OWP liVe Report

30 Survive disruption through innovation, culture and agility

OMAR TOULAN IMD Professor of Strategy and International Management

Stop innovating?Not an option, saidSwisscomCTO/CIOChristoph Aeschlimann.

saidAeschlimann. “This tested the infrastructure, especially bandwidths.” Tech cycles are accelerating in traditional areas like television, but also in contemporary technologies like cloud- computing andAI. Some technologies at Swisscomaremore than 40 years old, making it imperative to re-evaluate their use and necessity.

fromother players. At the same time, new businessmodels likeNetflixwere attacking the company’smarket share. “To innovate in this international context where scale is important for implementing most ideas,” saidAeschlimann, “wemust knowexactlywherewewant to go andwhat wewant to achieve.” As the dominant provider inSwitzerland, Swisscomholds a vast share of the telephony services pie andwas not concerned about losingmarket share in its own backyard. “Swisscomwill always survive in the local market in telephony services, where regulationsmake it uninteresting for big players,” saidAeschlimann. Secure in its base, the company focused on bridging out – but with specific targets in mind.

H O W T O L E A D I N A C R I S I S

Firms today face unprecedented turbulence, but companies likeSwisscom have been successfully dealingwith  disruptions for decades.   In anOWP liVe “CourageousConversation” session, Professor Toulan explored these challengeswithSwisscomCTO/CIO ChristophAeschlimann.   “Don’t wing it in today’s environment,” said Toulan, adding that preparation is important but flexibility is vital.  1. Put safety first via systems Likemany companies, Swisscomput the health and safety of its employees first during the pandemic.

“Don’t wing it in today’s environment."

“Whenwe compare revenues ten years ago to revenues today, four-fifths are now generatedwith products that didn’t exist ten years ago,” saidAeschlimann. “It’s not an option to stop innovating.” 2. Knowwhere you are andwhere you would like to go Operating in a saturatedmarket, Swisscom’s pricingwas under pressure

“During the confinement, 90%of our on-premise staff became home-based,”