Out with the old, in with the new – building a better BT

Digital transformation. It’s a phrase we hear a lot as businesses. But what does it really mean? For me, it’s about becoming a modern business that uses technology as an enabler – a way to break our dependence on the old, and embrace newer, smarter ways of working. It’s about future-proofing.

It’s a fascinating time to work in tech: more data, more technology, more devices, all helping us work faster, smarter, better. I’ve always seen change as a catalyst and use it as a way to reassess where we are going and find better ways forward. The opportunity is great for businesses, but the stakes are high. Can’t, or won’t adapt, and you’ll get left behind. Customers of all sizes in every location tell us about this challenge every day.

Whether we’re talking about start-ups or multi-nationals, changing to keep pace with the digital world is business-critical for us all. And at BT, we’re doing two things: looking out, helping customers to reap the benefits of going digital; and looking in, changing the way we run our own operations. It’s all part of delivering on our plan to double down on what we’re best at and show that business simply runs better on BT.

Laying the foundations for success

Our networks underpin businesses across the UK and the world – as well as critical national infrastructure and public services. We’re moving faster to help these businesses, and the economy, thrive.

And to be the digital powerhouse we want to be for our customers, we must lead by example. I joined BT in early 2023 with a clear remit – to consolidate and enhance our product offering and create the strategy that will help deliver long-term growth and ensure the business is fit for the future.

It’s an ongoing process. But I can already see signs that it’s working, and it’s making us a better business for our customers. In less than 12 months we’ve reached some significant modernisation milestones – within BT and for the businesses we serve. Here are some highlights:

Doubling down on core platforms. 

We’re moving away from legacy infrastructure to future-fit networks. We’re building Global Fabric, a brand-new international network, enabling business customers to innovate at pace. We’ve completed the nationwide closure of our 3G network, and 100% of UK business premises are now covered by our All-IP portfolio* – with 89% of the business broadband circuits we sell now fibre footprint based.**

Doing fewer things, better. 

We’re simplifying our business and focusing for our customers. We’re reducing the number of products in our portfolio by more than half. We’ve also driven up productivity by increasing our use of digital sales channels for Small and Medium Business (SMB), which is up 40% YOY. And we’re seeing growth for strategic products like managed, secure SD-WAN cloud networking in our corporate and public sector base – and critical services like security, which has grown by 14% YOY.

Partnering with the best. 

Part of focusing on what we do best means working with others where together we can do better. We recently became the first UK partner for Microsoft Teams Phone Mobile. This is all about enabling collaborative, secure working on the go for our customers.

Changing together

I’m proud of the work our teams have done to deliver these results, but I know there’s much more to do. We connect more than one million businesses and public sector organisations across the UK and the operations of leading global multinationals in 180 countries. We’re changing for the good of our customers, our people, our shareholders and the economy.

As we close out the financial year, I’m looking ahead to what the next 12 months will bring. For me, the focus will be on continuing to solve customer problems, to execute on our strategy and to keep our eyes on longer-term gains.

At BT, we’re modernising from the inside out. For us and for all businesses, future-proofing is a journey, and I know the path we’re following is the right one.

* EAD, FTTP, SOGEA, SOADSL

** SOGEA and FTTP