Telcos around the world are signing strategic deals with hyperscalers, setting big goals for public cloud transformation, and finding ways to cross the finish line. A great example is TELUS, which signed a 10-year strategic agreement with Google Cloud and is on a path to become a cloud-native organization. 

For this episode, I talk with Hesham Fahmy, chief information officer at TELUS, about how the telecom built momentum for its cloud journey, what happened along the way, and what it learned that other telcos should know. Hit play to hear our conversation about: 

• TELUS’ plan to move 80% of workloads to the cloud by 2025 [03:56];
• Where and how it decided to start its move [06:16];
• How TELUS brought its team along on its public cloud journey [08:42].
• Refactoring applications for the public cloud [12:18].

Listen to the episode by clicking play above or subscribe through your favorite podcast platform. You can find the transcript for this episode here. 

Links and Resources

• Read the announcement of TELUS’ 10-year strategic alliance with Google Cloud.
• Hear about another digital transformation in episode 52, featuring Nathan Bell, former chief digital officer of M1 Singapore, and now digital practice partner at Kearney.
• Listen to my Telco in 20 conversation with change-management guru Jim Abolt about driving workplace transformation.
• Read my blog about the importance of setting Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs). Don’t forget to publicize and celebrate the wins to align your team and build momentum towards the cloud.
• Check out Hesham’s helmet-cam footage, captured while he was racing his motorcycle, and then find out what makes Turn 1 at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas so special.
• Once you get moving to the cloud, you’ll want to keep your trains running smoothly. Learn how Tokyo runs one of the world’s best subway systems to get ideas on how to keep your organization on track.

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This week’s guest 
About Hesham Fahmy

As Chief Information Officer at TELUS, Hesham Fahmy leads the team responsible for spearheading TELUS’ transformation to a fully-digital, software-centric and cloud-enabled organization. The CIO team brings humanized, digital-first experiences to life for customers, and champions technology to improve capabilities, efficiency and scalability across all current and future lines of business. With a bachelor of computer engineering from McMaster University and a master of software engineering from the University of Toronto, Hesham has innovated software products and solutions for 25 years, including 19 in senior leadership roles. He has a track record of launching disruptive products and platforms in retail, IoT, fintech and development tooling.

Podcast Credits

• Executive Producer and Host: Danielle Royston, TelcoDR
• Senior Producer: Lindsay Grubb, TillCo Media
• Editor/Marketing: Alisa Jenkins, Springboard Marketing
• Audio Editing: Andrew Condell
• Associate Producer: Kriselda Dionisio
• Music: Dyami Wilson