The faint whiff of sweat greeting visitors as they entered the Acropolis Convention Centre in Nice to attend this year’s TM Forum Live could have been a consequence of the enhanced level of security this year – or the result of a slight sense of anxiety pervading the show floor.

Digital transformation was again a dominant theme, but there was a sense time is running out for the telecoms industry to really get to grips with this complex task. Not that the industry is standing still: telco executives such as Deutsche Telekom’s Erik Meijer painted a picture of operators which are turning everything on its head to ensure they not only transform their operations in order to meet changing customer demands and the over-the-top challenge, but do it in a sustainable way.

Meijer, who is responsible for digital transformation among many other aspects at the German telco, spoke of a new corporate culture that is sweeping away traditional ways of working, with hot-desking now de rigueur even for CEO Timo Hottges.

People and culture are fundamental to this transformation process, Meijer explained – a belief echoed by a number of spokespeople including Bouke Hoving, KPN’s EVP of simplification and innovation, and Angel Vaccaro, a director at Deloitte. Vaccaro said the gap in digital talent is one of two key areas in which telcos need to improve; the other being improving the customer experience.

Keep reading on Mobile World Live.