INTERVIEW

Of course there was no way the young Phil Jordan could have foreseen any part of what he is doing today . January 1 , 1985 , he points out , was the date of the first public phone call made on a mobile phone in the UK . Today there are 86 million connected devices , driving , dictating , controlling and ultimately enhancing people ’ s lives . The world has woken up to digital but a large section of business still doesn ’ t want . I have never spoken to them , get it . Many larger enterprises indulge never had cause to ring them , I can in ‘ digitalwash ’. “ It makes no sense to disguise yourself as a digital business . Customers will quickly see through businesses that put lipstick on the bulldog and fiddle around with their online channel to give the impression that they are a digital company .” A complex service business like Telefónica cannot afford to do this . As customers engage they won ’ t be slow to pick up that the experience is not end-to-end , not real time or not automated . “ Amazon is an excellent example of a digital business . It ’ s super-easy to engage , quick , intuitive , frictionless , painless . Speaking as a consumer , it is all the things I do anything I want to , where I want , on whatever screen I choose .” That kind of experience creates trust , and that level of trust is what he wants Telefónica customers to have . Whilst admiring Amazon , he doesn ’ t make too much of the comparison with the ecommerce giant , which hasn ’ t the complexity , the 90 year history or the large fixed and mobile infrastructure and data centre estate to deal with . However , end-to-end digital is vital to both . Sixty million Telefónica customers in seven countries are already experiencing a tranformed experience , with millions more to follow in 2017 . Pressed for

18 May 2017