Powering Next-Gen Telecom GBS with ServiceNow ESM

Introduction

With close to 6 billion mobile subscribers worldwide (GSMA report, 2025), the telecom industry is one of the most vital cogs in today’s digital economy. Yet, internally, many telecom companies are still weighed down by outdated ways of working - siloed operations across departments like IT, HR, Finance, and more. These inefficiencies don’t just affect internal teams, they ripple out and disrupt service delivery, especially to B2B clients.

The EY "Top 10 risks for telecommunications in 2025" report confirms this, pointing out that fragmented service delivery is one of the biggest roadblocks to increasing B2B revenues. As customers demand smoother digital experiences and hybrid work becomes the new norm, telecom companies need a new way forward. That’s where Enterprise Service Management (ESM) becomes crucial for telco success.

ESM breaks down internal silos by bringing support functions together on a single platform. Tech Mahindra is helping telecom companies by using ServiceNow to roll out a Global Business Services (GBS) model. This approach unifies internal workflows, boosts responsiveness, and improves both employee and customer experiences.

The Reality of Challenges in Telecom Business Services

Telecom companies manage vast infrastructures with thousands of internal processes, but support functions often operate in isolation, which results in:

• Lack of end-to-end automation and system integration: Without seamless integration, telecom companies face hurdles in streamlining operations and ensuring efficient task handling across departments.
• High volumes of manual, repetitive tasks: Employees are often burdened with mundane tasks, leading to decreased productivity and increased human error.
• Inefficient communication loops and delayed service resolution: Poor interdepartmental communication delays service resolution and lowers customer satisfaction.
• Absence of real-time visibility into processes: Lack of real-time operational insights hinders informed decisions, slowing responsiveness and causing missed opportunities.
• Disconnected platforms that raise operational costs and reduce user satisfaction: Disparate systems increase costs and complicate user experiences, leading to customer dissatisfaction.

These inefficiencies hurt workforce productivity and external service quality, slowing business responsiveness, increasing overhead, and hindering competitiveness. Addressing these challenges through robust automation and integration solutions can enhance operational efficiency, improve employee productivity, and elevate customer satisfaction.

The GBS Transformation Imperative

To handle these challenges, telecom providers are adopting a GBS model that integrates support functions into a unified operational framework. This model, powered by ServiceNow solutions and implemented by Tech Mahindra, replaces separate legacy systems with a single digital platform.

Modern GBS creates a shared services environment, offering consistent, self-service experiences across mobile, chat, and email. Features like proactive notifications, AI-based routing, and self-resolution tools enhance responsiveness. For instance, AI can route queries to the right agent or help users solve issues instantly. A unified data model improves decision-making, automation, and governance.

Behind the scenes, a structured Business Service Framework brings everything together- with a Centre of Excellence, clear ownership, and full lifecycle service management. ServiceNow enables this transformation through AI and machine learning, predicting disruptions, automating tasks, and offering real-time insights. For example, it can detect network failure patterns and alert teams before users are affected.

Moving from isolated functions to integrated service models boosts telco efficiency and agility. It streamlines operations, reduces redundancies for better resource and personnel use, and enables faster responses to changing business needs for better service delivery. This integration also supports growth by reducing operational hurdles, simplifying processes, and driving innovation, allowing telcos to expand offerings, improve customer experiences, and enhance competitiveness.

Business Impact of Modern GBS Models

Moving to a modern GBS model pays off quickly and visibly:

• Higher CSAT, ESAT, and NPS due to seamless service delivery.
• Greater flexibility for hybrid and remote working models.
• Up to 75% of requests resolved through self-service, with fewer than 5% escalated.
• Teams become more cross-functional and productive.
• Key processes like P2P, O2C, and H2R benefit from intelligent automation.
• Stronger compliance and scalability through governance-led frameworks.

Ultimately, GBS drives better engagement, lowers operational costs, and creates space for innovation.

Five Pillars of Next-Gen Telecom Business Services

Tech Mahindra and ServiceNow recommend the following structured path for a successful GBS transformation:

• Strategic Service Alignment - Build a service culture that aligns with business goals and tracks the right outcomes.
• Improved Stakeholder Engagement - Deliver consistent, personalized, omnichannel experiences, making life easier for employees and customers alike.
• Fit-for-Purpose Service Delivery - Integrate end-to-end processes and leverage hyper-automation to allow employees to focus on strategic tasks while promoting talent development and operational efficiency.
• Disruptive Technology and Innovation - Embrace innovation through AI, cloud, and Centers of Excellence to future-proof operations.
• Service Agility and Quality - Embed operational resilience with robust risk management and compliance frameworks, prioritize customer centricity, and optimize working capital to drive consistent service quality and agility.

Real-World GBS Impact in Telecom

Telcos globally are already seeing measurable benefits from GBS. Here are a few examples:

• Customer service operations: GBS has enabled AI-driven chatbots and virtual assistants to handle routine inquiries and troubleshooting, freeing human agents for complex cases and improving satisfaction.
• Telecom network management: Predictive analytics and automated monitoring systems anticipate and resolve potential failures before they occur, reducing downtime and ensuring more consistent service delivery.
• Data management and decision-making: Advanced analytics and cloud computing empower telcos to derive actionable insights from their vast data pools, enabling strategic planning and targeted marketing.
• Mergers and acquisitions: GBS helps standardise processes across merging entities, reducing disruption and speeding synergy realization.

Conclusion

It’s important to view GBS not as a one-time fix, but as a flexible, ongoing model that evolves with market needs. With ServiceNow at the core, telecom companies can unlock high-value use cases across the enterprise:

• Customer Service: Automating credit checks, onboarding, and ticket resolution.
• IT: Managing BYOD, IT assets, and development services.
• HR: Handling employee benefits, payroll, and lifecycle events.
• Finance: Automating invoice management and financial closes.
• Others: Including legal, procurement, and workplace services.

With Tech Mahindra’s telecom expertise and a sharp focus on the five transformation pillars, businesses can reduce costs, improve service delivery, and build a foundation that’s ready for the future.