TM Forum’s four-week series will showcase over 50 hours of live-streamed content and 130+ speakers connecting leading Communication Services Providers (CSPs) to explore how industry collaboration can inspire change, and help solve some of the industry’s greatest challenges

LONDON, 20 SEPTEMBER 2021: TM Forum, the industry association driving digital transformation through collaboration, today announces the return of its Digital Transformation World Series (DTWS) 2021 after its award-winning series in 2020 sparked a surge of collaboration between companies across the tech communications industry. DTWS kicks off on September 22 and runs through 14 October.

The accelerated demand for digital transformation within the telco industry has caused drastic changes for companies across the world, many of which are looking for solutions to transform business agility, efficiency and seize new growth opportunities. As more telco businesses look to digitally transform, collaboration has never been more important within the industry and with customers.

TM Forum’s DTWS provides a platform for open, honest knowledge sharing and real collaboration, bringing together over 10,500 attendees, and over 400 communication service providers worldwide to discuss digital transformation, participate in masterclasses, and attend roundtables discussing the industry’s biggest issues. There will also be four invitation-only CxO Summits throughout the series offering a platform for open peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing focused on how to deliver real change and drive growth in the digital age. The full agenda for DTWS can be seen here.

This year, TM Forum previewed DTWS 2021 with an in-person event at Shoreditch Studios in London exploring the urgency for change, the pivotal role of cloud, prioritizing customer-centricity, and lessons learned in digital transformation to date. Participants in the panels included Three Ireland, Amdocs, Salesforce, and Vodafone. Keri Gilder, CEO of Colt, gave an inspirational opening keynote on the modern telco – developing the platform for the digital economy.

“The world of telcos is changing, and the industry must act now to optimize its digital transformation. Despite not being able to meet in person, collaboration can happen from anywhere and the team at Colt are looking forward to discussing strategies and key issues with the industry, and the methods we can employ to combat these with colleagues and partners across the globe at Digital Transformation World Series 2021,” says Keri Gilder, Colt CEO.

Headline speakers at DTWS, which includes over 75 visionary C-Suite leaders from around the world, will address audiences over the four-week series and share insights and guidance on innovating business and operating models, technology, and partnering to provide sustainable solutions that make the world better. The speakers include:

• Philip Jansen, CEO, BT 
• Allison Kirkby, President & CEO, Telia
• Dato’ Izzaddin Idris, Managing Director/President & Group CEO, Axiata
• Sigve Brekke, President & CEO, Telenor Group
• Ronan Dunne, Executive Vice President & Group CEO – Verizon Consumer 
• Rob Shuter, CEO Enterprise, BT 
• Robert Finnegan, CEO, Three UK, and Ireland
• Gokhan Ogut, CEO Maxis
• Manjot Singh Mann, CEO, M1
• Angie Klein, CEO, Visible 
• Keri Gilder, CEO, Colt 
• Kaaren Hilsen, CEO, Telenor Tower Holding
• Tareq Amin, Group Chief Technology Officer, Rakuten 
• Srini Gopalan, Member of the Board of Management and Managing Director, Deutsche Telekom, and Telekom Deutschland
• Dr. Rainer Deutschmann, Group Chief Operating Officer, Telia
• Hideyuki Tsukuda, Executive Vice President & CTO, Softbank
• Marc Rouanne, Chief Network Officer, DISH
• Carlo Malana, SVP & Chief Information Officer, Globe Telecom
• Harmeen Mehta, Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, BT
• Peter Leukert, Global CIO, Deutsche Telekom 
• Shankar Arumugavelu, SVP & Global CIO, Verizon 
• Scott Petty, Chief Digital & Information Officer, Vodafone

Speaking on the Digital Transformation World Series, TM Forum CEO Nik Willetts states, “The last 18 months have been life-changing for so many, and as an industry, we have learned so much about our customers and our ability to transform. We know how to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances, stay fit to compete in an increasingly competitive market, unlock growth, and solve challenges at speeds we never knew were possible. As an industry, we have a renewed purpose to ensure we can serve our customers in the best possible way. Our new purpose consists of inspiring real change, overcoming industry-wide challenges, together, and uncovering ground-breaking opportunities to grow and evolve.”

Willetts continues, “This year we continue to foster collaboration between members of the global telco community and want to inspire conversations around the next generation of telecoms. From zero-touch operations and partnering to grow beyond connectivity, building the right customer experience, and creating open architectures – there is an incredible lineup of speakers and sessions essential for anyone in the telecoms industry and we look forward to welcoming all attendees to the DTWS 2021.”

Interested in attending DTWS? CSPs, journalists, and analysts can register for complimentary passes here: https://dtw.tmforum.org/passes/

About Digital Transformation World Series (DTWS)
DTWS runs from September 22- October 14, 2021. The digital event is supported by over 25 sponsors, including: Diamond Sponsors AWS and Amdocs; Platinum Sponsors: BearingPoint/Beyond, Ericsson, Oracle; Gold Sponsors: Comarch, CSG, Hansen, Huawei, Netcracker, Nokia, Prodapt, Red Hat, Salesforce and Technotree; Silver Sponsors: Accenture, Blue Planet, a division of Ciena, Blueprism, BMC, ETIYA, Infovista, Omnisci, Optiva, TelcoDR and Totogi; Bronze Sponsors: Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Juniper Networks, Sas and Thales. Limited sponsorships remain. For sponsorship information, contact [email protected].

About TM Forum
TM Forum is an association of over 850 member companies that generate a combined US$2 trillion in revenue and serve five billion customers across 180 countries. We drive collaboration and collective problem-solving to maximize the business success of communication and digital service providers and their ecosystem of suppliers around the world. Today, our focus is on supporting members as they navigate their unique digital transformation journeys, providing practical and proven assets and tools to accelerate execution and platforms to facilitate collaborative problem solving and innovation. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Learn more at www.tmforum.org. Media Contact: [email protected]