Tell us a little about yourself. What does your job at Telefónica involve?
I am responsible for B2B consulting on digital transformation and acceleration at Telefónica Empresas. I lead a senior team—people who have been “in the trenches”—that helps CEOs and management teams turn technology into business results, with three obsessions: focus, speed, and adoption.
Our job is very easy to explain and very difficult to do well: identify where the value is, prioritize it with the CEO and their committee, execute in months (not years), and ensure that the organization adopts it without disrupting the business. We don’t sell smoke and mirrors: we deliver working use cases, tested on other clients and at Telefónica, with clear metrics (revenue, margin, NPS, time-to-market, or productivity).
What is digital acceleration?
It is a concept that has become very popular in recent years. For me, it is a way of operating that reduces the time-to-value of digitization. Accelerating means moving from 18-24 month plans to tangible results in 90 days, creating a dynamic of continuous iteration. It means setting up a “factory” that converts ideas into value, with light governance, mixed business-IT teams, and adoption from day one. In conversations with business owners or CEOs, I tell them: acceleration means turning your digital strategy into cash in 90 days, and that’s when the magic begins.
How do acceleration and digital transformation differ?
When we talk about transformation, we are changing the company’s operating and cultural model. It is structural, long-term, and the CEO must be very clear that this is the way forward. Acceleration, on the other hand, is the way to execute transformation quickly, prioritizing value and continuous learning.
In other words: transformation is the “what” and the “why”; acceleration is the ‘how’ and the “when.” Without acceleration, transformation takes forever. Without transformation, acceleration only optimizes the present. Transformation defines the course; acceleration gets you there faster.
What are the benefits of digital acceleration?
Most people would say it’s the quick business results (revenue, efficiency, NPS). The quick wins. For me, I think it’s how it positively affects the organization to see that these efforts or changes are bearing fruit, and this is something that positively feeds back into the change. Once you have achieved that “extra” motivation from the organization, everything becomes easier. You begin to stand out in the market. Before, you were reactive, and little by little, you begin to be a leader, to have initiatives that no one else in your sector has, and that is fantastic.
What are its main characteristics?
A well-executed digital acceleration starts with a clear and shared business objective that guides a short plan of initiatives prioritized by impact. It is executed by mixed business and technology teams, with a business manager making decisions and the CEO removing obstacles. Governance is light and frequent (weekly reviews) to learn quickly and correct course. Technology is chosen for its ability to scale without complicating our lives, with accessible data and integrated security from the outset. Change management—communication, training, and support—is closely linked to the project to ensure real adoption. And everything is measured: every quarter, we know what value we have created and what needs to be scaled up.
How can it be implemented?
One frightening statistic is that more than 70% of transformation projects, whatever they may be, fail. That’s a very harsh figure. Sometimes we try to find someone to blame, whether it’s poor change management, a CEO who isn’t on board, resistance and internal wars, poor choice of technology… At Telefónica, we’ve experienced this ourselves. We know that we have to be very persistent in our working methods. We are very insistent with managers because we know that change is difficult and that short-term results are the sparks that keep the flame of transformation alive. In summary, for me, it is people with good methodology who make acceleration possible.
What trends does digital acceleration present for the future?
Access to technology is becoming increasingly simplified thanks to AI. The capabilities it offers people to multiply their work productivity by 10 or 100 are already here. Knowing how to introduce AI into an organization so that they know how to get the most out of it is, for me, the main short-term trend.
To give the audience an idea, just yesterday I developed an application in 10 prompts to manage the leads of my Consulting team. If you look at the quality of the application, its interface, and user experience, and really analyze that we are using platforms that were developed three months ago, you realize the profound transformation that will come in the next few years. That’s why I insist so much that everything will depend on whether the right people in organizations are able to assimilate and integrate all this.
What role does the evolution of new technologies play in digital acceleration?
Technologies are levers, not the destination. 5G/FTTH, cloud, edge, data, blockchain, AI—when well orchestrated—enable new service models and dramatically reduce the time from idea to value. But without CEO vision and cultural change, you only accelerate complexity. That’s why we integrate technology with processes and people, with security and compliance from the outset. Something I also often say is that technologies are multipliers; however, culture and leadership can change the sign of the multiplication.
Which people working at Telefónica would you nominate for this interview who you consider to be excellent at their job?
I nominate Alberto Torrón from OpenGateway.
