Microsoft has been quick to pick up the GenAI reins, making huge investments in OpenAI and strategic acquisitions like Inflection AI. Now, the hyperscaler wants to help telcos bring AI into their organizations in meaningful ways. 

For this episode, I spoke with Jason Hogg, GM for AIOps within Azure for Operators, about where telcos are on their AI journey, how Microsoft is helping them prepare data for AI workloads, and how CSPs can steer their organizations to make the most of the AI revolution. Listen now to hear:

• How Microsoft is helping telcos manage siloed data to support AI, both in the cloud and at the edge [03:21];
• How AI tools like Azure OpenAI and Azure Operator Insights are being used in operations, fraud detection, and more [05:20];
• The importance of moving beyond AI experimentation to putting AI models to work in the business [09:22]; and
• Why telcos need to redesign their organizations to be AI-first [13:10].

Links and Resources

• Jason talked about Microsoft’s work with 3UK to use Azure Operator Insights to break down silos and generate new insights. Check out this video overview here. 
• Read my recent blog on how to transform your customer support with AI
• At last year’s TelecomTV AI-Native Telco Summit, I took part in a panel on Using AIOps for operational efficiencies. Watch the on-demand recording.
• Check out Frederick Winslow Taylor’s best-selling organizational design book, Shop Management.
• Learn more about Totogi’s BSS Magic
• Check out Accelerating telco transformation in the era of AI, a blog from Microsoft’s Jason Zandor.
• In late March, the Telecoms.com Podcast welcomed former Telco in 20 guest Shawn Hakl, Microsoft’s VP of 5G strategy, to talk about the public cloud and 5G. Listen to the conversation. 
• Take a look at this video of “Extreme Buddy Skiing.” It takes a lot of fear, anxiety, and planning to get to the moment where you can drop in on a face like the one they ski. It reminds me of what it takes to make big moves to use the public cloud and AI the right way! 
• Check out this episode on our YouTube channel.
• You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Wanna talk public cloud? Telco execs, set up a meeting with our team to learn how to tap the immense business value it can bring.

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This week’s guest

Jason Hogg is a General Manager responsible for the Azure for Operators (AfO) AIOps program, which includes Azure Operator Insights and Azure Operator Service Manager. Prior to AfO, Jason led the creation of the Azure Data Lake Storage platform and Azure Media Services’ AI based Video Analytics service. Jason has 30+ years of experience in software development, having spent the last 21 years at Microsoft where he has also worked in Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Research, and Developer Division. Jason holds a MSc (Comp Sci) from University of Washington.

Podcast Credits

• Executive Producer and Host: Danielle Rios Royston, TelcoDR
• Senior Producer: Lindsay Grubb, TillCo Media
• Editor/Marketing: Alisa Jenkins, Springboard Marketing
• Editing: Andrew Condell
• Supervising Producer: Amanda Avery
• Associate Producer: Kriselda Dionisio
• Music: Dyami Wilson