<< Dominique Cuypers Telecom Manager at H.Essers supports efficient collaboration between colleagues
technology explained The cloud: what, how, why?
business magazine for top ict professionals Q2 / June 2013 • www.onemagazine.be
Let me work the new way
Annemie Depuydt’s vision of IT • 3D printing • VIP treatment for your mobile data • Renmans gets more out of digital signage • Security against DDoS attacks
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editorial
technology explained
<< Dominique Cuypers Telecom Manager at H.Essers supports efficient collaboration between colleagues
The cloud: what, how, why?
business magazine for top ICT professionals Q2 / June 2013 • www.onemagazine.be
Let me work the new way
Annemie Depuydt’s vision of IT • 3D printing • VIP treatment for your mobile data • Renmans gets more out of digital signage • Security against DDoS attacks
A publication of Belgacom Year 7 / number 18 / Q2 2013 Publisher: Belgacom nv, a public limited company Koning Albert II-laan 27, 1030 Brussels Concept and production: Propaganda nv Imperiastraat 16, 1930 Zaventem www.propaganda.be
Coordination: Charline Briot, Markus Eggermont, Robbin Sacré, Jean-Marie Stas, Dirk Van Dijck Contributors: Olivia Arend, Andrew Beavis, Klaar De Groote, Kristof De Spiegeleer, Davy Goris, Stef Gyssels, Peyo Lissarrague, Frederic Petitjean, Anneke Stoffels, Dries Van Damme, Marc Van de Velde, Filip Van Loock, Frank Van Massenhove For more information, contact: Robbin Sacré robbin.sacre@belgacom.be ISO 9001 certified Envoyez un mail à robbin.sacre@belgacom.be afin d’obtenir un exemplaire de ce magazine en français. Mail naar robbin.sacre@belgacom.be om een exemplaar van dit magazine in het Nederlands te ontvangen. The technical specifications are indicative only. Belgacom reserves the right to make changes without prior notification.
The new way of working It’s very much the topic of the moment: the new way of working. The amount of interest it’s currently generating naturally has to do with the technology that is profoundly changing the way we work. The availability of tablets and smartphones combined with a fast, mobile Internet connection now means that you can access applications and data from your work environment freely, regardless of time and place. However, this is not what the new way of working is fundamentally about. If we want to be able to maintain and strengthen our position in the global economy, we are going to have to work more productively, and if we want to keep our pension system affordable, we are all going to have to continue working for longer. That is the essence of the new way of working: finding a different way to organize our working lives. For employers, the challenge of the new way of working is to create a context in which employees are motivated to work more productively and for longer. As a technology partner for your company, Belgacom supplies the infrastructure and tools to put the new way of working into practice. What’s more, we go beyond the technological aspects alone. We can also provide support for the HR-related needs associated with the new way of working.
Bart Van Den Meersche, Executive Vice-President Enterprise Business Unit Belgacom
Read One magazine on your tablet. Go to the App Store or Google Play and download the free app or surf to www.onemagazine.be.
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Annemie Depuydt: “The new way of working is a perk, not an obligation.”
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Becloud e-Commerce
Your e-shop in just a few mouse clicks
news & views
solutions
06 column Kristof De Spiegeleer Welcome to the new way of working 07 cockpit Facts & Figures 30 people & vision Annemie Depuydt “The new way of working is a perk, not an obligation.” 34 technology explained The cloud: what, how, why? 39 book review ‘Fabricated: The New World of 3D printing’ 3D printing: a brave new world? 42 column Frank Van Massenhove Not time, but productivity
12 solutions Belgacom Explore The most reliable path for your data traffic 16 products Mobile desktops & Featured apps Discover the latest smartphones and apps for the mobile professional 28 solutions Security against DDoS attacks Zombies are after you 29 solutions Becloud e-Commerce Your e-shop in just a few mouse clicks 33 solutions Business Priority VIP treatment for your mobile data 38 solutions Belgacom Mobile Management Services An expert does it for you
dossier
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The new way of working
New corporate culture, new ecosystem
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corporate info
a look back at XperienceIT2.013
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H.Essers: “Microsoft Lync offers a platform that allows employees to work together more efficiently, regardless of their location or device.”
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editorial Bart Van Den Meersche The new way of working one on one Emakina en Bilfinger ROB 10 questions for 2 CIOs. A look at the person behind the position corporate info Belgacom gets award for Telecom Services Company of the Year, Telindus Luxembourg starts self-service cloud, Belgacom again Top Employer in 2013 and a look back at XperienceIT2.013
H .Essers “ We decided to switch to IP telephony and at the same time to implement a solution to support smoother collaboration between coworkers.” Dominique Cuypers, Telecom Manager, and Wouter Schuurmans, Senior System Engineer at H.Essers
14 Imtech ICT België “ Via the as-a-service model, our clients are free to continue concentrating on their core activities.” Dirk Devoghel, head of Systems Engineering at Imtech ICT Belgium
26 Renmans
round table
“ We choose to display information on the screens about our commitments to our customers. In this way, digital signage supports our quality policy.” Thomas Bovy, IT Manager at Renmans
36 Intercommunale Namuroise de Services Publics
“ The high-quality online consultation strongly encouraged our users to make use of our monitoring portal, which they consult with a lot more fluidity and speed than using a landline.” Pol-Henry Lebrun, head of the Remote Monitoring Unit and on-call service
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Coporate culture determines the new way of working (and vice versa)
Balance between work and free time
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Welcome to the new way of working Identikit Kristof De Spiegeleer is a serial entrepreneur in the ICT sector, specializing in the optimization of datacenter technologies. Through Incubaid, De Spiegeleer’s incubation center, the ability to combine new technologies and management know-how has formed the basis for technology start-ups such as Amplidata, Awingu, Dacentec and Racktivity. De Spiegeleer is a pioneer in the shift towards cloud computing in Europe.
“ Instead of resisting change, HR professionals and line managers need to embrace new technology and use it as a positive tool for improving productivity.” Virtualising the desktop has been instrumental to a more enlightened way of working. But organisations must embrace the change to reap the most benefits and avoid the negative impact. Technology within the modern office environment has changed a lot over the last four decades. The typewriters, noisy photocopiers and green screen terminals of the 1970s have given way to powerful and portable laptops and tablets. Workers effectively chained to the fixed-desk infrastructure are now freed through campus-wide Wi-Fi and roaming 3G networks. Organisations are flexible – living across time zones as e-mail and line of business apps become accessible both in and out of the office. As a society, the rise of teleworking has allowed more gender equality across the workforce as allowances for the raising of children create a better worklife balance. Today, some experts estimate nearly 10% of the workforce telework and technology has been at the heart of this shift.
Virtual and mobile workforce One of the big drivers is the extension of the traditional desktop IT environment onto remote devices. Although the technology has evolved through many iterations such as terminal services, thin clients or more recently virtual desktop (VDI), the ability to run centrally managed yet remotely deployed desktops onto devices of all shapes and sizes is prompting a new way of working. Different technology vendors argue over the straight CAPEX cost benefits of VDI versus a traditional desktop
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deployment. But when you also consider factors like reduced office space, lower travel costs, reduced complexity and fewer IT support staff, the true value quickly stacks up. Some experts suggest teleworkers using cloud technology are between two to four times less expensive than office-based coworkers.
A change in attitude Technology is one area but cultural change is still a challenge. Instead of resisting change, HR professionals and line managers need to embrace new technology and use it as a positive tool for improving productivity. However, this change needs to be fundamental to the DNA of the organisation and not an underground movement that may cause unintended damage. For example, remote groups working on a joint project must be able to share resources and collaborate in a structured fashion. If organisations fail to provide the right tools, then individuals will instead use ad-hoc methods like Dropbox and shared passwords without consulting the IT department. This can lead to security breaches and expensive regulatory breaches. Organisations also need to protect their investment in people. A company that makes life difficult for skilled staff with families (who want to use teleworking to increase flexibility) will simply lose talent to more progressive rivals. Technology, especially cloud-based platforms, can help promote a more agile workplace. Organisations that recognise and embrace the shift by providing the latest systems to help workers adapt will reap the rewards of a productive and engaged workforce.
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in figures
The average person spends 66 hours a month in front of a computer. Each day, 160 billion e-mails are sent. 97% of these are spam.
Online shopping, shopping, shopping… Although 70% of people claim to shop online on a weekly basis, only 35% buy directly from the brand website. In fact, buying from the brand website is actually cheaper, according to 44% of those surveyed. However, there may be some downsides, such as poorer service or shorter product warranties.
What if Facebook was a country? China 1.3 billion
India 1.2 billion
Facebook 500 million
United States 310 million
If Facebook was a country, it would be the third largest in the world, with some 500 million “inhabitants”. Only China and India have a higher population, with 1.3 and 1.2 billion inhabitants respectively.
By the end of 2012, there were 252 million Internet addresses registered according to Verisign. This is a growth of 26.6 million in a single year. 70 pages per minute. That’s the speed of the world's fastest desktop inkjet printer. The device, the Officejet Pro X, was developed by HP.
22 vs 7 Do you get eye strain from looking at a computer screen for an extended period of time? This happens because we blink less frequently than normal. Ordinarily, we blink our eyes an average of 22 times a minute. But when we’re looking at a computer screen, that drops to 7 times a minute, which causes the eyes to become dry and feel irritated.
13.4 billion Already in the first three months of 2013, according to Canalys, 13.4 billion apps were downloaded from the four biggest app stores: Apple’s App Store, Google Play, Windows Phone Store and BlackBerry World.
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10 questions for 2 cios 1
What is your biggest professional achievement? Founding Ex Machina in 1991, a communications agency specialized in new technologies. It has since become part of the Emakina group with offices in Brussels, Paris, Limoges, Rotterdam, London and Geneva.
2
Who would you like to sit next to on an airplane and what would you ask him or her? Unfortunately, it’s no longer possible, but I would have loved to have had the chance to sit next to Steve Jobs. My first question would’ve been: When can you hire me?
“ If you need to inspire your colleagues, it’s better to be in the same room.”
3
Apple, even after the Steve Jobs era. Apple understood from the very start that it’s about the total experience and they still deliver that. When it comes to cars, I’m loyal to Jaguar because, as cars, they also give that kind of experience. 4
Brice Le Blévennec
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What don’t your employees know about you? That I’m a writer. I’ve got the rough outlines for a couple of novels. But sadly, I don’t have enough time at the moment to work further on them. Not everyone knows that I often have a good bash on my drum set at home. Music is very important to me.
General Manager at Emakina
Personal: Brice Le Blévennec is a visionary manager in the full sense of the term. He has an aversion to old-fashioned corporate structures and inefficient processes. But he’s not an advocate of working from home. “It’s better when colleagues who need to be able to inspire each other come together in the same space.” Career: In 1991 Brice founded Ex Machina. In 1998 he launched the digital agency Ex Machina Interactive Architects which merged with Emalaya in 2001. In 1999 together with a number of partners he started the initiative ContactOffice Group (active in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the USA). Brice Le Blévennec is currently the head of the Emakina group. Company: The Emakina group is made up of the agencies Emakina (Brussels, Paris, Limoges, Rotterdam, London and Geneva), Emakina.EU and Emakina/ Media (Brussels), Design is Dead (Antwerp), The Reference (Ghent) and YourAgency (Waterloo). Their core activities include strategic brand management, brand activation, website construction and application development. Workforce: Emakina has a total of 450 employees, including 250 developers in the ICT department.
What brand has your undying loyalty?
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What would you have done if you hadn’t ended up doing this job? I’d be a writer and I’d also create video games. Invest more time in my ‘private club’.
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What do you regard as the single most important invention of the past 20 years? No question, the Internet. It completely changed the world we live in.
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What invention would make your life easier? A practical electronic system to replace keys. It’s ridiculous that we still carry around keys, an invention that dates from the Middle Ages.
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What do you think will be the next major trend in technology and IT? Tiny ‘computers’ that we’ll carry with us everywhere. And also smart objects. Thanks to smartphones and Wi-Fi, we’ll be able to control everything remotely.
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How do you see your role as CIO evolving over the next 20 years? What leadership skills do you consider important for a CIO? The CIO will have more influence on policy and will communicate more with the outside world. It’s high time that companies adjust to the ‘New World’. The old-fashioned vertical corporate structures and inefficient processes are going to have to evolve.
10 If you could choose between having your employees work from home
or at the office with you, as a manager which would you prefer?
I prefer to have everyone at the office. In order to collaborate with specialists, it’s better to get together in person. Otherwise the efficiency suffers. You have to be able to constantly inspire each other. Teleworking is suitable for long or repetitive tasks, and solitary tasks.
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one on one
Each issue of One will feature a look at the person behind the position. Discover the often surprising and inspiring answers. Who knows? Maybe you’ll be next. 1
What is your biggest professional achievement? The fact that, since 2002, all the sites have been connected to our head office via broadband. The individual islands are now part of one big network. All the software and data is housed at our head office and everyone can access it.
2
Who would you like to sit next to on an airplane and what would you ask him or her? Barack Obama. Not to ask him anything but just to say thanks. I have a lot of respect for the man and I’m mainly just glad that there are also ‘normal’ Americans out there who want to contribute positively to the world.
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What brand has your undying loyalty? I’m allergic to brand loyalty. I just buy whatever is attractive or tasty. When it comes to IT, though, I do like to stick to a single brand: HP.
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What don’t your employees know about you? I’m sure my employees would be surprised to know that I’ve worked for 20 years as a DJ on the side. Once I leave the office, I’m really a fun-loving guy. I’m also chairman of a billiards club.
Paul Van Horen
What would you have done if you hadn’t ended up doing this job?
Personal : Paul Van Horen is a diplomatic IT Manager who attaches great importance to communication. At the office, he keeps a strict watch over the organization and its budgets, but he’s also a true bon vivant and instigator of fun. Career: Forty years ago, Paul went to work for a shipbuilding company. After 15 years there, he started a graduate degree in information technology because he sensed that the ship repair business in Belgium was rapidly declining. Shortly after gaining his degree, he joined his current employer where he has been in charge of IT for the past 25 years. Company: Bilfinger ROB is part of Bilfinger Industrial Services GmbH (BIS), an industrial service provider which, in turn, forms part of the publicly quoted German concern Multi Service Group Bilfinger SE. Specializing in the manufacture and assembly of piping systems and ovens, assembly and alignment of equipment, devices and machines. Workforce: The 560 employees provide full-service solutions to customers. The internal IT department has a staff of three. The client portfolio includes refineries, (petro) chemical and pharmaceutical companies, nuclear plants, gas producers, steel industries ...
I would probably have built up an entire career in the entertainment world. Maybe I would have gone to work for the VRT or for a major artist. I like to entertain people. 6
What do you regard as the single most important invention of the past 20 years? The ability to inject cells and synthetic molecules into organs in order to make them grow faster. Thanks to this technique, operations can be avoided. I’m afraid of anesthesia, so I think it’s a fantastic invention.
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What invention would make your life easier? An intelligent spam filter for your phone that can distinguish between calls from people you want to be able to reach you and the others that you only want to take at certain times, or not at all.
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hat do you think will be the next major trend in technology W and IT? A trend towards license-free software. I expect that you’ll be able to zap from one piece of software to the next and pay for the work-minutes. The software will be provided the way it currently works with TV channels.
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How do you see your role as CIO evolving over the next 20 years? What leadership skills do you consider important for a CIO? I’ve seen the importance of IT grow from an advisory to a directing role. IT is a major element in providing service because it fulfills the needs of the client. But for companies such as Bilfinger ROB, IT is not an absolute necessity.
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“ I expect that software will be provided like TV channels.”
If you could choose between having your employees work from home or at the office with you, as a manager which would you prefer? I prefer to have my two helpdesk employees at the office. Our users need to be able to speak to someone in person, to see that someone is taking an interest in their problem.
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ICT Manager at Bilfinger ROB
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H.Essers picks Microsoft Lync
Collaboration on wheels
Company profile “ Microsoft Lync offers a platform that allows employees to work together more efficiently, regardless of their location or device.” Dominique Cuypers, Telecom Manager, and Wouter Schuurmans, Senior System Engineer at H.Essers
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H.Essers manages 850,000 m2² warehouse space in addition to a fleet of 1,200 tractive units and 2,300 trailers. The company has over 3,700 employees, spread throughout 32 locations in 11 countries in Western and Eastern Europe. In 2012, H.Essers posted a turnover of 393 million euros.
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H.Essers
H.Essers supports the collaboration between its employees with Microsoft Lync. After a successful pilot project, Belgacom will soon be rolling out the solution to all of the Belgian locations of H.Essers. At the same time, the platform offers a solid basis for integrating acquisitions. Henri Essers founded his company in 1928. Since then, H.Essers has grown into one of the largest European players in the transport and logistics sector for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, among others. In the past ten years, H.Essers has experienced rapid growth, in part thanks to a number of strategic takeovers. In addition to the head office in Genk, H.Essers has a second home base in Romania. The company is focused on an asset-based strategy. H.Essers is the owner of the fleet, warehouses and IT systems. This allows the company to maintain optimal control over all strategic processes. Thus, H.Essers is able to rapidly respond to changing customer demands and shifts in the international market. H.Essers differentiates itself in areas such as the support for its activities through IT. The company has an IT department with 80 employees. They are responsible for developing their own systems for warehouse management and transport management. The IT environment of H.Essers - which includes two datacenters of its own - is based on Windows, Citrix and Hyper-V.
Deep integration The growth of H.Essers has led, over the years, to an extremely heterogeneous situation in terms of telephony, with some 1,200 landlines and an equal number of mobile numbers. The infrastructure relied on telephone switchboards of diverse brands and types, distributed throughout virtually all of the company’s locations in all the different countries. “We decided to switch to IP telephony and at the same time to implement a solution to support smoother collaboration between coworkers,” explains Dominique Cuypers, Telecom Manager at H.Essers. After a market study, the solution they picked was Microsoft Lync, the solution from Microsoft for unified communications. Belgacom offers Microsoft Lync in an global package. The connectivity and functionalities for video and the contact center are inlcuded. “The central management and deep integration with other Microsoft applications - such as Office, SharePoint, Outlook, CRM and
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System Center - were decisive factors,” continues Wouter Schuurmans, Senior System Engineer at H.Essers. In late 2012 a first pilot plan was carried out in the IT department at H.Essers. In order to ensure good collaboration between Citrix and Lync, the company decided - where necessary - to roll out new thin clients. In this way, the company was able to fully embrace Lync 2013, in combination with a plan for SIP-trunking for some 1,000 telephone lines. “The latter aspect played a role in our choice of Belgacom as project partner,” Cuypers noted. “Belgacom is an expert in telephony, and also in the integration of landlines and mobile phones. What’s more, we use the Explore network and we were happy to expand the relationship with Belgacom.”
Higher productivity For H.Essers the added value of Microsoft Lync lies chiefly in the functionality for presence and videoconferencing. The company has many employees working in different locations. Via Lync they can now instantly see whether their coworkers are available and, if so, through which communication channels. Schuurmans: “The major advantage is in the efficiency of smoother collaboration, also thanks to the integration with Active Directory and SharePoint. In addition, the solution has saved on costs, because there is less need for travel and the time this saves boosts employee productivity.” What’s more, Lync also offers a good basis for teleworking. Employees with on-call duty can also be reached at home and they no longer need to come into the office. In this way, Lync fits perfectly within H.Essers’ strategy to use IT to differentiate itself in the marketplace. But the project does have an impact on the employees’ network and hardware. That’s why H.Essers is investing in IT infrastructure, so that it can later roll out Lync nationwide. After that will follow the sites in the Netherlands and Romania.
Business benefits •A single platform for all communication: speech, e-mail, fax, instant messaging, presence, videoconferencing •M ore efficient communication thanks to the better reachability of employees •L ess travel, resulting in lower costs and time savings •P latform simplifies the integration of acquisitions
For more cases, see www.onemagazine.be or for more info about Lync, see www.belgacom.be/lync-en.
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Belgacom Explore, the most reliable path for your data traffic
YouTube
COMPANY Network uptime
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Are you looking for a private network for your company that can connect all your sites and employees securely and flexibly? Well, look no further! Belgacom Explore is a highly reliable network that is available anywhere in Belgium. This customized solution supports full convergence of IT and communication, voice and data, fixed and mobile solutions, LAN and WAN.
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Business benefits • Ultra-fast network with high availability • National and international connectivity • Fixed and mobile range • Secured network, thanks to monitoring • Range of extra services available: • Different SLA contracts and QoS • Backup • Internet access • A pplication-aware networking • Extensive reporting
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• S IP trunking • Security in the cloud • Connection to the Belgacom cloud • VPN • M obile VPN • Extranet
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Imtech ICT Belgium is counting on Belgacom Netcenter
Business continuity as a service When Imtech ICT Belgium comes up with a solution for a customer, it won’t necessarily be housed at that customer’s datacenter. Many companies prefer a solution as a service (SaaS), in which case Imtech ICT Belgium hosts the application at the Belgacom Netcenter in Machelen.
The Dutch group Imtech has a workforce of some 1,000 employees in Belgium. Imtech is a technical service provider whose activities in Belgium include not only an engineering office, but also a project organization service and a maintenance department. The company is active in areas such as office construction, industry, the maritime sector and roadside infrastructure. For Imtech, ICT forms an essential part of its strategy. Thanks to the international division Imtech ICT - which operates in 8 countries - the group has an important differentiator for its traditional business. Imtech developed its ICT division in Belgium via the acquisition of Fit IT, Ebit and Thinking Solutions. The company offers a range of integrated services through an as a service model. These include endpoint management, monitoring and backup.
Focus on core activities Some of the solutions that Imtech ICT offers its clients in Belgium are hosted at the Belgacom Netcenter in Machelen. “About half of the hosting activities at the Belgacom Netcenter are applications that we have developed for clients,” reports Dirk Devoghel, head of Systems Engineering at Imtech ICT Belgium. “Companies also often choose applications hosted via an external party because they have little experience with the deployment of software to the end-users. When requirements in terms of compliance and security rule out a strictly cloud-based solution, our approach can be a good solution.” Aside from hosting applications developed in-house, Imtech ICT Belgium also offers a range of as a service solutions, based on software packages
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such as Cognos, and Tivoli Endpoint Manager. This allows the rapid implementation of new technology. “Companies are not always in a position to develop knowledge on a specific niche area in the short-term,” explains Yves Vannieuwenhuyssen, head of Sales and Marketing at Imtech ICT Belgium. “Via the as a service model, our clients are free to continue concentrating on their core activities. We relieve them of a major part of the complexity, so that they can focus on what truly generates added value for the business.”
Remote service The employees of Imtech ICT Belgium often work on location with clients or commute between various sites. In order to provide optimal support for the collaboration between colleagues, they use communication tools such as Microsoft Lync and the team collaboration platform from Atlassian Confluence. The offices of Imtech ICT are connected via Belgacom Explore. Dirk Devoghel: “It’s important for our employees to be able to stay in touch with their colleagues and also access data and applications from any location and on any mobile device whatsoever.” Imtech ICT Belgium developed Confluence at the Belgacom datacenter into a multi-tenant solution, allowing the platform to be used for different clients simultaneously. “In addition, our fleet of mobile devices runs on the Proximus 3G network, so that access to our customers’ solutions is ensured at all times. If there’s a problem, we immediately begin working on a fix even before we arrive at the customer’s location.”
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Imtech ICT Belgium
“ It’s important for our employees to be able to stay in touch with their colleagues and access the necessary data and applications from any location and on any mobile device whatsoever.” Dirk Devoghel, head of Systems Engineering at Imtech ICT Belgium
Business benefits • No software implementation or maintenance • Foolproof solution in terms of security and compliance • Fast service remotely
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Company profile Imtech ICT Belgium is active in engineering, software development and business analytics. As an international division, Imtech ICT has a workforce of 2,750 employees and a turnover of 630 million euros. The Belgian branch of Imtech ICT has a staff of 85.
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Mobile desktops BlackBerry Q10
Samsung Galaxy S4
Smartphone with a real keyboard
Ready for anything
The Galaxy S4 is a powerful smartphone that raises the bar for the competition.
If you want to write long e-mails or edit documents on your mobile, you’ll certainly appreciate the physical keyboard.
The business world has been eagerly awaiting the new generation of BlackBerry smartphones. With the Q10, BlackBerry demonstrates that it is perfectly possible to equip a modern smartphone with a good keyboard. It’s a feature that users who do a lot of typing will certainly appreciate: real keys simply have a different feel than a touchscreen. And thanks to the smaller screen, it has a very long battery life. It also has a new, completely updated operating system. The web browser is very fast and the platform now has its own app store as well. Another new feature is BlackBerry Hub, an application for centrally managing all of your messages. Plus, the GUI (Graphical User Interface) features plenty of quick links that save you time.
The new flagship device from Samsung is packed with powerful hardware and has a bright, clear, sizeable screen that you can even operate with gloves on. It runs on the new Android 4.2 and has an updated TouchWiz user interface. The temperature sensor and humidity sensor make new software functionalities possible, e.g. weather forecasts, and the new application S Health contains a pedometer and a calorie counter. The S4 allows you to film or photograph yourself while shooting stills and video of others. It also puts its cameras to work to enhance its ease of use. For example, videos automatically pause when you look away from the screen and you can answer a call with a hand gesture.
BlackBerry Q10
Samsung Galaxy S4
Processor: Dual Core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A9
Processor: Quad Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600
Operating System: BlackBerry 10 OS
Operating System: Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
Memory: 2 GB RAM, 16 GB Flash, microSD (up to 32 GB)
Memory: 2 GB RAM, 16 GB flash, microSD (up to 64 GB)
Screen type: 3.1” SuperAMOLED
Screen type: Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen
Screen resolution: 720x720 pixels (330 ppi)
Screen resolution: 5.0” 1080 x 1920 pixels (441 ppi)
Talk time: 13 hours
Talk time: max. 17 hours
Stand-by time: 354 hours
Stand-by time: 370 hours
Dimensions: 120x67x10 mm
Dimensions: 137x70x8 mm
Weight: 139 g
Weight: 130 g
Connection: 4G LTE, HSPA+, NFC, 802.11 a/b/g/n
Connection: GSM, HSDPA, LTE, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, DLNA, NFC
SAR*: 1.16 Watts/kg
SAR*: 0.42 Watts/kg
Bluetooth: 4.0
Bluetooth: 4.0
Camera: 8 MP rear facing camera, autofocus
Camera: 13 MP rear facing, autofocus, LED flash, 2 MP front facing
Extra: Querty or Azerty keyboard, microHDMI out
Extra: Corning Gorilla Glass 3, microUSB v2.0, humidity sensor, temperature sensor
* S AR – Specific Absorption Ratio – is the unit of measure for the amount of electromagnetic energy that is absorbed by the body during use of mobile phone. The maximum allowable SAR in Europe is 2 Watts/kg according to guidelines issued by the ICNIRP.
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Featured apps Pharmacie.be In an emergency
When you need a pharmacy at night or on weekends, it’s never a lot of fun, and usually, it’s quite urgent. That’s why it’s a good idea to install this app now so that you’ll have it ready when you need it. It shows you the closest pharmacies on after-hours duty, complete with estimated travel time, no matter where you are in Belgium. That way, you can avoid a frustrating search for an open pharmacy while a sick family member waits at home. Pharmacie.be works on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, as long as you have iOS 5.0 or higher. There’s also a free version for Windows Phone but, for the time being, Android-users will have to rely on the Yellow Pages or other (online) sources.
KMO Cockpit
Entrepreneurship the smart(phone) way On the website www.kmocockpit.be you can find information about legal and fiscal matters that are essential for you as an entrepreneur, and, as necessary, referrals to other sources on accountancy, costs, investment and much, much more. You can also check the news on the site via this app. It has existed for a while, but the latest version clearly displays which information has been recently updated and the layout has been adjusted to better fit tablets. This app was first launched for iOS. You can use it with version 4.0 or higher. The app works in three languages (Dutch, French and English) and is an easy way to quickly search the data from KMO Cockpit. With a little luck, you might even find a new customer, supplier or business partner!
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ay w w e n e Th g n i k r o w f o
New corporate culture, new ecosystem
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The availability of new technology has had a huge impact on the way we work. Yet mobile working and teleworking are only a small part of what is currently known as ‘the new way of working’. What matters is that employers and employees are jointly working towards a productive and efficient culture that is also an appealing one. Technology is a key tool in the process, but naturally, it should not be an end in itself.
Although the new way of working is currently a buzz phrase, it’s not exactly a new idea. Consultants, managers and business leaders have already built up years of experience of working long distance, on the road or from home. But what is new is the current motivation for the new ways of working. The government has sent a clear message: we are all going to need to work longer in order to keep pensions affordable. That is going to require a different approach to careers. Employers need to develop a corporate culture that allows employees to continue working with full enthusiasm. Presenting working from home as the single magic solution is too simplistic, although this approach does offer a positive response to the needs of employees. What is much more important is to create a working environment that puts the employees’ well-being at the center, and in which mobile working or working from home may play a role.
Different stages of life In order to appropriately respond to the needs of employees, it’s necessary, of course, for the employer to know who they are. Those needs largely depend on what stage of life an employee is currently in. Young employees (ages 25 to 35) are generally people who have busy lives. They are prepared to work hard and achieve extra results but, at the same time, they want to be given the freedom to spend time, for example, on hobbies, travel, etc., as compensation for an especially busy stretch. In the next stage of life (ages 35 to 45) are the employees with young and teenage children. Their greatest need is to strike the right balance between work and the pressures in their private life. Flexible working hours, working from home and a high degree of autonomy can often provide the extra breathing space that these employees are looking for. Among those over 50, the intense pressures at home have diminished.
Executive summary The new way of working is not a matter of technology. It’s about a new approach to the relationship between employer and employee. It allows employers and employees to find the most appropriate way to meet their own specific needs. The technological support comes at the end of this process.
A crucial aspect of the new way of working is developing a corporate culture that puts the employees’ well-being at the center, and in which mobile working or working from home may play a role.
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Their children are away at school or have moved out on their own. Their careers have already been established, for the most part. These are employees who have a lot of knowledge and experience and this makes them ideally placed for coaching young employees.
Towards a new corporate culture
The new way of working is not an isolated development. It has an impact on the entire ecosystem of employees, customers, suppliers and other partners.
In short: ‘the employee’ doesn’t exist, which also prevents employers from establishing a ‘one size fits all’ policy for the new way of working. But equally, there is no such thing as ‘the employer’. Nevertheless, employers do have a few things in common with one another – the environment in which they are active, for example. In the meantime, our economy has been in a state of crisis for five years now, with Belgium slipping further down the international competitiveness index. Employers are under heavy pressure to increase productivity and efficiency. This is creating a new tension. On one hand, employers want more and better performance, on the other hand, the employees need flexibility and a good work-life balance. The two needs may appear contradictory but they don’t necessarily have to be. The challenge is to develop a new corporate culture from which both employer and employee can benefit.
The new way of working together The key to an effective solution is not only mobile working and working from home but, above all, it is that employees - regardless of place and time - are able to share information. This explains the success of social media within companies: these are the places where employees can share ideas and creativity can be expressed. That means that employees feel appreciated and the work is more satisfying. As for the employer, the new corporate culture requires a new form of leadership. It’s up to the employer to uncover the employees talents, and to offer every opportunity to further develop them. It’s in this new context that employers and employees are going to start to work differently, at the office, on the road and at home. In other words, it’s not only about a new way of working but, above all, a new way of working together. It is only then that technological issues come into play and the company should look for solutions to support this new approach. At the moment the possibilities are virtually unlimited. The technology makes it possible to securely access applications and data anytime, from any location and on any device.
Three-layered approach This spring, Belgacom started its own project on the new way of working, called FLEX. It involves a couple of
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There will be a sharp increase in the use of collaborative tools such as video-conferencing and document sharing.
hundred employees who are being given the option to carry out certain tasks through teleworking. Belgacom designed a three-layered solution to make this possible: the infrastructure to enable the teleworking, a model that allows the collaboration between teleworkers and their coworkers, supported with the right tools and, finally, the right HR environment for managing and following up with employees. Belgacom is thus demonstrating the importance of supporting the new way of working with a solid framework. On one hand, concrete agreements have to be made with employees, such as the times at which they need to be reachable for their colleagues. On the other hand, the managers receive training on how to play their role. Aspects involved here include the development of competencies for results-oriented management and leading virtual teams. After all, for the managers, the changes are considerable, on account of the simple fact that not all employees are present at the same time in the office. Concretely, therefore, the new way of working leads to a sharp increase in the use of collaborative tools such as videoconferencing and document sharing. Commercial services will be offered based on this experience.
can also make the most of the new way of working to development their employer branding. The search for talented employees is not always easy. An employer who can offer an attractive working environment - one that includes a clear policy on the new way of working - will quickly gain a competitive edge. Belgacom is able to meet its clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; needs by providing both the infrastructure and the tools that allow employers to put the new way of working into practice. For the support of HR-related aspects - such as adapted leadership and talent management - Belgacom calls upon specialized partners.
Good for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;employer brandingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; In the context of the new way of working, however, it is also important that a company keeps the door open for its employees. Naturally, working from home is only done on a voluntary basis. In practice, working from home is generally limited to a maximum of two days a week. Face-to-face contact with colleagues at the office remains important, studies show. Nevertheless, it is essential for companies to thoroughly support the potential needs of employees related to the new way of working. In this way, employers
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Erik Hendrix, Business Development Manager at Belgacom
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Corporate culture determines the new way of working (and vice versa)
Balance between work and free time
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The new way of working is not really anything new. How people and companies work evolves over time. Once in a while, however, there is evolutionary leap. Currently, technology seems to be playing a key role in this process, but it should nevertheless only be regarded as an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;enablerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. In the new way of working, the human factor still comes first.
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When you mention the new way of working, people often only think in terms of working without constraints on time or place. However, if that were true, then it’s not so aptly named, because, after all, mobile working and working from home are no longer particularly innovative. “But there’s more to the new way of working than that,” explains Erik Hendrix, Business Development Manager at Belgacom. “It’s about an evolution towards giving the employee control and looking for a new way to achieve a balance between work and free time, a new place within the organization of a team or company, and a new way of collaborating with coworkers, customers, suppliers and other partners.” One of the biggest challenges with the new way of working is managing employees and teams effectively. For the traditional manager, coordinating the productivity and efficiency of virtual teams is a particular challenge. This new approach is just one of the elements that comes into play with the new way of working.
Neither a right nor an obligation Still, for a great many companies, working from home is a first step towards the new way of working. “We see it as a means, not as an end,” notes Dominik Geeraerts, Managing Director at Record Bank. “When an employee has a long commute to the office, he or she can often be a lot more productive working from home.
“ W orking from home is a means, not an end in itself. And it is not a right, much less an obligation.”
Dominik Geeraerts, Managing Director at Record Bank
Nevertheless, we don’t regard working from home as an obligation. And it’s also not necessarily a right. The manager decides, depending on the employee’s profile and personal situation.” Experience shows that one precondition for successfully working from home is not to impose too many rules. “We’ve developed a rough framework,” recounts Koen Terrie, HR manager at Record Bank. “An employee can work from home a maximum of two days per week. Depending on the job, of course, he or she needs to be reachable for coworkers or customers.” At the moment, many companies are beginning to explore the possibilities of working from home but, in practice, it doesn’t always turn out to be easy. “We come from a culture in which the value placed on work is strongly linked to the time an employee spends at the office,” says Wim Van den Bossche, CIO at PwC. “This is a big
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difference compared to the way the new generation thinks about ‘work’. At the same time, people also like coming to the office, because it’s easier to collaborate, or simply for the social contact.”
Input and output Beyond simply working from home, the new way of working is about real labor innovation in a range of areas. At Belgacom, we see the new way of working in three dimensions: (1.) New supporting technology makes it possible to (2.) work more flexibly and this, in turn, (3.) both requires and supports an adapted corporate culture. “With the new way of working, we are moving away from the old model of management that is chiefly based on ‘command & control’,” says Sandra Vandorpe, VP Engagement & Operational Efficiency at Belgacom. “The new way of working is geared towards the motivation and mobilization of employees, with the goal of keeping them motivated and on board (longer). That is actually the heart of the matter: ensuring that employees want to, and are able to, work for longer.” The new way of working could also be called working differently. Vandorpe: “Often, people want to continue working longer, but with more autonomy and empowerment, with less stress and not only for the money.” This different vision of the meaning and context of work calls for a profound cultural shift. It has to do with key aspects such as control.
“ In the context of the new way of working, working from home is attractive because, for an employer it’s a way of showing your trust in an employee.”
Koen Terrie, HR Manager at Record Bank
“ The new way of working is geared towards the motivation and mobilization of employees, and will also help keep people motivated, available and dynamic in their job for longer.”
Sandra Vandorpe, VP Engagement & Operational Efficiency at Belgacom
In the old system, employees were controlled based on input: the time they spent at the office. With the new way of working, there is a different approach. “The young generation would rather be valued for what they do than for the amount of time they make themselves available to their employer,” points out Guy Lucq, CIO at Deloitte. “It is the appreciation of this that to some extent determines an employee’s motivation.” “In this context, working from home is important,” adds Koen Terrie, “precisely because as an employer it’s a way of showing your trust in the employee.”
Top-down versus network structure In the past, companies used to be very hierarchical in structure, with a strict top-down approach and a clear distinction between the development of the plans and their operational execution.
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round table Then came a new organizational culture, based on a network structure. “The ideal situation is probably somewhere in between,” asserts Isabel De Clercq, Learning Solutions Consultant at Kluwer Opleidingen. “Hierarchy provides stability and operational excellence. For many activities, that’s essential. But it’s often not enough. The network structure also needs to be there.” However, a lot depends on the specific company and the industry in which it is active. Lucq: “In the operating room at a hospital, for example, a strict hierarchy is absolutely necessary.” “Ultimately, whatever the structure, there will need to be people who make the decisions,” points out Van den Bossche, “and who bear the responsibility.” Geeraerts: “A working relationship is still based on a contract between employer and employee. The employee needs a framework, with the employer providing certain options - via tools, through working from home, etc.”
Mentality and culture By now, there seems to be no question that the influx of generations Y and Z into the workplace is going to change things a lot. “That is going to form a major challenge for HR,” claims Lucq. “The new generations tend to be very direct, very focused on results and highly self-aware. These are
“ The new way of working should not be focused just on young people, but also on older employees. The office needs to be an inspiring and stimulating meeting place where employees intentionally come for the sake of working together.” Guy Lucq, CIO at Deloitte
“ W e are coming from a culture in which the value placed on work is strongly linked to the time an employee spends at the office. The new generation sees that completely differently.”
Wim Van den Bossche, CIO at PwC
mployees who not only know what they want, but also what e they don’t want. At the same time, older employees are continuing to stay in their jobs for longer. The new way of working therefore needs to take these older employees into account too. The office needs to be an inspiring and stimulating meeting place where employees intentionally come for the sake of working together.” Employees from generations Y and Z also tend to place great importance on the balance between work and free time. And moreover, it’s a priority that they are very open about to employers. In this context, work that is done without constraints on time and place offers a lot of possibilities, although there are also dangers. “The tablet and smartphone may prove to be poisonous gifts,” cautions Van den Bossche. “These devices allow the employee to stay constantly
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in touch with work, by e-mail, for example. But this means that the very devices that are supposed to provide a better balance between work and free time might just further disrupt that balance.” To put it another way: this once again shows how a new way of working requires the support of an adapted corporate culture. After all, it’s not only about employees who can receive e-mails in the evenings or on weekends, but also about the managers who are sending them. “Employees also need to be able to set their own boundaries,” declares De Clercq. “With teleworking and working from home, there’s a risk that you never actually stop working.”
Not an end in itself In any case, the technological components of the new way of working are less cause for concern than the impact on corporate culture. The use of tools such as videoconferencing, online document sharing systems and presence tools are fairly well established by now. Still, support remains desirable, if only to remind employees that for urgent matters, the telephone is still more convenient than e-mail. Geeraerts: “Often, it’s simply a question of efficiency. Speaking with the employee in the office next door is faster than writing a long e-mail.” This example also shows that technology alone cannot be the answer
“ A hierarchy remains important for stability and operational excellence. But, at the same time, as a company, you need a network structure to provide the necessary flexibility.”
Isabel De Clercq, Learning Solutions Consultant at Kluwer Opleidingen
“ There is no formal way to use the new way of working to instantly offer a solution that’s ideal for all employers or employees.”
Erik Hendrix, Business Development Manager at Belgacom
to the challenges of the new way of working. Ultimately, it’s about mentality and business culture, above all else. “What’s more, there is no formal way to devise a system that’s instantly ideal for all employers or employees,” concludes Hendrix. “As the business models and economic conditions evolve, shareholders expect companies to continue to deliver results. In this context, the new way of working can be an attractive way of achieving this goal. Because, of course, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that the new way of working is not an end in and of itself.”
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Butcher shops display commitment on LED screens
Renmans gets more out of digital signage via cloud Renmans stands for quality. The company prepares fresh Belgian meat and applies strict operational standards, an approach that Renmans is happy to broadcast on screens displayed in their shops. To realize the project, the butchers plucked ‘digital signage’ from the cloud. Renmans is a Belgian family business. In the late 1970s, Henri Renmans and his wife Nicole opened several butcher shops, one of which was next to an Aldi supermarket. In 1984, when the company’s expansion together with Aldi became a reality, Henri Renmans joined forces with Richard Bovy who took responsibility for the administration, personnel management, finances, marketing, etc., also playing a commercial role. The success story repeated itself under the name Henri Boucher in France. In 1993, sons Rik and Nico Renmans joined the company. And, since 2006, Richard’s son Jeoffrey Bovy has also been onboard. Currently, Renmans is a company with over 3,000 employees, working at 376 butcher shops, 295 of which are in Belgium, 72 in France and nine in Luxembourg. Renmans is committed to the old artisanal ways of the traditional butcher. There is no central processing. Each day the company delivers fresh Belgian meat to the shops where the in-house butchers then further prepare and process it.
“ We choose to display information on the screens about our commitments to our customers. In this way, digital signage supports our quality policy.” Thomas Bovy, IT Manager at Renmans
Central management The central IT helpdesk is located at the Renmans distribution center in Londerzeel. All the shops are connected via the Explore network from Belgacom. At the point of sale, there is a PC on which the employees can submit orders for meat, vegetables and other items. There is also a connection with the intranet. This allows employees to access various forms, internal information, address lists, etc. The cash registers at the shops are also connected to Explore. Via the network, Renmans can push the correct prices to the cash registers and the company can obtain information on sales. In addition, the monitoring system for the refrigeration units is connected to the network. Renmans is able to manage all of the applications on its own virtualized server fleet.
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Company profile Renmans is a Belgian family business with a workforce of over 3,000 employees and 376 outlets in Belgium, France and Luxembourg. Virtually all of the butcher shops are located next to an Aldi supermarket.
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Business benefits •S imple solution for up-to-date information •N o investment in server infrastructure •L ED screens and mediaplayers with passive cooling reduce energy bills significantly
Connection with the customer When the time came to replace the old screens for ‘digital signage’ (electronic displays with messages from the company) in the shops, Renmans opted for a solution in the cloud. “The old system was outdated,” says IT Manager Thomas Bovy. “The screens in the shops displayed information about product promotions. We’d change the display once a week.” Renmans decided to move the information about promotions to the scales. They are equipped with a screen facing the customer. “On the big screens we now favor information about the commitment we have to our customers. For example, we show that we don’t use frozen meat, that we sell our ground meat within 24 hours, that our employees wear gloves and facemasks behind the scenes, etc.” Renmans combines this information with more topical news such as the weather forecast and the latest headlines. Bovy: “There is also space for short videos where we can give more information about a specific product, such as pita or barbecue. We also refer to our website, where customers can watch full instructional videos.”
Fast interventions
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The servers for digital signage are run in the cloud at Belgacom, which saved Renmans from having to make any investment upfront. The screens are based on LED technology and the players use passive cooling which means that they consume a lot less energy. The rollout of video screens is happening at the same time as the migration to Explore and a facelift of the shops. Digitopia is supplying the screens, the media players and the content, but Belgacom is in charge of the entire project. Bovy: “The teams at Belgacom and Digitopia are showing incredible flexibility. For a facelift, a shop will have to be closed for no more than three days. During that time everything has to happen, from the renovation to the installation of the screen.” Sometimes longer interventions are required, some of which fall outside of business hours. That is also an area where Digitopia has been very flexible. “If there is a defect, Digitopia will be there within four hours.”
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solutions In 2012 the number of DDoS attacks rose by 200%.
DDoS attacks
200%
Zombies are after you
The USA is in second place, with 10%.
In Europe most of the attacks came from Romania, at 2.8%
41% of these attacks came from China.
2,8% 10% 41%
In a recent report, market researcher IDC warns against DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks and advises organizations to protect their IT infrastructure against the latest threats. External attacks are on the rise, are increasingly sophisticated and can be carried out faster than ever.
In 2012 the websites of Visa, MasterCard, Amazon and PayPal were disabled by DDoS attacks. In the meantime, this form of cyber crime has continued to evolve, not just in terms of the frequency and the nature of the attacks, but also in terms of the organizations targeted. In the past, it was limited to the financial and public sectors, but now, anyone is fair game.
Major consequences High time to take action, in other words. After all, a DDoS attack can have major consequences. Online customer service is jeopardized, customer data is stolen, the financial losses can quickly mount and productivity plummets. In the longer term, a DDoS attack has a very negative impact on the corporate and brand image and on customer confidence in your service. Moreover, the IT infrastructure may suffer as well.
protection against the different types of DDoS attacks. After all, an ISP can provide protection in the cloud, combined with local security installed on your own IT infrastructure. This is precisely what Belgacom does. The Belgacom DDoS Wall on the service platform Explore monitors the IP traffic in order to identify a potential attack and to protect the Internet connectivity. In the case of an attack, the system will block the bogus traffic. Security technology within your company will, in turn, provide protection against ‘exhausted’ or application-based attacks, which may threaten your datacenter. Combining these two complementary solutions results in complete protection. Moreover, the two security services are based on the technology of Arbor Networks, which is used by most ISPs. This allows them to monitor about 70% of the global Internet traffic. The Atlas Intelligence Feed of Arbor Networks is the best solution to detect new DDoS attacks.
Zombie hosts A DDoS attack takes place from hundreds or even thousands of ‘zombie hosts’ – the infected PCs of unsuspecting end users – which are controlled externally and which collectively target a single victim. There are two kinds of DDoS attack. First, the ‘volume attacks’, whereby extremely large bot networks simultaneously send files to the victim, causing its server to crash. Volume attacks are easy to detect by monitoring your Internet traffic. Secondly, there are also the ‘exhausted’ or application-based attacks. In this case, the infrastructure itself is overloaded (the firewall, the IPS or the servers) by starting up a number of parallel sessions. This type of attack is much more difficult to prevent because it does not involve extremely high volumes. Protection against this type of attack requires an automated analysis of the data packets sent.
Business benefits •C omplete, integrated security •H igher availability of your service • I T Department can concentrate on its core activities •R eliable security by specialized teams •P ermanent monitoring via the Belgacom Security Operations Center (SOC)
Hybrid security is crucial
More info?
Two sorts of attacks call for two sorts of security. And only an internet service provider (ISP) can offer complete hybrid
For more information about protection against DDoS attacks, please contact your Account Manager.
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Total solution for a unique web shop
Your e-shop in just a few mouse clicks
So your organization wants to start selling online and it’s your responsibility to develop an e-shop? Then you surely know how much work is involved. Luckily, there are also all-in-one packages that let you build your web shop in no time.
Building a good e-shop is not that easy. You need to take into account the way the products are presented, stock management, delivery, billing and payments – for both national and international transactions. This means that you will need to work with various partners. Many organizations are put off by the thought of so many complicated collaborative relationships. If one of the partners fails to deliver, you run the risk of problems with your e-shop or complaints from your customers. And, after all, an online shop is meant to be available at all times and needs to function smoothly so that your customers receive quality service.
Built-in services for payment and delivery With the help of the total solution Becloud e-Commerce, it’s much faster and easier to create an e-shop. Thanks to the clear, well-organized interface you can design your e-shop, update the product range, follow up orders, deliveries and payments, and manage stock. Even creating online marketing campaigns can all be done in just a few mouse clicks. The range also features an online reservation service which is ideal for businesses that work with appointments or reservations. The negotiations with the postal service and payment partners have already been taken care of as well. You have a choice of various extra payment and delivery modules. The services can be integrated into the package.
Maximum visibility for your personal e-shop You have over 50 customizable design templates to choose from. This allows you to design a unique e-shop, even without any technical expertise. Would you prefer to leave the design of your e-shop to a design professional? Then simply choose the optional ‘Design Pack’. Becloud e-Commerce also offers you commercially attractive options. With e-Shop Comfort, for example, you can promote your e-shop via newsletters, or boost your sales results through combination sales. In addition, there are tools that allow you to expand your presence on social media or to increase your score in Google search results. Would you like to opt for e-Shop Favorite? Then you’ll also get a comparison module, which allows you to add multiple managers and multiple delivery options.
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Business benefits •A professional e-shop in just a few mouse clicks • Payment and delivery options • User-friendly interface and a wide range of design choices
More info? For more information about Becloud e-Commerce, surf to www.becloud.be/e-commerce-en.
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Annemie Depuydt, director of ICTS at the KU Leuven
“ The new way of working is a perk, not an obligation.” In the context of a university, ICT is an indispensable core service, just like finance or human resources. What’s more, the importance of ICT is only increasing. “By developing the KU Leuven Association, we are undergoing an important evolution,” Depuydt pointed out. The association is the joint operating agreement between 12 different institutions for higher education in Flanders. They are systematically strengthening ties, also in terms of administration. In this way there is also an impact on ICT. “Most of the members of the association are already using the same student monitoring system, and the rest are getting ready to do so for the next academic year,” cited Depuydt as an example. The field of action for ICT is much broader than administration alone, however. “We also offer support for education, research and communication. I’m thinking, for example, of the infrastructure for high-performance computing in the context of scientific research, the already associated Toledo learning environment or numerous support tools such as the rollout of software designed to help detect plagiarism. But this is also about offering Internet access or groupware in the style of Microsoft Lync and SharePoint.” ICTS supports the members of the association, beyond the level of broad applications, through a service catalogue. “The association is a collection of many organizations. They can use the service catalogue for a variety of support services, for example, for storage or desktop support.”
A single IAM system for all applications Ten years after the founding of the KU Leuven Association, the ICT integration is on the final home stretch. That is where the priorities of ICTS are currently focused. In September, the ICT segment of the project should be completed. “The impact is huge,” said Depuydt. “All at once, there will be 1,000 new employees on the payroll. All employees of the Association will have access to data and applications via a single IAM-system (Identity & Access Management). We will also be launching a single intranet for the entire association.” There will be a whole range of collective
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systems, which will be new for some people, including one for managing work schedules. We will choose the most appropriate solution in consultation with all the partners. Depuydt: “In the new, integrated environment, the importance of the network will increase dramatically. Together with the colleges, we are building a single intranet. Probably by 2015 we will switch from 10 to 100 Gbps, in order to meet the needs of the students. After all, they are exceptionally intensive users of the network.”
Investing in contact The students are the ones calling for ICT support to allow them to access tools and information from any location whatsoever - in the auditorium, in the dormitory or at home. In the short term, we need to respond more to their priorities. Depuydt: “But that cuts both ways. On the one hand, students are expecting the university to offer hyperconnectivity. On the other hand, students also need to interact physically at certain points. By far not everything gets done from behind a PC or tablet.” That’s why the university is not only investing in reinforcing mobile connectivity in all of the public spaces and buildings, but also in constructing an ‘agora’: a space with seating for 500, where students can meet one another. The demand for hyperconnectivity is highly related to the consumerization of ICT. Within the student population, this is very conspicuous. “In the context of the university, Bring Your Own Device is an absolutely reality. Students expect that we will be able to support them in this area and that is something we are committed to doing, but they also understand that it’s impossible to have all applications run flawlessly on all conceivable operating systems and devices.”
The new way of working In the same way, the university has also gained a lot of experience with teleworking and working from home. The researchers at the university form a large concentration of knowledge-workers who have always worked in a highly independent way, without a strict hierarchy. Depuydt: “It’s no accident that the Internet, e-mail, wikis, blogs and other —>
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people & vision
By the start of the next academic year, the integration of many new programs of study will be a reality at the KU Leuven. The demands this will place on various ICTS services is not to be underestimated. “Both the students and staff of the university and colleges are counting on the connectivity, applications and support that we provide,” says Annemie Depuydt, director of ICTS at the KU Leuven.
Identikit Annemie Depuydt earned a master’s degree in geography and informatics at the KU Leuven. She taught for a year at the Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven, but then returned to the university as ICT project manager. Since 2008 she has been the head of the ICTS Department (ICT Systems) at KU Leuven. ICTS is the unified ICT Department of the university which brought together two former ICT support units - the computer center and the operational ICT. ICTS was originally founded to meet the needs of the university. In the meantime, the department has also become a service provider to the colleges that are part of the KU Leuven Association. Annemie Depuydt oversees a team of 220 employees.
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people & vision
communication tools were created in the context of scientific research. Scientists are often early adopters of new tools, precisely because they are looking to support their mutual collaboration in the best way possible.” For the university researchers, therefore, the new way of working is hardly anything new. They have always been mobile and worked from various locations: in laboratories, at home, at conferences, etc. However, for other departments, the new way of working is a fairly recent phenomenon, and that is also true at ICTS. Depuydt: “Employees and students are counting on our ICT support being there day and night. Thanks to the new technology, it’s no longer necessary to have someone for on-call duty at the office. That is perfectly possible remotely.”
Some tips for the CIO Not an obligation “The whole hype about the new way of working sometimes turns it into a container concept,” Depuydt noted. “It’s important that companies don’t introduce the new way of working as a mandatory program. There is absolutely no point in forcing the matter. The aim of the new way of working is to offer the individual extra flexibility and freedom. Not everyone needs this. That’s why, at ICTS, we’re intentionally keeping it formally optional. It’s a freedom that we offer.”
More than just ICT The new way of working offers companies possibilities such as ways to attract new generations and to involve them more closely in their activities. “The new generations no longer think in terms of task and execution, boss and subordinates. The new way of working helps shape the way that they look for balance between work and free time. And just to be clear: the new way of working is not an excuse
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not to work on the contrary, it will only be successful if this greater freedom to organize your own time and to have more input through all kinds of channels, to generate results in your own way, is also profitable and proves to be the right way to go.”
Test and evaluate Last year, ICTS started a pilot project for teleworking. “The employees get 24 teleworking days per year,” Depuydt explained. “They can choose them freely with an average of working from home two days a month. We offer this possibility as a perk.” Based on the evaluation of the project, it turned out that only half of the employees chose to work from home on certain days. “The reactions were highly positive across the board, however. In that sense the initiative has certainly had a psychological effect: even if by far not all the employees choose to work from home. They know that it is an option, at their own initiative, and there is no huge threshold holding them back – it’s simply business as usual.”
Technical and organizational support With the rollout of Microsoft Lync, KU Leuven is offering all its employees an environment that will make mutual collaboration easier, not only at the office, but also on the road or from home. Within our department, this opens the door to the new way of working and greater mobility in general. Depuydt: “At ICTS we’re also emphasizing the new way of working via the organization of the teams. We are opting for small, close-knit teams, with a team leader who acts as a primus inter pares (a first among equals) instead of as a big boss. Through functional evaluations, we closely follow the needs and motivation of the employees. This also lets us promote internal mobility. Plus, we are undertaking major renovations in order to provide more and better meeting spaces. All of this is contributing to an inspiring working environment.”
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solutions
Priority on the mobile network
VIP treatment for your mobile data The growing number of users and increasing data traffic are putting pressure on bandwidth. In order to increase the availability of your business-critical information via mobile devices, you can now choose to give VIP treatment to your mobile data traffic – a first in Belgium.
Mobile and flexible working is becoming the norm. Your employees are spending more time on the road and are being given the flexibility to choose their working hours and location to some extent for themselves. This trend towards the new way of working means that employees need to be able to access the information they need to perform their jobs, at all times. This business-critical information needs to be available anytime and anywhere, including via a mobile device. When data is unavailable, it has a negative impact on productivity and on your employees’ efficiency. It also means lower quality service for customers. A sales rep who is unable to consult information during a customer visit is hardly likely to make a good impression.
Faster downloading and streaming
A first in Belgium
• Best mobile user experience •A verage of 20 to 50% faster downloading and streaming • Priority on the mobile data network
Have you heard about this first for Belgium? From now on, it’s possible to assign a higher priority to your mobile data traffic. You then receive a higher bandwidth, on average, so that your mobile data traffic will get VIP treatment over the standard data traffic on the mobile network. The result is a much smoother user experience and a boost for your mobile service. In this way, your employees and customers will benefit from greater comfort and a higher average speed for downloading and streaming, during videoconferencing, for example. In today’s mobile world, that can quickly make a big difference.
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This application could be crucial for various users such as the police, NATO, civil defense services, ambulances, fire trucks, VIPs and devices such as security cameras. It ensures the best possible user experience and high performance under all network conditions. Companies can also choose to give this level of service only to their most important users. Downloading and streaming will then be an average of 20 to 50% faster than usual.
Business benefits
More info? For more information on Business Priority, please contact your Account Manager.
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The cloud: what, Why invest any longer in your own IT? Whatever you need, you can simply pluck it from the cloud? That may very well be true, but how exactly does it work? And what are all those benefits again that are supposed to be available in the cloud?
PaaS & Iaas Sa
aS
The term ‘cloud’ means using IT in a service model. The basic principle is that you do not have to invest in hardware and/ or software of your own, but simply purchase IT as a service from the provider. It’s just like with utility companies, such as electricity, gas or water. Once upon a time, it was customary for companies to provide for their own electricity needs. Later, companies were able to purchase electricity from a provider so there was no longer any need for their own supply. This is exactly how it works with IT in the cloud. Instead of investing in your own datacenter, hard- and software, you buy the necessary IT as a service. And you pay according to your consumption. There are no more upfront investments, and the costs for IT become strictly a matter of consumption.
SaaS as pioneer Is the idea of cloud computing really anything new? Hardly. However, the breakthrough of this model is closely tied to the availability of a reliable network connection. In fact, many users have already been experiencing the cloud in practice
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for the past 15 years or so. An application such as webmail, for instance, is a classic example of Software as a Service (SaaS), also known as ‘on-demand’ software. You don’t have to invest in your own mail server, and you don’t have to maintain or update the solution. All you need is an Internet connection. This gives you access to a mailbox in the cloud. The rise of the smartphone, tablet and other mobile devices in recent years has led to an explosion in this type of cloud services, including in areas such as CRM and HR.
Virtualization means greater flexibility However, the cloud has more to offer than services at the level of software. This brings us to a range of other terms that are often heard in the context of the cloud, such as Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Here, the cloud concept is taken further than simply the software layer. With PaaS, for example, it involves the IT layer on which the software is supported. Think of a portal or a solution for managing access to the software. Instead of developing and managing that layer yourself,
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how, why?
technology explained
l ic Pub ud clo
Priv clo ate ud
The cloud is shifting IT from capex to opex: instead of investing in your own datacenter, hard- and software, you simply pay for the IT you need as a service.
The cloud in five words 1. Core activities:
You get IT from the cloud as a service. You do not need to concern yourself with managing the IT and are free to concentrate fully on your core activities.
you can choose to obtain this functionality from the cloud. Taking things a step further brings us to the level of the infrastructure (IaaS): servers, storage and network. Here, virtualization is key. The breakthrough of this technology has allowed companies to make highly flexible use of infrastructure in the cloud.
Public and private cloud In addition to SaaS, PaaS and IaaS, it is also important to make a distinction between a public or a private cloud, or a combination of the two. Applications such as Dropbox or Gmail are typical examples of the public cloud. The functionality of the software is generic, and the data is stored in the service providerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s datacenter. At the other end of the spectrum is a purely private cloud. In this case, for example, there may be a specific functionality that is only accessible to your employees and is hosted on dedicated servers - which do not support any other applications - and which may or may not be located in your own datacenter.
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2. Transparent costs:
You pay for IT based on how much you use the infrastructure or applications. This makes IT costs transparent and there is no need for large upfront investments.
3. Availability:
Via the cloud, applications and data are available anytime. All the user needs is an Internet connection.
4. Scalability:
You can add users, computing power or storage capacity according to your needs.
5. Up to date:
The provider of the cloud service always offers you the latest version of the solution. You never have to worry about the status of the functionality provided or data security.
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Water purification for the 39 municipalities of the province of Namur is the responsibility of the intermunicipal authority INASEP, which remotely monitors 275 sites via its integrated in-house solution. Since 2011, some 50 sites have been connected through M2M for day-today management functions such as transmitting alarms. Intercommunale Namuroise de Services Publics and machine-to-machine
Pure water and fluid communication One of the main goals of INASEP in the next few years is to get its entire fleet connected in online mode. All the sites were originally connected via a dial-up line, but this outdated technology was gradually replaced by DSL. Since 2011, M2M has been added to the DSL as one of the methods for supporting communication.
Towards more effective monitoring Before opting for M2M via GPRS/3G, INASEP was already using several forms of telecommunication in order to be able to track the status of these sites (water purification plants, pumping stations etc). The web has become the chief medium for monitoring: “Online technologies allow live monitoring. Whereas switched telephony means having to wait for a certain amount of time for a connection which all too often ends with an error message,” notes Pol-Henry Lebrun, head of the Remote Monitoring Unit and on-call service.
Limited costs and quality of service Pol-Henry Lebrun talks about how they came to introduce M2M: “At each of our sites we have installed a terminal with an embedded modem which transmits data about the activity of the site to us quite frequently via DSL. A full-scale migration to DSL was financially out of the question. That is why, on
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the terminals at 50 sites, we favored mobile over landline, and installed M2M cards which communicate with our offices by GPRS/3G.” The selection of M2M depends on one precondition: the bandwidth required at the site. “The M2M is used at the small sites that can work with a lower bandwidth than would be provided with a DSL line since, if they require rapid, live communication and therefore have to be online, there are no administrative needs since there are no agents working there.” There is another condition for M2M, this time at the level of the supplier: the availability of the mobile network, on which the quality of the phone call depends. “The GPRS coverage from Proximus was a deciding factor in our choice. Since the quality was the equivalent to that of a voice phone call, the basic principle I used was the number of bars on my mobile phone when I was at the sites that would potentially be connected by M2M … In other words, places that are always very low-lying, since they are always near bodies of water!”
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Intercommunale de Namur
“ At the moment, it’s the sites that take the initiative to notify us each morning whether or not they are functioning properly … rather than the other way around!” Pol-Henry Lebrun, head of the Remote Monitoring Unit and on-call service
Greater security for users The quality also depends on the design of the solution. “Belgacom agreed to perform a single trial in the form of a reallife test, at an acceptable cost, for a solution that matched our aim to separate the communicating devices. We thus installed an APN at our headquarters, a completely independent private network. Its dedicated antenna and GSM router communicate directly with our terminals.” Along with the monitoring and web-based reporting, the reliable transmission of alerts, which remains the No. 1 priority for INASEP, requires that the two methods of communication have to be available. Each alert is sent by e-mail. However, Pol-Henry Lebrun wanted a supplier who would be capable of providing an active SMS redundancy on all the sites (and in the case of an emergency shut-down, that the two media could be used simultaneously). “SMS, which works from mobile to mobile, without an intermediary, is the most secure system,” he pointed out before concluding: “Belgacom
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Company profile INASEP groups together expertise in water purification in the province of Namur (39 municipalities), an area of water supply, a consultancy office and an analytical laboratory.
also met that specific requirement. I have nothing but praise for the responsiveness of our contacts there, who promptly put us in contact with the internal staff with the correct skills.”
Business benefits •A vailability of synchronized data and rapid download •R edundant SMS and e-mail alerts and alarms •S ecurity and reliability of mobile communication •E asy, fast and flexible deployment • I nteractive reserve M2M cards, with subscription fee only after they are put into use
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solutions
managing your mobile devices
Let an expert do it for you Your sales representative’s smartphone isn’t working due to an uninstalled update? A new employee isn’t able to get started because his mobile device has not been configured yet? Successfully managing your employees’ mobile devices can play a major role in their productivity and the service provided to your customers.
Your employees expect a properly functioning mobile device to be available at all times. The availability of good mobile devices can have an important impact on attracting and retaining valuable staff. What’s more, mobile problems can reduce productivity, and it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in the eyes of customers or prospects. These are all good reasons to outsource the management of your mobile phone fleet. Belgacom is the only mobile operator which is able to provide this type of service. Thanks to our collaboration with 10 local partners, you’ll always be able to count on the support of a service provider in your region.
Quick, optimal start with mobile devices When you need to get a large project started and want to quickly equip your employees with properly configured mobile phones, you can rely on the help of our Mobile Servicing Partner (MSP). The devices are given a basic configuration, as default, so that your employees can quickly and optimally start using mobile Internet, voicemail, SMS and company mail. Alternatively, you may opt for a customized solution.
Priority service A more extensive service, longer-term, is another option. A local MSP can help you with professional advice and the operational management of the mobile devices within your organization. That way, you can always get a fast answer to all your operational questions and new devices can be rapidly supplied. The MSP can also help you with managing SIM cards and mobile phone devices. They can also monitor repairs and reports for you.
Business benefits • Mobile devices and services are available 24/7 • Reliable and easy-to-reach local partner • Professional advice
Outsource the management of your mobile fleet Thanks to Belgacom, you can also opt for a managed-model based in the cloud. Via an online tool, your mobile devices can be managed remotely. You can choose to outsource the management and thus allow the external partner to use the online management tool. Or you can choose the self-managed model whereby you will receive training from a specialized external partner, so that you can comfortably use the management tool yourself.
More info? For more information on Belgacom Mobile Management Services, please contact your Account Manager or surf to www.belgacom.be/mobilemanagedservices-en.
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book review
A lever for traditional industry
3D printing: a brave new world? Many experts think that 3D printing could be the catalyst for a new industrial revolution. Hod Lipson and Melba Kurman investigate the possibilities of this exciting technology in their book ‘Fabricated: The New World of 3D printing’.
As an American researcher and robotic engineer, Hod Lipson got his first demonstration of the then completely unknown 3D printing technology 20 years ago, from a sales representative for Cubital, one of the pioneers in 3D printers. It made a big impression. “Traditional production processes suddenly seemed obsolete,” claims Lipson in his book ‘Fabricated: The New World of 3D printing’, written together with technology consultant Melba Kurman. “The enthusiastic pitch from our guest convinced me that this machine would effectively lead to a revolution in the way that we design and make objects.” Sadly, Cubital went out of business just a couple of years later. Their 3D printers were slow, too complicated and too expensive to be of interest to buyers. It was a typical example of technology that was years ahead of its time.
Prototypes Two decades later, 3D printing has grown out of its infancy. Now, you can design an object on a PC using a simple CAD program and just minutes later, a physical copy pops out of the printer. 3D printing is already being used widely for designing prototypes. The impact that these machines could have on our current economy is not to be underestimated, according to Lipson and Kurman. After spending a year researching and interviewing entrepreneurs, analysts and users of 3D printers, the authors identified a number of levers which could thoroughly shake up manufacturing as we know it. With 3D printing, unlike in traditional manufacturing, an object does not become more expensive as it gets more complex. 3D printers are far more versatile than ordinary machines, which often can only make a single specific item: making 1,000 unique items will therefore cost the same as making 1,000 identical ones. The objects that are printed do not have to be made from different combinations of parts: think, for example, of a door with the hinges already attached. In short, the supply chain can be shortened, money will be saved on labor and transport and there will be less pollution.
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Criminal The authors also consider the ethical issues raised by this entire trend. What will be the impact of 3D printing on the job market? What about the printing of patented objects, such as Lego blocks, to name just one? Will the 3D printers become the tool of every bootlegger’s dreams? And further: who’s to stop a criminal who wants to print a machine gun? Still, the market for 3D printers can be compared to the PC market in the 1970s. There are signs that it is going to boom worldwide. The major breakthrough is yet to come, but it won’t be long, that much is clear. If you want to start getting ready, this book offers an excellent glimpse of the future.
For anyone who wants to see into the future of manufacturing.
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corporate info
Belgacom wins at Data News Awards ICT trade journal Data News has picked Belgacom as the Telecom Services Company of the Year. The prize was announced at the 14th Data News Awards for Excellence on 26 April 2013. As always, the prestigious event was held at Tour & Taxis and attended by the cream of the Belgian ICT world. The jury explained that Belgacom’s selection
was largely thanks to the excellent integration of the Proximus range within Belgacom. Bart Van Den Meersche, Executive VicePresident Enterprise Business Unit, had the honor of accepting the Telecom Services Company of the Year award on behalf of Belgacom from Luc Verbist, CIO of De Persgroep.
XperienceIT2.013
Evolving towards a digital service provider
Belgacom is a great place to work Once again this year, Belgacom received certification as a Top Employer in Belgium. The certificate is issued by the CRF Institute to 54 companies for excellence in the labor conditions they offer employees. The evaluation is done based on criteria such as salary and secondary labor conditions, education and training, internal opportunities for advancement and cultural management.
On Thursday 25 April, the fourth edition of the Belgacom solution event XperienceIT2.013 took place in the Event Lounge in Evere. “Today we see that most of your organisations are setting up services in the digital world. You are becoming digital service providers, the beginning of a totally new business model.” In this way Kris Verheye, Vice-President Corporate Market of Belgacom, introduced this new edition of Xperience IT2.013. He defined the 4 different dimensions in which digital service providers can act: business to business, business to consumers, business to employees, business to machine. “The transformation towards a digital service provider entails
new requiremnets, especially in the field of ICT. I am convinced that with our services and solutions, you build trust in all aspects of your business, such that your digital ecosystem becomes a sustainable one in the long run.” noted Kris Verheye. Belgacom offered workshop in each of the 4 dimensions to increase commercial success, visibility, credibility and employee satisfaction. Next to that, the Xperience zone with Belgacom and partner booths was a great place to network and enjoy the excellent food and drink!
Telindus Luxembourg starts self-service cloud Telindus Luxemburg recently launched U-cloud, a self-service virtual datacenter. They decided to do this in response to growing demand for IT
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services in the cloud. It was launched under the brand name Telindus Telecom, which is the best-known provider of cloud services in Luxembourg.
In recent years, the organization has received four awards for this range. U-cloud customers can compose their own customized, virtual datacenter
over the Internet and flexibly adjust it, as needed.
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column
Not time, but productivity “ There is only one thing that matters and that needs to be checked: the final result. It doesn’t matter when or how it got done.”
Ask a hundred executives what the new way of working means to them and a disappointing majority of them will still get little further than platitudes about teleworking, work from home and satellite offices. That’s too bad. Of course teleworking plays a role in the new way of working, but there’s so much more to it than that. Often, it still goes like this: an employee is ‘allowed’ to telework. But he has to log in on the VPN no later than 9 am. On an average workday, he will also need to check in three times a day by e-mail to report what he is doing, and he will probably receive a couple of phone calls too just to make sure. He will be expected back at the office the next day, and will need to file a detailed report about exactly what he’s been up to, that goes without saying. Is this a ‘new worker’? More like a prisoner allowed home with an electronic ankle monitor. This has nothing to do with the new way of working. The new way of working is about trusting your employees and giving them the freedom to work where and when they want to. There is only one thing that matters and that needs to be checked: the final result. It doesn’t matter when or how it got done. The only two things that you, as a boss, need to clearly and accurately communicate is what you’re expecting and by when. That’s it. Obviously this does require a serious change in mentality. Right now, the work culture in most companies and government services is still based on the small percentage of people who absolutely need to be on site. But they set the tone of the entire organization for everyone. It’s an absurd idea, if you think about it. With the new way of working, the role of boss also takes on a new meaning. He or she is no longer the inspector, but somebody who guides, coaches and helps others develop and perform at their best. Is the new way of working a magic bullet for everyone? No. But for people who are involved primarily with knowledge and mental labor, an hour spent working without interruptions, and with the chance to concentrate, can be 100 times more productive than an hour spent at the office. This is less true for the people who primarily do manual labor. In that case, time is still the determining factor for productivity.
Identikit Frank Van Massenhove (Zerkegem, 1954) studied law at Gent University. He has worked in various government administrations and, in 2002, became head of the FPS Social Security which he was able to turn into a modern and efficient government institution. In 2007 he was voted Government Manager of the Year.
Both trade unions and managers are often still skeptical of the advantages of the new way of working. But sooner or later they will have to get on board. If the competition doesn’t catch up with them, then it will be the spirit of the age. I’m certain of it.
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The Newstablette. Le Soir everyday on holidays. And all the fun of a tablet.
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