GitLab: How to Boost Telco Growth & Developer Experience

The telecommunications industry has historically thrived by being at the forefront of infrastructure innovation. However, after significant investments in global 5G infrastructure, telcos find themselves facing an innovation bottleneck. Product development has slowed and attracting top engineering talent has become more challenging than ever.

Marco Caronna, Field CTO at GitLab, notes: “After pouring billions into global 5G infrastructure over the past decade, telcos now find themselves at a critical inflexion point: product innovation has stalled and the talent needed to drive the next wave of services is proving elusive.”

A recent PwC survey underlines the gravity of the situation: nearly half of telco employees believe their companies will not survive the next decade. The landscape demands urgent change, placing renewed focus on the developer experience as a new driver for growth and relevance.

The case for developer experience

Breaking the cycle of stagnation in telecom necessitates a fundamental shift in mindset, from focusing solely on infrastructure to cultivating a culture of innovation.

As Marco argues: “Breaking this cycle demands a fundamental shift in mindset to cultivate a culture of innovation by investing in developer experience.

"The key to developer experience lies in implementing a more agile approach to product development, allowing teams to iterate quickly while maintaining the network integrity that customers depend on.”

The opportunity is heightened by advances in AI, with new technologies poised to support more innovative processes while maintaining the safety and security essential to telco operations.

Breaking the speed barrier with agile development

Success in modern telecommunications depends on how quickly operators can deliver new value to the market. As Marco highlights, the journey begins by ensuring that tools serve developers, rather than acting as barriers to progress.

“For example, Deutsche Telekom shifted its developer culture to an agile approach, enabling it to reduce release times for new products from 18 months to three months, a six times faster time-to-market," he says. "The transformation wasn’t just a process change; it required reimagining their entire development ecosystem.”

The evolution at Deutsche Telekom is echoed in other organisations. Radio France’s software teams, for instance, managed to cut deployment times by 82% and slash CI/CD infrastructure costs by 70% by consolidating their workflow to a single platform.

The examples show that the dynamic between tools and processes is crucial: “Fast tools and fast processes enable faster iteration, making developers happier and more productive and facilitating iterative development and more concise code. The virtuous cycle creates a foundation for continuous innovation rather than sporadic product launches,” says Marco. 

Streamlining processes for faster progress

A crucial step in boosting developer productivity is critically evaluating which processes are genuinely necessary.

Marco cautions: “Before laying out the building blocks of a streamlined process, it is essential to consider whether creating a process is necessary. New processes can sometimes create bottlenecks or inefficiencies that outweigh the positives.”

The traditional telco approach—characterised by heavy compliance, multi-layered approvals and excessive documentation—was born in an era of slow, infrequent network changes. Today, it risks becoming a liability.

AI now offers a fresh solution, Marco notes: “AI technologies can enable more agile methodologies, including more automated descriptions of what needs to be changed and deployed.

"Implementing AI-powered code analysis tools can automatically flag potential security vulnerabilities before they reach production, replacing manual security reviews that might take days with automated checks that take minutes.”

Minimising unnecessary bureaucracy and embracing continuous iteration are now essential. Development teams should feel empowered to focus on delivering the minimum viable change and refining their solutions in response to feedback.

Measuring what matters

Assessing developer performance means reimagining traditional metrics.

Marco advocates for a business-outcomes-driven approach, where “development teams should be encouraged and empowered to measure their work against business-focused objectives rather than relying solely on traditional developer success metrics, such as lines of code, code commits, or task completion rates.”

Developer productivity encompasses more than just task completion; it reflects team collaboration, problem-solving and the ability to drive business-relevant outcomes.

The more holistic measurement approach helps bridge the communication gap between developers and business leaders, creating a scenario where relevant, actionable metrics guide executive decisions.

Transforming telco culture

A shift to a more innovative and agile culture is not optional—the competition and the evolving market environment demand it. “With a more innovative and agile culture, telcos can reduce time to market, deliver new products faster and adapt to market shifts more quickly. An environment of continuous learning and improvement will attract engineering and product talent that might otherwise be drawn to other technology companies,” Marco observes.

Telco leaders must prepare to embrace risk and support the move towards more agile onboarding and deployment.

“This transformation requires courage and commitment, including a willingness to challenge decades of established practice to pursue a more nimble future. Telcos that successfully reimagine their developer experience will not merely be infrastructure providers, but innovation catalysts, creating entirely new categories of services that leverage their unique position at the intersection of connectivity and digital experience.”

For telcos seeking their next significant competitive edge, investing in software developer experience offers a clear path forward.

By making pragmatic changes to culture, process and measurement, telcos can break free from stagnation, foster continuous innovation and attract the talent necessary to lead in the emerging digital economy.

As Marco puts it, telcos that successfully reimagine their developer experience will transform not just their product portfolios. Still, their very identities are becoming “innovation catalysts” at the heart of digital progress.