Telstra and Pulse (a 30,000-member online IT community) recently surveyed 100 technology decision-makers at Canadian companies to understand their network infrastructure priorities. They uncovered something surprising.
“Most of the answers confirmed our expectations. Many Canadian companies are looking to become more agile, enhance customer experience and tighten security so they can better leverage cloud, data and content delivery networks,” said Kris Schaffer, Country Lead for Canada, Telstra Americas. “Those are all important, of course, but we were surprised how far down the list (in ninth) we saw the building out of global network infrastructure.”
Why does that matter? Well, a company’s competitive edge is directly tied to its digital infrastructure. According to the newest McKinsey Global Survey on digital strategy:
- “The pandemic has fundamentally changed the pace of business, and the companies with superior technology capabilities are winning the race.”
- “Looking toward 2023, most companies will need to build new digital businesses to stay economically viable.”
The Essential Piece
Particularly for companies that are well down the digital road – and may be looking to expand their operations around the world – building momentum will come down to making the right investments in digital infrastructure.
If we see a company’s data, security and ecommerce technologies as the branches of the tree, said Schaffer, then the network infrastructure is the root. “Security, data analytics, and customer experience – and in the Telstra-Pulse survey even phone replacement – may live in business leaders’ minds, but each depends on a robust and trouble-free network. Companies should never just assume that because their network is up and running, that it is running well or efficiently. Quite often this is not the case.”
How can Telstra help you expand? Read: “Telstra in Canada”
In today’s hypercompetitive digital environment, business leaders are understandably fixated on speed and agility – on being able to change quickly to meet ongoing demand, essentially to lead rather than follow.
“This big vision comes from the top,” said Schaffer, “and when you drill down you get to the interpretation of this vision into outcomes and measurable results. However, in the desire to satisfy the customer and get quickly to market, the network infrastructure often gets lost in all the noise. The true focus is that network isn’t a piece but the essential piece.”
As the pandemic recedes, there will be more competition for mission-critical and highly advanced digital environments. “Enter Telstra,” said Schaffer. “Any company with designs on expanding throughout the world – particularly Asia – should look to us as an integral partner for their expansion plans. We have the expertise and the desire to help unlock the future for Canadian companies.”
You Mean Business — So Does Telstra
Telstra’s services are now available in Canada through its upgraded infrastructure connecting Canada to its trans-Pacific subsea cable routes. That means companies that do business in Canada can now benefit from Telstra’s leading global network, which currently carries nearly one-third of all Asia-Pacific internet traffic.
Why Telstra? Here are just a few reasons:
- Enormous and super-diverse subsea cable network – Two thousand points-of-presence in over 200 countries, and more than 400,000 kilometers of subsea cables. Schaffer: “That much cable gets you from earth to the moon, with more than 15,000 kilometers to spare. To say we’re set up is an understatement.”
- Deep local expertise – Telstra has teams of local experts across 11 markets in Asia Pacific. Schaffer: “That gives companies with designs on expanding into Asia and Australia an enormous advantage over competitors.”
- Experience and partnerships – Companies that work with Telstra benefit from the relationships it has with leading global technology providers as well as the strong support it enjoys from local channels and partners.
While Telstra now has a strong presence in Canada, it still has plans to expand.
“Nothing is set in stone yet, but we absolutely want to improve our operations to serve more of Canada’s multinational organizations,” said Schaffer. “This is consistent with our mindset and philosophy to be ambitious, and help our customers do the same.”