To say that telecommunications has been undergoing a seismic shift, with the fiber optic revolution redefining what it means to be connected, is likely an understatement. Deutsche Telekom, a veritable titan in the Euro telco industry, has been at the forefront of this transformation, leveraging the power of Camunda to orchestrate complex processes, enhance customer experiences, and rapidly respond to market demands.
In their 2024 presentation at CamundaCon Berlin, Oliver Webersberger, business owner for order fulfillment at Deutsche Telekom, discussed how the strategic use of process orchestration technology has notably accelerated their time to market and heightened their responsiveness to customer input.
Deutsche Telekom is not just adapting to a new era; they are pioneering it. By building a foundation of process orchestration with Camunda, they are redefining how the telecom industry moves forward and setting standards for operational excellence and customer-centric innovation.
The fiber rollout challenge
With 15 years of experience at Deutsche Telekom, Webersberger shares his insights into the company’s ambitious project—the fiber rollout across Germany. This initiative is not just an upgrade; it’s about “elevating digital foundations,” according to Webersberger, and ensuring the telecom giant remains at the forefront of digital transformation.
Fiber-optic technology offers transformative benefits for both private and business customers. It delivers blazing-fast internet speeds, enhanced reliability, and increased bandwidth for improved performance across numerous devices and applications. For businesses, it also promises scalable, secure, and future-proof communication solutions that boost productivity and ensure readiness for technological advancements.
This shift to fiber-optics is set to revolutionize digital access and service utilization, preparing users for the demands of modern and future technologies, and Deutsche Telekom is leading the field.
Deutsche Telekom‘s journey has been shaped by the evolution of telecommunication technology, from ISDN to DSL broadband, and now to gigabit technology.
However, user experience is more than just having a faster network; it’s about the user journey, optimal customer satisfaction with the service experience, and providing the path of least resistance to sales and service opportunities.
A tool for digital transformation
Camunda has become a pivotal tool in orchestrating Deutsche Telekom’s processes, especially the fiber activation process—”the most exciting moment of the customer journey,” as Webersberger puts it.
Camunda helps Deutsche Telekom automate, model, and monitor its processes. It’s designed to help organizations streamline their operations by coordinating the different parts of a business process, including both automated and manual processes. BPMN and DMN provide visual models of both processes and decisions. Deutsche Telekom uses Camunda Form Builder to quickly design custom UIs. Optimize analytics and reporting help them identify errors and bottlenecks in processes.
Process orchestration and customer empowerment
Camunda’s process orchestration engine has “enabled Deutsche Telekom to hand over control of the fiber activation process to customers,” Webersberger says. This empowerment allows customers to initiate the service conveniently, in their own time and at their own pace, removing dependencies on technicians and physical infrastructure changes.
Using an agile methodology, Deutsche Telekom started with a minimal viable product and scaled it up using the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). This approach involved multiple agile release trains and scrum teams dedicated to ensuring the smooth operation of the fiber ordering, installation, and activation processes.
Real-world results and learning cycles
After implementing the fiber activation process, Deutsche Telekom observed high cycling times—the duration from the start of the fiber activation process until its completion, including the time customers take to initiate the activation, the system’s orchestration of network provisioning, and the final activation of services.
Reducing cycle times means customers can enjoy their fiber-optic services faster, and the company can more quickly realize revenue from new activations. By utilizing Camunda to support immediate activation and send gentle reminders, they significantly reduced median cycling times by about 35%, further demonstrating the power of process review and continuous improvement and leading to a more efficient operation and improved customer satisfaction.
Expanding business opportunities
Camunda has further been instrumental in streamlining Deutsche Telekom’s integration with various partnership networks, ensuring a cohesive product experience across diverse infrastructures.
By establishing a standardized interface for system interactions, the company has maintained consistency in customer experience despite the different technologies used by each partner. This strategy of “process encapsulation” effectively contains the complexity of these integrations, preventing any negative impact on the customer journey and facilitating seamless service delivery.
As a result, Deutsche Telekom has embraced new business models and collaborative ventures while sustaining operational efficiency and a uniform process flow.
Webersberger notes that some key takeaways for process orchestration have been:
- Strategic enablement: Camunda has been instrumental in helping Deutsche Telekom fulfill its strategic goals and capitalize on business opportunities.
- Enhancing user experience: Camunda’s rapid process development and review capability has propelled Deutsche Telekom to new levels of customer satisfaction.
- Facilitating collaboration: Through process orchestration, Deutsche Telekom has effectively managed partnerships and more easily embraced new collaboration models.
Looking ahead: Deutsche Telekom’s commitment to connectivity
In his CamundaCon presentation, available on demand, Webersberger discusses in depth how Camunda process orchestration has been a keystone in Deutsche Telekom’s agile journey, significantly raising the company’s ability to meet future demands.
As Webersberger eloquently states, “We won’t stop until everybody’s connected,” highlighting Deutsche Telekom’s ongoing commitment to bridging the digital divide with the help of innovative process orchestration tools and agile methodologies.
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