Adopt a future-back approach, focussing on business-centric solutions – EY's Joongshik Wang

He highlights the need for telecoms to balance innovation with financial health, using technologies to drive growth.

Telecom operators are facing disruptions from hyperscalers whilst being presented with opportunities from emerging technologies. As they evolve, it urges companies to balance innovation with financial sustainability, enhance customer experience, and seize new B2B market prospects.

Offering valuable insights is Joongshik Wang, Partner at EY. He has over 25 years of experience in strategy and M&A consulting across Southeast Asia, China, and Korea. Based in Singapore, he leads a team of over 1,000 professionals at EY-Parthenon Asia-Pacific, a leading strategy house known for large-scale commercial transformations and transactions. He is a member of the EY Asia-Pacific Strategy and Transactions Executive Team and the EY-Parthenon Global Leadership Team.  

Joongshik also heads the Asia-Pacific telecommunications practice and has a proven track record in spearheading commercial transformation, cost optimisation, operational efficiency, and strategic growth within the TMT sector. He is also a seasoned M&A advisor, where he has assessed synergies, conducted due diligence, and managed post-merger integrations and divestitures for numerous transformative TMT deals, including digital infrastructure such as data centres.

In a recent interview, Joongshik, as a judge at the Asian Telecom Awards 2025, discussed how telecom companies can navigate disruption, capitalise on emerging technologies like AI and 5G, and enhance customer experience whilst ensuring a strong financial performance.

In your role supporting clients through digital transformations, what do you see as the most significant disruptions affecting the telecom sector today? How are companies responding to these changes?

Telecommunications (telecom) operators are facing significant disruption from cloud native hyperscalers. In the EY 2024 Global Telecommunications Leader Study, 76% of respondents perceive hyperscalers as a real threat in the next five years.

Hyperscalers are well-positioned to challenge traditional telecom operators as they can easily move up the stack, from Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) to Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS). They also possess the technical expertise, talent, and scale to create highly scalable cloud systems, as well as dedicated teams in place who understand the complex regulatory requirements related to data privacy and data compliance.

In response, telecom operators are adopting various strategies. Some are responding to the disruption by developing their own platform that integrates 5G networks, edge computing, cloud services and management tools, to become the orchestrator. Others are forming partnerships with hyperscalers to leverage their strengths. Additionally, operators are also deploying defensive strategies by modernising their networks and IT stack with virtualisation and cloud-native solutions. This transformation enables them to realise the benefits of a telco cloud to offer new and innovative services.

With advancements in technologies like AI, IoT, and 5G, what are some of the biggest opportunities you foresee for telecom companies to enhance customer experience and improve operational efficiencies?

The convergence of artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and 5G can reshape the way the industry operates – from operational efficiencies, adoption of next generation technologies, as well as the enablement of new business models and commercial transformation.

Taking network operations as an example, we have witnessed telecom operators optimise their network to lower capital and operational expenses through AI-driven automation, intelligent resource optimisation, and improvements in energy efficiency – all of which have a direct impact to a company’s bottom line.

Combining these operational efficiencies with investments and improvements in network infrastructure also makes operations more reliable and secure. This can open doors to new business opportunities where telecom operators can develop products and services for other businesses, such as offering services through application programming interfaces (APIs) or creating a network-as-a-service (NaaS) model to create revenue impact.

In the area of customer experience, AI has emerged as a key catalyst to drive operational efficiencies in customer contact centre, at the same time delivering prompt and personalised customer engagement. We see opportunities to take a step further to use AI and analytics to lower customer churn through predictive analytics and personalised customer experiences to drive revenue impact.

How can telecom companies better leverage digital tools and platforms to enhance their engagement with customers, and what role does personalisation play in this?

From a business-to-consumer perspective (B2C), a common pain point for telecom operators is the lack of a holistic view of their customers. Existing data is product-focussed and is scattered across different systems and departments. This approach prioritises metrics like sales without integrating a broader understanding of customers’ needs, preferences, and interactions across different touchpoints.

A unified data platform can help operators measure and analyse customer lifetime value to gain a comprehensive view of purchase behaviours and improve marketing campaigns and customer service strategies. Combined with appropriate digital tools such as chatbots and targeted digital advertisements, they can deliver more personalised communications and tailored recommendations. Additionally, from an enterprise perspective (B2B), network and multi-cloud orchestrator platforms are powerful tools. These platforms allow telecom operators to manage and optimise IT resources across different cloud environments seamlessly, supporting the scaling of operations quickly and with agility to meet evolving market conditions and customer demands.

Additionally, some of these platforms can enable near real-time network slicing that facilitates rapid scaling and deployments for specific use cases like IoT, edge computing, or video analytics, to name a few. By offering these capabilities, telecom operators can enhance cross-selling opportunities with industry players and position themselves as a comprehensive solutions provider to their clients.

How do you advise companies to strike a balance between investing in cutting-edge technologies and ensuring strong financial performance?

Investing in cutting-edge technologies can be expensive, so it is crucial to develop a clear business case and balance these investments with financial prudence. The EY 2024 Q3 CEO Outlook Pulse Survey for the telecom sector reflects this reality, indicating that whilst emerging technologies, including AI, are seen as a top investment priority, only a third of respondents say they have a bold investment strategy in place.

We often advise clients to adopt a "future-back" approach – focussing on business-centric solutions rather than technology-led initiatives. Technology investments should align with the company's strategic business objectives and long-term vision. Strategic prioritisation is essential, which is where the EY.ai Value Accelerator comes into play. This approach guides clients to identify value-based use cases, conduct a thorough assessment of internal capabilities, and analyse the cost of execution. A cost-benefit analysis that considers the impact on EBITDA margins ensures investments are both strategic and financially sound.

Telecom operators should also look into partnerships with emerging technology companies to share risks and tap into their expertise.

Looking ahead, what major trends do you believe will reshape the telecom industry in the coming years? How should companies position themselves to capitalise on these trends?

Telecom operators are actively deploying various strategies to enhance their B2C market share, yet the B2B segment remains a vital revenue driver. As enterprise customers become increasingly sophisticated, many are turning to public hyperscalers for solutions. However, with the growing trend of hybrid cloud adoption and data security concerns, these customers are also exploring private cloud options. This shift presents an opportunity for operators to capture market share from hyperscalers.

To succeed in this landscape, they must focus on developing their data centre platform capabilities to effectively manage AI data centre workloads. Modernising IT and connectivity service offerings is essential to expand their B2B business. This includes providing comprehensive end-to-end IT solutions that span across the stack from IaaS to PaaS and SaaS.

A robust IaaS foundation is crucial, serving as the core of telecom operations and providing stable revenue streams. Telecom operators should leverage their AI data centres to handle high compute workloads and facilitate efficient data transfer, enabling the delivery of innovative AI-powered services to their customers. Additionally, possessing systems integration expertise is important for offering vertical use cases, which in turn allows operators to provide valuable services and infrastructure to their end customers.

As a judge at the upcoming Asian Telecom Awards, what are the key criteria you will be focussing on when evaluating telecom companies?

I prioritise these factors:

The ways in which telecom operators are harnessing AI to drive operational efficiencies and elevate customer experience. Emerging technologies like AI bring with them increased cyber risks, so those that prioritise effective digital governance and invest in advanced security technologies to mitigate these risks for their customers scores a win in my book.

The strategies operators are adopting to modernise their IT infrastructure and develop capabilities for new technologies, particularly as they undergo transformation into tech companies.

The strategy they adopt when it comes to diversifying and innovating B2B product offerings.