01732 759725 26 Q&A model is flawed, it is built on sand. We’ve gone through that journey, which has allowed us to build propositions that are much more customer-centric and much more geared towards the value that partners are looking for from us. TR: What other plans do you have to improve the service you provide partners? DT: I’ve spoken lots about end customers utilising digital technologies, and I think we ourselves need to embrace that a lot more. The investments we’re making now are around building out that digital capability to make ourselves much easier to do business with. Our channel partners love working with us and the way we work with them is a true partnership. Where they might say there’s room for improvement is in those digital interfaces that allow them to transact with us in a zero-touch way, and we’re looking to make some significant strides in that area – investing in API capability, plugging that into our partners, giving them a very slick and straightforward way of dealing with us. That’s us eating our own lunch; not just talking about digital technologies and telling our partners about how they should be selling those services; it’s about us embracing those things ourselves. TR: When might the fruits of that process become apparent? DT: The first phase, the API gateway that allows our partners to plug into some of our systems, went live a month or so ago, and partners can now go from quote through to order through that interface. We’re now addressing how partners want us to work with them, which isn’t for us to create all this capability and say ‘here you go’, but for us to take them on that journey and co-create feedback on what’s working and what isn’t. That roadmap is now being built by us in conjunction with a number of partners who have signed up to be co-creators with us. We did an all-day workshop with them at the O2 last month (November) and we’ve had some fantastic feedback about how empowered they feel by being able to influence our digital roadmap. Over the coming 12 months and beyond, we will be adding additional capabilities informed by what partners tell us is most important to them. notice – full stop, no strings attached. It gives full flexibility on the bandwidth of that service; you can ramp it up or ramp it down with no construction charges, no install charges. That was us saying ‘here’s a commercial proposition that we think meets the needs you tell us you have’. It doesn’t necessarily require any investment in products or services or in systems; it just requires us to be prepared to take more commercial risk to enable our partners to win business. That sounds like an easy journey to go on, but it wasn’t by any means, because the value of telco businesses has traditionally been based on longterm annuity business underpinned by the concept of a minimum contract term. We’ve had to go on a real journey to change that mindset within our organisation and to explain that the things our partners place value on now are the exact opposite of what we’ve been giving them. Having a minimum term might give you theoretical value, but it’s not sustainable because at some point someone will come along and give the partner what they need. The valuation ...continued Jo Bertram Tackling digital exclusion A new report published by Virgin Media Business and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) highlights the difference a multi-million-pound digital investment in full fibre connectivity is making to local people in Manchester. In 2020, GMCA commissioned Virgin Media Business to connect more than 1,500 public sites to a new full fibre network in Greater Manchester, as part of the UK’s largest Local Full Fibre Networks Programme (LFFN). Virgin Media Business has incorporated a number of social value initiatives in the five-year programme in support of Greater Manchester’s Digital Blueprint, including a commitment to create 20 apprenticeships in the area and to invest in digital and STEM skills for young people. Since the project began, Virgin Media Business and GMCA have connected 15 homeless shelters, community centres and charities to its network, with six more sites due to be connected this year. By providing free connectivity in community spaces, the project enables local people to access online services, develop digital skills and go online to complete homework. Other social initiatives highlighted in the Tackling digital inequality in Greater Manchester report include: n the donation of 567 digital kit bundles to ensure students in Greater Manchester at risk of digital exclusion could continue learning when schools were closed during lockdown; n the funding of three digital skills programmes with the Prince’s Trust and GMCA; n a £100,000 donation to the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity’s ‘A Bed Every Night’ programme to help tackle homelessness; and n more than 1,000 hours of volunteering by Virgin Media Business employees, with an additional 4,000 hours to come over the next four years. Jo Bertram, Managing Director of Business and Wholesale at Virgin Media O2, said: “Our work in Greater Manchester is not only transforming connectivity across the region, it is also helping to transform lives for the better. In partnership with the GMCA, we are supercharging communities and supporting those most at risk of digital exclusion. Whether it’s through funding projects to help those experiencing homelessness, investing in children’s futures or upgrading community connections, we’re committed to doing more for the people of Greater Manchester today and in future.” www.virginmediabusiness.co.uk
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