Archana Jain is Verizon Partner Solutions’ new CIO, leading the global VPS technology team as it builds out systems and services to enhance the VPS customer journey. A twenty-year Verizon veteran, Archana has worked across many different Verizon teams, but with a common thread – how technology can be used to improve the customer experience. Now, she’s turning her attention to Verizon’s wholesale customer base, looking at both technology enablement and digital transformation.
"I moved into Verizon Partner Solutions to look at how technology can be best used to support our wholesale customers,” said Archana. “Verizon, as with many other companies around the globe, is currently focused on digitization in general, and how it can help both our customers and our employees. I’m really enjoying working with the VPS team as it is very open to new ways of working using Design Thinking and Agile practices."
She continued: “My first job within VPS was to look at the existing customer support systems. In particular, I wanted to identify any quick wins - where significant customer experience gains could be made quickly and efficiently. VPS communicates with its customers via a portal and a B2B Channel based on the customers’ requirements, so I felt there were three main areas to consider:
The key here was to really listen to what the customers were saying – VPS always works very closely with its customers, so this was a natural extension of the existing customer relationship.”
For larger customers, who want their employees/customers to be able to use their own portal, Verizon provides a secure, scalable and fast connection to our systems, so it’s all about the application program interface (API). The VPS team, under Archana, has set about redesigning the API experience, using APIGEE as its platform, and developing product, ticketing and ordering APIs according to TMForum Industry Standards. The end goal is to let customers explore available APIs, copy code snippets and test online via a self-serve platform – so eliminating any back and forth with Verizon IT/marketing/account teams.
With regards to the customer portal, Archana has initiated an improvement program that aims to further simplify the customer journey as customers look to order products and services. The plan is to enable a seamless experience, rather than one individualized to product and geography, where information is entered once, and flows seamlessly. The team is already well underway in terms of making this plan a reality.
Responsiveness is really about making sure service delivery happens as quickly as possible – that the portal, call centers, operations centers, and any other customer connections are automated. Robotic process automation, introduced last year, has enabled bulk quoting timing to be significantly reduced, and also reduced errors due to manual intervention. Live chat capabilities are coming, to allow customers to communicate with VPS when and how they want, and get help more quickly.
In her previous roles, Archana has worked on projects such as Quote to Bill, service management and enterprise billing automation, as well as customer self-service initiatives. In her most recent role as Executive Director for Contact Center Management, she enabled mobility and speech analytic solutions, and modernized Verizon’s enterprise CRM platform to better serve customers. She’s also been part of the team looking at how Verizon can use its own SDN/NFV to innovate and revolutionize its managed services capabilities.
In addition, Archana has been leading Agile and Design Thinking transformation efforts within Verizon for several years. She is now applying all her skills and experience to the wholesale environment. “It’s really about understanding the customer’s unmet needs and working collaboratively with them in an agile manner,” she adds.
Archana concludes: “Verizon Partner Solutions is already the preferred partner for all our global customers, and we are continuing to work to make it even simpler, easier and fast for them to work with us and pick the right solutions to meet their own customers’ needs. We’ve already made great progress on this journey, and I look forward to continuing the conversation over the coming weeks and months!”
