You need new thinking from your IT people

Call it the big squeeze

At present the industry is facing what we call ‘the big squeeze’. There is little or no control over input costs and output prices are being capped two ways - by legislation and by the fiercest competition we have ever known. As the saying goes – if you were planning to build a great utility business, you wouldn’t start from here.

But here is where we are and there are still huge opportunities for business transformation. Innovative IT from Fujitsu can help you grow value, build sales, increase share and cut costs, and you don’t have to spend money like water.

Ask British Gas. We managed to save them millions by migrating 19 million accounts from 36 systems to just 2. Or similarly ask Fulcrum, where we have doubled efficiency and cut their phone bill to zero (via a private broadband network with Voice Over IP).

But we can do more than cut costs (important though this is when margins are on the point of disappearing). Here are a few ideas on customer acquisition and retention, value extraction and call centre transformation, as well as some remarkable examples of cost reduction.In March 2004, Fujitsu agreed to be the main sponsor of the 2004 Polar Challenge. This challenge is severe – teams of three people racing on skis to the magnetic North Pole in treacherous conditions and with each person pulling a 70kg sled behind them over the icy terrain, for a minimum of 12 hours a day. This story was filmed by the BBC as part of their “The Challenge” series.