Management

This article discusses information technology management and its importance in generating value for organizations. It also covers the history of Vodafone, an analysis of an interview with the CTO, and recommendations for the future. The interview covers themes such as the advent of TCP/IP, customer-centric service, critical billing systems, artificial intelligence, and the evolution of 5G. The article recommends that Vodafone collaborate with other telecom brands to develop 5G and use tower sharing to reduce investment and strengthen infrastructure.

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Management
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
History of Vodafone........................................................................................................................2
Analysis of the interview and its themes.........................................................................................2
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
Information technology management can be described as a process where resources and
information related to the information technology is managed based on the priorities and needs
of an organization. The resources that are required are differentiated into the tangible and the
intangible resources. The intangible resources include people, computers, and networking
hardware. While the intangible resources include data and software. The main aim of the
information technology management is to generate value through the usage of the technology
and just to achieve the business technologies and business strategies are aligned [1].
History of Vodafone
Vodafone name came from the voice data fone and the company began its services with
the voice and data services for the mobile phone. The company merged with several other
telecommunication industries and bought some of them as well. It has operations in 26 different
countries and has formed the partnership networks in 55 countries. The company previously used
to use the system network architecture (SNA) and Synchronous data link control (SDLC) and
later on drifted towards the TCP/IP. Besides the other telecommunication communication,
Vodafone also manages, deploys, builds and designs the large scale projects for UK based
companies and others companies worldwide. The Vodafone evolved from a company that use to
sell minutes and voice into an internet company that sell data services [2].
Analysis of the interview and its themes
The interview with the CTO of Vodafone, Jorge Fernandes gave an insight into the
digitisation, legacy networking and how got placed as a lead operator in the mobile enabled
future. Jorge Fernandes says that when he joined Vodafone, the network system was slowly

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moving from the system network architecture (SNA) and Synchronous data link control (SDLC)
towards the TCP/IP and this transition was taken up by him as well. Jorge Fernandes joined the
company in the year 2002 and since then he placed the company at the pinnacle of mobile
operator in UK. System network architecture (SNA) is a level 5 network design of architecture
and it was developed for the mainframe computers. This architecture permitted software and
hardware to communicate with each other. While the Synchronous data link control is a
transmission control that was developed by IBM and this protocol ensures that data units arrive
from one computer to another successfully. It has been mentioned by [3] that TCP/IP protocol
performed better in comparison to the system network architecture (SNA) and Synchronous data
link control (SDLC) and provided faster data speeds. Jorge Fernandes also mentioned that the
Vodafone evolved as a company because previously it used to sell minutes and voice. However,
Vodafone has now transformed into an internet company the sells data services and it is now
transitioning into the media business and fixed broadband. While it has been estimated that the
consumer broadband service has increased has passed the other media services like Amazon
Prime and Netflix. It has been highlighted by [4] that the present condition of the consumer
market specially focuses on the high speed and high volumes of data. Consumers mainly
purchases high volumes of data for consumption of the media and as a daily driver for availing
certain network based services.
First theme- One of the highlighting changes that he mentioned is the advent of the
TCP/IP during the 1990 and this brought a fast rate transformation in the field of network. This
faster transformation has helped in managing the dual demands of customer facing networks and
internal IT facing networks. TCP/IP is the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol can
be described as a language which is used by computers to access internet. Furthermore, it has

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been mentioned by [5] that TCP/IP facilitated better and reliable internet access with a stable
internet access.
The second major theme mentioned by Jorge Fernandes is the customer centric service.
He had the responsibility of handling both the networks and IT, along with the management of
the services organization. Jorge Fernandes emphasised on a business strategy that prioritises the
needs of the customers. Customer centric service can be described as a service designed
exclusively for the customers to meet their needs. While it has been argued by [6] that the
companies or brands gain popularity only by providing superior customer centred products and
services.
The third theme that Jorge Fernandes talks about is the Vodafone now not only has the
responsibility of the network performance but it also includes the management of a predictable
and stable system that will control the customer relationship management systems and the
critical billing systems. Customer relationship management are the technologies, strategies and
practices employed by the companies to analyse and manage the customer interaction so that the
customer service relationship can be improved. Critical billing systems are a necessary item in
business as it emphasizes on the procedures of collecting money from the customers either
through cash or through the credit cards. It has been highlighted by [7] that maintaining a
positive customer relationship is a major step towards the company progress, product and service
design. while the critical billing systems are effective ways of receiving revenue for the services
rendered by the company.
The fourth major theme is the usage of the Artificial Intelligence since the December
2016. The employees of Vodafone started to use Artificial intelligence that are driven entirely by
the desktop driven systems. The system uses Chatbot for addressing the IT support requests and

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it has been estimated that the 30 percent of the problems can be solved with it. The name of
artificial intelligence Chatbot is Toby and it specialises in information provision. The Chatbot
has the expertise in the active problem solving and Vodafone is aiming towards increasing its
capabilities. Vodafone is emphasising on digitising the business process and the way company
wants to develop information technology. It has been mentioned by Jorge Fernandes that
Vodafone is moving towards adopting an agile system for developing operations practices. It has
been argued by [8] that artificial intelligence is a modern marvel considering the fact that active
learning process of artificial intelligence systems can be effectively used in areas where the
human element can be eliminated and speeding up a procedure. Customer queries and customer
facing technical issues can be effectively used in the speedy resolution of an issue.
The final theme emphasizes on the futuristic network provision and the ultimate
evolution of 5G through the existing HSPA technology. Jorge Fernandes mentions that the 5G
will be on the same network core and it will be an extension of the existing business model that
will have the lower latency and higher throughput. The customers will be provided with the 5G
like services before the delivery of 5G. It has been highlighted by [9] 5G technology will boost
the data speeds and the ways internet of things are connected with the network. It has been
estimated that telecom sectors needs to adapt a technology that will lead higher input of
technology to cater the rising demand of faster data speeds and rising issues of connectivity
issues. Embracing the 5G technology will not only include greater investments but greater
amount of modifications in to the existing 4G technology.
Conclusion
From the above discussion it can be concluded that the interview with the CTO of
Vodafone, Jorge Fernandes revealed how the digitisation, legacy networking infused into the

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lead operator of mobile enabled future. The Vodafone company accomplished several milestones
by introducing 3G and 4G networks first into UK. While it has been important to mention that
the company conducted several mergers with other international telecom partners and this led
into the spread of the Vodafone brand.
Recommendation
Vodafone is one of the renowned telecom brands in UK and world over. Thus, it is a
matter of great concern for the Vodafone information technology management to provide
superior quality of services in order to stay ahead of the market competition. It is highly
recommended that the Vodafone must enter into a strategic partnership with the other leading
telecom brands in UK so that the telecom services ca be provided in an unhindered and
uninterrupted way. A large number of consumers that emphasise on the usage of the networks
for high speed data access will increase in future [10]. This is the sole reason for the increase in
the data speeds, because the present day data speed needs to be increased. It is important to
mention that the 4G speeds can be increased but the 5G data speeds can provide an interrupted
two-way connection which can reduce interruptions. Thus, the Vodafone must emphasize on
researching the technology that will be helpful in the development of 5G and for this reason
Vodafone needs to collaborate with the other telecom partners for the effective implementation
of 5G into the UK. Tower sharing is also a novel method of reducing the tower traffic and
allocation of new places for the building up of new mobile towers. This will reduce the
investment and will strengthen the previous technologies and infrastructure [11].

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References
1. Marchewka, J.T., 2014. Information technology project management. John Wiley & Sons.
2. N.vodafone.ie, 2019. History. [online] N.vodafone.ie. Available at:
https://n.vodafone.ie/aboutus/company/history.html# [Accessed 13 Jan. 2019].
3. Mahalal, I., Chaumartin, N. and Sevilla, J.A., Gemalto SA, 2013. Protocol conversion
“Bearer Independent Protocol (BIP)”—TCP/IP for communication between SIM and terminal.
U.S. Patent 8,447,836.
4. Kuriyan, R., Nafus, D. and Mainwaring, S., 2012. Consumption, technology, and
development: The “poor” as “consumer”. Information Technologies & International
Development, 8(1), pp.pp-1.
5. Quach, N.T., Padmanabhan, R. and Frailong, J.M., Juniper Networks Inc, 2012. Systems and
methods for accelerating TCP/IP data stream processing. U.S. Patent 8,340,109.
6. Ravasi, D. and Stigliani, I., 2012. Product design: a review and research agenda for
management studies. International Journal of Management Reviews, 14(4), pp.464-488.
7. Wang, Y. and Feng, H., 2012. Customer relationship management capabilities: Measurement,
antecedents and consequences. Management Decision, 50(1), pp.115-129.
8. Michalski, R.S., Carbonell, J.G. and Mitchell, T.M. eds., 2013. Machine learning: An
artificial intelligence approach. Springer Science & Business Media.
9. Gohil, A., Modi, H. and Patel, S.K., 2013, March. 5G technology of mobile communication: A
survey. In Intelligent Systems and Signal Processing (ISSP), 2013 International Conference on
(pp. 288-292). IEEE.

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10. Corbett, E., Tjeerd, D.E., Lundin, E.G., Karlsson, P., Seungtai, K.I.M. and Kwong, W.,
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, 2014. Congestion/load indication for high speed packet
access. U.S. Patent 8,755,270.
11. Leza, D., 2014, March. Mobile Infrastructure Sharing: Trends in Latin America. In ITU
Regional Economic and Financial Forum of Telecommunications/ICTs for Latin America and
the Caribbean (p. 103).