Meet the board: Nadya Melic, Vodafone Business

There is a notable shift happening across the global enterprise space at present as ever more sophisticated technological tools emerge to drive efficient operations and competitive experiences.

As Vodafone Business’ head of customer solutions for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, Nadya Melic (pictured below) is responsible for ensuring products and services such as these improve CX and contribute to overall growth.

In this interview, the CX Network Advisory Board member talks about next-generation telecoms technology and why the metaverse should be open to the masses.

CX Network: What are some of the new telco tools that are being used by enterprises to improve CX?

Nadya Melic: At Vodafone Business, we see the tools that enable collaboration as the most important ones that we bring to market. This is due to organizations moving to a new way of working and defining how they collaborate from any time zone or country in a more effective manner. We have partnered with both Microsoft and RingCentral and we are seeing substantial growth in the unified communications space.

We are on our journey to transform from a telco to a technology company, where we look at digitally transforming the customer experience and service development processes.

While our core capabilities focus on connecting our customers – from internet bandwidth and fixed network to both the cloud and application space – we are developing differentiated value propositions that leverage 5G, Internet of Things (IoT) and edge investments and capabilities.

This has heightened the role of artificial intelligence (AI) companies, who are now becoming part of the end-to-end ecosystem. It is crucial that we are better able to extract the data, ensure it flows through systems to both sell and deliver to our customers and also ensure that data are native and have integrity. Our customers want to able to see what their services are doing and how it impacts their customers in real time.

Data monetization is another tool which has become crucial to a lot of our customers. It is about asking how that CX journey works with the data that you have from a customer lens. It is not around simply selling the product, but to build, deliver, run and manage it.

This is not a standstill process; it is an evolution and these tools are bringing together both customer use cases and the rise in digital transformation.

Become a CX Network member and gain exclusive access to our upcoming
digital events, industry reports and expert webinars

Lastly, availability of real-time data in itself is a focus area. Using AI and 5G, workout or food ordering apps for example are connected on a fixed or mobile network. Service level agreements in our customer contracts are becoming more crucial and we are focused on delivering digital transformation that our customers require.

CX Network: When it comes to how 5G is being used by enterprises, how do you see the use cases developing to 2024?

NM: With technology companies requiring substantial investments for 5G business cases, there could be a twofold view to this. The larger your access, the more you are able to go up the stack with IoT and even mobility. 5G has the power to leverage AI, analytics and blockchain fully to offer integrated services. However, networks need to be robust, responsive and secure to capitalize on 5G.

The other trend with 5G is that we have seen enterprises trying to leverage mobile private networks (MPN), which typically works for very large organizations with large distribution centers or if they are in isolated geographical locations.

In transforming their operations digitally, enterprises require a highly responsive and dependable network to serve both global and remote employees.

For example, more than 25 million connected cars are using our IoT SIM. This whole process across the ecosystem and supply chain is enhanced and enabled by mobile connectivity, IoT, cloud and end-user applications.

With the connectivity IoT SIMs enable, information about car purchases, usage and location can be better leveraged to provide value back to the customer. Car manufacturers can better understand consumer behavior, car performance, and enable better asset management to make smarter decisions. For the end-customer, the insights on car performance and asset monitoring allows for value-added services like preventive maintenance or even car retrieval in the event of car thefts.

CX Network: As enterprises become more high-tech, how can those outside major connectivity hubs benefit from advanced technology?

NM: Connectivity and access to the network needs to become a basic human right. There are huge numbers of people all over the world who are not connected.

Our Inclusion for All strategy focuses on overcoming the five key barriers that create the digital divide: coverage, access to devices, affordability, digital skills and creating relevant products and services for those most at risk of being unconnected, such as the elderly, women and people in developing countries.

We have made significant progress across a number of areas in increasing coverage, supporting customers in rural locations to afford 4G devices and developing new services. We have also pushed ourselves to set new targets and create new partnerships across a number of inclusion areas, for example setting a new financial inclusion target this year.

Internet access is transformational and empowers people to meaningfully contribute and connect.

READ MORE: The CX advances on the horizon with Web 3

Vodafone has worked hard to connect more than 170 million people in Africa to a range of mobile and lifestyle services through our networks. We also closed the mobile gender gap for an estimated 46.2 million active female customers across the continent.

Additionally, our Connected Education program aims to provide access to our ready-made classroom which includes connectivity, devices and collaboration software for students and teachers across the world. To date, around 1.5 million students and teachers in 4,500 educational institutions across 10 countries have benefited from this digital learning solution, helping to bridge the digital divide.

CX Network: When it comes to B2C technology we have seen huge developments in interactive and virtual ecommerce, metaverse projects from major brands and real-time data use. In your opinion, is the hype around these technologies justified?

NM: I am really into fashion and watched a metaverse runway show recently. I still want the human interaction, however, as nothing beats the in-person connection that one builds with others. This is the dichotomy I see with the new technologies like metaverse and virtual reality (VR).

That said, I recognize that without new technologies like metaverse, I would not have been able to watch the show either. This is where they can help bridge the gap by enabling greater accessibility of CX to all.

For example, when taking a work break, I should be able to say I can put on a VR headset and be on a beach somewhere to get some downtime. That is accessibility and for me, a crucial point of what technology should enable today.

By selling the proposition and focusing on bringing value to the masses, it is leveling the playing field for all and that is the right way to do it. This technology should not be reserved exclusively for certain people but opening value to the masses.

Become a CX Network member and gain exclusive access to our upcoming
digital events, industry reports and expert webinars