Sky TV modernises its customer website and adds
self-service functionality.

About Sky TV New Zealand

Sky TV’s mission is to connect New Zealanders with the stories and sport they love, in ways that suit them. Established in 1990, Sky aimed to change how Kiwis watch TV, and has led the way with the first all-digital and high-definition experience available. With streaming services and more than 70 satellite channels, Sky brings thousands of TV shows, movies, and sporting events to New Zealanders via their TVs and smart devices. Recently Sky introduced fibre broadband to its New Zealand customers.

Monolithic system needed to give way for business agility

Sky relied on an ageing website that was located on-premises and used outdated technologies, restricting the business’s ability to innovate. The business was unable to add a mobile app or make changes to the site due to its monolithic structure and age of the technologies.

The Sky team wanted to add customer self-service capabilities to the website to help reduce the burden on its call centre. The old website provided only the most basic account information for customers, whereas Sky wanted customers to be able to upgrade and sign up for new services, change their preferences, and more, via self-service on the website. However, the existing website infrastructure wasn’t capable of providing this functionality.

Mark Williams, project manager, Sky TV New Zealand, said, “The previous architecture offered no agility from a delivery perspective. From a technology and security point of view, Sky wanted to move to the cloud with Software-as-a-Service for hosted content management systems (CMS) and break that monolithic system down into smaller components. This would let teams work in parallel and increase overall business agility.”

The Sky team was also preparing to introduce fibre broadband to the New Zealand market and needed to be able to streamline its customer provisioning and support by offering more self-service options online rather than overwhelming the call centre.

Capgemini delivered expertise and remote capability

Sky needed to modernise and move away from the ageing platform that underpinned its website. The Sky team required a partner that could augment Sky’s existing skillset and deliver subject matter expertise. Rather than a project manager, Sky needed an ongoing partner that could provide insight and expertise on various matters. This led Sky to choose Capgemini as its partner for this initiative.

Mark Williams said, “There aren’t many organisations that can match the volume, skillset calibre, and capability that Sky required. The timing coincided with the coronavirus pandemic disruptions, so Sky also needed a partner that could work remotely without affecting the quality or timing of delivery. Capgemini fit the bill perfectly.”

A new architecture delivered new possibilities

Without meeting the Sky team in person, the Capgemini team commenced the project while working remotely across New Zealand and tapping into resources in Australia where needed. Capgemini helped lift and shift Sky’s entire portfolio of websites onto a new, modern version of Liferay, building everything from the ground up leveraging React, React hooks, and modern front-end technologies to deliver the functionality required by Sky. This included providing self-service capabilities so customers could change their packages, review their bills, change their billing frequency and payment cards, and purchase pay-per-view items.

The Sky and Capgemini teams worked so closely that it started to feel to the team members as though they were all part of a single organisation; an outcome that Capgemini actively seeks. The team got to know Sky’s business and helped drive conversations with third-party vendors and delivered trusted advice and counsel.

New website delivers on all fronts

After successfully migrating Sky’s websites to a modern platform, the business has begun seeing significant benefits. For example, there has been a 25 per cent reduction in sales calls to the call centre due to the improved self-service capability on the site. Digital conversion has increased from four per cent to eight per cent, while there has also been a 70 percent increase in digital account upgrades.

The Sky website was upgraded in just eight months, with the broadband product offering completed in the following six months. This would have been impossible previously and it was all accomplished with most Capgemini team members never stepping foot into the Sky offices.

Mark Williams said, “Ordinarily, I would rather have the team onsite; however, COVID-19 changed that. The relationship with Capgemini had remote work baked in, so the project didn’t take a hit when lockdowns occurred. Working remotely happened seamlessly, and it also meant that Capgemini could call in talent from Australia to contribute to this project. Together, we hit the tight deadlines required by this project and successfully delivered everything that was asked for.

“Security and agility were squarely delivered. There is still plenty more upside to optimise what was delivered and make incremental improvements. The old architecture would not have allowed us to do this; however, with the new platform in place, we can continue adding new features and functionality. This will let us further refine the customer experience and potentially see even better results from the website.”

“The relationship with Capgemini had remote work baked in, so the project didn’t take a hit when lockdowns occurred. Working remotely happened seamlessly, and it also meant that Capgemini could call in talent from Australia to contribute to this project. Together, we hit the tight deadlines required by this project and successfully delivered everything that was asked for”

Mark Williams Project Manager

Snapshot:

• Sky needed to upgrade its website platformand modernise its capabilities
• Capgemini worked remotely with Sky’s team to modernise the site and include customer selfservice functionality
• The project took place during COVID-19 lockdowns; however, Capgemini’s team worked
  remotely without issue
• The project was delivered on time and included all the required functionality
• Since upgrading the website, Sky has improved conversion rates from four per cent to eight per cent, reduced sales calls to the call centre by 25 per cent, and increased digital upgrades by 70 per cent