatically adjusting network settings and configurations to improve performance and reduce costs. AI algorithms can further be used to analyze vast amounts of data generated by telecommunication networks, providing valuable insights into network performance, and helping to identify and resolve issues in real-time. This can significantly improve network reliability and reduce downtime, ultimately leading to enhanced customer satisfaction.

Telcos like Ooredoo are already deploying Ericsson’s new optimization solution on Azure. This solution uses digital twin technology and advanced AI techniques, like deep reinforcement learning, to analyze the radio access network (RAN) to proactively provide mobile network optimization recommendations and resolve specific network performance issues—enabling a superior subscriber experience while reducing operating costs.

Fraud detection and prevention

The telecommunication industry is grappling with declining sales and rampant fraud, compounded by intense competition. Telecommunications fraud poses a significant risk to operators, businesses, and consumers alike. It has become a major pain point for the industry, leading to an astonishing USD39.9 billion in global telecom revenue loss in 2021, equating to 2.22 percent of the total revenue according to Communications Fraud Control Association (CFCA). Despite the growing threat of fraud, the adoption of AI, machine learning, and decision engine technology in fraud management in the sector is still limited. The reliance on manual processes remains a critical issue—especially in the wake of the shift to remote work and digital environments—making it a vulnerable point in fraud management departments.

To address these challenges, AI algorithms can play a crucial role by analyzing massive amounts of data to detect and prevent various forms of fraudulent activities in real time, such as SIM-swapping, unauthorized network access, fake profiles, and bill fraud. Some of the practical examples of where AI can help are:

• AI algorithms can detect and prevent SIM-swapping fraud by analyzing patterns in the usage of SIM cards, such as sudden changes in location, device type, and calling behavior.
• AI models can detect and prevent unauthorized network access by monitoring network activity and identifying unusual patterns of usage that may indicate fraud.
• AI can detect and prevent bill fraud by analyzing customer billing data, detecting unusual patterns and anomalies, and flagging any suspicious activity.

By incorporating these AI-powered solutions, telcos can enhance their fraud management capabilities, reduce fraud-related losses, and improve the overall customer experience.

AI can be enhanced further with biometric security solutions like Nuance Gatekeeper, which authenticates legitimate persons via their unique voice print and detects fraudsters wherever and however they engage. Telefónica leveraged Gatekeeper to ensure its most vulnerable customers could access the support they needed and fast‑track them to priority assistance.

Some of the other compelling AI use cases are:

• Predictive maintenance: AI can analyze data from telecom equipment to predict when it will require maintenance—reducing downtime and costs associated with maintenance.
• Personalized marketing: AI can analyze customer data to create targeted marketing campaigns—improving customer engagement and reducing the costs associated with marketing efforts. Using machine learning models to recommend products or services to customers based on their usage patterns and preferences.
• Automated decision making: Using deep learning models to automate decisions such as network routing, dynamic pricing, and more.

The potential for AI to revolutionize the telecommunications industry is immense. However, despite the numerous opportunities to leverage AI across the telco value chain, the adoption of AI by telecom companies has been slow and fragmented.

Challenges to AI adoption in the telecom industry

Telecom operators generate mass amounts of data and are in persistent need to reduce costs, this is where AI can help, yet, telcos are facing a number of challenges in scaling AI initiatives and realizing their full potential. Some of these challenges include a lack of the right skills and resources, unclear objectives for implementing AI, lack of data analysis, concerns about security, difficulty in integrating AI with existing systems, and a culture that is not conducive to innovation.

To overcome these challenges, telecom companies can take several steps to facilitate a successful AI adoption:

• Setting clear goals and objectives for implementing AI.
• Investing in training and hiring data science and AI experts.
• Forming strategic partnerships with AI vendors and hyperscalers.
• Taking the time now to invest in data infrastructure, as AI relies on good data to do its job.
• Making AI a central component of product development and processes.
• Establishing robust data privacy and security protocols.
• Conducting pilot projects—with lower barriers first—to test the feasibility and benefits of AI and having a clear, scale-up plan in place.
• Investing in change management strategies to help employees adapt to new technologies and processes and foster a culture of experimentation and learning. By involving employees in the implementation process and communicating the benefits of AI, companies can create a more open and accepting environment for new technologies.

The telecommunications industry is facing new challenges and increased pressure to maintain margins in the face of rising costs and economic uncertainty. However, adopting AI technology offers a solution to these challenges by providing a way to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance the customer experience. AI has the potential to revolutionize the telecom industry, and there are numerous compelling use cases that can be leveraged to drive the adoption of AI in the industry.

Telcos have a unique opportunity to leverage AI to stay competitive in an increasingly challenging market. By investing in AI and adopting best practices, telcos can future-proof their operations and remain competitive in the years to come. As the field of AI continues to evolve, we can expect to see even more exciting and transformative developments in the telecommunications industry.

How can Microsoft help organizations navigate AI revolution?

Microsoft is committed to making the promise of AI real with advancements grounded in its mission to help every person on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft is focused on creating AI systems that help people solve real-world challenges.

Microsoft Azure AI is a collection of AI services offered by Microsoft as part of its Azure cloud platform. These services are designed to make it easy for developers and organizations to add AI capabilities to their applications, without requiring extensive expertise in AI. Microsoft Azure AI includes pre-built application programming interfaces (APIs) for natural language understanding, computer vision, and speech recognition, including models from partner OpenAI, as well as a cloud-based platform for building and deploying machine learning models.

These services are integrated with the Microsoft Azure platform, which provides capabilities such as scalability, security, and compliance, as well as a number of other tools and services that can be used to build and deploy AI-enabled applications. Microsoft Azure is currently the only global public cloud that offers AI supercomputers with massive scale-up and scale-out capabilities. With a unique architectural design that combines leading graphics processing unit (GPU) and networking solutions, Microsoft Azure delivers best-in-class performance and scale for the most compute-intensive AI training and inference workloads.

Microsoft Azure AI integration in AI Builder within the Microsoft Power Platform allows businesses and developers to quickly and easily build and deploy custom AI models, and to integrate them with Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power Virtual Agents, in order to add advanced capabilities and improve data management and security. It also allows us to easily scale up and improve the performance of the models, as well as easily integrate with other Microsoft Azure services.

Microsoft has adopted Azure AI across a wide range of its products and services, in order to improve functionality, performance, and user experience.

With Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service now generally available, businesses can access some of the most advanced AI models in the world, including GPT-3.5, Codex, and DALL-E 2, backed by the enterprise-grade capabilities and AI-optimized infrastructure of Microsoft Azure. The Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service will also provide access to ChatGPT, a fine-tuned version of GPT-3.5 that has been trained and runs inference on Microsoft Azure AI infrastructure soon.

GPT-4 is also available in preview in Azure OpenAI Service. While the recently announced new Bing and Microsoft 365 Copilot products are already powered by GPT-4, Azure OpenAI Service allows businesses to take advantage of the same underlying advanced models to build their own applications.

Microsoft recognizes the importance of responsible innovation in AI, especially with powerful new technologies like generative models. As such, Microsoft has taken an iterative approach to large models, working closely with OpenAI and customers to carefully assess use cases, learn, and address potential risks.

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¹Ai in Telecommunication Market Research, 2031, Allied Market Research.

²The Future of Chatbots: 80+ Chatbot Statistics for 2023, TIDO.

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Please join us at TM Forum DTW to learn more about our work to advance innovation in the industry. Visit our booth (#208), hear our experts share technical and industry insights, and take part in our Catalyst kiosk “Channels & markets.”

Achieve more through a secure and trusted cloud platform

The power, scale, and security of the cloud have opened new horizons in the telecommunications industry. Microsoft empowers telecommunications organizations to achieve more through a trusted and secure platform supported by a comprehensive partner ecosystem. We will explore various themes throughout the event, including:

• Streamline enterprise operations and business support systems (BSS). Simplify workflows, realize operational efficiencies, and build a hyper-connected business through cloud-native applications, intelligent processes, and automation. 
• Elevate customer experiences. Use conversational AI to enable self-service, expedite issue resolution, and deliver frictionless customer experiences at scale. 
• Build a secure data-driven business. Enable a secure data platform with intelligent analytics optimized for the cloud. 
• Accelerate network transformation. Use the power of a carrier-grade, hybrid cloud to improve network efficiency, scalability and reliability, reduce costs, and grow revenue. 

Learn more from Microsoft and industry experts

We will be participating in several sessions where we will be discussing key industry trends and how we have helped customers on their digital transformation journey:  

• Migrate or move on—the legacy systems conundrum: Tuesday, September 20, 2022, from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM Central European Time. A panel of technology experts will discuss how to consolidate, rationalize, and migrate legacy systems. Thilo Ewald, WE CTO Telecommunications, Microsoft, will discuss key tactical issues like app migration and mission-critical applications along with other panelists.
• Partnering with hyperscalers – challenging yet rewarding: Wednesday, September 21, 2022, from 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM Central European Time. What is the opportunity for communications service providers (CSPs) to partner with hyperscalers and what capability or technology gaps might get in the way? Rick Lievano, CTO WW Telecommunications, Microsoft, and a panel of experts will discuss how to overcome hurdles, reduce CAPEX, and enable seamless go-to-market, among other topics.
• AI for business impact: Wednesday, September 21, 2022, from 4:30 PM to 5:45 PM Central European Time. Jason Hogg, General Manager, Azure for Operators, Microsoft, will discuss accelerating business and operational innovation using public cloud-based network analytics. Learn more about Microsoft Azure for Operators, which empowers operators to modernize their networks, monetize 5G and the edge, and accelerate innovation and growth.
• CSPs’ new value engine: ICT services?: Thursday, September 22, 2022, from 9:00 AM to 10:40 AM Central European Time. Security monetization promises to be a key telecommunication revenue driver in the coming years. Microsoft’s cloud platform can help our telecommunication customers offer “Security-as-a-service” for in-demand scenarios like identity and Access management, security operations center, and more. Pramod Nair, Lead Security Architect will share his perspective on this exciting growth opportunity in his part, Security as a service: the outlook for CSPs.

Check out our TM Forum Catalyst project

The theme for this year’s Catalyst project is “Beyond Connectivity.” Microsoft, in partnership with Vodafone, Nokia, and CSG, is proud to share our project, Channels & markets. This project is designed to help telecommunication organizations to build new digital marketplaces. We believe that telecommunications are well-placed to use their geographic networks to combine connectivity and non-connectivity services. By using TM Forum open application programming interfaces (APIs) and tapping into the work of network standards defining organizations (SDOs) to incorporate partner and network services, products can be visualized, marketed, and deployed, helping to drive growth.

Learn more

No matter where you are on your transformation journey, Microsoft can serve as a trusted partner at a pace that makes sense for your business. Stop by our Catalyst kiosk “Channels & markets” to see a proof-of-concept and to learn more about Microsoft for Telecommunications, visit our website.

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Over the past 18 months, organizations in media & entertainment and telecommunications turned to digital technologies for the resilience and agility necessary to maintain business continuity and, in many instances, simply survive. With a host of lessons now learned—and with a marketplace that has been forever changed—the urgency for these two industries to continue to transform at scale has never been greater.

Forces driving transformation in media & entertainment and telecommunications

The forces that continue to accelerate the pace of transformation in media & entertainment and telecommunications organizations include:

Telco’s transition from connectivity provider to digital service provider. The erosion of traditional telco business models continues due to innovative and non-traditional competitors, as well as ever-increasing customer expectations for personalization, immediacy, and choice. Greater importance is now being placed on the development of digital ecosystems to expand the reach and scope of business models, with telcos providing connectivity for new products and services co-created with ISV’s, hyperscale cloud providers, device manufacturers, enterprise customers, and other strategic partners.

The development of industry-specific edge services. The capabilities of 5G open up a new world of low-latency edge services targeted at specific industries including agriculture, retail, automotive, manufacturing, healthcare, gaming, entertainment, and many more. 5G will provide low-latency connectivity to autonomous vehicles and devices, facilitate highly tailored service agreements through dedicated network slices, support high-density sensory devices for industrial IoT, and enable the deployment of advanced private mobile solutions.

Scaling and accelerating content creation and production. In response to the explosion of (in particular) video consumption across traditional and OTT/D2C channels, media and entertainment organizations must scale and accelerate their content production workflows to meet audience demands for new content. At the same time, organizations must look for every opportunity to reduce cost, better manage and monetize assets, and enable productivity and collaboration amongst remote and distributed teams—all while maintaining the security of their high-value creative IP.

Making better use of data to create differentiation and drive monetization. In many media & entertainment and telecommunications organizations, data is often siloed which creates governance inconsistencies and value gaps due to the lack of end-to-end visibility—a challenge that often leads to an inability to extract business and consumer insights that can inform decision-making across the entire value chain. What’s more, the increased importance of OTT/D2C channels further underscores the need to more deeply understand audience preferences and behaviors—and to “do more with data” in general—to better personalize and monetize content and experiences.

Five essential business outcomes for each industry

To address these and other challenges and opportunities, media & entertainment and telecommunication business leaders must remain focused on the business outcomes necessary to maximize operational agility and efficiency, optimize collaboration and productivity across all teams and partners, increase relevance and deepen engagement with customers, and speed the design and delivery of innovative new products and services.

For media & entertainment organizations, these essential business outcomes are:

1. Streamlining content production. Accelerating production workflows and scaling content creation with industry-leading tools, intelligent processes, and automation on an open and secure platform.
2. Enhancing creativity and collaboration. Empowering individuals and teams with intelligent and secure tools for anywhere, anytime productivity, collaboration, and teamwork.
3. Optimizing content discoverability and delivery. Improving content management, distribution, and monetization through automated processes on an intelligent and secure cloud.
4. Transforming audience and content intelligence. Simplifying access to insights from multi-channel data to drive informed, proactive decision-making.
5. Reimagining and monetizing experiences. Deepening fan and audience engagement with personalized, connected, and immersive experiences across all channels, platforms, and venues.

For telecommunications organizations, the five essential outcomes are:

1. Empowering the Telco workforce. Enabling secure teamwork across employees, suppliers, and partners with intelligent tools for anywhere, anytime productivity and collaboration.
2. Streamlining operations and business support systems. Simplifying workflows and realizing operational efficiencies through cloud-native applications, intelligent processes, and automation on a trusted and secure cloud.
3. Deploying and optimizing next-gen networks. Using the power of a carrier grade, hybrid cloud to reduce cost, improve network efficiency, scalability, and reliability, and grow revenue.
4. Transforming customer experiences. Using data-driven insights and AI to enhance care, deliver personalized content and experiences, and earn customers for life.
5. Accelerating innovation and growth. Building new revenue streams with an AI-enabled platform for the rapid development, deployment, and monetization of innovative cross-industry edge and IoT services.

Our approach to media & entertainment and telecommunications

Microsoft’s approach to the media & entertainment and telecommunications industries is core to our mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Guided by the four key principles of business model alignment, customer ownership and control of data, industry customization, and an unmatched partner ecosystem, we are working to ensure that every M&E and telco organization has the tech intensity required to succeed going forward.

Learn more about intelligent media and entertainment to see how solutions from Microsoft and our partners have optimized workflows, streamlined content delivery, and deepened audience engagement for the likes of Digital Domain, Waave, the BBC, Wunderman Thompson, the NFL, LaLiga, and Thomson Reuters.

And, learn more about intelligent telecommunications to see how Microsoft and our partners have increased productivity, streamlined operations, optimized networks, and accelerated innovation for industry leaders such as AT&T, Etisalat, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica, Telstra, and Vodafone.

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