Working in Information Technology

Business Sectors

Source: Target IT 2006, GTI Publishing

Author: Alex Miller, Head of service management, Orange

In the telecommunications industry technology is the product, and it is important to remain up to date with new developments in order to compete and to provide the best possible service to a wide range of customers from the business user to the youth market. This business sector can roughly be divided into three areas - wire-free operators ( e.g. Orange, Vodafone, O2 and T-mobile ), fixed line/cable companies ( e.g. BT and Cable & Wireless ) and technology organisations (e.g. Nokia and Ericsson).

Fixed-line/cable companies have concentrated in recent years on providing quicker, more effective communication with the introduction of broadband and now, with the introduction of 3G, mobile telecommunication companies are able to offer similar 'speed/power' offerings. This capability can then be leveraged by technology organisations and mobile operators who strive to develop the next generation of mobile devices and services - services which incorporate video messaging and advanced internet services into their new products whilst trying to maintain their usability for a varied customer base.

New developments

Over the last five years, the telecommunications industry have moved its focus from predominantly voice services to voice and data lifestyle products. This is particularly evident in the introduction of converged offerings, seamlessly blending the strength of mobile/fixed and broadband technologies. In the mobile arena, the biggest development and ongoing investment has been 3G. 3G allows quicker, more ambitious services such as live TV to be provided through your mobile phone and

allows vast quantities of information to be processed enabling new services such as maps that change according to your location to be developed.

Skills required

You don't necessarily have to have a vocational qualification to work in this industry as the main focus is on business and customer service. In Orange, for example, we think that it is just as important for candidates to demonstrate the right values and work ethic, to be refreshing, dynamic, honest, friendly and straightforward. It is often easier to learn the technical skills required for the job than the behaviours required to be successful in it.

Starting out

Whilst there are graduate training schemes in all of the major telecommunications organisations, there are also opportunities for graduates to be recruited into IT and development roles. Our graduate training scheme offers graduates experience in various business areas over a two year period in order to equip them with a strong foundation for further progression and this is typical for most large telecommunications employers.

Telecommunications companies operate nationally so there are opportunities to travel and work abroad. For example Orange is part of France Telecom and has a presence in most European countries.

• It's exciting to work with cutting-edge technology in a fast-paced industry.

Worst

• You have to be very reactive to customer needs and to the competition whilst still remaining focused on longer-term strategies.

Don't bother if...

...you are not customer focused and do not like working closely with a demanding customer base.

Software Engineering,

Computer Studies,

Information Technology and Multimedia Computing

The school has been actively  involved in developing course materials to supply the needs of the telecommunications industries. We host an annual research Conference PGNet which deals with the Convergence of Telecommunications, Networking and Broadcasting. The schools' Networked Appliances Lab  allows our researchers to investigate the possibilities of wireless technologies in the future and gives them hands-on experience of developing the actual software/hardware systems to support these technologies.