How do Telecom Providers Play a Part in Digital Transformation? A Discussion at ITEXPO 2025

Telecom providers are in a position where they play a critical role in supporting and enabling their customers’ digital transformation initiatives. This includes the likes of connectivity and infrastructure as well as services, platforms and expertise. Providers and their partners are well-positioned to continue to drive modernization efforts.

At ITEXPO 2025, part of the #TECHSUPERSHOW, a panel session titled “The Role of Telecom Providers in Digital Transformation” explored the opportunities for telecom providers to support businesses on their digital journeys.

The panel featured moderator Jeff Dworkin, managing director, Cloud Voice Alliance; Hugh Goldstein (News - Alert), director of business development, Ecosmob; Matthew Johns, vice president of sales, Coresite; and Lonnie Maier, managing director, south region, Crown Castle.

Dworkin started off by asking the panels “what does digital transformation mean to you and your company?” Here is how they responded.

“Evolution customers are taking in their own business,” said Maier. “We want them to tell us the pain points and challenges? What are they trying to achieve? How are they evolving their organization in their quest to achieve the goals that they have?”

“Future proofing is a goal,” said Johns. “How are they modernizing their IT and the steps moving toward that? Could mean AI. Could mean various things.”

“It is a very generic phrase,” said Goldstein. “But it is an interesting phrase. It is hard to define. Email all the way to AI is all digital transformation.”

Dworkin the asked the panel what is it about telecom providers that puts us in a good position? With digital transformation is the telecom provider a place to start?

"We are the frontlines of this decision,” said Goldstein. “We provide the building blocks such as CPaaS and cloud solutions.”

Maier added a bit more to that by saying “When we think of the role of telecom providers, it is two-fold. Understanding customer’s current needs is one part – what is the immediate challenge? The second is future-proofing. What are the long-term objectives? We try to really understand those two things to help them solve a problem.

Before we went into a Q&A with the audience, Dworkin asked the panelists where they fit in when some customers just want it done and others want to do it themselves.

“For us, it is important that we have the resources available,” said Johns. “We have folks who can collaborate with customer to meet the requirements that they have.”

“It gets down to understanding what the client is trying to achieve,” said Maier. “Then it is up to us to augment expertise and resources what they need for the project.”

“Our process is to listen to customers and understand what they want, said Goldstein. “Once we understand, we can apply the right resources to achieve it.”