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Ep 43 – Telco’s Pinball Wizard: Neil McRae
BT Chief Architect Neil McRae talks about the company's digital transformation and strategies for working with hyperscalers … and pinball, of course!
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Ep 21 – How we rocked MWC21
You know that feeling when you’ve had so little sleep that you’re giddy?
I’ve been that way for 105 days. That’s how long my team and I had to create CLOUD CITY, the belle of the MWC21 ball. Every dream I had for the space back in March came true this week.
What made CLOUD CITY so great? I don’t even know where to start. Our CLOUD CITY LIVE educational programming was some of the best at the event. Cloud-native startup Totogi launched from our booth. The software vendors who joined us raved about the connections they made on the floor. Our telepresence robots brought virtual attendees into our booth to watch demos and share in the excitement. Our CLOUD CITY UNPLUGGED concerts were the talk of the industry. And all of this happened inside one of the most beautiful installations I’ve ever seen.
After the closing bell rang, I made my way to our yacht in Barcelona’s harbor, picked up a glass of champagne, and got on Google Chat with my friend David Haselwood.
Regular listeners will remember that he helped me kickoff preparations for MWC21 on episode 16 way back in March. Hit the play button to hear:
- What the crowd looked like and who actually made it to MWC21 in person [03:59];
- How we shifted the spotlight to the public cloud for telco for the first time in MWC history [5:00];
- How our openness to collaboration spawned an army of cloud evangelists [08:03]; and
- What’s in store for MWC22 [12:21].
We did it. We went all-in on MWC21 and achieved more than we dreamed possible. And that’s exactly what you’ll do when you go all-in on the public cloud.
Links and Resources
- You can find the transcript for this episode here.
- Check out this highlight reel from MWC21 – it was EPIC!
- Watch my keynote on CLOUD CITY ON-DEMAND, or listen to the podcast version of it here.
- Listen to my March 2021 conversation with David Haselwood in episode 16 of Telco in 20, #SaveMWC
- Check out all of our MWC keynotes, interviews, demos, and panel discussions.
- Visit the Totogi website – it officially launched at CLOUD CITY!
- Read industry coverage of CLOUD CITY from Fierce Telecom, Light Reading, and RCR Wireless News. RCR Wireless News also included this video interview.
- Read about MWC21 highlights on the MWC Barcelona website
- My kids barely saw me over the last four months. Remember that movie, Bad Moms?
- When I went all-in on MWC21, I was just like Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde:
– and by the end of the event I sounded just like her at 1:40 in this video
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The Telco in 20 podcast won a 2022 Gold Hermes Award and was recognized on Forrester’s 2021 list of the Top 100 Channel Podcasts and Feedspot’s Top 10 Telecom Podcasts list.
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Podcast Credits
- Executive Producer and Host: Danielle Rios Royston, TelcoDR
- Executive Producer: Kristin Donelson, OneLouder Marketing
- Senior Producer: Lindsay Grubb, TillCo Media
- Editor/Producer: Alisa Jenkins Wilson, Springboard Marketing
- Audio Editing: Andrew Condell
- Music: Dyami Wilson
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. What was CLOUD CITY at MWC21?
CLOUD CITY was TelcoDR’s takeover of Ericsson’s 65,000-square-foot booth space at MWC21 in Barcelona—built in just 105 days. It featured CLOUD CITY Live, a 50-speaker educational programming series, demos from dozens of public cloud-focused vendors, telepresence robots for virtual attendees, and a Jon Bon Jovi acoustic concert. It became the most talked-about installation at the event.
2. How did CLOUD CITY shift the conversation around public cloud in telecom?
Prior to MWC21, the public cloud was largely absent from the mainstream MWC agenda—themes were set by legacy players with little room for challengers. By building CLOUD CITY from scratch and filling it with cloud-native vendors, DR demonstrated real industry momentum around public cloud for telco, creating what she described as a “seismic shift” that even traditional media and old-guard industry figures couldn’t ignore. Read coverage from Fierce Telecom, Light Reading, and RCR Wireless News.
3. Why did DR invite other vendors—including potential competitors—into the booth?
DR’s strategy was to build a “CLOUD CITY Army”—a coalition of public cloud-focused software and infrastructure vendors grouped by category (BSS, network, IT transformation). Rather than compete for attention individually, the vendors collectively reinforced the public cloud message. As DR put it, “the sum of the parts can be greater than the whole.” Vendors raved about the organic connections made on the floor.
4. What were the key results from CLOUD CITY at MWC21?
CLOUD CITY drew 7,500 people to the booth. Totogi alone sorted through close to 500 leads. One participating vendor closed an $80 million software deal on the floor. Senior executives—including CEOs of major telco groups—attended MWC21 without large entourages, giving the CLOUD CITY Army direct, high-quality access to decision-makers that would typically take years to cultivate.
5. What is Totogi and why did it launch at MWC21?
Totogi is DR’s cloud-native charging startup, built on the public cloud. DR chose MWC21 as the official launch platform for Totogi, using the CLOUD CITY stage and the massive industry audience to introduce the company to the telecom world. The launch generated hundreds of leads in just three days—compressing what DR described as “three years of sales development into three days.”
6. Is CLOUD CITY returning for MWC22?
Yes—DR confirmed during the episode that CLOUD CITY will return for MWC22 in February. Planning was set to begin immediately after MWC21 wrapped. DR invited vendors, partners, and attendees from the 2021 event to share feedback and express interest in participating. Watch DR’s MWC21 keynote on demand to see what the CLOUD CITY Army is building.