
Customer Stories
Customer Name: Ethio Telecom
Industry: Telecommunications Industry
Location/Country: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Solution: Microsoft 365 E3, Microsoft Teams.
Partner: Reliance Infosystems
Ethio Telecom is Ethiopia’s primary telecommunications service provider and one of the oldest telecom operators in Africa, originally established in 1894. As a government-owned entity, it holds a strategic position in the country’s economic and digital development agenda. Headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethio Telecom serves tens of millions of subscribers across urban and rural areas, offering a broad portfolio of services including mobile voice, fixed-line services, broadband internet, enterprise connectivity, cloud services, mobile money (telebirr), and ICT solutions tailored to various sectors.
Ethio Telecom has been instrumental in advancing Ethiopia’s digital infrastructure through major network expansions and technological upgrades such as the rollout of 4G LTE and the piloting of 5G services in selected areas. With the launch of telebirr, its mobile financial service platform, the company has also played a transformative role in fostering financial inclusion by bringing digital payment services to millions who were previously unbanked.
Ethio Telecom faced significant hurdles in its journey toward modern workplace transformation due to its continued reliance on an outdated collaboration tool. While once effective, the platform no longer met the evolving needs of a growing, dynamic workforce. This posed several critical challenges:
Limited Integration with Modern Productivity Tools: The legacy platform lacked seamless integration with essential Microsoft 365 apps, reducing workflow efficiency and creating disjointed user experiences.
Poor Support for Flexibility: The tool was not optimized for flexible work environments, leading to communication delays, missed updates, and reduced employee engagement.
Lack of Real-Time Collaboration Features: Teams struggled with limited functionality for co-authoring documents, conducting dynamic meetings, or engaging in live project updates.
Minimal Access to AI and Automation: Without built-in intelligence, employees missed out on time-saving features like meeting recaps, task suggestions, and insights that support faster decision-making.
Inconsistent User Experience Across Devices: Employees experienced disruptions and usability issues when switching between desktop, mobile, and web platforms.
Security and Compliance Limitations: The outdated system did not align with modern security and governance standards, exposing the organization to compliance risks.
Siloed Communication and Knowledge Sharing: Teams operated in isolated communication channels, hindering cross-departmental collaboration and organizational alignment.
The legacy platform lacked seamless integration with essential Microsoft 365 apps, reducing workflow efficiency and creating disjointed user experiences.
The tool was not optimized for flexible work environments, leading to communication delays, missed updates, and reduced employee engagement.
Teams struggled with limited functionality for co-authoring documents, conducting dynamic meetings, or engaging in live project updates.
Without built-in intelligence, employees missed out on time-saving features like meeting recaps, task suggestions, and insights that support faster decision-making.
Employees experienced disruptions and usability issues when switching between desktop, mobile, and web platforms.
The outdated system did not align with modern security and governance standards, exposing the organization to compliance risks.
Teams operated in isolated communication channels, hindering cross-departmental collaboration and organizational alignment.
Driven by the need for agility and cohesion, Ethio Telecom acknowledged the critical need to upgrade its communication and collaboration system.
To address these pressing challenges, Ethio Telecom partnered with Reliance Infosystems to embark on a transformative journey. Together, we focused on maximizing the business value of the organization’s recently procured Microsoft 365 E3 licenses, with Microsoft Teams at the heart of the strategy.
Microsoft 365’s enterprise-grade security and governance tools were configured to meet Ethiopia’s national data regulations, giving the organization confidence in handling sensitive information securely.
The ability to rapidly organize virtual meetings and cross-functional collaboration through Teams empowered Ethio Telecom with increased operational flexibility, enabling quicker adaptations to changing business needs.
Microsoft 365’s enterprise-grade security and governance tools were configured to meet Ethiopia’s national data regulations, giving the organization confidence in handling sensitive information securely.
Company-wide messaging, meetings, and collaborative channels helped unify the workforce around shared goals, updates, and innovations.
By leveraging the full suite of tools included in their licensing agreement, Ethio Telecom ensured a higher return on investment and reduced tool fragmentation across the business.