Transformation is driven by people and collaboration, not just technology: Jay Doshi, BT Group

In a recent interaction with Express Computer, Jay Doshi, Managing Director and Chief Information Officer, BT Group, discusses the pivotal role India plays in the company’s global digital transformation efforts. Based out of Bengaluru, Doshi oversees BT’s internal technology for over 100,000 employees, spearheading initiatives like the modernisation of their ERP systems and the strategic implementation of AI-driven platforms. He highlights India’s shift from an engineering hub to a centre of ownership for platforms like SAP, Salesforce, and Microsoft. Doshi also touches on key topics such as BT’s GenAI Gateway platform, the untapped potential of generative AI in HR, customer service, and software development, and BT’s long-standing commitment to sustainability in areas like fibre broadband and electric vehicle adoption.

India is often a hub for talent and technology innovation. What role does BT Group India play in driving the company’s global digital transformation? 

As the MD and CIO for BT Group, I’m responsible for all internal technology requirements. This global role, based out of Bengaluru, covers over 100,000 employees across functions like finance, HR, supply chain, and more. We’ve just completed a three-year modernisation journey, consolidating our ERP systems into an SAP ecosystem. I also handle device communication, collaboration, authentication, and identity security for BT Group.

I’ve been with BT since 2008 and have always worked in India. My journey from engineering to CIO reflects the opportunities BT provides for growth. BT Group recognises India as a vibrant talent ecosystem, offering accessible expertise for driving long-term transformation. We empower people with ownership and accountability, allowing them to lead projects from start to finish.

BT Group in India has evolved from being just an engineering hub to taking ownership of platforms. Our focus has shifted to product expertise, covering niche areas like SAP, Salesforce, Microsoft, and AI skills. This end-to-end ownership applies whether you’re in the UK or India—driving transformation, improving customer experience, and delivering value.

At BT, it’s not just about cost reduction. By doing things right, cost benefits follow, but our main goal is to enhance customer experiences and lead transformation with a focus on accountability and continuous learning.

What are the key challenges and opportunities in transitioning from traditional telecom services to digital-first solutions?

Transitioning from traditional telecom services to digital-first solutions presents several challenges and opportunities. One major challenge is limited resources and the need to choose the right opportunities to focus on. Success depends not only on technology but also on change management and adoption. Technology alone doesn’t drive transformation, it’s about involving people through design thinking, co-creating with end users, and clearly explaining the rationale for change. Digital transformation involves modernising systems, processes, and experiences. It’s more of a human-centred process than a technology one, where technology serves as the enabler. The key is to collaborate with the people experiencing the change, take their feedback early, adapt accordingly, and drive the change forward.

The GenAI Gateway platform is a major step in leveraging generative AI at scale. So, How has the GenAI Gateway influenced BT Group’s AI adoption strategy?

When we formed our digital over three years ago, we focused on two key areas: platform thinking and data/AI integration. These two are interrelated. Platforms enable a unified data model for AI, and AI, in turn, enhances platforms and processes, creating a flywheel effect.

In terms of GenAI, a subset of AI, we first focused on organising and structuring our data in the cloud for value creation. GenAI Gateway is a core part of this strategy. It allows us to use AI and GenAI across different parts of BT Group, including consumer, business, Openreach, networks, and corporate units. This platform provides a secure, scalable, and API-based interface to ensure safe use of large language models like GPT-4 or Falcon, eliminating the need for developers to learn each model in-depth.

The Gateway also includes safety measures, such as avoiding toxicity or jailbreaks, and tracks which AI use cases deliver value. This approach helps drive the broad and secure adoption of GenAI at scale, leveraging best practices and economies of scale within BT Group.

Based on your experience, what do you think is the untapped potential of generative AI?

GenAI has a vast untapped potential across the entire organisation. Currently, we’re seeing real value in areas like customer service, customer experience, process optimisation, and software development.

For example, in HR, many employees avoid using HR systems because of their complexity, leading to productivity loss and frustration. We launched an AI tool that simplifies this process. If an employee wants to apply for leave, they can simply tell the AI chatbot, “I want to apply leave on the 5th of January,” and it automatically opens the relevant screen with the date pre-filled. This removes friction and ensures employees feel supported, not discouraged from taking leave. Similarly, creating a new position in the HR system, which isn’t frequent, becomes easier with this AI tool, shifting control to the users instead of relying on a central admin.

In customer service, AI helps agents summarise call or chat histories quickly, allowing them to resolve customer issues faster. Instead of manually going through past case notes, they get a summary instantly. We’ve integrated multiple service systems using ServiceNow, reducing the time to resolve tickets by 35%. AI also automates ticket resolutions, further improving efficiency.

In software development, we’re using Amazon Q as a developer assistant. It suggests better code alternatives, and about 36% of the suggestions are adopted, improving code quality and reducing bugs. This allows developers to focus more on the logical aspects of coding rather than the repetitive elements.

These are just a few examples, but Gen AI will continue to evolve and expand, bringing even more use cases and value across various domains. We’re focusing on safe, beneficial implementations that not only drive efficiency but also enhance the experience for our employees and customers.

What steps is BT taking to support sustainability in the telecom industry, especially in energy-intensive areas like data centres and network infrastructure?

Sustainability is always a priority for us at BT, and we’re committed to using technology to accelerate our journey to net-zero emissions. We’ve been leading climate action for 30 years, starting to track carbon reduction in 1992 and becoming the first company to set a science-based target in 2008. Today, all our network buildings are powered by certified renewable electricity, and we aim to transition most of our fleet to electric or zero-emission vehicles by 2030.

In the UK, we have a large fleet of vehicles supporting our engineers, who use mobile phones for all tasks, ensuring efficiency and minimising the need for multiple visits, which helps reduce emissions. We’re also investing heavily in full fibre broadband and 5G networks, which lower energy consumption compared to copper networks. Fibre has fewer faults and requires less power, leading to fewer engineer visits and reducing our carbon footprint.

Sustainability is ingrained in our approach, from our fleet to the services we provide, helping both BT and our customers reduce emissions and work towards a net-zero economy.

What are BT Group’s key priorities for driving digital innovation in the coming year?

Our key priorities for driving digital innovation at BT Group in the coming year are clear. First, we will complete the build-out of our platform, making full use of the common information model to leverage data and AI. Equally important is keeping our talent engaged, as the first two goals depend on the third. We aim to attract and retain top talent while transforming the business, which ultimately leads to creating a better world.