BT 2016 Annual Report Download - page 121

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127
Technology Committee
Chairman’s report
Who we are
I chair the Technology Committee , which was created in November
2014 to improve the Board’s oversight of technological
developments and how the group manages technology strategy
and risk. Our membership and meeting attendance are set out
below.
Committee members
Meetings
Member Eligible to attend Attended
Gavin Patterson (chairman) 3 3
Tony Ball 3 3
Iain Conna1 1
Warren Eastb0 0
Mike Inglisc2 2
Karen Richardson 3 3
Clive Selleyd3 3
Howard Watsond0 0
a Iain was appointed to the committee from 1 January 2016.
b Warren retired from the committee with eect from 31 May 2015.
c Mike was appointed to the committee from 1 September 2015.
d Clive is no longer a member of the
Technology Committee in his new role as CEO Openreach.
He was replaced by Howard Watson (CEO BT TSO) with eect from 1 February 2016.
Iain and Mike both bring a wealth of technical expertise to the
committee, and I am also pleased to welcome Howard, who
replaced Clive in February. I would like to thank Clive for the
contribution he made to the
Technology Committee in his former
role as CEO BT TSO.
What we have done
We met three times this year. The chart below shows how we
allocated our time.
“From dening the next generation of ultrafast
broadband technologies, to delivering global IT
solutions via our BT Cloud of Clouds or protecting
our people and customers from the ever increasing
threat to cyber security, technology and innovation
are the very foundation of our business and are key
to driving sustainable growth.”
“Technology strategy
In the past year we reviewed our strategy and progress on ultrafast
broadband. This included the new G.fast technology pioneered
in BT labs at Adastral Park and currently in trial in three locations
around the UK. We also discussed the technology options, both
fixed and wireless, that could help us reach as many customers as
possible with faster broadband speeds.
As part of the EE integration planning activity, we looked at how
the acquisition could create opportunities for our networks and
systems to improve services and deliver new capabilities for our
customers.
We discussed our areas of focus for future meetings, and agreed
that we will:
• revisit and review progress on the EE integration plan for
technology;
• assess the trends driving customer requirements and discuss
how our technology can help to meet these; and
• continue to review our technology strategy and risks.
Future technology
We spent time looking into potential future technologies,
which could help us to meet the increasing requirements of our
customers. Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV), Software
Defined Networking (SDN), Flexgrid Terabit optical networks, Cloud
of Clouds and other emerging technologies will create important
opportunities for us as we strive to deliver higher‑capacity services,
with greater service levels in faster and more exible ways.
Cyber security
The committee also receives regular updates on cyber security,
to better understand how we are protecting our people and
customers. The scale and complexity of cyber-attacks has
continued to increase this year, and it is more important than
ever that we understand the nature of the attacks, and how to
prevent them.
As a result, we have taken immediate action where possible
to reinforce our defences, and have a wider programme in place
to ensure our systems and networks remain resilient to future
potential threats.
Gavin Patterson
Chairman of the Technology Committee
4 May 2016
37%
14%
Governance
Technology strategy
17%
Future technology
11%
Technology investment
Allocation of time
21%
Technology risk