CXO INSIGHT
HYPEROPTIC IS PIONEERING THE SHIFT TO GIGABIT BRITAIN , SHAKING UP THE BROADBAND SECTOR BY SETTING AN INDUSTRY BENCHMARK IN HOW BROADBAND SHOULD BE DELIVERED TO THE HOME .
The philosophy that I have developed throughout my career is that you need to keep moving forward ; I call it ‘ Discuss , decide , do .’ The worst decision is no decision . Measured and managed risk is part of success ; the key is to keep learning and progressing .
Tell us about your market
The UK currently has one of the lowest full fibre deployments in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development , with around 18 % coverage . The Government has pledged that it wants 85 % of the UK to have access to a gigabit-capable connection by 2025 . Full fibre infrastructure is a fundamental foundation to build a modern economy based around the Internet . It ’ s also essential to enable people to connect the next generation of Internet services that depend on high-speed Internet ( like e-health applications , home enterprise , driverless cars , virtual reality etc .). Hyperoptic is pioneering the shift to Gigabit Britain , shaking up the broadband sector by setting an industry benchmark in how broadband should be delivered to the home .
The market incumbents are now both following our lead – both Virgin Media and BT have pledged to invest and roll out full fibre programmes . However , whereas they are just getting started , our services are already available across 43 cities and towns across the UK – and this is growing all the time .
How do you equip your staff with skills and knowledge ?
As an industry , the biggest issue we face is the shift from an infrastructure that used to be powered by big classical switches , to software defined networking . This has meant that the roles and skillsets of the people that work within the industry has fundamentally changed ; today you need a progressive skillset that is aligned across IT and telecoms . New principles are being created and changed at a fast rate , and we all need to keep pace – whether you are working for an operator or a vendor .
For my division , I passionately believe in the learn-by-doing approach . Obviously , you need people with domain experience and certain skills , but in order for them to grow and develop they need to be able to do it on the job by testing cutting edge technologies and collaborating with our network partners .
How do you work with other executives within the C-suite to make sure your voice is heard ?
All the C-suite have been in situ for a couple of years , so we know each other really well and have developed a very positive working relationship . We all know each other ’ s strengths and value a transparent and collaborative style of communication .
How do you ensure different teams in your organisation work together ?
We want technology to make things more easy or efficient for the people that have to work with it . That ’ s why we always take care to manage projects in a transparent and measurable way . The fact is that we live in a world where things are becoming more complex – IT has hugely evolved over 20 years . So , the onus is on us to keep things simple when working with company divisions and key stakeholders , so we can give them the right support at the right time . x
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