Author: Mark Callander, 2degrees Chief Executive Officer– Completion of 2degrees three-year integration project
Mark Callander, Chief Executive Officer at 2degrees, gives insight into the major three-year integration project following the merger with Vocus.
In business, it’s easy to underestimate just how complex large-scale integrations can be. They test every part of an organisation – from technology and operations to leadership and culture. Many successful companies have struggled under the weight of complex integration programmes. At 2degrees, we wanted to prove that with the right planning, people, and purpose, it’s possible not only to deliver a transformation of this scale but to thrive while doing so.
When 2degrees announced its merger with Vocus Group in 2022, it marked a defining moment for the company and the industry – creating a genuine large-scale third competitor to the telco duopoly. As Chief Executive Officer, I was responsible for leading the full integration of the two organisations. It was a monumental challenge: more than two million mobile, broadband, and energy connections needed to be brought together. We were embarking on what could be the largest customer migration ever seen in New Zealand’s telecommunications sector.
But we did it. Three years later, in August 2025, we announced the successful completion of the integration. The project was delivered ahead of schedule, without disrupting customers, and marked the culmination of a three-year programme that fundamentally reshaped our business.
Integration Without Compromise
While most organisations tackling projects of this scale rely heavily on offshore vendors and pre-built systems, we chose a different path. We invested in local capability – our own in-house engineers, developers, and transformation leaders – to design, build, and operate a system tailored to our customers and our market.
The result is Tahi, our business support system (BSS) which gives us complete control over our technology and the agility to meet customer needs faster than anyone else. This wasn’t your garden-variety IT project. It was a complete re-engineering of how we operate, how we serve customers, and how we innovate.
It’s a fully integrated technology stack that gives us a single, real-time view of every customer and connection. Our service teams now have complete visibility of every product and interaction – whether mobile, broadband, or electricity – enabling faster, more personal, and more efficient support.
It wasn’t the easiest route, but it was the right one.
Culture at the core
I’m a firm believer that technology alone doesn’t deliver transformation, people do. From the outset, we made it a priority to maintain the strong, customer-focused culture that has defined 2degrees since day one. Integrations of this scale have the potential to distract and disrupt, but our culture has become a source of stability and strength.
We built cross-functional teams that brought together experts from both 2degrees and Vocus, united by a single transformation goal. Clear communication, shared accountability, and trust were non-negotiable. Leadership visibility was critical; our senior leaders were active participants, providing direction, making decisions quickly, and removing barriers.
Even as we navigated the technical challenges of merging networks, systems, and teams, we kept one question front and centre: How will this make things better for our customers? That focus guided our decisions, helped us prioritise what mattered most, and ensured we delivered without compromise.
Owning our future
Owning and operating our own BSS platform gives us far more than operational efficiency, it gives us control over our future. With Tahi, we’re no longer constrained by the roadmaps of global software providers or the limitations of legacy systems. We can move faster, adapt quicker, and innovate on our terms.
That investment is already paying dividends. One of the first major innovations to emerge from the platform is Flex: our powerful new self-service portal for business customers that simplifies account management, streamlines reporting, and provides real-time insights across mobile and broadband services.
Built on the foundations of Tahi, Flex is designed to evolve as business customers’ needs change, offering a level of transparency and control that traditional telco systems simply can’t match. This flexibility is particularly valuable for our enterprise and public-sector clients, who expect responsiveness, reliability, and tailored solutions. With our unified platform, we can deliver that and more across every touchpoint.
Delivering growth through transformation
For many organisations, large scale integrations can become growth inhibitors. The organisation maintains such an inward focus it leads to stalling momentum. For us, it became a growth accelerator. We demonstrated that transformation and performance can coexist when guided by a clear purpose and disciplined execution.
Throughout the merger, we were still eyeing ambitious YOY growth targets which we delivered on. In FY25 2degrees delivered $42.9 million in year-on-year topline revenue growth, a testament to both the resilience of our people and the strength of our strategy.
It also sets the stage for what comes next. With unified, future-ready technology foundations, we are now better positioned than ever to innovate, compete, and grow. Our renewed three-year strategy is clear: to be New Zealand’s number one telco by value, innovation, and growth. The completion of Tahi gives us the platform (literally and figuratively) to get there.
A platform for the future
2degrees’ story has never been linear. We’ve grown through innovation, M&A, and continuous evolution. Each chapter has strengthened our ability to bring businesses together and deliver something greater than the sum of its parts.
Today, as a billion-dollar organisation serving more than 2.3 million connections, we’re entering a new era defined by ownership, agility, and innovation. Completing our integration isn’t the end of the journey; it’s the beginning of a new phase of growth.
We’ve proven that transformation on this scale can be done right here in New Zealand. With Tahi at the heart of our operations, we’ve built a platform that will continue to evolve, adapt, and keep Kiwi businesses connected for the future.
