Open Digital Architecture a key part of achieving TELUS’ vision, reducing costs and time-to-market

London, UK – May 09, 2023 – TM Forum today announced that Canadian communications technology company, TELUS, has become the first North American Communications Service Provider (CSP) to secure ‘Running on ODA’ status. Joining Axiata, Jio and Vodafone Group, TELUS is the fourth CSP to gain this recognition, meaning network architectures following TM Forum’s Open Digital Architecture (ODA) principles now support millions of customers worldwide.

ODA provides a blueprint to help CSPs transform into agile digital organizations, rapidly bringing new products to market at significantly reduced cost, while improving customer experience.

The ‘Running on ODA’ award recognizes advancements in TELUS’ IT architecture and delivery capabilities, using cloud-native, vendor-agnostic solutions integrated by TM Forum’s industry standard Open APIs. ODA enables TELUS to deliver products and services built from reusable components to over 9 million customers.

ODA has enabled TELUS to continue delivering innovative technology solutions and revolutionize its go-to-market strategy. For example, it recently launched a new offering across all six of its go-to-market channels simultaneously at a third of the usual cost and reducing time-to-market by one third. Prior to ODA-aligned architecture, this would have involved creating two versions of a product for wireless and wireline systems and launching it sequentially over various channels.

“ODA is a fundamental component in achieving our vision of using our world-leading technology to bridge digital divides and improve human outcomes globally. By creating a standardized API marketplace, we can build platforms on top of our core communications services and enable TELUS to serve new industry verticals in healthcare, agriculture and consumer goods,” said Hesham Fahmy, Chief Information Officer, TELUS. “To do business with TELUS in the future, vendors must be ODA-compliant and contribute to its development. This will empower us to realize our goals, maintain interoperability across our infrastructure and enable us to share innovative solutions across the globe. We’re delighted to join a growing list of industry leaders leveraging ODA to better support customers and spearhead technology innovation.”

“TELUS demonstrates the business imperative of implementing ODA. It’s a critical foundation for its grand, strategic and social purpose of bridging the digital divide, while growing in industry verticals to become a platform business. ODA will enable TELUS to harness APIs on a standardized architecture and nurture an ecosystem around this,” said Nik Willetts, CEO of TM Forum. “It’s exactly this kind of commitment to architectural and cultural revolution that will grow our global industry.”

“We’ve trained and upskilled 170 team members to implement and maintain an ODA-aligned platform-based architecture and our goal is to ensure ODA runs through the fabric of our entire company. The certification validates our commitment to adopting TM Forum standards on Open APIs and the Business Capability Framework so we can bring innovative products to the market faster and more efficiently,” said Hasan Jafri, Vice-president, Platform Engineering & Common Services, TELUS. “Coupled with our trademark ArchDevOps model and adoption of agile architecture practices and Architecture as Code, we can now maintain business alignment faster, even at the level of code check-ins, and become even more efficient in our design governance practices.”

TELUS is the latest CSP to have been awarded ‘Running on ODA’ status, with another four organizations under assessment and three further organizations eligible.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is a dynamic, world-leading communications technology company with more than $18 billion in annual revenue and 18 million customer connections spanning wireless, data, IP, voice, television, entertainment, video, and security. Our social purpose is to leverage our global-leading technology and compassion to drive social change and enable remarkable human outcomes. Our longstanding commitment to putting our customers first fuels every aspect of our business, making us a distinct leader in customer service excellence and loyalty. The numerous, sustained accolades TELUS has earned over the years from independent, industry-leading network insight firms showcase the strength and speed of TELUS’ global-leading networks, reinforcing our commitment to provide Canadians with access to superior technology that connects us to the people, resources and information that make our lives better.

Operating in 30 countries around the world, TELUS International (TSX and NYSE: TIXT) is a leading digital customer experience innovator that designs, builds, and delivers next-generation solutions, including AI and content moderation, for global and disruptive brands across high-growth industry verticals, including tech and games, communications and media and eCommerce and fintech.

TELUS Health is a global health care leader, which provides employee and family preventive health care and wellness solutions. Our TELUS team, along with our 100,000 health professionals, are leveraging the combination of TELUS’ strong digital and data analytics capabilities with our unsurpassed client service to dramatically improve remedial, preventive and mental health outcomes covering 68 million lives, and growing, around the world. As the largest provider of digital solutions and digital insights of its kind, TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods enables efficient and sustainable production from seed to store, helping improve the safety and quality of food and other goods in a way that is traceable to end consumers.

Driven by our determination and vision to connect all citizens for good, our deeply meaningful and enduring philosophy to give where we live has inspired TELUS and our team to contribute $1.5 billion, including 2 million days of service since 2000. This unprecedented generosity and unparalleled volunteerism have made TELUS the most giving company in the world. Together, let’s make the future friendly.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com, follow us at @TELUSNews on Twitter and @Darren_Entwistle on Instagram.

About TM Forum 

TM Forum is a global alliance of telco and tech companies, leading the industry in defining the building blocks for new operating models, impactful new partnerships, and advanced software platforms.

TM Forum helps its members unlock the value of data to create nearly endless opportunities for players across the communications ecosystem. At DTW23 – Ignite, Accelerate and Collaboration events, TM Forum provides a platform for industry change-makers to share groundbreaking innovation, market developments, product launches and business transformation journeys. 

We are the only industry body to count the world’s top 10 CSPs and all the key hyperscalers as active, strategic members. With over 800 members, we are on a mission to reinvent the telco industry as a vibrant part of the digital landscape – and a driving force in shaping its future.

To find out more, visit: tmforum.org    Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.    

For media inquiries please contact:

Tatianna Goldsney
TELUS Media Relations
[email protected]

Connor Griffiths or Anais Merlin
TM Forum Media Relations
[email protected]
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