The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
GLOBE Telecom, Inc. said its use of artificial intelligence (AI) to predict potential network failures and enable preventive maintenance has generated about P200 million in savings.
Jennifer Jane G. Echevarria, vice-president and head of enterprise data and strategic services at Globe, said the telecommunications company has recently used generative AI to forecast possible network failures as much as three months in advance, allowing technicians to address problems before service disruptions occur.
The capability forms part of Globe’s broader strategy of embedding AI into its core operating systems rather than treating the technology as a standalone application.
“I think AI for us is firstly used more for efficiency, productivity. And then we apply it surgically,” Ms. Echevarria said on the sidelines of the National Retail Conference and Expo last week.
She said Globe combines technology, people and processes, starting with a clear definition of the problem before determining whether AI is the appropriate tool.
Globe has used machine learning for years to predict customer churn, behavior and opportunities to offer additional products.
“We build AI models to help us predict who will actually stop loading, who is actually able to churn, who has an opportunity to buy more products, [and the like]. We’ve done that more than five years ago.”
Ms. Echevarria said the company has expanded its use of AI to network reliability, with predictive tools allowing Globe to conduct maintenance before failures lead to service disruptions.
The proactive approach has resulted in about P200 million in savings, she said.
Beyond its network operations, Globe also uses AI as a “force multiplier” to reduce the workload involved in administrative and research tasks.
Ms. Echevarria cited market research as an example, saying AI is used to refine reports released to clients.
“So in research, where we use AI or data is really to help us refine our briefs or our questionnaire. [But] we still do our normal traditional market research or data analysis,” she said. “When all the data comes in, we use AI to actually process everything in a faster way. And then it will help us prepare the deck.”
She said Globe continues to keep humans involved in the process to provide the final insights contained in its reports.
The company also provides clients with specialized bots after reports are released, allowing them to ask follow-up questions without requiring a human representative to be present.