This new era of AI will create incredible economic growth and represent a profound shift as a percentage impact on global GDP, which is just over $100 trillion. So, when we look at the potential value driven by this next generation of AI technology, we may see a boost to global GDP of an additional $7 trillion to $10 trillion.

Embracing AI will help operators unlock new revenue streams, deliver superior customer experiences and pioneer future innovations for growth.

The AI-powered future cloud for telecommunications

Operators can now leverage cloud services that are adaptive, purpose-built for telecommunications and span from near edge on-premises environments to the far edges of Earth and space to monetize investments, modernize networks, elevate customer experiences and streamline business operations with AI.

Our aim is to be the most trusted co-innovation partner for the telecommunications industry. We want to help accelerate telco transformation and empower operators to succeed in the era of AI, which is why we are committed to working with operators, enterprises and developers on the future cloud.

At MWC in Barcelona this week, we are announcing updates to our Azure for Operators portfolio to help operators seize the opportunity ahead in a cloud- and AI-native future.

Monetize investments and unlock innovation for customers

AI opens new growth opportunities for operators. The biggest potential is that operators, as they embrace this new era of cloud and AI, can also help their customers in their own transformation.

For example, spam calls and malicious activities are a well-known menace and are growing exponentially, and often impact the most vulnerable members of society. Besides the annoyance, the direct cost of those calls adds up. For example, in the United States, FTC data for 2023 shows $850 million in reported fraud losses stemming from scam calls.

Today, we are announcing the public preview of Azure Operator Call Protection, a new service that uses AI to help protect consumers from scam calls. The service uses real-time analysis of voice content, alerting consumers who opt into the service when there is suspicious in-call activity. Azure Operator Call Protection works on any endpoint, mobile or landline, and it works entirely through the network without needing any app installation.

In the U.K., BT Group is trialing Azure Operator Call Protection to identify, educate and protect their customers from potential fraud, making it harder for bad actors to take advantage of their customers.

We are also announcing the public preview of Azure Programmable Connectivity (APC), which provides a unified, standard interface across operators’ networks. APC provides seamless access to Open Gateway for developers to create cloud and edge-native applications that interact with the intelligence of the network. APC also empowers operators to commercialize their network APIs and simplifies their access for developers and is available in the Azure Marketplace.

Run AI-driven networks on a carrier-grade, hybrid cloud platform

AI opens incredible opportunities to modernize network operations, providing new levels of real-time insights, intelligence and automation. Operators, such as Three UK, are already using Azure Operator Insights to eliminate data silos and deliver actionable business insights by enabling the collection and analysis of massive quantities of network data gathered from complex multi-vendor network functions. Designed for operator-specific workloads, operators tackle complex scenarios with Azure Operator Insights, such as understanding the health of their networks and the quality of their subscribers’ experiences.

Azure Operator Insights uses a modern data mesh architecture for dividing complex domains into manageable sub-domains called data products. These data products integrate large datasets from different sources and vendors to provide data visibility from disaggregated networks for comprehensive analytical and business insights. Using this data product factory capability, operators, network equipment providers and solution integrators can create unique data products for one customer or published to the Azure Marketplace for many customers to use.

Today, we are also announcing the limited preview of Copilot in Azure Operator Insights, a groundbreaking, operator-focused, generative AI capability helping operators move from reactive to proactive and predictive in tangible ways. Engineers use the Copilot to interact with network insights using natural language and receive simple explanations of what the data means and possible actions to take, resolving network issues quickly and accurately, ultimately improving customer satisfaction.

Copilot in Azure Operator Insights is delivering AI-infused insights to drive network efficiency for customers like Three UK and participating partners including Amdocs, Accenture and BMC Remedy. Three UK is using Copilot in Azure Operator Insights to unlock actionable intelligence on network health and customer experience quality of service, a process that previously took weeks or months to assess, is now possible to perform in minutes.

Additionally, with our next-generation hybrid cloud platform, Azure Operator Nexus, we offer the ability to future-proof the network to support mission-critical workloads, and power new revenue-generating services and applications. This immense opportunity is what drives operators to modernize their networks with Azure Operator Nexus, a carrier-grade, hybrid cloud platform and AI-powered automation and insights — unlocking improved efficiency, scalability and reliability. Purpose-built for and validated by tier one operators to run mission-critical workloads, Azure Operator Nexus enables operators to run workloads on-premises or on Azure, where they can seamlessly deploy, manage, secure and monitor everything — from the bare metal to the tenant.

E& UAE is taking advantage of the Azure Operator Nexus platform to lower total cost of ownership (TCO), leverage the power of AI to simplify operations, improve time to market and focus on their core competencies.  And operations at AT&T that took months with previous generations of technology now take weeks to complete with Azure Operator Nexus.

We continue to build robust capabilities into Azure Operator Nexus, including new deployment options giving operators the flexibility to use one carrier-grade platform to deliver innovative solutions on near-edge, far-edge and enterprise edge.

Read more about the latest Azure for Operator updates here.

Accelerate business transformation with AI

Operators are creating differentiation by collaborating with us to improve customer experiences and streamline their business operations with AI. Operators are leveraging Microsoft’s copilot stack and copilot experiences across our core products and services, such as Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft Copilot for M365 and Microsoft Security Copilot to drive productivity and improve customer experiences.

• Last year AT&T launched Ask AT&T, a generative AI tool designed to help employees be more effective, creative and innovative. An early use case for Ask AT&T was to enable software developers to write and refine code — in many cases, AT&T is seeing a 25-50% productivity gain for their developers. Since its launch, the company has identified many other use cases for the solution. Today, approximately 68,000 employees have access to Ask AT&T and are using it for anything from vulnerability remediation in IT to analysis of the vast data flows the company manages on its network. The company is currently training Ask AT&T on contracts and financial materials to assist with HR questions and making our care representatives even more effective at supporting our customers.
• Teams at Lumen use Copilot to surface relevant policies, summarize tickets and easily find repair instructions from manuals. They can quickly create presentations, new business proposals and statements of work. Giving their workforce the digital tools they need to deliver dramatically improved customer experiences with greater ease is an essential part of the company’s transformation.
• Telefónica evolves Kernel, its digital framework for the creation of advanced services, to the next level by adding new Microsoft Azure AI services to power every relevant use case with generative AI capabilities at scale. New Kernel 2.0 integrates all the digital services from the Telefónica Group to enable private-first, secure and standardized access to data and APIs, providing a foundation for value-added services that can be developed faster and with higher customer impact.
• Indonesian-based Telkomsel introduced Veronika — a virtual assistant that integrates Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service. Veronika is rooted in natural language processing and machine learning, and recommends telco packages based on customers’ needs, and it can quickly and accurately address customer concerns. Since deploying Veronika, Telkomsel has been able to address rising call volumes without increasing agents. They have seen a significant drop in call volumes for their agents who are now handling 1,000 calls a day (down from 8,000 previously) and can now focus on increased cross-selling.
• To increase customer satisfaction, Vodafone will apply the power of Microsoft Azure OpenAI to deliver frictionless, real-time, proactive and hyper-personalized experiences across all Vodafone customer touchpoints, including its digital assistant TOBi (available in 13 countries). Vodafone employees will also be able to leverage the AI capabilities of Microsoft Copilot to transform working practices, boost productivity and improve digital efficiency.

An average operator spends 20% of annual revenue on capital expenditures. However, this investment does not translate into an equivalent increase in revenue growth. Operators need to empower their service teams with data-driven insights to increase productivity, enhance care, use conversational AI to enable self-service, expedite issue resolution and deliver frictionless customer experiences at scale.

Partnering with Microsoft in the era of AI

Together with our partner ecosystem, we are investing in creating a comprehensive set of solutions for the telecommunications industry. This includes the Azure for Operators portfolio — a carrier-grade hybrid cloud platform, voice core, mobile core and multi-access edge compute, as well as our suite of generative AI solutions that holistically address the needs of network operators as they transform their networks.

As customers continue to embrace generative AI, we remain committed to working with operators and enterprises alike to future-proof networks and unlock new revenue streams in a cloud- and AI-native future.

Tags: AI, Azure for Operators, Azure Operator Call Protection, Azure Operator Insights, Azure Operator Nexus, Copilot in Azure Operator Insights

The post Accelerating telco transformation in the era of AI appeared first on The Microsoft Cloud Blog.

The big impact of generative AI

Discussions about the potential of generative AI on the telco industry are everywhere. “IDC is projecting that generative AI will add nearly USD10 trillion to global GDP over the next 10 years.”¹ Other analysts are projecting telco productivity increases in the billions for customer service, marketing, sales, app development, network insights, and operations. At Microsoft, we’ve already seen the benefits of generative AI across the company. The Microsoft global customer support team streamlined operational efficiency while delivering exceptional customer satisfaction with Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Service. There was a 31% increase in first call resolution and a 12% increase in customer satisfaction. Learn more about modernizing your customer service experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service. The Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions organization used Microsoft Copilot for Sales to simplify workflows and help its sellers more efficiently build relationships with clients.

What does generative AI do for telco?

Generative AI empowers telco to work with vast amounts of data, identify patterns, and generate novel solutions, promising to transform traditional practices and foster industry-wide innovations. By embracing generative AI, telco companies can overcome challenges, unlock new revenue streams, improve operational efficiency, and deliver exceptional customer experiences. It’s a key ingredient in accelerating the transformation from telco to techco. And with so many potential applications for generative AI, it’s important to identify what has worked so far. To provide some inspiration, here are a few success stories that show us generative AI’s potential to transform the industry and drive substantial value.

Elevating customer experiences

Indonesian telco company Telkomsel introduced Veronika—a virtual assistant that integrates Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service. Veronika is rooted in natural language processing and machine learning, and according to Vice President of Customer Journey and Digital Experience at Telkomsel, Danang Andrainto, “Veronika continues to innovate by integrating the best AI technology to infuse intelligence into its functions, resulting in the delivery of solutions that are progressively more accurate.” Veronika recommends telco packages based on customers’ needs, and it can quickly and accurately address customer concerns. Here’s more of the story of Veronika and how generative AI is making it better.

And Veronika isn’t the only one. Bots are becoming more popular and effective in providing a digital-first customer experience. They can handle complex queries, improve customer engagement, and reduce operational costs. They can reduce the average handling time and save millions of dollars per month. These bots can help customers with various tasks, such as checking balances, paying bills, troubleshooting issues, and finding the best deals. They can build personalized scripts for next-best offers based on real-time data and insights. They can enhance end-to-end call center engagements from customer inquiry summarization, providing real-time information to resolve questions for sales agents, to analyze live sentiment, and to suggest personalized scripts for next-best offers; and they can create post-call analyses on agent performances. They can also create customer-sentiment analysis to help monitor and improve customer experiences across multiple touchpoints. Bots are transforming customer care strategies for many businesses around the world.

Bots are helping employees too. South African telco group MTN launched SiYa—an employee bot that can assist workers with inquiries, information on company policies, and employee-to-company interactions. And ultimately, MTN hopes SiYa can help customers with purchases, advice, and service. “By harnessing the power of AI and APIs, we are not only future-proofing our operations but ensuring that our customers, both internal and external, can look forward to a more streamlined, efficient, and data-driven experience,” MTN South Africa CEO Charles Molapisi says.

Aimee is BT Group’s new digital assistant. Kevin Lee, Chief Digital Officer for Consumer Division of BT Group, says, “Our pilots with generative AI with Microsoft are designed to see if we can more rapidly make Aimee the most personal, customer-focused, intelligent digital assistant delivering value through every interaction.” But Lee says he doesn’t want Aimee to replace human-to-human interactions; he wants Aimee to help customers meet their needs more efficiently and accurately. Aimee is meant to be a support, and her role is unlimited.

Accelerate network operation

If we look to the technical side of things, generative AI can improve network operations for operators too. Three UK leveraged Azure Operator Insights by creating and optimizing network configurations, policies, and parameters based on the data collected from the network performance, traffic, and user behavior. Generative AI can learn from the existing network settings and generate new ones that can enhance the network’s efficiency, reliability, and security. For example, generative AI could help design and deploy optimal network slices for different use cases and customers or adjust the network parameters to cope with changing demand and conditions. Generative AI can also help to automate network management tasks like fault detection, diagnosis, and resolution by generating and executing appropriate actions based on the network state and the desired outcomes. It can use natural language processing and generation to enable more human-like interactions between network operators and the network systems, using voice commands to control the network functions or receiving natural language explanations of the network status and its issues. Generative AI applications for network operation include:

• Generative AI can be used to optimize Radio Access Network Configuration Optimization parameters based on the network performance data and the operators.
• Generative AI can generate and execute network policies, configurations, and actions based on the network data and the operator’s goals.

Organizations can be more efficient

Generative AI can help make knowledge management more efficient with the ability to increase the productivity of HR, finance, legal, and customer service departments. By using bots, organizations can provide faster and more accurate answers to their employees and customers. For example, Finland’s largest telco and tech company, Elisa, has used Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365, which helps knowledge workers with various tasks, such as finding documents, scheduling meetings, and creating reports. Katja Bäckström, Elisa’s Senior Vice President, Customer Service and Customer Service with Copilot, says, “With Copilot, traditional data entry is eliminated, and customer data can be accessed directly from customer discussions. Copilot can easily be asked about the latest actions with the customer and a proposal for creating the next agenda. In the end, Copilot improves both the employee experience and the customer experience.”

Multinational tech and telco company Lumen uses Copilot. Lumen’s customer service teams surface relevant policies with Copilot, they summarize tickets, and they easily find repair instructions from manuals. They can quickly create presentations, new business proposals, and statements of work. “Our people are seeing immediate productivity improvements with Copilot, allowing them to focus on more value-added activities each day,” Kate Johnson, president and CEO of Lumen Technologies, Inc. says.

Marketing and sales benefit from generative AI

But can generative AI help your marketing and sales departments?

Generative AI can help create appealing and customized content for different audiences and channels, such as blog posts, social media posts, landing pages, email campaigns, and more. For example, a telco operator could use generative AI to create titles, summaries, keywords, or captions for their online content based on the target audience’s interests and actions. 

Generative AI can also help classify and segment customers based on their attributes, desires, preferences, and actions, using data from various sources, like web analytics, customer relationship management platforms, or social media. A telco operator could use generative AI to group their customers into different profiles, for example, such as the innovators, the loyalists, and the value seekers. They could then adjust their messages and offers accordingly. 

Generative AI can help recommend appropriate and personalized products or services to customers based on factors such as their previous purchases, web history, and feedback. For example, a telco operator could use generative AI to suggest the best bundle, plan, or add-on for each customer, based on their budget, needs, and usage patterns. 

Generative AI can help create interested and qualified leads for the sales team by finding and contacting potential customers who match the ideal customer profile, using data from various sources like third-party databases, social media, or web analytics. For example, a telco operator could use generative AI to create leads for their business solutions by identifying and reaching out to prospects who are searching for similar services, have high intent, and meet the criteria of decision makers.

Amdocs, in partnership with Microsoft, launched a unified Customer Engagement Platform, leveraging the power of generative AI. Integrated with Microsoft Dynamics 365, it is an all-encompassing AI-powered marketing, sales, commerce, and customer service platform serving consumer and enterprise customers on a single, open, telco, and cloud-native platform.

Developer productivity

With GitHub Copilot for Business, 46% of new code is now written by AI, and developer productivity has increased by over 55%. AT&T uses Azure OpenAI Service in a few ways. It moves legacy code into modern code using generative AI, which helps the developers focus on creating modern tools and experiences for workers and customers. AT&T employees can ask generative AI questions about their insurance plans or getting hardware for a new employee. And AI helps with storage problems or computer issues company wide. Read more about AT&T’s developers and generative AI.

GitHub Copilot simplifies the creation and consumption of TM Forum Open APIs by generating the required code that complies to the API guidelines in the development language of your choice.

Accelerate your own generative AI journey with Microsoft

Partner with Azure OpenAI Service to transform your telco organization with AI-driven solutions for enhanced operations, innovative services, and exceptional customer experiences. The service offers many opportunities to explore AI-driven solutions for your organization. We hope to see you at Mobile World Congress 2024 as well. We’ll be there talking about how AI is accelerating the telco industry’s transformation.

About the study
The IDC study, commissioned by Microsoft, is based on results from 2,109 enterprise organizations totaling more than 13 million employees worldwide across 16 countries globally. Through the questionnaire, respondents were identified as the decision maker for AI within their organization.   

¹Official Microsoft Blog, New study validates the business value and opportunity of AI, November 2023. 

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