Building Networks Ready for Change

Jorge Fernandes serves as Group Chief Technology Officer at Singtel, where he oversees technology strategy, network evolution and infrastructure priorities across one of Asia-Pacific’s largest telecommunications groups. His career spans leadership roles across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, including senior positions at Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom. His work consistently centers on preparing large communications networks for changing customer demands and emerging technologies. Managing Technology Beyond the Network The scope of responsibility for telecommunications technology leaders is expanding. The performance of the network still matters, but customers' expectations are increasingly driven by cloud technology, digitization, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. This is where Fernandes comes into play. His duties are not only about ensuring that everything is connected. They consist of assessing how technology will affect the future needs of services while taking into account costs, resilience and timeliness. It is rare that decisions can be made in silos in telecommunications companies. Even changes in a network structure can have an impact on customer relations, enterprise solutions and capital expenditure in different markets. The job that Fernandes does requires thinking ahead about the impact of technology choices, which might become clear only after several years. This approach to the problem has been growing more and more important as the telecommunications industry examines how to use new technologies in its existing environment. Turning Infrastructure Into Business Capability Discussions about technology tend to revolve around the rollout of hardware and the application of software. However, it is important to ensure the relevance of the infrastructure as business needs change over time. In this regard, it is interesting to note Fernandes' public advocacy for software-defined network technologies, automation, and cloud-based systems. These reflect a concerted effort on his part to push telecoms technology towards solutions that allow for agility. Indeed, the impact of such efforts is made clearer by taking into consideration the extent of his responsibilities. Serving millions of clients and enterprise clients necessitates the need for technology that is reliable while still providing leeway for additional services.