Modernising the services of a business means preparing for a future which they can’t yet see. BT Business works with over a million businesses across the UK from the smallest companies to large corporates to enable Digital Transformation. Kerry Small, COO at BT Business, focuses on delivering commercial and operational excellence and driving award-winning Digital Transformation. She discusses how BT keeps ahead of the curve and how it is upgrading its customers onto the networks of the future.
The phrase Digital Transformation is commonplace. What does it mean to modern businesses today?
At its simplest Digital Transformation is about preparing for the future. Businesses know that they constantly need to evolve but that means different things to different people and at different times. The businesses that will benefit the most are those which realise the importance of having the right foundations in place which will allow them to move with the times. We saw the immediate excitement AI generated, but without the right infrastructure, organisations can’t even begin to think about how they want to make the most of it. The same applies for all new tech.
What’s the biggest challenge BT faces with Digital Transformation?
One challenge we have faced is the proliferation of services. We’ve turned our focus to making it easier to work with us by reducing the number of products in our portfolio by more than half and focusing on what our customers really need. Our own organisational and network modernisation has given us the lessons we need to take to customers and support them through this evolution.
Central to that is making sure our customers know what their options are and why they should be modernising their services. That means helping them prepare for a future they can’t yet see. We work with over a million businesses across the UK from the smallest companies to large corporates. Their reasons may be very different, but Digital Transformation is essential to the futures of them all. Our challenge is enabling them to achieve that.
Technology is advancing at lightning speed. How does BT keep ahead of the curve?
Keeping pace with change is business critical, no matter if you are a start-up or a multi-national organisation. It is a fascinating time to work in tech with more data, more technology and more devices helping our businesses run effectively by incorporating new insights. I have always found the trick to staying ahead of the curve is seeing change as a catalyst and use it to reassess where we are going and find better ways forward.
That’s where digital connectivity comes in. Legacy infrastructure is no longer fit for the future so investing in new networks is essential for us to make sure our customers are also able to keep up with this rate of change.
Which area of your business is currently growing the most?
A major area of growth for us is in upgrading our customers onto the networks of the future. Newer infrastructure like fibre and 5G are the future of business services. It’s integral that we enable our customers to make this switch.
We also know that businesses are increasingly focused on the sustainability and security of their services. Moving customers to digital landlines is expected to reduce the UK’s energy consumption by 90GWh by the end of 2025. Closing our 3G network has already saved enough energy to charge nearly one billion smartphones. And each of these networks has security inbuilt from the outset, so the move is not just about providing better connectivity.
What are businesses looking for from their connectivity services?
Businesses have a lot of unknowns to deal with and they might not even know what connectivity they need. Do they have sufficient network capacity and compute power to thrive? Are their networks secure to meet rising cyberthreats? Do their teams have the skills to move with the tech landscape? Will a greater digital footprint mean a greater carbon footprint?
Ultimately these questions can be pegged to three business pillars: being connected, being secure, being sustainable. Connectivity ensures your business keeps running – enabling sales, customer experience, operations. Security keeps the hackers at bay. And sustainability is an increasingly important area for customers, especially with changing regulations.
Connectivity underpins this all even if businesses don’t think about it. Whether they need to run smart sensors, monitor incoming and outgoing deliveries, deliver tech for teachers or run payment machines at an outdoor market, everything relies on the right connectivity. Our job is to listen to what outcomes customers want and help them get the products and services that will enable that.
What tech trends do you see emerging in 2025?
It may seem an obvious answer but AI. Not so much the implementation of the technology, but the knock-on impact it will have for businesses. Many won’t be aware of the network foundations they need so it will spawn a race for the right connectivity to seize its opportunities. Others will need to work out how to balance adoption of AI in an increasingly regulated sustainability environment and a world where cyberthreats are becoming more sophisticated.
It will also create new opportunities. Cyberattackers will make use of AI, but businesses will also be able to use the technology to support their own cybersecurity training through things like no-code/low-code security tools. Modernisation is the key to unlocking it all.
How are you future-proofing technology?
At BT, we’re future-proofing by doubling down on our core platforms. This means moving away from legacy infrastructure to the future-fit networks of tomorrow. We’re building a new international network called Global Fabric which will help our customers innovate at pace. The closure of legacy infrastructure like our 3G network and the copper landline network is another step on the journey from old to new.
Connectivity is the beating heart of technology. Our job is to make sure our customers are able to access the infrastructure, from fibre to 5G, which will allow them to future-proof their own operations.
Why did you sign up to the government’s charter for telecoms companies providing services to Critical National Infrastructure?
We signed up to the government’s charter to set in stone our commitment to putting safeguards in place as we support our most crucial sectors to move away from the aging Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN).
We know that the network is coming to the end of its life, is increasingly prone to faults and difficult to maintain. Ofcom’s data shows that the number of significant resilience incidents on the PSTN increased by 45% last year, so it’s increasingly important that sectors like healthcare, water, energy and emergency services move away from the network.
At the same time we understand our role in making sure this transition takes place smoothly and safely to keep our most crucial services functioning. We were pleased to see the charter set out key safeguards which will make sure the telecoms industry works alongside Critical National Infrastructure companies to make the switch.
We are committed to supporting customers to make this essential upgrade and signing the charter was another way for us to cement that commitment.
Tell me more about your career path.
My career has been a journey of modernising and transforming the business landscape in the UK and global telco space, in both consumer and business roles. Throughout my career, I have always been driven by a passion for solving customer problems, delivering commercial and operational excellence and spearheading award-winning global digital transformations. This has involved launching various innovative products and propositions that make a significant difference for our customers, while also ensuring that our internal teams are well-equipped to deliver the best outcomes.
After dedicating 20 years to Vodafone, where my journey culminated as the Global VP Commercial and Digital Sales – Connectivity, Cloud and IoT, I transitioned to BT Business nearly two years ago to take on the role of Chief Operating Officer.
Away from BT, I am deeply committed to my role as a non-executive director of Guide Dogs for the Blind. This cause is particularly close to my heart, as I became involved after my mother was diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition. Witnessing the profound impact that guide dogs have on the lives of service users has been incredibly rewarding, and it is an honour to contribute to such a meaningful organisation. Balancing this role alongside my responsibilities at BT can be challenging, but it also provides valuable perspective on the importance of our work. Just as it takes years to train a guide dog, the efforts we put into BT today are all about creating a better tomorrow.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
“Change is difficult, but how you manage change will ultimately determine its impact.” This couldn’t be more relevant for me right now. At BT, we’re not just helping our customers transform their operations; we’re also on our own thrilling modernisation journey. It’s all about getting everyone on board and excited about the process. For our teams, it’s about understanding how change and continuous learning will empower us to serve our customers even better. For our customers, it’s about seeing how these changes will lead to fantastic business outcomes in the future. The key to all of this? Mastering the art of managing change and embracing opportunities to learn and grow.
