'Digital enabling environment essential for customer support' an interview with Faisal Sattar, Vice President-Jazz Business Services Division

Having joined in January 2017, Faisal leads the Business Services Division (BSD), which is responsible for all Business to Business relationships within Jazz. Before joining Jazz, Faisal was serving as the CEO of the Universal Service Fund Company (November 2013 - November 2016), where he was tasked with the identification, development and implementation of telecommunication infrastructure projects in the underserved and un-served areas. Prior to this he was the chief technology officer (CTO) at Wateen Telecom for three years.
Faisal has over 22 years of experience of Strategic Planning, Business Development, and Program Management along with in-depth technical experience of Network Planning, Roll-out & Operations. He has a bachelor's in electrical engineering, and an MBA from Cornell University - S.C Johnson Graduate School of Management.
Following are the edited excerpts of BR Research's recent conversation with Mr. Faisal.
BR Research: The past several years have been tough for the mobile operators with their revenues and cash flows falling. What are the mobile operators doing wrong? What's your recipe for telecom companies to alleviate the squeeze on margins and win in the digital revolution?
Faisal Sattar: It is slightly different in Pakistan. While the global trends may indicate a decline, the same is not fully true about Pakistan, where we are still seeing year on year organic growth, especially considering the tele density as an indicator. In fact, our parent group, Veon, considers Jazz as a significant growth driver with new verticals such as Mobile Financial Services acting as the main pillar of growth. Moreover, the B2B segment is leading with a double-digit growth within Jazz, made possible by delivering customised solutions to business customers.
BRR: How important is digitisation in customer support? What are your plans in this domain?
FS: Extremely important! Today, we cannot even talk about customer support without talking about a digital enabling environment. It is becoming easier and easier to deliver highly personalised and transparent customer support services through digital means like apps and chatbots. This year alone, we have initiated a number of complex projects towards this goal and are rapidly moving towards a digitally enabled customer support model. Early next year, we will be introducing an industry first B2B customer account management web application.
BRR: What exactly is the mandate of the Jazz Business Services Division, and what is the corporate strategy to fulfill that mandate?
FS: Jazz Business provides Fixed and Mobility services to business customers from very basic connectivity to completely customised multiplatform solutions. So the prime focus of this division is to provide tailored services and solutions to organisations and businesses, through dedicated product development, sales and support teams. The sales teams are further segmented into large accounts (corporate), enterprises (small, medium and SOHO), business to government, and carrier & wholesales teams - all devoted to providing top-notch services to the largest B2B portfolio in the mobile industry.
Of course, since our customers are companies, large or small, private or public, our servicing is tailored to suit the particular needs of our customers. We have highly personalised and dedicated account management and 24/7 priority business helpline, supported by solution design and delivery teams and partnerships with industry leading companies such as Microsoft & Huawei enabling us to provide customised solutions to our customers. I am very proud to say that as of today, Jazz business offers the widest portfolio of B2B services in Pakistan and we are constantly expanding our portfolio as we bring more innovative services into the mix.
BRR: What are the key services/products offered by BSD and who are the major clients?
FS: We have a very diverse group of business customers in multiple industries. Their needs are as varied. Our customers include almost all major financial institutions who we provide mobile and fixed branch connectivity solutions; big pharmaceutical companies who use our Field Forms Mobility Management solutions to manage their field force of medical staff. We also have a significant number of customers in the logistics industry that we offer M2M (machine to machine) tracking and Field Forms Management Solutions for mobility; and in the security industry we offer mobile financial services based payroll solutions. We even have large public sector concerns as our customers who we provide fixed and mobile connectivity services, and a major chunk of SMEs who we offer mobile connectivity and mobile advertising services.
BRR: How much share does this division have in the corporate top-line? How has been the trend like? What is the average growth rate for last five years?
FS: By offering a unique value to the business customers, we have been able to add consistent double-digit growth to the top-line since the last 5 years, contributing to the over-all growth of the company. I can tell you that because of our positive performance, we have become a vital segment in Jazz and its ambitions.
BRR: Please comment on the service expectations of major B2B clients and how prepared is the telecom industry to cater to them?
FS: The service expectations of our clients have shaped us as a focused and a very well defined B2B segment with a team of over 300 people. We fulfill our client's expectations through nationwide presence of dedicated account managers for servicing, and by having focused teams for solution design, delivery, and support. This niche specialisation differentiates us from the competition and puts us ahead of the industry, making us the clear market leaders.
BRR: Who is your main competitor in this segment?
FS: Although all telecom operators provide business services to a varying degree, but none has a holistic focused approach like Jazz with its dedicated Business Services team. We are the clear market leader for mobile services and have a significant market share in the fixed services in the B2B segment.
BRR: How can BSD help Jazz evolve its business model in the age of near-ubiquitous connectivity?
FS: This can be done by bringing more solutions that serve the needs of business customers, tailor made to fit each companies' unique requirements. For example, recently we successfully delivered a custom data network to one of the biggest global oil marketing companies operating in the country and thus solved their need of connecting their physical infrastructure across the country.