"These technologies offer a powerful tool to drive down operating costs at scale, elevate experiences, and reimagine how functions are performed and optimized,” says Vishy Gopalakrishnan, chief transformation officer at ServiceNow.

Our research has identified an elite group of telecom companies that we call Pacesetters. These top-ranking firms are ahead of the pack across all five pillars of AI maturity: (1) AI strategy and leadership, (2) workflow integration, (3) talent and skills, (4) data governance, and (5) realizing value in AI investment. Telecom Pacesetters outscored the industry average (32.1) across all five areas, with an average score of 44.

Moreover, Pacesetters in the telecom sector saw greater improvements in gross margins, risk management, revenue growth, and competitive positioning than their peers.