Dear valued member,

I hope you, your family and colleagues are safe and well.

Together, we are now living through an unprecedented time in our history. The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting our loved ones, our communities and businesses. Every company around the world is navigating the impact of this crisis. As the industry that connects the world, the infrastructure and connectivity we provide are more important now than ever before.

As with every company, TM Forum has taken extensive measures to ensure the health and well-being of our team and of you: our community of member professionals around the world. Remote working and collaboration are part of our DNA, and we are taking steps to ensure that we continue to provide the platform for our members to rapidly co-create, innovate and collaborate throughout these difficult times.

In our 30-year history, we’ve weathered storms that have affected every corner of our industry, and we are here to help you navigate this one. Right now, we see the need to make it easy to share and co-create the essential knowledge, lessons learned, guidance and creativity to accelerate transformation efforts and deal with the challenges we are facing. Looking ahead, we believe this crisis will accelerate the digitization of every industry, and we’re determined to help our industry be ready to meet those needs.

Here are a few of the steps we have taken so far:

• All Collaborative workshops will run via video conference, allowing you to continue to collectively solve industry issues at speed. We are establishing a Center of Excellence to help continuously improve our remote collaboration techniques. As always, we’ll share with you what we learn.
• We have postponed our flagship conference, Digital Transformation World, from June to October 7-9, 2020. In parallel, we’re building a Digital Twin of the event, meaning that anybody who is unable to travel in October can participate remotely.
• We are creating new Digital Showcases for upcoming Catalyst rapid-innovation projects to offer inspiration for our global membership. Several project teams are focused on challenges highlighted by this pandemic, and broader societal needs linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• Many of you have told us you’re investing extra time in upskilling and self-improvement. To support you, our expert led training and coaching are available in virtual classrooms, along with self-paced online courses. In addition, we will be offering a new, extensive program of digital content, research, expert-led workshops and learning opportunities, starting in April.
• We want to shine a spotlight on the remarkable work you and your teams are doing to help your company and customers through these uncertain times, and share these with the world. Please share your stories using the address below, and we’ll be in touch.

TM Forum is committed to making a positive contribution in these difficult times. Beyond the steps above, we welcome all ideas for positive industry collaboration. We also remain here to help you: our team will be happy to explore your needs, and connect you to other members and the knowledge you need most.

We are on this journey together, and I am proud of the role which our members and Forum play in keeping our world connected. That matters now, more than ever.

Stay safe and healthy,
Nik

Nik Willetts
President & CEO
TM Forum
[email protected]