· Creates and strengthens Vodafone Technology - a single pan-European tech team and new structured Technical Career Path.
· Tech team driving Vodafone's transformation into a new generation connectivity and digital services provider at scale across
· Investment of around
Vodafone today unveiled plans to add nearly 7,000 software engineers to its expanding European-wide technical workforce by 2025, through a combination of recruitment, re-skilling existing employees and insourcing.
The move is part of Vodafone's increased investment to meet surging demand for digital connectivity, which is growing by up to 50% every year, and has been accelerated by the pandemic. By bringing more software skills in-house, Vodafone is driving forward its strategy to transform from a traditional telecommunications company to a new generation connectivity and digital services provider of scale across
Expanding its software capabilities will allow Vodafone to build differentiated products and services at lower cost and own the intellectual property (IP) rather than sourcing them through suppliers. Insourcing expertise generates savings of 20%, on average, for Vodafone.
Vodafone is also combining the advantage of its geographical scale with the adoption of leading software practices, and the creation of digital skills hubs across
The new intake of software engineers will complement the existing 9,000 employees already working in this area. They join Vodafone Technology, the new platform-focused function within Vodafone that unites all European tech employees, as well as its international shared services division. Together, they will develop new Internet of things (IoT) products, smart network features, digital & IT, and cyber security services across
By 2025, more than 50% of all employees within Vodafone Technology will work in software engineering.
Software engineers at Vodafone will benefit from the company's new technical career path, designed to recognise and develop technology experts into senior roles within Vodafone. They will be given the freedom to experiment and invent new services using cloud native digital architecture which will be made available to 300 million mobile customers, 28 million fixed broadband and 22 million TV customers via platforms built by Vodafone Technology.
With the springboard of a major investment of
Note to Editors
Vodafone Technology's Tech 2025 strategy is committed to:
· Building in-house new, scaled platforms. Vodafone is building new platforms by drawing on the strength of its own IoT platform, which can be scaled to support one billion devices in 180 markets and handle 1.7 billion API calls or sessions per month. In
For example, Vodafone Digital Asset Broker (DAB) is an innovative platform powered by blockchain which securely authenticates and links IoT devices. A new mobility cloud platform is providing motorists, highway agencies and emergency services with instant information to improve road safety.
Also, using the 'smart layer' in its network, Vodafone is developing new adjacent platforms beyond core fixed and mobile connectivity. Called Network as a Platform (NaaP), it will spur many new personalised services, including providing consumers with a broadband speed boost.
· Creating and launching new products and services 50% faster. In addition to launching products much faster, Vodafone is also making the common API's available through a single, global catalogue. This will provide third party developers and global tech partners with easy access to a standardised 'toolkit' to build adjacent services and makes Vodafone a partner of choice across
Through the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, Vodafone can rapidly introduce personalised loyalty rewards via its global My Vodafone App. Last year, Vodafone increased the number of digital software releases to 1500 from 650 in the
· Establishing Europe as a gigabit broadband leader. Vodafone is focused on combining standalone 5G (core and radio 5G networks), high band spectrum for 5G use only and Massive MIMO radio antennae to increase capacity. Vodafone was the first company to launch standalone 5G in
Vodafone will also extend fixed gigabit connectivity directly to more than 51 million homes across
Fixing 80% of network faults automatically. By moving 80% of its IT and network to the cloud, faults are fixed quicker and often before they impact the customer. Vodafone is using AI and machine learning to predict issues and has introduced zero-touch automation to improve reliability and customer service. Today, we have 1,200 robots performing various automated processes across several functions, including networks, procurement and customer service.
· Expanding the new Technical Career Path. Following pilots this autumn, the Vodafone Technical Career Path will expand its coverage, initially bringing into scope up to 7,000 existing employees by
Vodafone Fellow - the highest achievable level of the Technical Career Path - was launched recently, and
Vodafone recently established Vodafone Engineering to encourage the re-use of code and promotes the sharing of best practice on forums such as GitHub, Stack and Overflow. In addition, Vodafone's #ChangeTheFace movement launched in 2020 to campaign for greater diversity in the technology sector, and has gained the support of more than 300 organisations, including
Investment in new digital products and services. In the financial year ending
Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, Vodafone also spent
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