Historically there’s been a disconnect between them. They speak a different language, operate with different business models, build on different infrastructure, and prioritise different outcomes.

One area where there is growing and welcome integration, however, is in the realm of talent.

For platforms like ours, we need a mix of talent that is no longer “either-or”. Instead, we need to blend old and new skills. We firmly believe this is the future of the telco industry’s talent pool.

From a traditional telco background, talented people bring hugely valuable experience and expertise. That’s especially true of their ability to deliver reliability, process and detail. These are core skills that are inculcated through the culture of telco companies, and we need to maintain them even as we move into a new era of cloud-based services and AI optimisation.

Employees with newer tech backgrounds, meanwhile, can bring innovative thinking and a focus on speed and learning. Tech’s culture prioritises rapid testing and performance enhancement. People with a tech background, in our experience, tend to be more willing to try new things, disregard conventions, and respond to customers’ often unspoken needs.

So while there still remains a cultural gap between ‘tech’ and ‘telco’, we think blending their skills and ways of doing things can provide an important way forward.

It helps bridge the divide and bring the voice ecosystem closer together.