Ep 65 - The new guard in telco tech (Erlend Pretgard)

Telco in 20

• 22 min

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Forward thinking, innovative companies are using the public cloud to deliver easy-to-use telco software that reduces costs and speeds deployments. Today’s guest, Erlend Prestgard, is the CEO and co-founder of one of these visionary businesses, Working Group Two. His team has built a multi-tenant, public-cloud-native, mobile core running on AWS—something naysayers have said today’s tech couldn’t support. Click play to hear our conversation about:  <ul> <li>Why building a mobile core network on AWS is revolutionary [03:03];</li> <li>What business value it delivers [04:11];</li> <li>How the telco industry is responding, and the outdated perceptions some leaders are still hanging onto [11:34]; and</li> <li>The most important lessons Working Group Two has learned about the best ways for telcos to get to the public cloud [15:18].</li> </ul> Listen now by clicking play above or subscribe through your favorite podcast platform—see the links in the right column above. You can find the transcript for this episode <a href="https://www.telcodr.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Transcript-EP-65-Telco-in-20-Erlend-Prestgard-wgtwo.pdf" rel="nofollow">here</a>.  Links and Resources <ul> <li>Learn more about <a href="https://www.wgtwo.com/" rel="nofollow">Working Group Two</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.telecomtv.com/content/telcos-and-public-cloud-summit/taking-the-pain-out-of-monetising-private-networks-47256/" rel="nofollow">Watch my talk about monetizing private enterprise networks</a> with Ray LeMaistre on TelecomTV</li> <li><a href="https://www.wgtwo.com/showcase/ckh-iod/" rel="nofollow">Find out how Working Group Two helped Hutchison</a> reduce its mobile core stack from 22 different vendors down to just one serving multiple countries</li> <li>Listen to my <a href="https://www.telcodr.com/ep-64-the-cloud-first-mindset/" rel="nofollow">podcast conversation with Justen Burdette</a>, CEO of Mobi, a Working Group Two customer</li> <li>Read about <a href="https://www.totogi.com/charging-as-a-service/charging-as-a-service-on-aws/" rel="nofollow">Totogi’s Charging-as-a-Service</a>, built on AWS</li> <li>Try out <a href="https://orienteeringusa.org/" rel="nofollow">orienteering</a>, one of Erlend’s favorite hobbies and a great analogy for what he and I are doing to get telcos to the public cloud</li> <li>You’re going to need more than a map to navigate the public cloud. Just like in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1KKVy-nki8" rel="nofollow">Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade</a>, you’ll need to do your research on the best services, pricing, and operational playbooks to get it working just right.</li> </ul> Wanna talk public cloud? Telco execs, set <a href="https://www.telcodr.com/contact/?utm_source=TDREm031221" rel="nofollow">up a meeting</a> with our team to learn how to tap the immense business value it can bring. Follow DR <ul> <li>Have an idea for a Telco in 20 podcast guest or topic?<a href="https://www.telcodr.com/contact" rel="nofollow"> Send it in!</a></li> <li>Want to sponsor a podcast?<a href="https://www.telcodr.com/contact" rel="nofollow"> Let us know</a></li> <li>Follow Telco in 20 on Twitter<a href="https://twitter.com/TelcoIn20" rel="nofollow"> @TelcoIn20</a></li> <li>Follow DR on Twitter<a href="https://twitter.com/TelcoDR" rel="nofollow"> @TelcoDR</a></li> </ul> The Telco in 20 podcast won a 2022 Platinum MarComm Award, a 2022 Gold Hermes Award, and was recognized as a Forrester <a href="https://go.forrester.com/blogs/the-100-best-channel-podcasts-of-2021/" rel="nofollow">Top 100 Channel Podcast</a> and Feedspot <a href="https://blog.feedspot.com/telecom_podcasts/" rel="nofollow">Top 10 Telecom Podcast</a>.  If you enjoy the podcast, would you leave us a short review? It takes you seconds to do in your app and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. And I love reading your feedback and reviews! This week’s guest About Erlend Prestgard Erlend Prestgard is CEO and co-founder at Working Group Two. He has worked at the intersection of business development and technology with telecom operators, internet companies, and industry advisors. Before leading and co-founding Working Group Two, Erlend worked with the Telenor Group, Aspiro (including the music service now named Tidal), McKinsey & Company, and UBS Investment Bank. He is on a mission to radically enhance innovation in the mobile industry.  Podcast Credits <ul> <li>Executive Producer and Host: Danielle Royston, TelcoDR</li> <li>Senior Producer: Lindsay Grubb, TillCo Media</li> <li>Editor/Marketing: Alisa Jenkins, Springboard Marketing</li> <li>Editing: Andrew Condell</li> <li>Associate Producer: Kriselda Dionisio</li> <li>Music: Dyami Wilson</li> </ul> Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com" rel="nofollow">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.