Innovation, a must
- Innovative products and services
- Everyone has a role to play
- Technology and infrastructures
- Actual projects for our customers
For the Belgacom Group, which is active in sectors which are constantly evolving, innovation is not just a buzzword but a state of mind. As a fundamental part of our company culture, innovation is not imposed but incorporated into our daily tasks. It is not confined to research and development labs, but drives each of our Group's departments. It is the obligation never to rest on one's laurels, to continuously reinvent oneself, and to experiment and be prepared to make mistakes. It is also the principle which has guided, guides and will continue to guide our ceaseless attempts to respond better to the needs of our customers, employees and shareholders.
In the past, the Group demonstrated its capacity to innovate by launching products and services such as ADSL, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2008, mobile telephony and, more recently, Belgacom TV. These success stories were made possible by a visionary investment policy in the area of fixed and mobile networks. A strategy which seems to be paying off, since two thirds of our current revenues are generated by products or services which did not exist 15 years ago. Today, the richness of our IDTV offer places us among the pioneers in this sector, and the scope of our unified connectivity platform for the professional market (Explore), which we hope to extend in the coming months, is unique in Belgium.
But we have to go further. Before, innovation was mainly managed by specialized units, spread across the various Group entities. These different teams have now been merged into a single Innovation unit within the Strategy department. Its mission is to develop the products and services of tomorrow, as defi ned in the framework of our 2009-2013 strategic plan, and to promote an entrepreneurial spirit within the Group. After all, being innovative is not the prerogative of one department, but of all employees. Finally, the unit will increase the Groups capacity to act more quickly and effectively.
Our networks are the backbone of our technical infrastructures. The engineers of the Service Delivery Engine (SDE) entity continuously study technological developments to offer the best possible service and anticipate future needs.
Actions speak louder than words. Besides expanding our current portfolio of products and services, we also explore new areas in which our capacity to offer global solutions can provide added value for our residential and corporate customers.
CBU - residential segment For the residential segment (CBU), the priority is real convergence. To get closer to this objective, in 2009 we will offer the same content on three screens (PC, TV and mobile telephone), converged internet and interactive services on the TV screen, and the possibility to watch video-on-demand on your computer. We will also keep in mind the need to facilitate access to technology. Furthermore, the distribution of devices will play a more important role in our offer (netbooks and other fl at screens), with a view to giving convergence an actual shape.
EBU - enterprise segment At the enterprise level, our objective is to develop end-to-end service platforms in various fi elds: smart metering of gas or electricity, electronic road pricing, machine-to-machine solutions, mobilization of sales or logistical applications, payment or sale of tickets via mobile phone - these are only some of the initiatives on which we are currently working. Our objective is to become a partner which can not only offer ICT solutions but can also speed up business by exploiting the assets of each individual.
