A presentation on the BT internal transformation story to the Deming Learning Network in Aberdeen. 27th November 2011.

1. The BT transformation story:
“knowledge management & ICT”

2. Agenda
§ Some facts about BT Group plc.
§ About my team - stepchange.gov
§ The only constant is change (no more clichés, I promise)
§ A selfish view of knowledge management in BT
§ Disruptive Innovation - does size count?

3. BT Group facts
§ BT Group plc.:
§ British Telecommunication plc.
§ BT Ignite – international networks & solutions
§ BT Retail – residential & business relationships & channel to market in UK
§ BTopenworld – mass market internet
§ BT Wholesale – runs the BT Group networks, sells network capacity.
§ BT Affinitis – business & computing services
§ BTexaCT Technologies – research, development & consulting business
§ 137,000 employees (03/2001)
§ Procurement: £5bn, 17m transactions
§ £20.5 billion turnover (fy 2000/2001)
§ mmO2 plc. – new mobile company
§ Global & diverse operations

4. BT stepchange.gov
§ Part of BT Retail
§ 92 people
§ Innovating to transform public services
§ We break rules & generally cause trouble (constructively)
§ We generate business opportunity & develop new markets:
§ www.ukonline.gov.uk (first phases, now with new supplier)
§ www.businesslink.org (Small Business Service)
§ Public Sector Change Research (with Lancaster university)
§ International Centre for eGovernance (SCF, ITC & CEG)
§ Public Policy Forum & innovation thought leadership
§ Greater London Authority advisory
§ Mobility
§ Location Based Services
§ eProcurement
§ eDemocracy

5. Constant change
Employees in BT
BT Group Turnover (£m)
300,000
35,000
250,000
30,000
25,000
No. of Employees
200,000
20,000
£m
150,000
15,000
100,000 10,000
5,000
50,000
0
0 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Year Year
This is, in fact, a graphical representation
of knowledge management.
How did we do it?

6. Change fatigue
Activity-Based Costing * Adaptive Organization * Ambidextrous
Organizations * Benchmarking * Business Process Reengineering *
Commitment-Based Management * Competitive Capabilities *
Continuous Process Improvement * Core Competencies * Customer
Focus * Customer Loyalty * Cycle of Failure * Database Marketing *
Disruptive Technology * Employee Empowerment * Five Forces
Analysis * Flexible Manufacturing Systems * Holistic Management *
Horizontal Integration * Just-in-time * Learning Organization * Mass
Customization * Neural Networks * Quality Value Engineering *
Organizational Delayering * Paradigm Shift * Performance-Based
Compensation * Process Value Analysis * Radical Re-structuring *
Reengineering * Customer Relationship Management * Rightsizing *
Service Profit Chain * Strategic Benchmarking * Team Based
Management * Time-based Competition * Total Employee
Involvement * Total Quality Management * Economic Value Added *
Value Chain * Virtual Corporation * Zero-based Budgeting * Zero
Defections *

7. BT intranet beginnings
§ BT’s business case forecast average £57.5m/yr
§ The actual was £305m benefits for 1995/6
§ Since early 1995 there have been billions of savings
§ But… much improved customer satisfaction
§ And… European Quality Award
§ And… Completely different ways of doing business
§ And… Organisational Learning
§ And… Flexible working
§ And… The “nervous system”
§ And… Understanding (benefits)

8. Our corporate nervous system
KM principles:
Right time, Culture, policy
right place, no matter who you are and values.
right information. or where you are,
you can easily access
the people, information and
services you need to
do your job
Human design &
Business benefits

9. A selfish view of KM in BT
§ Really a personal view of KM in BT
§ ICT (IP) enabled knowledge management
§ BT.com
§ Intranet Home
§ BT Today
§ Teamconnect Directory
§ eGatekeeper
§ Intellact

10. BT.com KM inside & out
§ www.bt.com
§ 1.3m registered users,
doubled in 6 months
§ 15,000 logins/day
§ the “killer apps”
§ e-Billing (83k per day)
§ Friends & Family
§ directory enquiries
§ increasingly personalised

17. Disruptive Innovation
Applying new or novel technologies
through new or novel ways of organisation.
“enable a larger population of less skilled or less
wealthy individuals to do things once reserved for
specialists.”
(Prof’ Clayton Christensen HBS)

18. Disruptive Innovation
§ Usually very simple technology
§ Usually cheaper
§ Usually of lower performance/functionality
§ Is almost always disregarded by mainstream
§ It challenges existing wisdom & models
§ It creates, enlarges or makes more accessible markets
§ It makes what BT’s done cheap & easy!!

19. Summary
§ BT is big and complex
§ KM was and is at the heart of transformation
§ We started small
§ Growth brought some chaos
§ We have a long way to go
§ Pull not push
§ But are recognised globally for what’s been done
§ Disruption means size doesn’t matter

20. Thank you
Andrew Mitchell
Chief Innovation Officer
BT stepchange.gov
andrew.5.mitchell@bt.com
020 7778 4080