Aneth Guerra, COO, Vodafone Oman, addresses some of the key challenges concerning digital transformation in Oman and provides a female-oriented perspective on the company’s approach as a holistic solutions provider.
How are Vodafone’s digital-native foundation and NEXT-LEVEL solutions empowering businesses in Oman’s digitalized landscape?
Vodafone is at the forefront of transforming Oman’s business landscape with our digital-native foundation and NEXT-LEVEL solutions. Our vision is rooted in creating a connected tech-telco ecosystem that equips businesses to excel in today’s dynamic digital environment. This strategic focus not only supports Oman’s economic diversification goals but also enhances technological advancements crucial for sustained growth.
Through our global partnership with the Vodafone Group, we harness extensive expertise and resources to innovate tailored solutions for Omani businesses. This collaboration enables us to introduce pioneering products and services designed specifically to meet local demands and elevate operational efficiencies. Our commitment to understanding and addressing local demands ensures that our solutions resonate deeply with our customers.
Central to our strategy is our 5G NEXT LEVEL network, which acts as the backbone of our offerings and enables the introduction of advanced technologies. Beyond products, we focus on comprehensive service offerings designed to enhance business operations. For example, our recently launched BLACK for Business postpaid plans are designed to elevate Oman’s business services. These plans are evident in four key service features:
- Our user-friendly self-service portal empowers businesses to manage their mobile communication needs quickly and digitally, providing flexibility and control.
- The hybrid model we adopted allows employees and administrators to customize their services, preventing bill shocks and ensuring cost predictability.
- Addressing an important customer pain-point, we added our popular ‘Take Your Home Tariff Abroad’ feature to our plans, enabling customers to travel while enjoying their packages as if they were in Oman, providing peace of mind and seamless connectivity.
- Last but certainly not least, we offer dedicated account management, via which we offer personalized support tailored to each business's needs, ensuring prompt assistance and expert guidance, regardless of business size.
BLACK for Business is more than just a plan; it represents a significant step forward in our commitment to advancing enterprise telecommunications. By laying the groundwork for future innovations, we are poised to continue transforming the business landscape in Oman. This is just the beginning of our journey. We are dedicated to fulfilling our promise of revolutionizing the industry, driving sustainable growth, and contributing to Oman’s vision of becoming a digitally advanced nation.
How is Vodafone leveraging big data and analytics to drive digital transformation and enhance operational efficiency across sectors in Oman? Are there any particular project(s) that you would like to highlight?
At Vodafone, we harness the power of big data and analytics to drive digital transformation and elevate customer experiences across various sectors in Oman. Our focus extends beyond operational efficiency to delivering a whole new level of service through advanced AI capabilities enabled by big data insights.
We utilize cutting-edge technology to deploy real-time applications and services on a robust cloud architecture. This setup ensures seamless integration and scalability, allowing us to quickly adapt to changing customer needs and enhance service delivery.
Central to our approach is a sophisticated data infrastructure that proactively detects customer issues and provides actionable insights. By analyzing vast amounts of customer data in real-time, we optimize interactions, making them more intuitive and personalized.
Our operational data lake is pivotal in pinpointing technical issues and monitoring network performance, ensuring we maintain high service standards and optimize operational efficiency.
One project that exemplifies our commitment is our proactive customer issue detection system. Powered by advanced analytics, this system identifies potential problems before they impact customers, enabling us to resolve issues swiftly and enhance overall customer satisfaction.
Please outline Vodafone Oman’s innovative cybersecurity initiatives. How have they enhanced the company’s security posture in the MENA region?
Vodafone Oman has taken significant strides in enhancing its cybersecurity position, setting a benchmark in the MENA region with our innovative initiatives. Our focus is on proactive vulnerability management, advanced automation, and strategic resource allocation to ensure the highest level of security.
A cornerstone of our cybersecurity strategy is our unique Bug Bounty Program, the first and only program of its kind in Oman. This program taps into the skills of over 2,000 ethical hackers globally to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities in our systems. By harnessing this collective expertise, we can address potential security issues before they become threats, thereby continuously strengthening our defenses.
Moreover, we have implemented a state-of-the-art, zero-touch Security Operations Center (SOC). This SOC automates many of our security tasks, significantly increasing efficiency and effectiveness. Remarkably, 97% of high-fidelity alerts are now managed automatically, saving over 1,500 hours annually that would otherwise be spent on manual interventions. This automation ensures rapid response to potential threats and frees up our cybersecurity team to focus on strategic initiatives and complex security challenges.
These initiatives reflect Vodafone Oman’s commitment to pioneering cybersecurity practices in the region. By proactively managing vulnerabilities and automating security operations, we not only protect our network and data but also enhance the trust and confidence of our customers and partners.
The need to develop 5G use cases, specifically AI and IoT use cases, at-scale is extremely important in the digitalization journey of Oman. How is Vodafone Oman addressing this opportunity in line with Oman’s 2040 vision?
Oman Vision 2040 is not just a destination; it is a transformative roadmap aimed at unlocking substantial growth across the country and companies like Vodafone Oman have embodied this vision since birth by enabling digitalization, fostering economic growth, and driving the country towards its goals by 2040. Today, we play a crucial role in advancing the development of 5G use cases, particularly in AI and IoT, thanks to our unique digital-native framework that allows us to implement next-generation solutions effectively.
Being born digital gives us a significant advantage in embracing new technologies. We’ve already integrated AI into our network configurations for optimal performance—a process that would require substantial changes for operators with legacy systems. This foundational strength allows us to remain agile and forward-thinking in our approach.
When Oman sought a third telecom operator, the objective was to introduce a game-changer that would fast-track the telecom sector’s progress and align with national goals. Vodafone, with its extensive experience in digital transformation and ownership of Europe’s largest 5G network, was the ideal choice.
Our global prowess and the limitless potential we can bring to Oman’s digital landscape was considered a showstopper at COMEX this year, where we showcased Vodafone’s Safer Transport for Europe Platform (STEP) for enhanced transportation safety and efficiency through real-time data sharing. The MYFARMWEB™ platform demonstrated how data insights optimize farm operations for professionalism, profitability, and sustainability. Our Health Broker solution supports assisted care independence and peace of mind. Collaborating with HTC, we featured digital twin technology for interactive virtual representations of physical systems.
Vodafone Oman’s proactive approach, which leverages global expertise and local insights, positions us at the forefront of Oman’s digital transformation. Our initiatives not only align with but also actively contribute to the realization of Oman Vision 2040, solidifying our role in integrating advanced technologies and enabling Oman to realize its digitally empowered future.
Please provide an outline of Vodafone Oman’s expansion roadmap for reaching new target markets in Oman.
At Vodafone Oman, our short-term strategic focus is on expanding our enterprise services to achieve comprehensive business connectivity across Oman within the next three years. Our vision entails building a robust ecosystem that seamlessly integrates mobility solutions, bulk SMS, MBB, cloud services, IoT, and fixed services. In fact, our recent showcases provided a preview of our upcoming innovations, highlighting cutting-edge solutions tailored to key sectors like agriculture, transport, and health.
