TM Forum’s chairman Keith Willetts’ new book, “Unzipping the Digital World,” available in Mandarin for first time

Beijing, China – A “no-holds-barred” look at the impact of the digital economy has been published in China for the first time.

First published last year in Europe, the book, “Unzipping the Digital World“, was written by Keith Willetts, the founder and Chairman of the TM Forum – the global industry association that helps its members create, deliver and operate communications and cloud-based digital services.

Subtitled “How to Thrive and Survive,” the book examines the market drivers, opportunities and threats that the digital world is creating for many companies, especially in the communications and IT sectors and lays out a series of practical steps to show how today’s giants can exploit the digital world and avoid the fate of digital casualties like Kodak, MySpace and the music publishing industry.

The book was translated with the help of AsiaInfo-Linkage, China’s largest telecommunications operational software and services company. CEO Steve Zhang, who also wrote a foreword for this new edition, said the company was proud to have helped bring the book to a Chinese audience.

“This book has lessons for many industries and I am sure that both the current and the future generations of business leaders in China will find much to learn from the book and the experiences that are so clearly explained and analysed.”

Mr. Willetts is signing copies of the Mandarin edition of his book during an international executive summit in Beijing on 26th April, organized by AsiaInfo-Linkage and hosted by China Unicom. The summit addresses IT transformation for the telecommunications industry in the new digital economy, and Mr. Willetts will give a keynote speech at the event. All participants at the summit will receive a signed copy of the book.

In the book, Mr Willetts examines the digital explosion powered by the massive rise in global connectivity, the rapid evolution of cloud services, and the enormous advances in smart devices. He unzips the market to dissect the emerging digital ecosystem – a battleground he likens to a digital version of the American Wild West. 

Mr Willetts also offers numerous tips and advice on what companies need to do to thrive and survive, and his thoughts on the fate of companies that don’t change quickly enough may make uncomfortable reading for some.

“Change brings opportunity but it often damages the established order,” said Mr Willetts. “With the digital world driving the most profound shift we’ve ever seen there will be a lot of both – and it will happen much faster than many people think.”

Unzipping the Digital World provides lessons for every industry, but particularly focuses on the communications sector which is simultaneously a key enabler of the digital world but also a sector under major threat. 

Mr Willetts explains that in order to prosper in this digital world, companies need visionary leadership, speed, agility, innovation, and the ability to deliver outstanding customer experience and manage partnerships highly effectively. They must also learn how to “master” Big Data and turn it from worthless ‘lead’ into information ‘gold’ he writes. 

“These are messages that resonate with AsiaInfo-Linkage,” added Mr Zhang, “and we certainly pride ourselves on the technology and support we can provide to our own customers for Big Data analytics. As we ourselves enter the European market for the first time, we are pleased to help launch this book in China.”