Software
HCLTech, in partnership with Mobile World Live, unveiled findings from its Telecom Pulse Survey Report on Tuesday, revealing an execution gap between telecom leaders' AI ambitions and their readiness to deploy AI-native, autonomous and cloud-native services at scale, the company said.
The survey drew on insights from nearly 200 senior executives across network operators, MVNOs, communication service providers and OEMs worldwide, according to HCLTech. While 60% of telecom leaders see AI as a key driver of future revenue, only 25% believe their organizations are ready to operationalize AI at scale, the survey found, a gap the company said is preventing the shift from traditional telco to AI-native "TechCo." Persistent challenges around legacy infrastructure, cloud-native modernization and skills continue to slow the industry's progress toward an AI-driven future, according to the report.
The findings also point to mounting pressure on traditional telecom business models. Nearly 70% of respondents agree that connectivity services are increasingly commoditized, HCLTech said, reinforcing the need for differentiated digital services and platform-led growth. Innovation velocity remains constrained despite that pressure, according to the survey, with nearly 80% of respondents launching fewer than five new digital products or services in the past year, a finding HCLTech said points to ongoing challenges in product engineering and time-to-market acceleration.
Ecosystem collaboration emerged as a critical enabler in the findings, with nearly half of telecom leaders citing partnerships with hyperscalers, AI platform providers and software vendors as essential to accelerating innovation and monetization, according to HCLTech. Despite that shift toward partnership-led growth, the company said success metrics remain heavily skewed toward cost optimization, with operational efficiency continuing to dominate how AI and digital transformation outcomes are measured.
Anil Ganjoo, chief growth officer and global head of telecom, media and technology at HCLTech, said the findings reflect a broader shift underway in the industry. "The telecom industry is at a defining moment as AI transforms networks into intelligent, platform-driven ecosystems and this research recognizes that connectivity alone is no longer sufficient to sustain growth," he said. He added that HCLTech's approach is designed to help telcos "accelerate the shift to become TechCos, further scaling innovation and embracing AI-native and autonomous operations."
The survey drew on insights from nearly 200 senior executives across network operators, MVNOs, communication service providers and OEMs worldwide, according to HCLTech. While 60% of telecom leaders see AI as a key driver of future revenue, only 25% believe their organizations are ready to operationalize AI at scale, the survey found, a gap the company said is preventing the shift from traditional telco to AI-native "TechCo." Persistent challenges around legacy infrastructure, cloud-native modernization and skills continue to slow the industry's progress toward an AI-driven future, according to the report.
The findings also point to mounting pressure on traditional telecom business models. Nearly 70% of respondents agree that connectivity services are increasingly commoditized, HCLTech said, reinforcing the need for differentiated digital services and platform-led growth. Innovation velocity remains constrained despite that pressure, according to the survey, with nearly 80% of respondents launching fewer than five new digital products or services in the past year, a finding HCLTech said points to ongoing challenges in product engineering and time-to-market acceleration.
Ecosystem collaboration emerged as a critical enabler in the findings, with nearly half of telecom leaders citing partnerships with hyperscalers, AI platform providers and software vendors as essential to accelerating innovation and monetization, according to HCLTech. Despite that shift toward partnership-led growth, the company said success metrics remain heavily skewed toward cost optimization, with operational efficiency continuing to dominate how AI and digital transformation outcomes are measured.
Anil Ganjoo, chief growth officer and global head of telecom, media and technology at HCLTech, said the findings reflect a broader shift underway in the industry. "The telecom industry is at a defining moment as AI transforms networks into intelligent, platform-driven ecosystems and this research recognizes that connectivity alone is no longer sufficient to sustain growth," he said. He added that HCLTech's approach is designed to help telcos "accelerate the shift to become TechCos, further scaling innovation and embracing AI-native and autonomous operations."
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