The telecommunications industry has reached a critical inflection point where legacy IT systems can no longer support the demands of an AI-first world. Traditional telco technology approaches are too complex, slow, and fundamentally incompatible with the speed and agility required for modern digital services.
Today I’m speaking with Dr. Lester Thomas, head of new technologies and innovation at Vodafone Digital and IT, and a TM Forum Distinguished Fellow. Lester has driven some of the most ambitious cloud transformation projects in telecom, including Vodafone’s groundbreaking data migration that consolidated servers across multiple countries into a unified cloud platform. We explore Vodafone’s “Composable IT” vision and how the company is transforming its technology stack to be modular, open, and AI-ready.
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Wanna talk AI and public cloud? Telco execs, set up a meeting with our team to learn how to tap the immense business value it can bring.
Dr. Lester Thomas is Head of New Technologies and Innovation and a Distinguished Engineer at Vodafone Digital. A 20-year Vodafone veteran, he leads Vodafone’s Open Digital Architecture strategy, driving innovation in Generative AI and cloud-native technologies. Lester is passionate about telecoms’ role in society and is a strong advocate for open standards and open-source. He has been recognized as a TM Forum Distinguished Fellow for his contribution to the Open Digital Architecture and Open-API initiatives. When not shaping telecom’s future, he enjoys adventurous sports, has a private pilot’s license and also enjoys sailing and other watersports.
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Set up a meeting with our team to learn how to tap the immense business value it can bring.
Vodafone is adopting TM Forum standards and open APIs to enable interoperability across platforms and vendors. This approach supports faster innovation, simplifies integration, and underpins a modular, AI-ready technology foundation, ensuring Vodafone can adapt rapidly to new business models and technologies in the evolving telco landscape.
Cloud-native architectures allow Vodafone to scale services efficiently, deploy new capabilities rapidly, and improve resilience. By embracing cloud-native principles, Vodafone can leverage automation, continuous deployment, and microservices, which are essential for supporting advanced AI and delivering better customer experiences.
AI is central to Vodafone’s transformation, enabling smarter automation, predictive analytics, and enhanced customer service. By building an AI-ready foundation, Vodafone can turn massive network data into actionable insights and new revenue opportunities, driving operational efficiency and innovation.
Modular architectures allow Vodafone to decouple services and applications, making it easier to update, replace, or scale individual components. This flexibility supports faster time-to-market for new features and helps Vodafone stay ahead in a competitive industry by quickly integrating best-of-breed solutions.
Other telcos can learn to prioritize open standards, modular design, and cloud-native practices. Embracing AI and interoperability sets the stage for rapid innovation, lower costs, and a more agile response to market changes, positioning operators for long-term success.
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