Vivo Brazil's B2B Digital Expansion: More Than Just a Success Story

In a time of surging data volumes and rapid-fire technological change, businesses are prioritizing digital transformation. Inevitably, the marketplace is teeming with tech disrupters and startup unicorns, all promising optimal digital B2B solutions. Amid this cacophony, standing out is a Herculean task. Enter Brazilian telco Vivo.

The corporate segment, represented by Vivo Empresas, continues to grow and is increasingly positioning itself as a relevant competitor in the business technology market. Its ecosystem of digital solutions, made up of cloud services, cybersecurity, IoT, big data, messaging, sales and rental of IT equipment, records revenue in the last 12 months of R$ 3.2 billion, with an expansion of 28%.

Notably, digital services now comprise 6,3% of their overall revenue, a monumental feat for a company with traditional telco roots.

So, how did Vivo break from its conventional moorings to rise to digital B2B success?

"We started to construct an entire ecosystem," shared Debora Bortolasi, B2B executive director at Vivo. "That means going beyond core infrastructure in our connectivity business to providing digital services." To realize this all-encompassing service vision, Vivo established specialized subsidiaries. Among them is IoTCo Brazil, which zeroes in on IoT and big data, while two other subsidiaries cater to cybersecurity and cloud services.

Echoing Bortolasi's sentiments, Diego Aguiar, director of operations at Telefonica Tech—a subsidiary of Telefonica, the parent company of Vivo Brazil—further elaborated on their blueprint. "The way we approach not just private networks, but the entire IoT and big data market, is about creating an entire platform where we can orchestrate all these services for our clients."

Aguiar believes this integrated approach provides Vivo with an unmatched edge, allowing them to offer clients a suite of services ranging from robust private networks to data-driven insights. Moreover, all these service offerings enable the company to handle and make better sense of data than individual service providers. "Over the past year, we've been translating vast amounts of data into actionable insights, aiding clients in leveraging these daily to streamline their operations," he elaborated.

Their forward-thinking strategy has borne fruit. Vivo's digital services division is witnessing exponential growth. "We have one of the biggest sales teams in Brazil with more than 5,000 salespeople. We are succeeding, and our numbers are growing," added Bortolasi.

Vivo has also strengthened its capabilities through strategic alliances, including a partnership with Huawei, whose diverse technical solutions seamlessly dovetail with Vivo's ambitions, especially in 5GtoB, MPN, and security services. Jennifer Zhang, vice president of the CNBG Marketing and Solution Sales Department at Huawei, emphasized, "I believe we're the only vendor that can support not only 5G, fiber-optic technology, and Wi-Fi, but also cloud and AI."

Capitalizing on Huawei's campus network expertise, Vivo's team conceptualized a 5G-enabled smart warehouse – a campus network that utilizes all the technology that the company has mastered over the past few years. This innovative solution swiftly secured approval from ANATEL, Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency, for commercial deployment.

Reflecting upon this landmark venture, Aguiar opined, "This case in specific was quite interesting because we have something to show clients how they can use 5G on a daily basis – not just because of the technology, because 5G is more than 4G – but because this new network brings a lot of different features."

But Vivo's trajectory is more than mere numbers or milestones; it's a playbook for legacy carriers looking to navigate the digital age. "Compared with a single-technology integrator, carriers have the unique advantage of providing unified services," said Zhang. "More and more enterprises are tending to purchase the one-stop managed services that carriers can provide."

In a landscape littered with tales of tech disruptors and overnight successes, Vivo's evolution offers a refreshing counter-narrative. It reminds us that with vision, adaptability, and the right partnerships, traditional carriers can pivot to remain not just relevant, but dominant. As the digital B2B sector continues to expand, carriers like Vivo underscore that there isn't just a seat at the table for them but perhaps an entire banquet. As Bortolasi aptly put it, "There's immense room to grow."