Gigabit Magazine – January 2019

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A DIGITAL DISRUPTOR IN THE MEDIA SECTOR DAVID KLINE DISCUSSES HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN DRIVE AN EXCITING ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCE

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WELCOME

H

ello and welcome to the latest issue of Gigabit magazine!

With renowned brands like MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon under its umbrella, Viacom graces the screens of viewers the world over. For this month’s cover feature, Olivia Minnock spoke with Viacom’s David Kline to learn how the global entertainment content company plans to stay abreast of digital disruption.

Estimates suggest that the amount of data that will be subject to analysis will grow 50-fold by 2025 – this is where Tableau Software hopes to make its mark on the sector. Following the firm’s annual conference, we sat down with CEO Adam Selipsky to learn how the firm hopes to cement its position as a data analytics powerhouse.

low-down on how low-code development could offer a unique solution.

For this month’s issue, we’ll also round up the top industry events from around the world and we investigate the top ten highest valued tech unicorns from across the globe.

On top of this, we’ll also take an in-depth look at some of the companies shaking up their sectors, with reports on companies such as Nedbank, BlackBerry and ABC. We hope you enjoy this month’s bumper issue and, as ever, you can find us across social media @GigabitMag Enjoy the issue!

Laura Mullan.

Laura.mullan@bizclikmedia.com

Elsewhere, as the need for software grows at an exponential rate, Mendix’s Chief Technology Officer gives the

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CONTENTS

CTO DAVID KLINE ON THE COMPANY’S TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION AND HOW IT STARS ABREAST OF A VAST, RAPIDLY CHANGING LANDSCAPE

34

TACKLING THE DATA MOUNTAIN

48

Mendix: Redefining app development with a low-code approach

58 76

Fannie Mae BlackBerry

96

122

Radius Networks

138

Truliant Federal Credit Union

150

Bray International

Met Office

178

192 INEA

164

Johnson Brothers Liquor Co

Edwardian Hotels London

206

Universidad Europea

222

UiPath

236

Nedbank

250 Ayanda Saki

272 ABC

286

Fakeeh Healthcare

300

Daimler

312

Siemens

330 09

10

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION DRIVES AN EXCITING CONTENT EXPERIENCE AT VIACOM WRIT TEN BY

OLIVIA MINNOCK PRODUCED BY

GLEN WHITE

JANUARY 2019

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VIACOM

GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY VIACOM’S CTO DAVID KLINE DISCUSSES THE COMPANY’S TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION AND HOW IT STAYS ABREAST OF A VAST, RAPIDLY EVOLVING LANDSCAPE

W

ith universally renowned brands from MTV and Comedy Central to Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures under its umbrella, for almost 50 years

global entertainment company Viacom has been delighting viewers the world over. With a commitment to delivering quality content through a wide range of digital 12

media, the company operates across a range of markets and places technology at the forefront of maintaining a quality, tailored experience.

Behind the significant digital transformation Viacom has undergone in order to achieve such lofty aims is David Kline, Executive Vice President and Chief Information and Technology Officer. With eight years at the media behemoth under his belt, Kline has enjoyed a 35-year career focusing on technology and has been fascinated by the development of digital. “I got to see technology from yesteryear – punch cards and reel-toreel tape,” he recalls. “And the world was changing because there were connectivity opportunities across longer distances… through to today, where you can connect via the cloud.

“I’m really thrilled to have seen those journeys. They’re happening faster, almost at lightning speed, today.” All JANUARY 2019

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this experience lit up a fascination with

see today with apps and connected

the “art of the possible” for Kline, which

devices – now, everywhere you go,

he has brought to his team at Viacom.

there is some kind of digital footprint.”

“We aim to identify what’s possible for the divisions we guide and influence –

CUSTOMER CENTRICITY THROUGH TECH

whether it’s advertising, production,

As technology has developed, so too

research, distribution… it is important to

have customer expectations across

understand what they’re doing and deliver

the various demographics Viacom

the technology that works for them.”

caters for. “The millennial audience

At the time of its fruition in the 1970s,

really took a whole new swing at what

Viacom was something of a “walled

connectivity meant – they want what

garden”. “It was very segregated from

they want when they want it. We have

the rest of the world,” says Kline. “As

to be able to deliver that,” he explains,

the world grew, digital connectivity

adding that nowadays on-demand

became more of an opportunity, like we

programming is an expectation rather

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

David Kline Having been at Viacom for eight years, David Kline provides strategic leadership for the company’s technology infrastructure and oversees Viacom’s Online Central Platform Technology and Interactive Services, Content Creation and Distribution Technology, Application Development and Information Security and Compliance. During his time at the company, Kline has led several successful initiatives as well as developing and promoting a strong, diverse team of talented people. Prior to working at Viacom, Kline served as Executive Vice President of Technology and CTO at Discovery Communications, having also held senior technology roles at Rainbow Media

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“ THE MILLENNIAL AUDIENCE REALLY TOOK A WHOLE NEW SWING AT WHAT CONNECTIVITY MEANT – THEY WANT WHAT THEY WANT, WHEN THEY WANT IT” — David Kline, EVP and Chief Information and Technology Officer, Viacom

19

than an added extra. “How do we make

different countries, so when you see

that more dynamic?” Kline asks. “How

MTV in the US, UK, Poland or Singa-

do we update that content so that you

pore… each brand has opportunities to

have a larger library? How do we add

be more effective in certain spaces.

advertising that’s not stale and

For example, Latin America is more

changes with the times?”

Android-driven, and so while Roku is a

In an increasingly connected world,

great platform in the US, we have

Viacom works to ensure a consistent,

growing platforms in Europe like

quality and above all exciting service

Amazon and Netflix.”

for consumers regardless of location,

In addition, short form content, like

device, platform or demographic. “We

the video footage shared across

have 84 apps on 11 different platforms

Snapchat, Facebook or Twitter to

– whether it’s Roku, Apple TV, iOS,

promote a new TV series, is an

Android, PlayStation… We’re in 180

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VIACOM

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“ YOU HAVE TO KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE, HOW THE DEMOGRAPHIC IS SHIFTING, AND WHAT’S RELEVANT. IT’S VITAL TO STAY TUNED IN AND DELIVER ON WHAT THE CONSUMER IS EXPECTING” — David Kline, EVP and Chief Information and Technology Officer, Viacom

JANUARY 2019

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growing dividends. “We need to make sure we’re aligned with the generations in terms of what they want to consume – creating original short form, not just taking pieces of a show. You have to know your audience, how the demographic is shifting, and what’s relevant.

It’s vital to stay tuned in and deliver on what the consumer is expecting.”

DRIVING A TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION With a mission to entertain and excite firmly at its heart, Viacom has used technology as a driver of growth – but has done so thoughtfully, ensuring that new technologies are implemented to make positive change for various stakeholders, rather than chasing what Kline calls the “bright, shiny object”.

“Cloud computing is a great example,” he says. “We started looking at cloud when it first came out, and at the time we weren’t ready to make a jump.”

While cloud technology offers storage solutions, Viacom already had extensive – and expensive – infrastructure in place for this.

However, the business did implement cloud technology for its live events, posting interactive social media w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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content and creating live video footage at the likes of the VMAs and Kids’ Choice Awards. Since then, Kline’s team has felt enabled and empowered by the cloud, and after abating cybersecurity concerns by rolling out the new tech slowly and sensitively, Viacom now has its full Office productivity in the Cloud with Office365. “It’s about overcoming fears, being smart enough and strong enough to say, ‘we need to focus because change is

“ AS TECHNOLOGY SHIFTS, IT’S IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE HAS AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT IS AND NOT TO BE FEARFUL, BUT INQUISITIVE” — David Kline, EVP and Chief Information and Technology Officer, Viacom

coming’. That’s something you have to grapple with in any leadership role –

inquisitive. What does this mean to me?

especially technology.”

To the people I serve? To our industry?

As such, Kline is no stranger to the

And how do we approach it?”

culture shift involved in a technology transformation – and he says both

SMOOTH TRANSMISSION

listening and educating are key to

As well as improving the way content is

change management. “It’s important to

enjoyed, technology has been vital in

listen to what’s going on in the world

improving process within Viacom’s

and within the company, and under-

operations. “The product teams work

stand different needs. Rather than just

very centrally with my technical teams,

putting in technology for technology’s

and we’re all focused on making sure

sake, have a rationale and a really

anything across our platforms, from

responsible understanding of why

video to data, is functional, scalable

you’re doing it. As technology shifts,

and is being delivered,” says Kline.

with Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G for

Over the past few years, a key

example, it’s important to make sure

achievement has been centralizing

everyone has an understanding of

code to develop single code base –

what it is and not to be fearful, but

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Play Plex used for apps. “We’re now

RPA (robotic process automation). It’s

down to a single web base so I can

given our team back some time to

deliver the same backend for MTV in

really focus on the next generation and

Poland as I do for Nickelodeon in the

what’s to come, while still delivering on

US. It’s the same with apps. This is a

what’s necessary today.”

pleasing and lucrative opportunity for

“We’re big believers in consumer

the business to be able to go out and

likes and dislikes – how do I make sure

sign deals, knowing they can get

it’s not disruptive for them while it’s

something up and running in a matter

disruptive for us? Obviously, changes

of hours.”

– like introducing AR and VR – are

Yet more technologies are set to

disruptions. They could be good

improve Viacom’s operations, with

disruptions or dramatic disruptions, but

automation affording staff time for

the goal is to make it perfectly seam-

more value-adding tasks. “We’re

less, regardless of whether it’s on

looking at innovative ideas around

television or another device – perhaps

machine learning and AI, as well as

eventually a HoloLens.”

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VIACOM

Centralization enables staff to really concentrate on this frictionless development – for example, a single service desk within Viacom is available for any problem, from lost keys to a serious tech malfunction. “With that, we continue to automate a lot of the tools we have – we’re using chat and automated tickets,” Kline explains.

Further, the company has created application stacks for staff to download all the software they need onto a device at once and has automated solutions from HR and payroll to ERP 26

utilizing SAP’s best-in-class platform.

THE PERFECT PARTNER No technology transformation can take place in isolation, especially one which takes place internally and externally across 180 markets. As such, Viacom works closely with its vendors and partners – including Adobe, Redspace, Canoe Ventures, Insight and Freewheel, to name but a few – to ensure technology can be a true enabler for the business.

“Vendor management’s hugely important,” says Kline. “I have a vendor management office – a small group of people who work closely with my JANUARY 2019

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘COMPANY OVERVIEW 2018’ 29

“ AUTHENTICATION WITH ADOBE PASS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE WHICH VIACOM HELPED CRAFT. IT SHOWS THE COMPANY HAS THE INGENUITY AND CREATIVITY TO REALLY HELP PUSH PRODUCTS FORWARD” — David Kline, EVP and Chief Information and Technology Officer, Viacom

internal group, third party parents and vendors, and our sourcing team. It’s a three-way connection. In many cases, Viacom has a rich history of enabling vendors to build products we inspired, or else we have built them ourselves and pushed the intellectual property off to a vendor if that makes sense for the rest of the globe. Authentication with Adobe Pass is a great example which Viacom helped craft. It shows the company has the ingenuity and creativity to really help push other products forward – not just content but technology.”

While Kline is a keen negotiator – “I w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

VIACOM

30

JANUARY 2019

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believe everything is free until you tell me otherwise” – he also stresses that relationships must be collaborative to thrive. “The worst thing you can do is bleed a vendor to a point where they’re ready to go out of business, or can’t support something you’ve taught them to support… the best thing you can do is work together for the best cost and best possible product that shines for both them and you.”

Together with its partners and vendors, the organization that brings us entertainment in all its forms from award ceremonies to movies will continue to utilize technology to ensure its diverse content is enjoyed. “At Viacom, we’re big on long range plans,” says Kline. The organization is already pushing its 2022 strategy, and though there is no telling what technology will look like in three years’ time, Kline is dedicated to keep to an overall vision of satisfying customers. “That really drives the type of technologies we’re looking to focus on,” he explains. “It’s important to really bond with what the company’s strategies are and make sure we’re thinking that through both the immediate lens as well as the long-range plans.”

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D I G I TA L S T R AT E G Y

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TACKLING THE DATA MOUNTAIN

JANUARY 2019

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AFTER THE WHIRLWIND OF ITS ANNUAL CONFERENCE, WE SAT DOWN WITH TABLEAU SOFTWARE CEO, ADAM SELIPSKY, TO LEARN HOW THE FIRM HAS ESTABLISHED ITSELF AS A POWERHOUSE IN DATA ANALY TICS IN VISUALISATION WRITTEN BY

L AUR A MULL AN

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D I G I TA L S T R AT E G Y

H

e may have just touched down in London after a transatlantic flight, but Tableau Soft-

ware’s President and CEO, Adam Selipsky,

is feeling energised. He’s made the journey not long

after Tableau’s annual conference in New Orleans — an electrifying get-together of self-confessed data-geeks, who are invested in what the data analytics and visualisation firm has got up its sleeve. “It’s not really like any other tech conference,” Selipsky says, “You almost have to be there to really understand it; the level of excitement and passion is incredible. It’s not just a gathering of technology people, it’s really a community coming together.”

To say that Tableau has a strong fan base would 36

be an understatement – and it has the numbers to back this claim. Over 17,000 customers and partners came to its conference in New Orleans and today, the firm claims to have over 50,000 customer accounts. It also won over the backing of Selipsky, who joined the firm just two years ago.

Before that, he had his made his mark at Amazon Web Services (AWS), helping to grow the enterprise from a startup to a multi-billion-dollar business and a leader in cloud computing. “I think AWS taught me a lot about how to scale a company,” he reflects.

“The product needs to work differently at scale, the way you communicate internally needs to work differently to scale, the way that you interact with your customers and who your customers are changes as you grow, particularly if you’re growing rapidly.”

Spending over a decade at AWS, Selipsky made JANUARY 2019

a name for himself in the tech sphere but what was it that won him over at Tableau?

“Despite really enjoying my time at AWS, when this opportunity to come to Tableau came along, it was such an exciting area around data and analytics, such a passionate group of customers and such a great product that it was just irresistible to me,” he says.

“The company also has this really unusual

“ It’s not just a gathering of technology people, it’s really a community coming together” — Adam Selipsky, CEO, Tableau

and unique asset – and that’s the Tableau community. It’s an incredibly energising group to be a part of and frankly, it’s also an incredibly important asset for the company.

It’s not easily matched by spending money on it. It’s something I think has been very carefully nurtured over a great number of years.”

From Jaguar to Barclays, Aer Lingus to Google, Tableau’s customer list makes for impressive reading. Not only does the firm have faithful fans, but it also has a sense of purpose, claims Selipsky. The Seattle-headw w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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D I G I TA L S T R AT E G Y

quartered firm was founded with the goal of solving one of the most challenging problems in software – making databases and spreadsheets understandable to ordinary people.

As the proliferation of data at our fingertips grows exponentially, this goal could prove to be even more vital. “Recent estimates from the IBC suggest that between now and 2025, the amount of data in the world that’s subject to analysis is going to grow 50-fold,” notes Selipsky.

“I think a lot of organisations are 38

just going to get crushed under the weight of that data whilst many others are going to see

“ We talk about having the software ‘fall away’ so that it’s just you having a conversation with your data and that’s still at the very centre of what we do as a company” — Adam Selipsky, CEO, Tableau

brand new opportunities to develop insights and make better decisions based on all of that data. Regardless of whether your organisation sees data as a problem or an opportunity, there’s an urgent need for analytical capabilities to deal with it, and again, to make better decisions faster.”

This is where Tableau Software has managed to carve a unique path in the sector. By helping people see and understand data, the firm believes the opportunities for business are endless. “Ultimately, we use data to make better decisions faster — that’s the goal. I think that human beings happen to interact with data very well in a visual setting. It’s just the way we’re wired. So, if you show a human being a sea of numbers it’s just not as meaningful as if you organised that data visually and there are many studies that illustrate that. I think JANUARY 2019

Tableau has gotten ahead and emerged as a leader by taking a very intuitive, beautiful, and highly interactive approach to visualising data. We talk about having the software ‘fall away’ so that it’s just you having a conversation with your data and that’s still at the very centre of what we do as a company.” Whether it’s being used to analyse energy efficiency, industrial performance political outcomes and more, the use of data is becoming commonplace in almost every sector. Not only has it become more prevalent but the wealth of information and data on offer has also swelled. As such, Tableau has not only focused on visualisation and analytics but has also had to consider other pressing questions like how society should manage this vast amount of information?

As companies deal with more customers who bring with them more data, it’s no longer just a case of visualising and analytics, data management has also emerged as a top priority. “If we have more and more data, we also have more and more data sources,” Selipsky explains. “If we have thousands of people accessing data sources in our organisation, how do they even know what data sources to access? How will they know what data is available to them? There’s a whole series of data management challenges and that’s become a really important w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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D I G I TA L S T R AT E G Y

part of what we’re enabling as well.” As such the firm recently unveiled a new capability called Tableau Prep, that manages data and ensures that its clean, consistent, organised and the right data needed for analysis.

The technology sector is famed for its ability to morph and change in the blink of an eye and therefore, continuous improvement has emerged as a well-versed mantra at Tableau. For Selipsky, this means Tableau can’t be satisfied with its current offering and should also push itself one step further

“ I think a lot of o just going to g the weight of many others a brand new op develop insig better decisio — Adam Selipsky, CEO, Tableau

to make the platform more intuitive, more accessible and more user-friendly. “We’re in the age of analytic ubiquity,” claims Selipsky. “This means analytics is 40

going to be used very broadly, very pervasively, by

CLICK TO WATCH: ‘TABLEAU SOFTWARE - SHARE YOUR INSIGHTS IN SECONDS’

JANUARY 2019

organisations are get crushed under that data whilst are going to see pportunities to ghts and make ons”

knowledge workers around the world. But then you’ve got to ask yourself: ‘what needs to happen, what are the capabilities that companies like Tableau need to unlock to enable tens of thousands of users inside a large bank or retailer to use data and analytics?’” Tableau believes it has found the answer: natural language processing.

Manifested in the firm’s latest roll-out called Data Ask, this capability uses this technology to allow everyday people to make simple requests from their data using everyday language.

“We want to make data and analytics evermore intuitive, evermore natural, evermore familiar, to the way that the human brain already works and that’s why we’re using natural language because it feels natural,” explains Selipsky. “Now, instead of learning software and understanding what dimensions and measures are, you can simply type a question, such as: ‘What are the most expensive housing neighbourhoods in London?’ Then there’s complicated algorithms and sophisticated query parts that goes on in the background, to render a visualisation that is extremely relevant to that question that you asked.” This may seem like simple innovation but the nuts and bolts are highly intricate. To complete this question, the platform needs to understand what w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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D I G I TA L S T R AT E G Y

‘neighbourhood’ means, what ‘London’ means, what expensive means’ and there also needs to be a time period specified. “Interpreting and producing relevant results is actually very hard work,” adds Selipsky. “This is the first release of that capability, but I think if we do our jobs well and we continue to innovate in this area, I think there’s a good chance we look back at the release of Data Ask and say that it was a turning point.”

Data literacy is a critical skill for the 21st century. By 2020, Gartner 42

predicts that 80% of organisations will start to roll out internal data literacy initiatives to upskill their workforce.

Wanting to stay ahead of the curve, Tableau has launched Academics, a programme that has so far helped 680,000 students and faculty to use Tableau. On top of this, Tableau has also partnered with British training provider, AVADO, to launch apprenticeships and training programmes in the UK. According to a recent study by Nesta, investment in data skills could help boost UK productivity by 3%, equivalent to roughly one-fifth of the UK’s productivity gap with other G7 countries, so this programme could go JANUARY 2019

43

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D I G I TA L S T R AT E G Y

‘By 2020, Gartner predicts that 80% of organisations will start to roll out internal data literacy initiatives to upskill their workforce’ 44 some way to bridging this data skills

over 5,000 organisations to provide

gap. “Data literacy is a big issue and

software, training services, and

I think the apprenticeship programme

financial support to help tackle issues

is interesting because we’ve tapped

like climate action, hunger, education,

into this growing movement and put our

gender equality, global health, poverty

resources behind it,” notes Selipsky.

and more. “The Tableau Foundation has

“It’s a fairly new and exciting capability

committed to provide US$100mn in

and it’s being driven, nowhere faster

software services and direct financial

than in the UK.”

support by 2025 and, to help enable

Tableau is a firm believer that facts

that, Tableau is making a US$25mn

and analytical reasoning can not only

equity contribution to the Tableau

transform a business but could also

Foundation,” adds Selipsky. “We’re very

solve some of the world’s most demand-

committed to that mission, we’re excited

ing problems. Recognising this, the firm

about the great work the foundation and

established the Tableau Foundation,

our partners have done together but we

a philanthropic body that works with

think there’s still more to do.”

JANUARY 2019

45 Over the past decade, there’s been

different to what we have done in the

a sea change when it comes to the

past’. I think there are some tactical

industry’s perception of data. Enter-

things that help make that happen:

prises, employers, non-profits alike are

I think the creation of centres of

recognising its merits and as the data

excellence around data and analytics

wave pushes forward, Tableau stands

really help to create a lightning rod for

set to benefit from this tailwind. For

the organisation to turn to. Overall,

businesses’ looking to tap into data

providing that leadership and showing

Selipsky’s advice is simple: get the

the organisation the roadmap that

culture right and the sky’s the limit.

they’re going to be heading is crucial.”

“Anytime a company talks about change, leadership plays a crucial role in driving it,” he observes. “I think fundamentally it’s about setting that direction and saying, ‘we are going to make decisions in a way that is w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

D I G I TA L D I S R U P T I O N

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Mendix: Redefining app development with a low-code approach As the race for software development heats up, we speak to Chief Technology Officer, Johan den Haan, to learn how Mendix is turning the industry on its head with low code development WRITTEN BY

JANUARY 2019

L AUR A MULL AN

49

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D I G I TA L D I S R U P T I O N

50

I

t’s no secret that software development is often what separates disrupters from the disrupted. With a few taps and swipes of

our devices we can now get a takeaway delivered straight to our door, track where our taxi is located or book an apartment in the blink of an eye. Industries across the world have been upended by software applications and the competition for coders is heating up. In the US, for example, the employment of software developers is predicted to grow 24% from 2016 to 2026, and as firms scramble to attract talent, skill JANUARY 2019

shortages are becoming commonplace. This is where low-code platform, Mendix, hopes to offer a helping hand by allowing companies to build software at unprecedented speed and scale.

Chief Technology Officer, Johan den Haan, has worked at Mendix since almost its genesis, in fact he first cut his teeth in the company 13 years’ ago. In the beginning, he said the firm’s biggest challenge was trying to convince the market of merits of a new approach to developing applications.

"Mendix has always focused on improving how people build software: making sure that they could do it faster, collaboratively and with control. Yet, when we started, we really had to convince people that they should use cloud-based software and that they should use digital tools rather than coding. Then there came a market shift whereby market analysts realised that we could no longer deliver all the software that we need with the existing technology approach.” Like it or not, any company – whether it’s in financial services, telecommunications or transportation – is a software company, at least they should be to compete in today’s digital age.

However, many don’t have the necessary capacity to do so due to a chronic shortage of coders in the market. In the UK, for instance, a report by Tech Nation highlights w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

51

D I G I TA L D I S R U P T I O N

that over 50% of the UK’s digital tech

code quicker, and it also helps to

businesses say they are facing

encourage collaboration across

a shortage of skilled workers.

departments creating what den Haan

This is where low-code platforms

52

describes as ‘BizDevOps.’ “We really

like Mendix offer an interesting

are changing the paradigm of how we

alternative. The idea behind it is simple:

look at software development,” he

low-code platforms allow firms to

explains. “Low-code enables people to

create apps without the need to code.

build software up to 10 times faster

Instead of writing lines of intricate

which solves part of the skills gap. You

coding language, the platform uses

also have greater collaboration: instead

a more visual approach involving

of a programmer building the applica-

drag-and-drop components and

tion with input from someone in

graphics. This relieves highly-skilled

business operations, people in the

software developers so that they can

business units can actually be part of

focus on more value-adding tasks,

the development team. This is benefi-

helps firms develop vast amounts of

cial as they’re able to bring a greater

JANUARY 2019

“ We really are changing the paradigm of how we look at software development”

— Johan den Haan, Chief Technology Officer, Mendix

53 understanding of the problem they’re trying to solve and they can directly influence software delivery. You could say that you have what we call BizDevOps teams.

“That is, of course, the goal, it’s not about technology. It’s about enabling the business to grow faster, to reinvent itself, to add something to the market,” he adds, pointing out that Mendix defines itself as a ‘digital transformation enabler.’ This may seem an unorthodox approach to application development but its proven to be a hit, gaining backing from some of the sector’s most disruptive technology behemoths. In August, for instance, Siemens AG put its weight behind low-code development when it w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

D I G I TA L D I S R U P T I O N

acquired Mendix for US$730mn in

app quickly and more recently they’ve

cash. Den Haan believes that this

been nominated for an innovation

signifies how low-code development is

award based on this application. Most

here to stay. “It’s important to note that

importantly though, den Haan, points

Siemens is investing more into Mendix

out that although Mendix is a technol-

over the next three years than they

ogy vendor, housing a technology

bought the company for. This is one of

platform is just a small part of what it

the biggest investments in the lowcode market to date. The physical and digital world are quickly converging, you can no longer imagine a product or company that doesn’t have software at its core and I think Siemens has recognised this. If you don't grow as a 54

company and become a software company you will quickly become irrelevant. I think that is what digital transformation is all about – it’s about transforming your company to becoming a digital native.”

Take Zurich Insurance, who used Mendix’s low-code development platform to build a so-called ‘face quote app’ to encourage young people to enter the insurance market. “They had a wild idea whereby they wanted to allow people to take a selfie and use artificial intelligence (AI) to identify the age of the person so that they could give them an age-appropriate quote.”

Using Mendix’s platform they built the JANUARY 2019

“ It’s not about technology. It’s about enabling the business to grow faster, to reinvent itself, to add something to the market” — Johan den Haan, Chief Technology Officer, Mendix

does. Enabling business value is the end goal, and it has a four-step proven plan to make it happen. “We call it the four P’s: portfolio, people, process and platform,” comments den Haan. “We also start small: we ask the company to identify a first project application that needs to be built and of course, we shouldn't start with the most complex one but start easy. Something that can be built and delivered within 30 days.

The biggest compliment I hear from our customers is that they say that ideas are flowing amongst the team again because if the first application is built in

55

30 days people start to think ‘well maybe we could do this bigger project too.’ We focus on collaboration and make sure that the business is able to build software that they are proud of.”

Den Haan believes that low-code development isn’t the end of the road for Mendix, he believes that the applications of the future lies in AI-assisted low-code development. “I think the next era of applications is the smart app.

These have three characteristics – it understands the context of the app so where the user is located and what the user is doing, using personal, sensor or location data. It’s also intelligent: it uses w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

D I G I TA L D I S R U P T I O N

56

“I think we can use AI-assisted low code platforms to speed application development by 10 times once again” — Johan den Haan, Chief Technology Officer, Mendix

JANUARY 2019

AI, machine learning and predictive analytics to look at that context data and to make products or recommendations for the user. Then thirdly it will be proactive. So instead of you, as a user, using the application to get information, the application will come to you.” The software development landscape is also leveraging the power of AI too. “I don’t think the future of the market lies solely in low-code platforms,” notes den Haan. “I think it lies in AI-assisted development, built on low code.” As a result, the firm launched Mendix Assist, what it touts as the first AI-assisted development that can be built into a low code application development platform.

Analysing anonymised applications that have been built using Mendix, this tool can proactively offer next-step suggestions for developing code.

“I think we can use AI-assisted low code platforms to can speed application development by 10 times once again,” he adds.

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T O P 10

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JANUARY 2019

Top 10

highest valued tech unicorns in the world Just like in mythical legends, unicorns in the tech business are a rarity. In fact, last year, CB Insight calculated that the odds of a company reaching that coveted billion-dollar-valuation was less than 1%. We investigated the most highly valued VCbacked tech companies, according to PitchBook, to see which tech firms have beat the odds WRITTEN BY

LAURA MULLAN

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T O P 10

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10

Pinterest Launched in 2010, Pinterest Inc. has quickly risen to fame, earning a valuation of US$12.3bn according to PitchBook. From wedding tips, beauty inspiration or new recipes, the web and mobile app allows users to save images and stories to virtual pinboards. Pinterest was founded by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra and Evan Sharp and today, it claims to have around 250mn monthly active users.

www.pinterest.co.uk JANUARY 2019

61

09

Pinduoduo

Valued at US$15bn, Pinduoduo is a leading Chinese e-commerce platform which allows users to participate in group buying deals, primarily through Tencent’s WeChat app. In January, the firm claimed to have 114mn active users, according to Forbes. Pinduoduo was founded in 2015 by Colin Huan and since then it has gained investments from Tencent, Gaochun, Xintianyu respectively.

www.pinduoduo.com

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08

Toutiao

Valued at around US$20bn, Toutiao (or Jinri Toutiao) is a Beijingbased news and information content platform. Data analytics firm iResearch claims that Toutiao is installed on over 240mn monthly unique devices, makes it a leading news aggregator in China. By analysing content as well as users’ interaction with content, Toutiao generates a unique feed list of content for each user. In November, the six-year-old company appointed Chen Lin as the new Chief Executive Officer of the firm. As of September 2017, Toutiao had 120mn daily active users and Pitchbook reports that the firm is valued at US$20bn.

www.toutiao.com

JANUARY 2019

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07

Palantir Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Palantir is a software company that specialises in providing big data analytics for government agencies and private firms. The company was founded in 2004 by Peter Thiel, former co-founder of PayPal, as well as Nathan Gettings, Joe Lonsdale, Stephen Cohen and Alex Kar. In 2016, Palantir announced that it had acquired Dutch data visualisation firm Silk. Today, Pitchbook reports that Palantir is valued at approximately US$20.5bn.

www.palantir.com

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06

WeWork WeWork is a New York-headquartered company that provides collaborative shared working spaces. In July, the firm revealed it had raised US$500mn from Softbank and Hony Capital to fuel the growth of the company’s operations in China. WeWork was founded

by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey in 2010 and figures from Pitchbook say the company is now valued at US$21.1bn.

www.pinterest.co.uk JANUARY 2019

65

05

SpaceX

Founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., which does business as SpaceX, is an aerospace company which designs, manufactures and launches rockets and spacecrafts.

SpaceX says it has “the ultimate goal of making life multiplanetary.”

Last year the startup noted that it had achieved 18 successful launches —twice as many as in the previous year. SpaceX has a valuation of around US$24.7bn according to PitchBook and its investors include Fidelity Investments and Google.

www.spacex.com

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04

Meituan-Dianping Headquartered in Beijing, China, Meituan-Dianping is not only the world’s largest food delivery firm but it also operates in other verticals such as hotels, lifestyle, ticketing and bike-sharing via Mobike.

The company was founded in 2010 by Wang Xing and now it has a valuation of around US$30bn, according to Pitchbook. The Financial Times reported that Meituan-Dianping had 290mn monthly active users as of April 2018.

www.meituan.com

JANUARY 2019

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03

Airbnb Peer-to-peer home rental firm Airbnb disrupted the hospitality industry when it was founded a decade ago and now it is the third highest valued VC-backed tech company in the world, with a valuation of around US$31bn. Headquartered in San Francisco, Airbnb now has satellite offices in Dublin, London, Barcelona, Paris, Milan, Copenhagen, Berlin, Moscow, São Paolo, Sydney and Singapore. The company’s marketplace provides consumers with access to over 5mn places to stay in more than 81,000 cities and 191 countries. Speaking at the Skift global travel conference in October, Airbnb’s President of Homes, Greg Greeley, revealed that the Californian startup has welcomed over 400mn guest arrivals since it was first founded.

www.airbnb.co.uk

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02

Didi Chuxing With a valuation of around US$56bn, Didi Chuxing has quickly positioned itself as one of the top valued private companies in the world.

The Chinese firm has made its mark as a mobile transportation platform, offering services for taxis, buses, car rental, bike-sharing and more. Didi Chuxing claims to have 450mn registered users — over half of the country’s mobile-internet users — and 21mn drivers who provide 25mn rides per day. Two years ago, Didi Chuxing made headlines when it acquired Uber China for an undisclosed amount.

www.didiglobal.com

JANUARY 2019

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JANUARY 2019

71

01

Uber

Topping the leaderboard is ride-hailing company Uber which raised US$1.3bn in a fundraising round led by Softbank in January 2019. The 10-year-old company has grown to become the highest valued private startup company in the world, with a valuation of around US$69.9bn. Uber was founded by friends Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp almost a decade ago and now, the firm completes around 15mn trips every day. Last year, Uber calculated that it had around 16,000 employees and the San Francisco-headquartered firm is now present in 65 countries worldwide.

www.uber.com

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EVENTS & A S S O C I AT I O N S

The biggest industry events and conferences EDITED BY LAURA MULLAN from around the world

08–12 JANUARY 2019

Consumer Electronics Show (CES) [ LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, UNITED STATES ] The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the world’s gathering place for all those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. It has served as the proving ground for inn72

ovators and breakthrough technologies for 50 years — the global

12–15 FEBRUARY 2019

stage where next-generation innova-

Think 2019

tions are introduced to the marketplace.

[ SAN FRANCISCO ]

Owned and produced by the Consumer

Giving unbridled access to experts,

Technology Association (CTA), it attracts

customer, partners and IBM execu-

the world’s business leaders and pio-

tives from around the globe, Think

neering thinkers.

2019 is a key event for any technology

January’s conference will open with IBM

professional’s calendar. The event will

Chairman, President and CEO Ginni

be the second-annual Think confer-

Rometty delivering an address to discuss

ence and it aims to cover the breadth

how technologies such as AI and quan-

and depth of technology and business

tum, when built on a foundation of trust

topics including cloud, artificial intelli-

and transparency, will drastically change

gence, data analytics, infrastructure

business and society for the better.

and much more.

Click to visit website

Click to visit website

JANUARY 2019

04–08 MARCH 2019

RSA Conference 2019 [ SAN FRANCISCO, UNITED STATES ] RSA Conference is one of the biggest IT security conferences in the world,

25–28 FEBRUARY 2019

with 2019’s main event taking place in

MWC Barcelona

San Francisco.

[ BARCELONA, SPAIN ]

Attendees can expect to learn about the

MWC Barcelona is the world’s largest

latest cybersecurity developments in

exhibition for the mobile industry, incor-

expert-led sessions, inspiring keynotes

porating a thought-leadership

and in-depth seminars. They can also

conference that features prominent

demo innovative products and solutions,

executives representing mobile opera-

network with infosec insiders and peers,

tors, device manufacturers, technology

and help move the industry forward as

providers, vendors and content owners

part of an engaged and empowered

from across the world.

global community.

Mobile World Congress 2019 will once

This year’s theme is ‘Better’. According to

again take place at its traditional Fira

the RSA Conference, this means ‘work-

Gran Via venue in Barcelona and next

ing hard to find better solutions. Making

year will be built around eight core topics:

better connections with peers from

Connectivity, AI, Industry 4.0, Immersive

around the world. And keeping the digital

Content, Disruptive Innovation, Digital

world safe so everyone can get on with

Wellness, Digital Trust and The Future.

making the real world a better place’.

Click to visit website

Click to visit website

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EVENTS & A S S O C I AT I O N S

04–06 MARCH 2019

Gartner Data & Analytics Summit 2019 [ LONDON, UK ] In this world of ambiguity characterized by uncertainty, risk, doubt and purpose and bring clarity through data

AI and Big Data Conference 2019

and analytics you can rely on and, most

[ OLYMPIA, LONDON ]

importantly, trust. Data and analytics

The AI & Big Data Conference & Exhibi-

leaders are driving digital transforma-

tion taking place 25-26th April 2019 at

tion, creating monetization opportunities,

the Olympia Grand, London and is a

improving the customer experience

showcase of next-generation technolo-

and reshaping industries. We’ll share

gies and strategies from the world of

new strategies, guidance and best

Artificial Intelligence & Big Data, an

practices to help you realize your

opportunity to explore and discover the

future - a future based on data you can

practical and successful implementa-

trust, agile analytics you can rely on,

tion of AI & Big Data in driving forward

and the clarity needed to empower you

your business in 2019 and beyond.

with the continuous intelligence and

4 co-located events. 21 conference

pervasive insights necessary to excel

tracks. 12,000 attendees. 500+ speak-

in the digital economy.

ers. 350+ exhibitors.

Click to visit website

Click to visit website

fake news, now is the time to lead with 74

25 APRIL 2019

JANUARY 2019

09–10 MAY 2019

TECHSPO Technology Expo [ NEW YORK, USA ] TECHSPO Technology Expo showcases the next generation of technology

JUNE 2019

75

Tech, AR, VR, IoT, Weara-

MoneyLIVE Digital Banking

bles, Mobile, Internet, 3D

[ LONDON, UK ]

Print & Emerging Technol-

MoneyLIVE: Digital

Women of Silicon Roundabout

ogy, Exhibitors have the

Banking is the leading

[ LONDON, UK ]

opportunity to show off

digital banking confer-

Through inspirational

their companies to con-

ence for innovators

keynotes, panel discus-

sumers, the highest

across the industry. With

sions, technical classes

calibre investors, hordes

11+ hours of content

and more, the Women of

of press, the most sought-

from 40+ speakers,

Silicon Roundabout aims

after talent, and the

2018’s event tackled the

to help companies pro-

greatest pool of tech

most pressing questions

mote gender diversity

enthusiasts looking to cel-

facing the banking

and inclusion in the tech-

ebrate emerging venture.

industry today.

nology sector.

Click to visit website

Click to visit website

Click to visit website

& innovation; Contextual

25–26 JUNE 2019

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76

Transforming procurement the Fannie Mae way WRIT TEN BY

ANDRE W WOODS PRODUCED BY

DENITR A PRICE

JANUARY 2019

NORTH AMERICA

77

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FA N N I E M A E

We speak to Rajeev Karmacharya, Managing Director, Strategic Sourcing and Category Management at Fannie Mae, on how he aligns procurement with business at Fannie Mae…

A

number of companies struggle to establish the bridge between their business aspirations and priorities and the procurement space. However,

procurement is undergoing a sea of change at the moment with many businesses no longer viewing this

78

service as merely a back-end function. Rajeev Karmacharya, Managing Director, Strategic Sourcing and Category Management at Fannie Mae, sees his role in procurement as much more business facing.

“A lot of times procurement organizations tend to be too focused on the cost,” he explains. “However, that’s often not what the businesses are really looking for.

Obviously everyone wants to be competitive with price, but there’s more to be had from procurement.”

Karmacharya has over two decades of experience in procurement, supply chain and technology roles and has seen the procurement function evolve over time. He worked as a management consultant for over 12 years, including as a Principal for AT Kearney, a global management consulting firm. He consulted for a number of leading Fortune 500 firms where he often worked just as closely with the CIO as the CFO. “I really got to see how JANUARY 2019

NORTH AMERICA

79

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FA N N I E M A E

the priorities and perspectives could

function here and what I found talking

sometimes be different between the

to senior executives across the

two groups,” he explains.

company was that they didn’t see

Fannie Mae is a U.S. government-

value in procurement that does just

sponsored enterprise (GSE) that

transactional work. Obviously, there

supplies financing to mortgage

are trade-offs with minimizing cost,

lenders. Fannie Mae celebrated its

minimizing risk and speed of delivery.

80th birthday in 2018. Karmacharya

This interesting dynamic gave me a

joined the company in 2013 and has

perspective on how you should really

been working on transforming the

design a procurement organization.

procurement space through a more

How can a group be really effective?”

business-facing function rather than a

82

traditionally administrative process.

FUTURE PROCUREMENT

“When I joined Fannie Mae, we didn’t

Fannie Mae was keen to recruit

have a category management type of

procurement experts that could supply

$109.9bn Approximate revenue

1938

Year founded

7,200

Approximate number of employees JANUARY 2019

S U P P LY C H A I N

market insights and industry knowl-

to a model where we are the category

edge to the organization. “Our busi-

experts. Our category managers

ness stakeholders are not expecting

have a full understanding of their

procurement to tell them whether they

categories, including historical spend,

should buy this product or that product,

contractual terms, key sourcing levers

but they certainly wanted us to bring in

as well as industry knowledge – more

insights as to what was happening in

than anyone else in the company. This

the marketplace. What are the trends?

creates a partnership, and even though

Who are the key and emerging players?

the organization may change on the

What types of innovation are happen-

business side, it enables us to provide

ing in the industry?

continuity as well as an enterprise

“Obviously, the transactional part is important, as is the supplier manage-

perspective.”

Fannie Mae’s sourcing and procure-

ment and all the traditional procure-

ment transformation journey is about

ment functions, but we have moved

customer service. “For us, our internal

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83

The Procurement Empowerment Platform Realize the possibilities

Supplier Management Sourcing Contract Management Procurement Invoicing Strategy & Analytics

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Quick process / system deployment

Deep, workflowenabled collaboration

Easy configurability for unique or evolving requirements

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Planning a Successful Procurement Transformation Journey Wayne Gretzky once said that “a good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” The same can be said for procurement leaders planning their organizations’ digital transformation.

At Ivalua, we’ve had the opportunity to work with hundreds of the world’s leading companies on their journeys.

The most successful have consistently been those that keep their eye on where they want their organizations to be many years down the road and plot their course accordingly.

While people ultimately are the ones that deliver value and bring successful transformations to fruition, technology is a critical enabler. It frees capacity, provides necessary insights, enables collaboration at scale and much more.

Successful procurement transformation journeys involve several core phases, and technology must be able to support each one when you are ready to progress.

Get up and running quickly Typical Objectives

Technology Requirements

Generate ROI

Digitize the full Source-toPay process Manage 100% of spend

Adopt industry best practices

Bing your best ideas to life Establish agility for evolving requirements

Improve data / strategic insights

Rapid deployment, adoption & onboarding Industry configurations

Complete suite

Powerful configurability

Unified data model

Industry-leading capabilities

Getting Started

Best-in-Class

Competitive Advantage

Procurement Digital Transformation Journey

If getting started, ensure technology can deliver rapid ROI and deliver best practices. But remember that even if you are only digitizing part of your process now, when you are ready to build a truly best-in-class procurement organization you’ll want to digitize the full Source-to-Pay process, in which case an integrated suite to automate all activity will be needed, and a unified data model will be critical to ensuring 360 degree supplier visibility or generating process-wide insights from the latest artificial intelligence applications. Fannie Mae was able to onboard nearly 100% of their suppliers and achieved visibility into 100% of spend. Their team made it happen, empowered by technology.

You should insist on best practice capabilities and configurations, but realize that as you mature you will inevitably find that some requirements are truly unique or have evolved. Be sure your technology has the flexibility to accommodate them through configuration. And remember that best-in-class does not create a competitive advantage. Top talent will want to innovate and do a few strategic activities differently, better than the competition.

Technology should empower them to do so and bring their best ideas to life. Fannie Mae maintains better insight into cyber security threats than its suppliers, so implemented a unique process to automatically notify at-risk suppliers of threats, thereby reducing risk better than others.

Every company’s journey is unique, but by keeping their eye on where they are headed, procurement leaders can achieve their goals.

To learn how Ivalua can accelerate your procurement digital transformation, visit ivalua.com

FA N N I E M A E

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“Like many internal operations, procurement has undergone a digital recalibration of both its architecture, functionality and efficiency as Big Data, machine learning and AI start to filter into the procurement space” — Rajeev Karmacharya, Managing Director, Strategic Sourcing and Category Management

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CLICK TO WATCH : FANNIE MAE – NATIONAL HOMEOWNERSHIP MONTH 89 business unit stakeholders are our

focus on. Sometimes, that may mean

customers. Some procurement

higher cost for faster speed-to-market,

organizations don’t like to call their

or taking on a slightly higher level of

internal stakeholders ‘customers’. I

risk. We may challenge them from time

think we’ve been very deliberate about

to time if we believe that’s in their best

viewing our business stakeholders as

interest, or the company’s. Ultimately,

customers and really putting them at

we want our customers to have a

the center of everything we do. We

positive experience in their interac-

seek to understand their business so

tions with procurement while knowing

we can see it from their perspective.

that we have their back. That’s the kind

We help our customers achieve market

of model we’re building.”

competitive costs and help identify

Like many internal operations,

and mitigate supplier risks, but our

procurement has undergone a digital

customers’ business objectives and

recalibration of its architecture,

priorities are at the core of what we

functionality and efficiency as Big w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

FA N N I E M A E

“I think the key for me is understanding business needs and viewing things from the customer’s perspective” 90

— Rajeev Karmacharya, Managing Director, Strategic Sourcing and Category Management

Data, machine learning and AI technologies start to filter into the procurement space.

“We have totally digitized contracts and can do a lot more with contract authoring and contract analytics, among others. We have started to test RPA (robotic process automation) where it makes sense – and I’ll be honest: RPA doesn’t always make sense for smaller scale operations, where there is a lot more thinking versus doing. From a business case perspective, the promised land of true digitization is full collaboration and transparency that enables harnessing the full potential of technologies, such as JANUARY 2019

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machine learning and artificial intelligence.

For our customers, that means greater efficiency and better analytics and insights.”

A PROCUREMENT TRANSFORMATION With any digital transformation, robust technology solutions are key to continued success. “If you looked at the technology solution we had a few years ago, the context diagram of our procurement system and integrations was outdated. This complexity meant higher opportunity for errors and impacted our cycle times. We also didn’t have a good way to tackle approvals outside of Procurement – much of this was done via emails and lacked consistency. We had multiple sources of records for supplier data, but no direct integration between contracts and purchase as they were on different systems. So, we needed an end-to-end solution that was flexible to meet our unique needs, yet scalable to handle our volume.

After assessing a number of established players, Fannie Mae chose an innovative, emerging supplier in source-to-pay space.

We now have a more user-friendly procurement system that allows for integrated requisition and contract approval workflow and now, along with the adoption of e-signatures and mobile approval capability, we w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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have cut down cycle-time for standard

We have full spend visibility that really

purchases by 50%.”

enables us to do all the associated

Karmacharya’s team utilizes an

analytics. Catalog management and

end-to-end procurement solution

automatic deal approval with the full

where all of the contracts are in one

workflow is also built into the tool,

contract management system. The

which makes the process very efficient.

key metadata is captured and stored.

Moreover, with the workflow built into

Contract authoring has been piloted

the tool, it is easier for customers to

and the company is looking to expand

see where things are – with increased

its contract authoring and contract

transparency, procurement is becom-

analytics capabilities. “Much of our

ing less of a black box.”

contracting work happens electroni-

Karmacharya believes trusted

cally,” he explains. “Key contract

relationships with suppliers are equally

meta-data is captured and we utilize

important to bring value to internal

e-signature for execution. We continue

customers. The team has worked

to be focused on ensuring data quality,

hard to build strategic partnerships

capturing additional metadata, and

with key suppliers. “We believe

some of the innovative things you can

suppliers can help bring innovation

do with digitalization to drive efficiency.

and best practices with the right

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

Rajeev Karmacharya Rajeev is Managing Director of the Strategic Sourcing and Category Management group in Fannie Mae. Rajeev leads a team of category management, strategic sourcing, contracting, and supplier operations professionals. In addition, Karmacharya currently serves in the Advisory Board of the Sourcing Interest Group, a global industry forum for Sourcing professionals.

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FA N N I E M A E

“From a business case perspective, the promised land of true digitization is full collaboration and transparency that enables harnessing the full potential of technologies, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence” 94

— Rajeev Karmacharya, Managing Director, Strategic Sourcing and Category Management

partnership and accountability. For

supplier pricing models we might not

example, we work collaboratively

normally have.”

with them to drive efficiency and cost

Besides unit cost optimization,

competitiveness. Annually, we work

Karmacharya’s team is also focused

with them to plan out future demand

on managing demand and seeking

so they can plan their resources

out substitution opportunities. For

accordingly and we get the benefit

example, the procurement team

of readily available, qualified resourc-

worked collaboratively with the

es in areas of our greatest need. We

enterprise data team to manage

also work with a company that helps

data purchases and allocation. Prior

us with benchmarks, and on key

to establishing an asset management

hardware and software deals, which

program, budget planning, forecasting

helps bring a unique perspective into

and cost allocation was challenging

JANUARY 2019

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more difficult. Sometimes you have to challenge your customer and say, ‘Are you sure you want to do this? Because here’s what the data is telling me.”

“There are valuable insights you can draw from analysis of not just spend and buying patterns, but also from trends in the marketplace. What resonates with the customers might not be cost savings. It might be other things you, and the customer, might not be thinking about.”

“I think the key is understanding business needs and viewing things from customer’s perspective,” he adds.

“On the flip side, by having this analytical insight you really understand what the opportunities are and, in turn, are due to the fragmented nature of the

better able to challenge the customer.

purchase across multiple business

Do you take the easy path, the path of

units. A new data management solution

least resistance, with minimal value or

enabled the company to effectively

would you rather be someone who is

manage its data purchases and reduce

really helping drive the business? I

duplicative purchases.

choose the latter every time.”

It’s Karmacharya’s customer service mindset that is driving tangible value. “I tell my team every day to think about the value we are bringing. You can always take the easy path, or you can take the path that drives the most value even though it may be a little w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

95

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How BlackBerry is undergoing a legendary digital transformation and creating an inclusive platform for women in technology WRIT TEN BY

L AUR A MULL AN PRODUCED BY

CR AIG DANIEL S

JANUARY 2019

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BL ACKBERRY

Following BlackBerry’s incredible turnaround, we talk to Neelam Sandhu, Senior Director of Business Operations Office of the CEO, about BlackBerry’s reinvented focus, the fast-emerging Enterprise of Things, and challenges faced by women in tech

‘Do what you enjoy the most and you’ll never work a day in your life’ – this 98

may be a well-versed platitude, but for Neelam Sandhu it has proven to be sound advice when navigating through her career. She knew that she reveled in fast-paced and dynamic environments, that she wanted to utilize her skills in business strategy, and most importantly that she wanted to work for a company for which she could be a genuine ambassador. This inevitably led her to the world of technology and ultimately the doors of BlackBerry. The rest, she says, is history.

Now, Senior Director of Business Operations Office of the CEO at BlackBerry, Sandhu describes her role as one which “touches every JANUARY 2019

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function of the company in some capacity”. One day she may be meeting with government officials and customers, the next launching a new internal expense management system, or executing on initiatives like the BlackBerry Shield.

Sandhu has seemingly found her calling in the technology sector but unfortunately, women in this field are increasingly rare. A report by Accenture and non-profit Girls Who Code noted that women account for 34% of

Neelam Sandhu, Senior Director of Business Operations, Office of the CEO, BlackBerry

computing jobs today, down from 37% in 1995. Elsewhere, in the UK, figures from the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) show that just 15% of people working in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) roles are women – and only 5% of leadership positions in the technology industry are held by women. The statistics make for disheartening reading, but Sandhu is optimistic that we could see change on the horizon.

“In my career, I’ve certainly experienced some bias from men and women alike,” she recalls. “However, I’ve been very fortunate that, for me, BlackBerry has been a great place to grow and learn and to advance my w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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career, with support from both

can see that two leaders of General

genders. I wouldn’t be where I am

Motors – the CEO and the CFO – are

today without that support. There are

both women. The automotive industry

still a number of challenges that need

is one which is notoriously male-domi-

to be worked on in every industry, not

nated so we are seeing change right

just in technology, when it comes to

there. Betty Liu is another example.

gender diversity and equality,” she

She began her career in journalism,

adds. “But I think the conversation is

went on to start her own business and

changing – it’s becoming less taboo

now she is the Executive Vice Chair-

and men are getting involved in the

man of the New York Stock Exchange.”

discussion as well, which is critical.”

One of the biggest hurdles, Sandhu

Another hurdle, Sandhu believes, lies in education. Surveying over 2,000

believes, lies in the lack of female role

A-Level and university students in the

models in male-dominated fields.

UK, PwC found that only 3% of women

“Women don’t have those same role

say a career in technology would be

models or examples as men to look up

their first choice. “We need to increase

to or emulate,” she observes. “But I do

the pipeline of women in STEM and

think that's changing. For example, we

that starts with education,” notes Sandhu. w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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BL ACKBERRY

“ At BlackBerry, we’re very focused on making sure that whatever we do is positively impacting society – that’s something that is not traditionally seen in or associated with technology” 104

— Neelam Sandhu, Senior Director of Business Operations, Office of the CEO, BlackBerry

“We need to work on creating an envir–

focused on making sure that whatever

onment where women feel comfort-

we do is positively impacting society

able learning STEM topics. Not only is

for the better – that messaging is not

the professional environment male

traditionally seen in, or associated with,

dominated, but the education environ-

technology,” says Sandhu. “Technol-

ment is too. So, creating that environ-

ogy is often seen to be a more rational,

ment or community where women feel

colder environment. If we can change

comfortable in STEM is important.”

the messaging to highlight the value

Sandhu also suggests that creating the right messaging that appeals to women and encourages them to get

that technology adds to society, it will attract more women to the sector.”

‘Impacting society for the better’: it's

involved in STEM could prove helpful.

an admirable statement, and it’s one

“For example, at BlackBerry, we're very

which BlackBerry is putting into practice

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E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

Neelam Sandhu Neelam Sandhu is responsible for the operations of the CEO office, including supporting the CEO in managing key customer and government relationships globally, management of and content development for internal and external engagements, and driving strategic cross-functional projects to deliver operational efficiencies.

Neelam also manages BlackBerry’s travel strategy and operations.

Since joining BlackBerry in 2009 Neelam has held various positions, based out of the company’s United Kingdom, New York and California offices. Her responsibilities have included Brand Management, Brand Messaging, Marketing Operations, Go-To-Market for the Curve and Porsche Design products and Corporate Strategic Initiatives. Neelam holds a bachelor’s degree, with honors, in Business Management, from the University of Leicester and an Executive Certification in Financial Analysis from the University of California at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.

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“ BlackBerry represents the ambition in diversity and inclusion that RBC seeks out in our business partners, with its leaders fundamentally recognizing the power of humanity – and human values – in our tech-driven age. As a thought leader, Neelam is showing how this approach is esse–ntial to ensuring that we create technology for good, for all of our employees, customers, clients and communities ” — Bruce Ross, Group Head of Technology & Operations, Royal Bank of Canada

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ever since it shifted its roadmap following a mammoth transformation. To say BlackBerry has reinvented itself in the past decade would be an understatement. At its peak, its smartphone was in the hands of almost every corporate and business professional, with sales reaching a crescendo between 2009 and 2011. As the competition heated up, BlackBerry’s device sales slumped and it decided it needed a new roadmap.

This is where John Chen, BlackBerry’s current Executive Chairman and CEO, entered the fray. A well-known turnaround expert, Sandhu says that Chen helped to herald in a new era for BlackBerry. “He stabilized the company financially and put us into growth mode.

To do that, he had to develop a strategy which would take us into the future,” she says. “He decided to focus on what we do best: security and connectivity.”

Recognizing that the market was shifting towards a software model, Chen helped to spearhead a new chapter in BlackBerry’s history, pivoting it from a smartphone hardware firm to an enterprise software and services company. “He led the company through a complete shift culturally, operationally and strategically,” notes w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘BLACKBERRY SPARK ADVERT’

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“ At the center of financial markets, the NYSE plays an important role in helping great companies such as BlackBerry raise capital so that they can innovate, create jobs and drive purposeful programs that advance the global workforce and the communities around them.

We commend BlackBerry for its work to foster the growth of its leaders, and we congratulate Neelam for being a strong role model for women in technology” — Betty Liu, Executive Vice Chairman, NYSE

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“ At KPMG, inclusion and diversity strengthens our business, enriches our culture and enables us to develop relationships with our communities.

We accelerate productivity by tapping into diverse talent and new markets.

We are proud to team with BlackBerry in their commitment to unlocking the power of diversity and driving innovation.

I am thrilled to recognize Neelam for representing BlackBerry, a company committed to supporting women in leadership and for being recognized as a powerful example of female empowerment in business and technology” — Tony Malfara, Partner, Risk Consulting Services, KPMG in Canada

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Sandhu. “The future of the tech industry and the connected world lies in software, not in hardware, so we’ve evolved to become a software company, focused on connectivity and security. Chen also identified a new market called the Enterprise of Things (EoT) which we have positioned ourselves to lead.”

Just as BlackBerry mobilized the workforce with smartphones – allowing employees to send emails on the go, for example – so too have other technologies and tools transformed the way we work. As more and more devices and tools enter the enterprise workflow, there is a greater need to make this workflow secure and this is where BlackBerry is making its mark.

“The Enterprise of Things isn’t just about the assets that your employer provides you; the enterprise workflow is expanding to include other Things that aren’t provided by the enterprise.

For instance, an employee might use a file sharing solution that isn’t provided by their employer or a device like an Amazon Alexa speaker. There are more Things being connected into daily work processes that aren’t under the enterprise’s control. This means that enterprises will demand BlackBerw w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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BL ACKBERRY

“ BlackBerry is a company driven by strong corporate ethics. I believe there is strength in diversity and am committed to leading an inclusive organization. In an increasingly integrated world it is unification that unlocks the power of our platform and I am proud to be a champion for women and minorities in technology leadership positions” — John Chen, Executive Chairman & CEO, BlackBerry

112

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘BLACKBERRY WATERLOO CAMPUS’

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113

ry-grade security for more and more

do,” Sandhu explains. “We are keen

connected Things. We also expect to

to make sure that everybody who is

see the same request from consumers,

connected to a ‘Thing’ is benefiting

as they become increasingly aware

from BlackBerry's best-in-class

of their privacy landscape and demand

security, BlackBerry's data privacy

greater transparency from technol-

promise, and our legacy and reliability

ogy companies.”

when it comes to connectivity too.”

With more endpoints comes greater

The BlackBerry Spark platform is

risk and this is where BlackBerry’s

designed to tackle the growing EoT

expertise in security and connectivity

market. It delivers ultra-secure hyper-

come into play. “Today we’re very

connectivity from the inside out.

focused on securing all EoT endpoints

“There’s a scientific theory called the

and ‘all’ is the keyword here because

‘grand unification theory’ and it states

we are platform agnostic in what we

that everything in the universe can be w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

BL ACKBERRY

brought together by a single unifying force, and that's how we describe BlackBerry Spark – it’s a single platform that unifies every connected ‘Thing’ securely, reliably, with user privacy at the forefront.”

As more hacks and cybersecurity threats make the headlines, security has become a pressing concern for any firm. It’s a top priority for BlackBerry too. Sandhu describes the firm as one which “lives and breathes security”, proven by the fact it works closely with famously secure organizations like 114

the G7 governments, NATO, and some of the world’s largest banks and medical institutions. On top of this, BlackBerry also uses its own technologies and products, ensuring its internal security is of the highest caliber. “We can't have a single conversation at BlackBerry without the word ‘security’ coming up,” she observes. “We live and breathe security so that the end user and the enterprise doesn't have to worry about it. Our security expertise has been built into our platform since day one. It’s been built into every layer of our solutions, from the kernel to the edge, and so I’d say security is definitely one of our key competitive tenets.”

JANUARY 2019

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“ As Canada’s flag carrier, Air Canada takes pride in projecting Canadian values such as equality and inclusiveness around the world and we celebrate these qualities every day at our airline, as shown by the prominent role women play in all parts of our company.

We are always pleased when we see other major Canadian companies, like BlackBerry, also promote these values and we congratulate Neelam on her remarkable accomplishments” — Catherine Dyer, Senior Vice-President and Chief Information Officer, Air Canada

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“ B ell is committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable, and accessible workplace that provides all team members with the opportunity to reach their full potential. We are proud to partner with BlackBerry, a fellow Canadian company that proudly promotes women to key technology leadership positions, and congratulate Neelam on being recognized by Business Chief” — Devorah Lithwick, Senior Vice President, Brand, Bell

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BlackBerry’s customers seem to agree with this sentiment. Today, BlackBerry’s software is embedded into more ‘Things’ than it was when it had its peak of smartphones in the market – and at that point of time, it had the largest smartphone share in the global market.

One of the most notable examples of its widespread use, Sandhu points out, is its mass notification solution called BlackBerry AtHoc which is used by organizations like the G7 governments and the Red Cross, in emergency situations like natural disasters or manmade threat situations. “They use BlackBerry AtHoc to collaborate and send mass notifications or alerts to other users.

In the last year, the solution has been used to send around half a billion messages around the world. It enables users to be safe in their environment and to be warned of potentially unsafe situations.” This clearly harks back to the company’s core ethos of wanting to make a positive impact on society.

BlackBerry’s turnaround is well evidenced and, for Sandhu, it has been thanks in part to the company’s security, its interoperability and, most importantly, its stance on privacy. “From the offset, we've promised data privacy,” w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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BL ACKBERRY

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘BLACKBERRY CO–OP TESTIMONIAL’ 118 she says. “We don't monetize people's data. We believe that the data belongs to the person that's generating it, meaning the end user. We've had that promise since day one and we continue to commit to it.” This has allowed BlackBerry to foster sincere relationships with its users built on trust which may have given the firm a leg up in the sector. “People have to trust the solutions that they're using and that's one of the key reasons why BlackBerry is still successful and still a key brand name. People trust us,” she adds.

On the road ahead, BlackBerry is keen to keep its finger on the pulse of JANUARY 2019

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“ At Sullivan and Cromwell, we believe fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment is vital. I am delighted that Neelam has been recognized by Business Chief as a woman in tech leadership and we are proud to partner with BlackBerry, a company that supports women in key leadership positions” — Alison Ressler, Partner at Sullivan & Cromwell and a member of the firm’s management committee.

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JANUARY 2019

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the latest innovations in the sector – for instance, as quantum computing comes more commonplace, security will have to get smarter too and so

“ At Torys, we strive to uphold an inclusive and diverse workplace. The work we do for clients is fueled by individuals who are empowered to bring their best selves to work each day. It’s great to be able to work alongside like-minded companies such as BlackBerry who share the same ethos” — David Chaikof, Partner at Torys

BlackBerry has launched a new quantum security solution to get ahead of the curve. Most importantly though, Sandhu points out that as the landscape changes the firm will continue to remain focused on the three-word mantra which got it where it is today: security, privacy and connectivity. “In the future, we'll maintain our data privacy promise and we'll continue to come up with solutions like BlackBerry Shield that help keep people safe,” she says. “We'll do whatever we can to make these solutions available to the whole market by remaining platform agnostic, and we’ll try to integrate all connected ‘Things’ into our platform.

We will continue to stay true to our core tenets.”

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123

DIGITAL DISRUPTION IN A DATA DRIVEN WORLD WRIT TEN BY

DA LE BENTON PRODUCED BY

CR AIG DANIEL S

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RADIUS NETWORKS

Marc Wallace, CEO and Co-founder of Radius Networks, talks digital disruption in a data driven world

I

n an increasingly data driven world, businesses are identifying ways to unlock

new opportunities and markets as they turn to data to reach their digitally enabled customer bases. US-based 124

Radius Networks works with major brands to capture and utilize proximitybased data in order to reach the right people at the right time.

As businesses continue to seek new and more innovative ways to use data, Radius Networks Customer Location Platform, which includes tableside and curbside service, asset tracking, and proximity cloud analytics, fits right at home in the current business landscape. However, as co-founder and CEO Marc Wallace explains, bringing disruptive technologies to market is no small feat. “The real challenge that we faced was from an R&D perspective.

We were building a very new technolJANUARY 2019

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Engineer and Support meeting (left to right: Jason Wieringa, Brian Cabrera, Bhavin Vyas, Ami Desai, Alex Stone, Sam Kim, James Nebeker)

ogy concept, leveraging Bluetooth or wireless on mobile devices and this was a very novel thing,” he explains.

“Nobody really knows how to use it or how to implement it and that caused teething problems.”

Having co-founded the business with partners from previous, successful ventures in 2011, Wallace has spent the best part of his career in the technology and internet space. It was through this experience that the team saw an

Chief Technology Officer, David Helms

opportunity in using wireless signals as a means of engaging people on their w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

125

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smartphones. “You would walk into a

Over the last seven years, Radius

venue and your phone picks up a Wi-Fi

Networks has worked with major

signal and we saw that you could use

brands across the US and is active

that as an opportunity to engage and

in more than 60 countries worldwide,

say ‘welcome’ or ‘go here’,” he explains.

with more than 27 patented technol-

“That’s why we built Radius Networks.

ogy solutions within its portfolio. The

It was all formed around that initial

company’s success is clear to see,

concept of engaging with people based

but Wallace notes that the key to that

on their location and proximity to certain

success lies in the people involved,

points of interest. That was the begin-

as well as a smart approach to capital

ning of Radius Networks.”

investment. “Once we knew what we

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

127

Marc Wallace Marc is a serial entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of Radius Networks, Inc., located in Washington, DC. Radius Networks is a location technology company focused on helping businesses locate, engage and transact with their customers.

Prior to Radius Networks, Marc co-founded several other successful startups, such as District Taco, a Mexican-food fast casual chain in DC, where he serves as Chairman, and SwapDrive (backup.com), an online backup company acquired by the Norton division of Symantec in 2008. Before creating SwapDrive, he served at Orbital Sciences Corporation as an aerospace engineer and engineering manager across multiple successful rocket and spacecraft launch campaigns. Marc holds a B.S. in Engineering from Cornell University and a M.S. in Information Systems from George Washington University.

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RADIUS NETWORKS

were doing we developed strong expertise in the area,” he says, “but it took a number of years to really get to a productization that our customers, huge brands, could see true value in and a return of investment (ROI).”

“The first four years of the company were really defined by R&D, but over the last few years we’ve moved into the operationalization phase. We are taking a product that is maturing and pushing it worldwide, so we have to be able to scale it and have third parties and partners that can sell and install the product.”

128

With a career defined by technology it would be easy for Wallace and his team to assume that partners, suppliers and potential customers will have the same understanding and knowledge of innovative technologies, but as Wallace noted previously, proximity solutions are a very novel concept. The key to working with stakeholders and obtaining their ‘buy-in’ is communication and Wallace recognises this. Radius Networks has cemented itself within the market for a number of years and can begin to point to successes and tangible value that its solutions have brought for customers. “Real dollars,” says Wallace. “We have real dollars that our technology can enable through efficiencies, savings and of course drawing customers to JANUARY 2019

“We install thousands, almost tens of thousands of locations a year, so in order to do that across the world, we need strong partnerships” — Marc Wallace, CEO and Co-Founder.

Radius Networks

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘RADIUS NETWORKS ­— MCDONALDS TABLE SERVICE SOLUTION’ 129

Craig Brooks and Maie Lee

their stores. We also have very solid data that can back up and highlight the ROI that we can bring.”

Sales figures, through Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) or instore delivery, are the key metrics that can speak to the impact of Radius Networks but there are also the less tangible metrics such as customer satisfaction that can really be the difference.

Wallace can point to customer satisfaction increases of close to 25% over stores that do not use Radius Networks’ solutions from convenience alone and that he feels is in itself “real ROI”.

Another key metric that Radius Networks w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

RADIUS NETWORKS

has been able to store is wastage.

Through its ability to pinpoint customers and drive them through a sales process, the company is able to help businesses manage the process entirely. “Let’s look at food ordering, whether its instore or delivery,” says Wallace. “We’re able to help a business manage the process, drastically cutting waste and wrong orders in half.

People are getting the right order.

They’re getting their food, not somebody else’s food, and they’re getting it

After the customer places an order from kiosk, mobile, or counter, the staff can view their exact location for order delivery

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in a timely fashion so that their food doesn’t need to be thrown away. It’s very important, and a big ROI factor for a lot of those businesses.”

Radius Networks is defined by data as much as it is defined by technology, and so the company collates and stores mountains of data. This inevitably raises the question of what Radius Networks is doing with sensitive data. Wallace says that the company saw a fork in the road a number of years ago in the collection of location specific data.

131 E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

Dan Estrada has 20 years of start-up, technology business development experience. He is the Chief Strategy Officer of Radius Networks, Inc. leading the global business strategy and expansion initiative. Prior to joining Radius Networks, Dan successfully executed the worldwide channel distribution strategy for cloud service start-up, SwapDrive, from the company’s inception through its acquisition by Symantec for $123 million. Post SwapDrive acquisition, Dan successfully led the worldwide business development efforts for Symantec for the launch of Norton Online Backup, and served as VP, Business Development for SnappCloud, a leading White Label App & Content Delivery Platform for PC & Tablet OEMs. Dan is currently an advisor to several early stage companies.

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RADIUS NETWORKS

“It can be very personalized and so we decided very early on not to aggregate personal data and sell it to third parties that were not related to our clients,” he says. “We work directly with the brands, and we will provide data back to those brands almost on a pass-through basis – rather than storing data long term on our systems that are related to their customers.

“We will honor their relationship directly with their customers. When end customers are using our solution through one of our clients, they can be assured that whatever agreement they have in place from a privacy 132

standpoint – we honor that. That is all part of the GDPR system, so we follow that standard.

“We like being the center of expertise that our customers can turn to in order to give them an idea as to where the wind's blowing with regards to technology” — Marc Wallace, CEO and Co-Founder.

Radius Networks JANUARY 2019

Customers can place an order while on-the-go and opt to dine-in, pickup in-store, or pickup curbside.

NORTH AMERICA

That’s how we operate and we don’t plan on changing that.”

Working with clients in more than 60 countries, Wallace recognizes the importance of a trusting client relationship and being able to provide tailored solutions that fit different countries and different market dynamics and demands. To this end, Radius Networks has dedicated teams assigned to its biggest brand partners that work directly with them and are “embedded on site”. “It’s all about dedicating resources to that client and allowing them to focus directly on what their customer needs,” he explains.

In this regard, the way in which Radius Networks goes above and beyond to provide additional services and give value to the client proves crucial. Despite its product offering, Radius Networks is not a ‘call us if you need us’ hardware company; it differentiates itself in the way it provides its solutions as a service. The company will install a solution, provide further solutions and then provide a service of services on that solution ranging from maintenance, monitoring analytics and feedback. “It’s similar to if you’re getting cable at your house,” says Wallace.

“You get a set-top box. It’s hardware, but you’re paying a monthly subscription for the service that will be maintained and updated. That w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

133

RADIUS NETWORKS

134

translates to real-time data that we

When working with some of the bigger

obtain from the field that allows us to

clients in the market, whose ability to

understand how the system is being

take solutions to market is measured in

used and then be able to optimize other

years, Radius Networks has to continu-

processes around that.”

ously bring innovation to the table in

As the market leader in an ever-

order to succeed. “We’ll work with them

evolving technology landscape, Radius

and say, ‘Okay, here’s what’s next, here’s

Networks must ensure that its offering

what’s three years down the road or

continues to be at the very forefront of

five years down the road’, and bringing

the latest technology trends. Wallace

it to them so that they can get it into the

says that the company’s technology

pipeline early and start to mature the

and ability to implement solutions must

product, because it will take years to

always be years ahead of its customers.

get that out,” he says.

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With Radius Networks location technology, the customer can simply drive to the store and have their groceries delivered directly to them, no action required.

135

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

Rebecca McFarland a creative and experienced marketing and event specialist with a honed expertise in branding and design. She is currently the Vice President of Marketing at Radius Networks, located in Washington, DC. She leads all marketing initiatives, including branding, design, product promotion, strategy, and advertising.

Prior to joining Radius Networks, Rebecca was the Head of Marketing and Associate Publisher at Washingtonian Magazine, where she drove profitability through new business initiatives, multi-platform campaigns, events, and community partnerships.

w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

RADIUS NETWORKS

“We like being the center of expertise

Nixdorf, Coates Group and Fujitsu to

that our customers can turn to in order

assist with service support and delivery.

to give them an idea where the wind’s

“We install thousands, almost tens of

blowing on the technology.”

thousands of locations a year, so in order

Despite considerable success over

to do that across the world, we need

the last seven years, Radius Networks

partnerships to do that,” says Wallace.

hasn’t been able to achieve this growth

Technology partners have also been

alone and Wallace can point to key

instrumental in enabling the rapid

strategic partners that the company

development and deployment of the

has worked with that have been funda-

products, such as AOPEN and EM

mental in allowing the company to

Micro. “They have been key, not only to

achieve. Radius Networks has called

provide the right solution but helping

upon the support of NCR, Diebold

us to evolve the solution.”

136

Left to right: Craig Brooks, Maie Lee, Joe Grajewski, Ken McInerney, Amanda Wilson.

JANUARY 2019

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘RADIUS NETWORKS — CUSTOMER LOCATION SOLUTION’

The industries of today will not be the

requirements, we have the ability to

same as the industries of tomorrow

quickly and nimbly do that,” he says.

and technology will continue to steer

“We control the entire stack of our

that evolution. Radius Networks must

solution and we have incredible experi-

be ready for whatever tomorrow will

ence in this space. That’s a huge

bring for its clients. Wallace believes

advantage that we have over anybody

that the hospitality market will become

else that is either in the market or

key in the near future for the company

trying to get into the market.”

and that Radius Network’s approach to service, as well as its experienced team, is what will be fundamental in order to remain as the market leader.

“If we need to react to the increasingly varying customer demands or w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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JANUARY 2019

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Truliant Federal Credit Union

A MEMBER-CENTRIC DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WRIT TEN BY

ANDRE W WOODS PRODUCED BY

ANDY TURNER 139

w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

TRULIANT FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

WE SPEAK TO CIO SANDEEP UTHRA ON A MEMBERCENTRIC GOAL OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION THAT IS ACCELERATING OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE AND BUSINESS GROWTH

T

ruliant Federal Credit Union, a 66-yearold financial institution, has a singular and important mission: to improve the lives

of its members. According to Sandeep Uthra, Truliant’s chief information officer, the credit union 140

focuses on helping members make decisions that improve and help manage their financial lives.

Unlike for-profit financial institutions, Truliant stays away from pushing products on its members.

“We are a different kind of company,” he says.

Truliant has 230,000 members and assets in excess of $2.3bn and provides individuals and small businesses with products, services and guidance to reach their ‘life’s goals’, including checking accounts, online and app banking, auto buying, certificates and business/financial advice, and auto and home loans. According to Uthra, Truliant’s USP is its member-centric approach.

“First and foremost, we are a not-for-profit organization,” Uthra said. “That’s the biggest difference between us and other banking institutions.

But, more so, our goal is to improve each of our JANUARY 2019

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141

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TRULIANT FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Hybrid IT Solutions

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Managed Solutions

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41 data center campuses. One dependable network.

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JANUARY 2019

Flexential.com

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143

“ OUR CEO AND PRESIDENT TRULY UNDERSTAND HOW TECHNOLOGY’S GOING TO REALLY HELP TAKE US FORWARD IN MEMBER SERVICE” — Sandeep Uthra CIO, Truliant Federal Credit Union

members’ lives, by working as trusted partner or provider of the right guidance to achieve their financial aims,” Uthra explains.

“While traditional banking is more about rates and fees, all of our products and policies are consumer, not market, driven. We put people before profit. We are member-centric. We’re not just here to make money. This helps our members create financial security within their own aspirations. ”

IN THE BEGINNING Uthra joined Truliant in late 2016 as CIO. He was charged with helping shepherd the w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

TRULIANT FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

144 E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

Sandeep Uthra Sandeep has over 20 years of experience developing and executing information technology (IT) strategies, including serving in executive roles in the financial services space.

A native of New Delhi, India, Mr. Uthra has served in global IT leadership roles in product, consulting and financial corporations in Asia, Africa and the United States. Most notably, Mr. Uthra was Senior Vice President, Business Solutions Technology Executive at Bank of America.

He leads Truliant’s Enterprise Service Delivery, Enterprise Architecture, Application Development, Systems Operations, Technology Support Services, Infrastructure Services, Information Security, and Telecommunications teams.

JANUARY 2019

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145 strategic direction for Truliant’s overall

logical solutions to achieve those goals.

technology landscape and to help

We really tailor our offerings as per our

drive its technology transformation.

members’ needs to provide a top-notch

“As a trusted advisor in the company,

member service.” Truliant targets

I needed to get us to a point where

locations where they are needed most

we better understood business and

and still operates a traditional guidance-

members’ needs as per our company’s

based approach. “We’re very big on

objectives.”

face-to-face interactions. We don’t

Uthra’s highly strategic role was to

want to remove the humanity in front of

help develop a roadmap that would

us. We will always keep face-to-face

achieve Truliant’s business plans by

interactions.”

leveraging technology. “As part of the Chief Planning Team, I’ve worked hard

THE HUMAN TOUCH

to understand business needs as well

While human-centric guidance is at the

as those of our members with techno-

heart of Truliant’s approach, it is adopting w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

TRULIANT FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

“ I HAVE OTHER COMPANIES LIKE MERIDIANLINK WHO SUPPORT US FROM A LENDING PLATFORM STANDPOINT AND THEN SECURITY PARTNERS SUCH AS FLEXENTIAL WHO PROVIDES HOSTING CAPABILITY” 146

— Sandeep Uthra CIO, Truliant Federal Credit Union

more technologically advanced processes to better prepare for the future of banking.

“Members are changing the way they interact with financial institutions,” he explains. “I think we all know that these days people compare our sector with companies like Amazon, right?

They want us to be simple and nimble – like shopping on Amazon. This demand is driving us to create a simpler, more nimble and innovative personalization for all members.

The consumer experience is king.”

“On the other hand, data is at the consumer’s fingertips from many external sources to compare product or services so they are well informed. It is in our best interest to know consumers’ personalized needs in a faster and agile way, to provide them with the best in-class experience. To make all this happen, we have focused on technology architecture, because speed is the new currency in financial institutions.

These days, technology architecture must be simple enough to support integrated channels and with an alignment of data to understand or predict members’ needs.

“Simplification and Personalization is the game here,” Uthra explains. “Financial institutions should work to simplify their technology landscape and leverage microservices or APIs (application programming

JANUARY 2019

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CLICK TO WATCH : USING THE TRU2GO APP 147 interfaces), to support faster and more

index of processes and technology,

nimble integration with cutting-edge

which gave Truliant a direction for

products and services.”

future investment to achieve its goal of simplification and optimization of the

DIGITAL ECOSYSTEMS

members’ journeys/interactions. “Our

When Uthra joined Truliant Federal

vision is to enable consumers of our

Credit Union, he hired an enterprise

technology with a simple, faster and

architect to help build out business

personalized experience. “Our CEO

technology ecosystems to understand

and President truly understand how

dynamics around business units,

technology’s going to really help take

functions, processes and underlying

us forward in the personalized member

technology. He then sat with internal

service.

teams and critical partners to identify

“We know that it’s important to adapt

friction between those ecosystem

and evolve quickly in line with the

constructs. This resulted in a maturity

fast-paced changes in today’s financial w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

TRULIANT FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

services landscape. Our goal is to create an impactful, best-in-class digital journey that is both dynamic and personal, and maintains an authentic human connection,” says Truliant President Todd Hall.

The other important factor in Truliant’s technology transformation is partnership with fintechs and product companies for technology transformation.

“Our strategic partners support us to achieve our vision. Companies like Fiserv who support our core banking platform perspective. MeridianLink provides lending capabilities and 148

Flexential provides hosting capability.

Veristor enables us with virtualized environment, to aid better manageability and performance and security of infrastructure – because it’s not just about spending or investing in infra-

the near future: simpler, faster and

structure, it’s more about how to optimize

personalization. If I’m a member, and

that in terms of performance and security.

I need a home, normally I would reach

Palo Alto Network really helped us to

out to a realtor or a mortgage or lending

safeguard our technology and infra-

company. We reach out to the builder

structure and Secureworks provides

and to many other folks to achieve that

information security capabilities.”

goal for our family. But an ecosystem approach asks: ‘Why can’t we bring all

FUTURE TRENDS

these kinds of players into same

For Uthra, the future of the industry lies

ecosystem and make it happen? So, as

in ecosystem-driven personalization.

a customer or a member, I will just reach

“I see these three things happening in

out to a bank or financial institution like

JANUARY 2019

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34 Number of office locations

$2.3bn Approximate value of assets

1952

Year founded

Truliant and say, ‘I need a home.’”

really fortunate to feel that I’m part of

Uthra also sees increasing leverage

this high technology team that brings

of APIs for greater integration in sector

those kinds of innovations together.”

technology with many third-party or indirect product companies. I see artificial intelligence and data playing a big role. Data is going to provide integration value because it will predict and say what our customers or members are asking and at what point in time.

“I take pride in leading this vision because of our people and culture. I’m w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

149

150

Changing mindsets through technology transformation WRIT TEN BY

SE AN GA LE A-PACE PRODUCED BY

ANDY TURNER

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151

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B R AY I N T E R N AT I O N A L , I N C .

Brindesh Dhruva, Chief Technology Officer of Bray International, discusses the company’s ongoing technology journey

B

ray International, Inc. was founded in 1986 with a customer-centric objective to become the preferred flow control

partner. Bray’s global footprint and distribution networks, along with a comprehensive line of innovative flow control solutions, has enabled us 152

to become an international industry leader.

Thanks to unrelenting commitment to quality and customer service, clients around the world have made Bray their trusted partner. After 30 plus years, Bray’s focus hasn’t changed. Bray International, Inc. remains your local flow control partner with a global reach.

Our customers face the day-to-day prospect of operating in increasingly extreme conditions in a safe and environmentally responsible way. The product technologies and solutions that we offer must maintain pace with these demands,” states Brindesh Dhruva, Chief Technology Officer. Since joining Bray International in early 2013, he has been tasked with steering the company’s technology transformation, creating innovative solutions and products that its customers can rely on.

JANUARY 2019

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Raymond Technical Center CAD design facilities

Holding a Doctorate from Yale in Engineering and having previously worked in the Upstream O&G Industry for over 13 years across a variety of roles such as Marketing & Technology Manager prior to joining Bray, Dhruva believes his early engineering experiences in developing products with a high demand on reliability and performance helps him in his current role as CTO of Bray. “Over the past several years we have been able to develop world-class solutions and products. In doing so, we have utilized, for example, additive manufacturing techniques for control valve applications and smart senw w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

153

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“ It’s about putting together a global team that has the right capabilities and infrastructure that allows us to develop, validate and produce products that exceed customer expectations” — Brindesh Dhruva, Chief Technology Officer of Bray International

sors to develop real-time monitoring.”

Just over 30 years ago, the Founders of the company – Craig Brown and Frank Raymond revolutionized the global rotary flow control market.

Today, Bray provides global distribution and manufacturing with locally available service and expertise for a variety of flow control products. Bray’s products have extensive application in a wide range of critical services. These include butterfly valves in cryogenic conditions for an LNG application to Severe Service Ball Valves in very high temperature & corrosive condi-

JANUARY 2019

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Bray USA Facility

155

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

Brindesh Dhruva Brindesh is currently Chief Technology Officer for Bray Internationals Inc., responsible for Global R&D and Product Management. Brindesh holds a Ph.D. in Engineering & Applied Sciences from Yale University and has over 20 years of experience in Technology & Marketing developing high-tier products and delivering commercial success.

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B R AY I N T E R N AT I O N A L , I N C .

“ As long as we understand our customer’s needs and as long as we understand the moving technology pieces, we will continue to grow as the technology partner of choice” — Brindesh Dhruva, Chief Technology Officer of Bray International

156

JANUARY 2019

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tions in a refinery application. Bray’s extensive product portfolio includes resilient seated and high-performance butterfly valves, critical service triple offset valves, floating and trunnion ball valves, metal seated ball valves, actuators, and control accessories to enable smart technology. The application of this portfolio is even more diverse and includes circulating water, flue gas desulfurization, demineralized water, fuel oil (fire safe), service water, steam, fuel gas, potable water, water/ glycol, and various other compounds.

Such rapid progress has been the result of Bray’s commitment to its research & development (R&D) and operations in the US, India and China where its main Manufacturing, Engineering and R&D Labs are located. Expanding similar capabilities in Latin America, Europe and Australia has also been an integral part of Bray’s growth. It’s this visionary commitment, which Dhruva affirms, has been important in building the foundations for long-term success.

“Over the last several years we have reinforced the right technical teams by strengthening the link between manufacturing, engineering and sales. We have also reinforced the w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

157

B R AY I N T E R N AT I O N A L , I N C .

158

“ I’m a firm believer that good product introduction doesn’t happen accidentally.

It comes as a result of a very deliberate approach of bringing products to market” — Brindesh Dhruva, Chief Technology Officer of Bray International

right product development process which starts with the voice of our customers and ends with their satisfaction. It’s about putting together a global team that has the right capabilities and infrastructure that allows us to develop, validate and produce products that exceed customer expectations in terms of reliability and performance,” says Dhruva. “That’s the way we operate! That’s what defines the products, technologies and services we aspire to continuously provide.”

Indeed, Bray continues to evolve and has transformed itself into a technology company that can deliver highly customized, highly engineered products and services for a wide range of severe applications. Dhruva points out that these types of transformations start at the top and percolate down. “Bray has a rich history, full of achievements, which we are all very proud of, but the Founders of the company continue to see an even brighter future in terms of growth and technology innovation.”

INTRODUCING NEW PRODUCTS TO MARKET Recent technical and commercial successes include Tri Lok – Triple Offset Butterfly Valve, Series 98 Scotch Yoke Pneumatic Actuator, M1 Severe Service Ball Valve, S19 Segmented Control Valve and numerous other valves, actuators and controls accessories. The product capabilities along with global Applications JANUARY 2019

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CLICK TO WATCH : WORKING FOR BRAY INTERNATIONAL 159 Engineers that understand the cus-

design decisions at Bray are made in

tomer’s challenges enable Bray to pro-

line with customer requirements and

vide not just good products, but good

with product reliability, manufactur-

solutions for our customer’s needs.

ability and product cost in mind. “Our

The technical success of our prod-

Engineers must understand the dif-

ucts relies heavily on the design and

ference between investment cast-

validation steps within the Bray Prod-

ing and sand casting…and they must

uct Development Process all of which

understand how tight tolerances and

conform to ISO 9001 standards. Bray’s

surface finish requirements impact

Global Technology presence spans

manufacturability (costs) just as much

multiple R&D locations around the

as product performance” says Dhruva.

world including India, UK, Brazil and

The qualification of products program

in Houston’s Bray Raymond Technol-

includes not only design validation

ogy Center – proudly named after one

but also validation of the manufactur-

of its founders, Frank Raymond. The

ing process to be able to produce w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

B R AY I N T E R N AT I O N A L , I N C .

“ It’s important we keep up with what our customers face today, but also respond to the technology trends in the industry that will take them to the next level tomorrow” — Brindesh Dhruva, Chief Technology Officer of Bray International

their input & influence into the design process and ensuring good market introduction. “I’m a firm believer that good product introduction doesn’t happen accidentally. It comes as a result of a very deliberate approach of bringing products to market,” explains Dhruva. “That means we engage our customers very early on during development to ensure we get the requirements right. It means we understand the voice of the customer, the customer’s needs and then incorporate those findings into our product requirements and our service & sales organization.”

160 product with consistent high quality.

Commercial success doesn’t come

With industry 4.0 driving the manufacturing industry forward, companies

serendipitously, even for great prod-

such as Bray rely on innovation and the

ucts. It begins during the early phases

ability to understand the latest trends

of a product development process in

to leverage & provide products & solu-

identifying customer needs, getting

tions. “It’s important we keep up with

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161

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B R AY I N T E R N AT I O N A L , I N C .

1986

Year founded

2,500

Approximate number of employees

162

what our customers face today, but also respond to the technology trends in the industry that will take them to the next level tomorrow. There are two examples that I would highlight here. One is on additive manufacturing where we’ve worked through a super partnership to 3D-Print metal components in a control valve application to significantly improve flow performance by incorporating design features that aren’t possible with traditional casting and forging processes.” says Dhruva.

“The second example involves develJANUARY 2019

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163

oping predictive monitoring with near

customer’s needs and as long as we

real-time measurements on valves

understand the moving technology

that will provide performance diagno-

pieces, we will continue to grow as the

sis in a proactive and predictive way.”

technology partner of choice. Bray has the people, processes and the

FUTURE PLANS

technology infrastructure to meet our

With Bray several years into their

customer’s most difficult needs.”

technology transformation journey, Dhruva believes the company’s ability to quickly evolve to address the growing market needs and leverage technology trends is key to continued and sustainable growth.

“As long as we understand our w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

164

JOHNSON BROTHERS Enabling organic growth through digital transformation WRIT TEN BY

CATHERINE S TURM AN PRODUCED BY

ANDY TURNER

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JOHNSON BROTHERS

In the alcohol distribution business for over 65 years, Johnson Brothers has built a digitally enabled workforce that delivers outstanding customer service each and every time

A

lcohol is big business. Amounting to more than 16% of total beverage volume across the US, total alcoholic beverage sales

in 2017 exceeded US$234.4bn, a figure which continues to rise. While beer remains a key staple 166

with 185.57mn barrels produced in the US in 2017, demand for wine and spirits is also on an upward trajectory. As US consumers continue to drive up sales across the industry, opportunities have ascended for strong, market-savvy players to take full advantage and transform their service offerings.

Providing exceptional services to its customers and supplier partners since 1953, wine, spirits and beer distributor Johnson Brothers has a long-term vision to leverage their longstanding values of excellence and team work to drive innovation as it enters new markets. Proud of its strong heritage in Minnesota, the business has acquired a number of businesses, launched a new distribution center and strengthened its supplier relationships as part of its ongoing strategy to enable organic customer growth.

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Our warehouse and delivery team members use technology to sort and manage product

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Transforming IT for Resilient BusinessTM JANUARY 2019

NORTH AMERICA

A Johnson Brothers truck in front of our warehouse

169 Michael Johnson, Chief Executive

of the best suppliers and customers

Officer, and Todd Johnson, Chief

in our industry. Today, technology is

Operating Officer are the Johnson

critical to our business, from providing

Brothers who run the company that

tools to our sales consultants, sharing

was founded by their father Lynn.

market trends with our customers, as

Todd describes how technology

well as improving the efficiency of our

strategy will enable growth, “My dad

distribution operations.”

started the company in 1953. He

Bringing this strategy to fruition at

bought a used truck, rented a small

Johnson Brothers is Vice President of

warehouse and opened his doors for

IT, Tim Dokken. Working for established

business. There was no technology

Fortune 500 organizations, such as

back then – everything was done by

American Express Global, Thrivent

hand. Over the next 65 years, we’ve

Financial and Merrill Corporation, with

grown across multiple states and

a career spanning accounting, finance,

developed partnerships with some

consulting and all aspects of technolw w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

JOHNSON BROTHERS

Warehouse employee filling customer orders

170

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

Tim Dokken Tim is a passionate, senior technology executive with over 24 years of financial services experience, delivering solutions to businesses and consumers globally. He is currently serving as the Vice President — Information Technology at Johnson Brothers in St. Paul, MN. Previously, he was the Chief Technology Officer of LiveGiveSave, Inc., whose mission is to help people through their everyday spending to effortlessly give to causes they care about and save for their future.

JANUARY 2019

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“ The focus was to support the infrastructure side: our data centers, servers, all of our networking, end user computing, IT service delivery, etc. It’s really the operational side of IT” — Tim Dokken, Vice President of Information Technology 171

ogy including leading large IT moderni-

We’re moving to a brand-new data

zation programs, as well as launching

center which will go live in January

a technology start up. Dokken’s passion

with an entirely new production

to develop companies from the ground

environment. That’s literally from the

up led him to join Johnson Brothers.

ground up. Storage, compute, net-

“The focus was to support the infra-

working, plus we’ve implemented a

structure side: our data centers, servers,

new IBM Power Series for our ERP

all of our networking, end user comput-

system. We have experienced a

ing, IT service delivery, etc. It’s really the

dramatic amount of growth in the last

operational side of IT. Everything that

year and part of what we’re doing is

all the applications and data run on,

to prepare the organization for future

that’s what I own,” he says.

growth and ensure that technology

“A lot has changed in the last year.

is an enabler and not a barrier.” w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

JOHNSON BROTHERS

“ Our new production environment is at least 10-20x faster to accommodate for growth and the ability to process more business” — Tim Dokken, Vice President of Information Technology 172 Moving what had previously filled

and most importantly, speed.

an entire room in its former data center

“Our new production environment is

onto two racks in its new environment,

at least 10-20x faster to accommodate

Johnson Brothers has invested in a

for growth and the ability to process

hyper-converged infrastructure, and

more business. For example, our

has embedded cutting-edge tech-

backups for our ERP system used to run

nologies, whether compute, all flash

all night long on Sunday night and take

storage, unified backup or network,

everything offline. Now we’re down to

including a full SD-WAN. The compa-

less than two hours and that’s not even

ny has developed strong relationships

on our new IBM Power 9 Server yet,”

with Dell, Nutanix, Datatrend and

adds Dokken.

others in turning its three-tier archi-

The complete modernization of its

tecture into a state of the art hyper-

technology stack remains an important

converged infrastructure, delivering

part of its strategy, leading Johnson

optimal compute and storage capacity,

Brothers to leverage the capabilities

JANUARY 2019

NORTH AMERICA

173 of its vendors. Putting workloads into

Cloud technology has also been

Azure for sales applications and

adopted to support both local and

Amazon Web Services (AWS) for

remote workers as the business contin-

offsite storage, the business has

ues to expand, becoming one of the

sought to ensure both resiliency and

fastest and most vital investments

redundancy, as well as recoverability

across the business. Utilizing sales

through offsite data storage. Investing

tools and platforms from Inventive

in Microsoft’s entire suite of security

and Dimensional Insights has enabled

tools and capabilities, as well as

our mobile Salesforce to effectively

third party products such as Cylance

serve our customers.

has also formed part of its ‘defense

“Cloud has remained a key strategy

in depth’ strategy. All of this has

for growth, where our sales team are

worked to support Dokken and his

now entirely cloud enabled, running

team adhering to its internal slogan:

all data and applications through both

‘Always on, Always fast, Always secure.’

computers and iPads.” Promoting full w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

JOHNSON BROTHERS

C OMPA N Y FA C T S

• Amounting to more than 16% of total beverage volume across the US, total alcoholic beverage sales in 2017 exceeded US$234.4bn • Johnson Brothers has invested in a hyper-converged infrastructure, utilized solid state storage and has embedded cuttingedge technologies 174

• The company has developed strong relationships with Dell, Lenovo, Nutanix and others, turning its threetier architecture into a hyper-converged infrastructure • Putting workloads into Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) for offsite storage, the business has sought to ensure both resiliency and redundancy, as well as recoverability through offsite data storage

JANUARY 2019

Technology improves efficiency and monitors processes in our warehouses

NORTH AMERICA

November 2018 charity food packing event where 70 employees packed more than 21,000 meals for local children and families accessibility for customers who wish

on what creates the most business

to speak to the sales team, anytime,

value and leaves the other things to

anywhere will allow the business to

the SaaS providers,” explains Dokken.

deliver services in a rapid fashion,

Nonetheless, the most important

removing the constraints of an onsite

investment throughout the digital

data center.

transformation of Johnson Brothers

“We’re expanding many of our

has been its team. The decision to

applications, so our core systems are

move away from legacy technologies,

cloud delivered versus having to host

overhaul the entire production environ-

those in our data center. That frees

ment, move to a new data center and

up our team to focus on the systems

rebuild the network has been met with

which really drive business value. On

excitement, and provided new opportu-

the corporate systems, it’s a way to

nities for the personal and professional

make sure that our resources can focus

growth for team members. w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

175

JOHNSON BROTHERS

176

St. Paul Warehouse and Headquarters

“ My focus is to continue creating opportunities for the team. If I’m gone tomorrow, my objective as a leader is that they will be self-sufficient and will provide a seamless service the business can be proud of” — Tim Dokken, Vice President of Information Technology JANUARY 2019

“The team are the ones doing the heavy lifting; the most significant role I’ve played is to really clear the deck.

I saw an opportunity and helped craft a vision, but the team is responsible for its success, looking at how to achieve this vision, the technology to use, as well as evaluating things like ‘what should our recovery strategy look like’ and ‘what data center should we run out of?’ So, they’ve been instrumental in these decisions, which has been very engaging and motivating. My team

NORTH AMERICA

with outside resources. At the same time, making sure our employees get to work on the high-quality work is a core strategy.”

Dokken went on to say, “My focus is to continue creating opportunities for the team. If I’m gone tomorrow, my objective as a leader is that they will be self-sufficient and will provide a seamless service the business can be proud of. The team can pick up the ball, move forward, are enabled and ready, and are open to new opportunities to take the business forward.”

Clearly demonstrating that technology is an enabler and not a barrier at Johnson Brothers, Dokken remains keen to promote its internal slogan is really proud of their work,” he states

‘Always on, Always fast, Always

with pride.

Secure’, which will see the business

Making a conscious decision

reach new heights in the upcoming

to partner with a consulting firm or

years and ensure its longevity and

provider has also proven advanta-

competitiveness across the industry.

geous in enabling employees to work

“As we continue to grow, we are

on systems and technologies that

thrilled that our IT infrastructure is

drive the most business value without

ready to support our business and be

burdening the team and has allowed

a key part of our company’s success,”

the company to reach some of its key

added Johnson.

goals in a shorter amount of time. “In terms of core engineers, I have a small team so we have to supplement that w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

177

JANUARY 2019

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179

Blending world-class digital transformation and science WRIT TEN BY

L AUR A MULL AN PRODUCED BY

LE WIS VAUGHAN

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MET OFFICE

Blending scientific expertise and technological prowess, the Met Office’s latest digital transformation is showing its peers how it’s done

I

n the ‘60s, George Moore made a prediction that would set the pace of today's digital revolution. In a theory commonly dubbed as Moore’s Law, he

forecast that the overall processing power of computers will double every two years or so. For the Met Office – the United Kingdom’s national weather service and climate agency – this prediction

180

has proven to be a pertinent one. Processing vast amounts of climate and weather data from across the globe, Charles Ewen, CIO at the Met Office says that IT plays a critical role at the organisation, noting that his team aim to “provide world-class technology to support world-leading science”.

Without computers, weather forecasting as we know it would simply be impossible. Technology has played a pivotal role in understanding the weather for decades. In the 50s, the Met Office acquired its first electrical desk calculator and fast forward to today and the organisation have implemented the Cray XC40 supercomputer, or High-Performance Computer (HPC). At around 15 times the size of its predecessor, this mammoth machine is one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, capable of completing 14,000trn calculations per second.

JANUARY 2019

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181

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Find out what tomorrow could bring for your business at cray.com/creativity

EUROPE

“ We provide worldclass technology to support worldleading science”

— Charles Ewen, Chief Information Officer, Met Office 183

Ewen says that this supercomputer

assumptions and from that we can

is instrumental in weather forecasting

provide information about probabilities

and climate prediction by making it

and likelihoods.”

possible to increase fidelity and resolu-

Weather forecasting, Ewen explains,

tion and provide more complete Earth

is an intricate balance of science and

System models. “The supercomputer

technology on a vast scale. At the Met

contributes an awful lot because you

Office, the organisation has been using

can run models at finer resolutions with

innovations like data analytics for

a lot more complexity,” he says. “They

decades. “We’ve been working with

take into account more of the physics

data analytics at a large scale for many

and chemistry that is involved and you

years although we typically don’t call

can operate them over longer timescales

these roles ‘data analysts’,” affirms

and run simulations more frequently.

Ewen. “We have chief meteorologists,

We can also run the same model

for example, and their job is to look at

a number of times with some different

what the computer simulations say and w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

MET OFFICE

have some type of qualitative, contex-

ing with technology giants such as

tual or impact assessment of what that

Amazon Web Services, Google and

data means. Our team have a unique

Microsoft. “It’s still a journey,” reflects

blend of skills in data science, statistics,

Ewen. “We certainly recognise that the

computer programming and more.”

move to the cloud gives us a combination

The sheer size of the Met Office’s

of scale, elasticity, affordability and the

data pool cannot be overstated and

capability that we need to support our

as a result, the organisation shrewdly

world-class science teams.” Right now,

decided to shift to the cloud, partner-

the cloud does not fulfil the needs of its

184

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘WHY DO WE NAME STORMS?’ 185 core simulations however as Ewen comments, “there is a lot of technology needed to convert those core simulations into the thousands of contextual forecasts and services that we produce every day”.

One of the most fundamental items in the Met Office’s toolkit is its simulations. Complex and state-of-the-art, this technology applies scientific knowledge to predict future atmospheric conditions across the globe using observations of the current weather captured from land, at sea, in the air, and from space. Ewen likens w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

MET OFFICE

this to predicting a coin toss. Based on averages or statistics, you could contend that it’s a 50/50 chance that it will be either heads or tails, whereas the Met Office is trying accurately to simulate what side the coin will land on.

“A statistical approach to weather forecasting doesn't give you the infor– mation you need because you want to know about anomalies, you want to know about extreme weather and you want to know about intensity. You don't want to know about averages. Essentially that is what the climate analysis 186

tells you but a weather forecast is about the specifics of a given time and place.”

For many citizens, the weather fore– cast informs many day-to-day decisions like whether they should cut the grass tomorrow, what they should wear or how they should travel. It’s also vital for industries, allowing them to mitigate safety risks like preventing people from working outdoors in hazardous cond– itions. Emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) offer the potential to take one step further. “I can be somewhat unpopular at work when I say that few people actually want a weather forecast,” Ewen says “more frequently, people or increasJANUARY 2019

“ The supercomputer contributes an awful lot because you can run models at finer resolutions with a lot more complexity” — Charles Ewen, Chief Information Officer, Met Office

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187

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MET OFFICE

ingly machines are trying to make a decision that is only partly about the weather. We are actively researching to understand how to better communicate the weather and future climate to these systems. Human beings are constrained in terms of how more statistics help better decision making, AI does not have that particular constraint,” he says.

Elsewhere, by applying Google Deep Mind, the office is hoping to research the realm of ‘nowcasting’ a form of weather prediction which uses radar 188

returns and other observations to show how the weather may apply to more short-term localised regions. “If you watch this morning’s weather forecast and it says there’s likely to be heavy showers at 10 o’clock you might look out your window at that time to see no rain. It might be a very near miss spatially; it might rain in 20 minutes but not exactly at 10 o’clock. Nowcasting, as opposed to forecasting, applies statistics to see how the weather may evolve in the short term.”

Whilst technology plays a key role in the Met Office’s digital transformation roadmap, Ewen asserts that it’s the people that are at the crux of its JANUARY 2019

EUROPE

success. As such, a key part of the organisation’s strategy revolves around people. “Within our strategy we have a plan to attract retain and develop our people and so it’s clearly very important. We talk about mastery, autonomy and purpose. Mastery refers to developing the unique blend of skills that we need so we invest strongly in training our people,” he says. Indeed, Met Office has developed a variety of new apprenticeships and works to broaden its relationship with academic settings.

“We also try to create an exciting environment that people want to work in,” he adds.

The Met Office has worked hard to forge a work culture which strives to do more. The biggest barrier to continuous improvement? Sparking a cultural shift whereby people recognise the need to change. “That can be tricky when you’re a world leading organisation at the top of its game,” admits Ewen. “However, because we’re an organisation full of bright and able people we can see where some of the future challenges and opportunities lie. Because of that,

Charles Ewen, Chief Information Officer Met Office

it's important to start to change ideally ahead of when you really need to, which is what we've been trying to do.” w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

189

MET OFFICE

One example of this lies at the Met Offices fingertips – its supercomputer. As Moore’s Law dictates, computer processing power will only continue to expand over the coming years and the Met Office needs to be ready to tap into the potential of future supercomputers. “Because the of scale our operations are so large, it can be difficult to predict what the technology environment will look like in the future. Take supercomputers, for example, we’re always looking five to ten years in the future. It’s important to realise what you need to change now, to be lucid and clear about what the target destination looks like.”

190

By all accounts, cutting-edge science and technology are the bread and butter of the weather forecasting. Whether it's going to be blustery or raining, the blend of the two means that we can predict the weather more accurately than ever. “Every ten years, the weather forecast has improved with the same accuracy being available a day earlier,” concludes Ewen. “In other words, a four-day weather forecast is as accurate as a threeday forecast was ten years ago. That shows the rate of progress and technology undoubtedly plays an important part of that.”

JANUARY 2019

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“ We certainly recognise that the move to the cloud gives us a combination of scale, elasticity, affordability and the capability that we need to support our world-class science teams”

191

— Charles Ewen, Chief Information Officer, Met Office

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192

INEA Utilising technology in the telecoms sector WRIT TEN BY

SE AN GA LE A-PACE PRODUCED BY

JA MES PEPPER

JANUARY 2019

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INEA

Management Board Member and Chief Operating Officer of INEA, Michał Bartkowiak, discusses how his company is utilising technology amid digital transformation in the industry.

194

A

s the fastest broadband and Wi-Fi provider in Poland in 2018, INEA has achieved significant success during the last year.

Michał Bartkowiak, Management Board Member and Chief Operating Officer of INEA, believes innovation and the company’s willingness to embrace technology has been key reasons to INEA’s achievements.

“We are definitely an innovative company. As a provider of retail services, we deliver the fastest broadband in the world with our flagship offering of the symmetric internet with Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH) technology at a speed of 10Gb/s,” affirms Bartkowiak. “As an infrastructure operator, we are one of the only operators in Europe that actively opens the network we use as a services provider to other telecommunications operators.”

Through providing broadband, internet, television, mobile and fixed-line telephony services, as well JANUARY 2019

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EUROPE

CLICK TO WATCH : #INEAGOBIG 10 GB/S

as professional services for business

that we differ from many companies

and public sector, Bartkowiak believes

because of our way of thinking. We

that INEA has become successful due

are a technological leader in the region

the company’s ability to diversify.

with a state-of-the-art infrastructure

“One of the great features of the world that surrounds us is diversity.

that we aren’t afraid to use.”

With more than 250,000 customers,

Attitudes and business models of

INEA value their investments in rural

companies from the TMT sector

areas having introduced the last mile

differ from one another and a result,

network which covers over 70,000

a specific market space has been

households in rural areas within the

created for each of us, where we can

Greater Poland region. The implemen-

operate and experiment,” he explains.

tation of the network has allowed

“If we look at the telecommunications

INEA to collect data in order to better

market in Europe, it becomes evident

understand the needs of residents w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

197

INEA

in the region. “The last mile network in rural areas enabled us to collect valuable experience, both in terms of the construction of a network in such area and the service sales potential. Now, we have a better understanding of the needs of the residents and we’re ready to expand such networks in Poland.”

MAKING SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENTS As a leading firm in the field of fibre-optic infrastructure in the Greater Poland region, INEA has invested more than $266mn in the infrastructure during the past six years. “These were investments implemented in two areas, such as construction of fibre-optic 198

networks in the FTTH standard and reconstruction of the existing infrastructure to this standard,” says Bartkowiak. “The main projects involved the construction of a broad-band backbone network in Wielkopolska in 2013, the construction of last mile networks and the reconstruction of the infrastructure in towns and cities from Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) to FTTH standard.”

During the past two years, INEA took part in a competition under the Operating Programme Digital Poland, conducted by the Ministry of Digitalisation in Poland and won in more than 20 regions.

In order to remain a leader in the industry, INEA has made strategic decisions in order to adapt to changes in the industry. Bartkowiak affirms how vital it is to embrace the latest technology or risk being overtaken by its rivals.

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“As an infrastructure operator, we are one of the only operators in Europe that actively opens the network we use as a services provider to other telecommunications operators” — Michał Bartkowiak, Management Board Member and COO of INEA

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INEA

€100mn Approximate revenue

1994

Year founded

200

820

Approximate number of employees

“It’s of key importance to observe the

for another market challenger in the

changes happening by using technol-

industry who will force us into action.

ogy in different aspects of our lives.

We need to make decisions on our own

We have to examine how our expecta-

and try to be the leaders by assuming

tions to the products or services that

the risk of wrong decisions. Technology

we are using is changing. It’s important

becomes devalued very quickly, so

to observe the entire spectrum of

we need to fully maximise its potential.

innovations taking place in the world,”

I believe that passive waiting is the

he explains. “We can’t afford to wait

worst thing one can do.”

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201

The part of the team (from left): Krzysztof Kwiatkowski – responsible for network construction and maintenance, Marta Myszkowska – responsible for customer care quality, Tomasz Zmyślny – Head of Marketing & PR, Alicja Kakała-Szadłowska - Procurement Manager, Maciej Piechociński – Head of Sales, Krystyna Sawczuk – Head of HR and Krzysztof Marciniak – Head of IT

FORMING KEY PARTNERSHIPS

achievements. “From the perspective

During the last two years, INEA and

of the open network model develop-

Orange Poland signed agreements

ment, the contract with Orange Poland

on the wholesale access to its infra-

was a significant achievement. We

structure in the LLU and BSA model.

provided the company with our

And this is just the beginning of INEA’s

infrastructure for the sale of retail

open network strategy. Bartkowiak

services. From the perspective of the

believes the contract with Orange has

Polish market, it was the first contract

been one of the company’s biggest

of its type and has become an inspiraw w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

INEA

tion for others to follow. From our point of view, this collaboration confirmed

pean Infrastructure Fund 5 acquired

the validity of the previously selected

a majority stake in INEA which will

direction for the development of our

support continued development and

company.”

growth. “Growth in telecommunication

In order to stand a greater chance

202

In February 2018, Macquarie Euro-

requires significant capital expenditure.

of success, the majority of companies

You can have most wonderful ideas but

opt to form partnerships to drive profit,

without relevant financial back-up, their

however, Bartkowiak points out what

implementation will be impossible,”

INEA requires from its business relation-

affirms Bartkowiak. “We are glad that it

ships. “You meet good partners, just

is Macquarie that we have the opportu-

like friends, in difficult situations. Similar

nity to work with. Due to the fact that

to everyone in our industry, we are

we share the same vision of INEA

working with numerous partners in

development, I am convinced that the

the market. Starting from suppliers

combination of these two elements

of equipment and materials, through

guarantees development and growth.”

developers of business solutions or software, to our closest partners,

FUTURE PLANS

technical and commercial partners, who

With INEA demonstrating an ambition

work in the field. Without their knowl-

to continue to grow despite a changing

edge, experience, dynamic operations,

market, Bartkowiak affirms how key it

development or innovation, it would be

is that the company expands on an

impossible,” he says. “These types of

ongoing basis. “We are continu-

relations are very precious and they

ously searching for new areas to

require mutual trust, understanding

grow. Sometimes, we joke

and good communication. It’s difficult

that on the day when we

to sustain such relations; however, we

announce the launch of

don’t surrender and we endeavor to

a new product, we are

work on the continuous improvement

already working on

of this co-operation.”

another one. That was

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“It’s of key importance to observe the changes happening by using technology in different aspects of our lives. We have to examine how our expectations of the products or services that we are using is changing. It’s important to observe the entire spectrum of innovations taking place in the world” — Michał Bartkowiak, Management Board Member and COO of INEA

w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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INEA

204

“We are continuously searching for new areas to grow. Sometimes, we joke that on the day when we announce the launch of a new product, we are already working on another one. That was precisely the case with the 10 Gb/s service we started this year. It’s vital we act quickly because of the way the market is changing” — Michał Bartkowiak, Management Board Member and COO of INEA

precisely the case with 10 Gb/s

focused on the construction of an

service started this year. It’s vital we

open optic-fibre infrastructure. Having

act quickly because of the way the

won over 20 competitions under the

market is changing.”

Operating Programme Digital Poland,

Looking to the future, Bartkowiak

we are also implementing projects

believes that INEA remains deter-

consisting of the expansion of the

mined to build on its success through

existing telecommunication infrastruc-

the implementation of new projects to

ture and reconstruction of the existing

enhance the firm’s existing telecom-

one to FTTH standard,” he says. “As a

munication infrastructure. “We remain

result of those projects, we will reach

JANUARY 2019

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205

about 700,000 more households

of teaching, handling affairs with

located in rural areas with our network.

authorities or benefiting from enter-

All the schools located on the territory

tainment will change and this will

of planned investments will be

completely transform the image of

connected to the network and these

those towns.�

are areas that are digitally excluded, where broadband services are unavailable today. The residents of those areas will have access to modern digital services. The method w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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Embracing technology in the hospitality industry WRIT TEN BY

SE AN GA LE A-PACE PRODUCED BY

LE WIS VAUGHAN

JANUARY 2019

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E DWA R D I A N H OT E LS LO N D O N

Director of Information Technology of Edwardian Hotels London, Michael Mrini discusses how technology has acted as an enabler for his company’s success as part of its digital transformation

W

ith innovation at the heart of most companies’ success, it has become vital that businesses implement new technology that separates

them from rivals in order to enhance the way they conduct operations. The introduction of technology has meant that firms can consistently launch new tools that will enable them to provide a better service 208

to its consumers. For Edwardian Hotels London, artificial intelligence (AI) has enabled the company to completely transform its customer experience.

Director of Information Technology of Edwardian Hotels London, Michael Mrini, believes that technology has allowed people to perform to higher standards. “We believe technology acts as an enabler for people to do their job better and with less drudgery,” he says. “Thanks to the backing and encouragement of our chairman and CEO, Jasminder Singh, a great visionary and believer in the power of technology as an enabler, we were able to develop to pursue this route and invest in cutting-edge technology.”

Having begun his career in 1987 in hospitality, Mrini worked his way up from washing up part-time as a student, to a job as a bartender, before working on the reservations and customer service side of JANUARY 2019

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E DWA R D I A N H OT E LS LO N D O N

210

operations at Hyatt Hotels until 1997.

“Since 1997, I haven’t stopped deve-

Mrini subsequently joined Edwardian

loping technology. When I joined as

and became the Director of Customer

a customer services manager, I auto-

Services, before transitioning to the

mated that particular department,”

position of Director of Information Sys-

explains Mrini. “While still being customer

tems until he moved into his current

services manager, and with the help

role at the beginning of 2012. Such

and encouragement of Iype Abraham

experience of working in a number

who was at the time the head of IT,

of different departments in a hotel

I joined other departments to look at

setting has enabled Mrini to gain

what they do and how they do it. From

a working understanding of how each

the finance side, month-end reports

area operates and he can draw on

used to take someone three days to

his experience to achieve success.

compile. However, from working with

JANUARY 2019

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them, we turned that into a 30 second operation where at the end of the month he just presses a button and the whole month-end pack is created and distributed to senior management.”

DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY Innovation is an area which Edwardian Hotels London prides itself heavily on.

Having developed over 32 apps in the past five years, the company is utilising technology in order to create the best possible guest experience for its customers. However, the most exciting

“ We believe technology acts as an enabler for people to do their job better and with less drudgery” — Michael Mrini, Director of Information Technology of Edwardian Hotels London

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

Michael Mrini Michael joined Edwardian Hotels London (formerly known as the Edwardian Group London) in 1997 as Customer Services Manager. Software Development and data analysis was one of Michael’s passions which he put to good use when he introduced automation and data analysis in the customer services department during his first year with the Company. By the year 2000 Michael had formed Edwardian’s first ever software development team and through progression, dedication and hard work, is now the Group’s Director of Information Technology.

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211

8 of the 10 Top Hotels

Get Better Results with Oracle Hospitality

oracle.com/hospitality or call 1.800.ORACLE.1

Copyright Š 2018, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

EUROPE

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘21ST CENTURY HOSPITALITY – EDWARDIAN HOTELS LONDON’ 213 innovation has been the launch of

where and then realised I didn’t have the

virtual host “Edward” which handles

name or the address of the hotel where

guest enquires such as information

I’m staying,” explains Mrini. “Other times

about the hotel, booking breakfast

I’m in the hotel room, and I want to order

and any other requirements the guest

room service but I can’t find the menu in

needs before, during and after their

the room. You try and make a phone call

stay. Operated through AI on a phone

to get someone to deliver the menu and

app, Edward can manage more than

you end up calling room service but it’s

1,600 requests.

engaged so you wait and wait. But with

“I travel lots and stay in many hotels

Edward, it comes to you as a guest.

worldwide so the idea of Edward was

Edward knows you’re coming because

born out of the frustrations I had. It’s

three days before you arrive, Edward will

annoying when you need information but

send you a message and tell you, “Look,

it’s very difficult to find. For example,

anything you need, just text me.” Now,

quite often I arrived at an airport some-

that facility is in your pocket.” w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

E DWA R D I A N H OT E LS LO N D O N

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“ We have found a really excellent partner in Oracle. They have supported and encouraged us over the years in what we wanted to do” — Michael Mrini, Director of Information Technology of Edwardian Hotels London

JANUARY 2019

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215

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E DWA R D I A N H OT E LS LO N D O N

By having such innovative technology at guests’ fingertips, Mrini believes it has allowed the company to find out information about their customers that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible.

“We search for keywords to see what our guests are asking for and what to identify. Because of this, we’ve managed to learn things we never knew about our guests’ behavior, such as most of our guests can’t remember whether breakfast is included in their booking or not,” says Mrini. “Breakfast seems to be the 216

last thing they think about before they go to bed at night. We also found that it’s very important to guests to be able to easily find out whether their room has been cleaned or not. If they’re either out in meetings or out and about visiting the town, they want to know whether their room has been cleaned so they can come back to the hotel or stay out a bit longer and through this technology, they can do that.”

FORMING KEY PARTNERSHIPS Such success with the company’s AI software couldn’t JANUARY 2019

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘MEETINGS AND EVENTS AT EDWARDIAN HOTELS LONDON’ 217 have been achieved without the work of the firm’s key partnership with Oracle. The partnership has enabled Edwardian Hotels London to make it easier to interact with its property management system (PMS) and act as the catalyst for the success of its technological innovations. “We have found a really excellent partner in Oracle. They have supported and encouraged us over the years in what we wanted to do,” explains Mrini. “Oracle sees what we’re doing as unique in the hospitality sector. What they have done is help us make it easier for us to w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

218 interact with their PMS system because

standing of the core PMS system so

that’s where the bookings are and

that we can develop our interface to it.”

where the check-in/check-out happens.

Other key partners that Edwardian

Any application we develop needs to

Hotels London has been supported by

have a live interface to that system

include BT which helped install the

otherwise it’s useless.”

Wi-Fi in all of the company’s hotels and

“Edward would be useless if it didn’t

Alcatel which has provided the internal

have access to that live information in

telephone systems for the past 20

the booking system because we wouldn’t

years. “BT has been fantastic in installing

know who that guest is. It wouldn’t

the Wi-Fi that we have. They have done

know the latest changes to the guest

an excellent job at the speed that we

booking, the ETA, the list goes on.

wanted it done. We like to work with

I believe they have been fantastic in sup-

partners that can provide quality and

porting, as by enabling us to have that

efficiency and BT were able to do

access, it has helped us with the under-

a superb job for us in very short period

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219

“ We search for keywords to see what our guests are asking for and what to identify. Because of this, we’ve managed to learn things we never knew about our guests’ behaviour, such as most of our guests can’t remember whether breakfast is included in their booking or not” — Michael Mrini, Director of Information Technology of Edwardian Hotels London

of time when we upgraded the Wi-Fi in all of our 12 hotels.”

“Alcatel is another one of our partners that has done a brilliant job with us and we have been working with them on things like location services and beacons within the hotel,” he adds. “They’ve been tremendous, and that’s why they remain a partner after 20 years.”

The company currently has 12 UK hotels, 11 of which operate in key locations in London, with the final hotel located in the heart of Manchester. In addition, Edwardian Hotels London are set to unveil a 13th property in Leicesw w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

E DWA R D I A N H OT E LS LO N D O N

“ Technology is never going to completely take over what we do and do it for us but it’s going to enable us to do what we do better” 220

— Michael Mrini, Director of Information Technology of Edwardian Hotels London

JANUARY 2019

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ter Square in 2020. With the future in mind, Mrini demonstrates a commitment to continue to innovate at Edwardian Hotels London. “The ultimate goal for us is to become the best in hospitality and it’s important for us to continue to innovate. With technology you never know what’s next but one’s things for sure, we’re going to continue to improve and innovate with AI,” affirms Mrini.

“We’ve previously dipped our toes in before with AI and had fantastic results so we’re going to continue to utilise it in all the different areas to enable us to do a better job. Technology is never going to completely take over what we do and do it for us but it’s going to enable us to do what we do better.”

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222

Universidad Europea striving for success WRIT TEN BY

CATHERINE S TURM AN PRODUCED BY

LE WIS VAUGHAN

JANUARY 2019

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223

a:

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UNIVERSIDAD EUROPEA

Universidad Europea has seen its degree programmes enhanced by new digital tools...

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O

ffering a dynamic education with the spirit of constant improvement, Universidad Europea is committed

to providing an innovative educational model, and is focused on adding value to society. Actively contributing to its progress through education that is designed to help students become professionals and leaders, the organisation is prepared to respond to the needs of a global environment. At Universidad Europea, its exceptional facilities and educational prog– rammes continue to deliver high employment outcomes, where its courses seek to turn its students into ethical leaders, inspiring entrepreneurship, teamwork and creativity.

Viewing educational technology as a global enabler for teaching and learning, JANUARY 2019

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225

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UNIVERSIDAD EUROPEA

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“ Our business is education, so we try to facilitate the needs from academia, from the people who are teaching the classes to our students.

This is our priority” — Daniel Milner Resel, Chief Technology Officer

227 Pedro Morcillo, Chief Information

tages that digitisation can bring to

Officer and Daniel Milner Resel Chief

Universidad Europea in Spain and

Technology Officer are passionate

Portugal, Morcillo and Milner Resel

about how digitisation has revolution-

have looked to fully reshape the student

ised the way students engage with its

experience. With universities in Madrid,

services. No longer content with

Valencia and the Canary Islands, as well

traditional ways of working, students

as offices in Lisbon and Porto, they have

are demanding tools that not only

sought to close the gap between

provide greater flexibility, but encour-

technology and academia.

age continuous improvement, both

“Our business is education, from the

personally and professionally. It has

people who are teaching the classes to

even been predicted that the e-learning

our students. This is our priority. There

market worldwide will surpass

are presently three major projects at

US$243bn by 2022, something which

Universidad Europea in relation to

Universidad Europea is keen to tap into.

providing a better service. Firstly,

Responsible for unlocking advan-

there is a new design and host for w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

UNIVERSIDAD EUROPEA

228

“W e have a simulated hospital. It is a ‘top of the class’ installation, unique in Spain in both technology and dimensions” — Daniel Milner Resel, Chief Technology Officer

JANUARY 2019

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our main webpage, which is now hosted on Google Cloud. Secondly, we have a medical images service, which is based on the integration of information services and the different devices which take medical images in our eight university clinics. Lastly, we have a simulated hospital. It is a ‘best in class’ installation, unique in Spain in both technology and dimensions,” explains Milner Resel.

The possibilities Universidad Europea have uncovered through investing in technology are endless. Across its framework, its services have been fully disrupted, providing a number of advantages.

“We have services licensed by our

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

Daniel Milner Resel Chief Technical Officer in Spain & Portugal, Daniel Milner Resel is redefining the utilisation of all IT services at Universidad Europea. Establishing a new regional framework as part of the unification of Spain and Portugal’s digital capabilities, he has a deep understanding the technological needs of the organisation, solving the gap between business and IT

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UNIVERSIDAD EUROPEA

corporation and where they are also the admin. We also have services licensed by the corporation at a regional level but we are the admins at a local level. Additionally, we have services where both things are at a local level – for example, SIS, Salesforce, Bullet, 8x8 Call Centre, DNS’s, file servers, printers, WIFI, labs, audiovisuals and more.” By utilising tools provided by Microsoft, Cisco, Tenable and BitSight for its security services, as well as investing in its two data centres, Universidad Europea has also adopted Blackboard Learn software, a virtual Learning Management System 230

(LMS) to provide further student support.

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘LEARNING COMMUNICATION WORKING AS A PROFESSIONAL’

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Most recently however, Universidad Europea has witnessed how the implementation of big data has created significant opportunities.

The launch of its Business Intelligence (BI) Competency Centre, alongside IBM Cognos and Informatica ETL has seen the business gain a greater understanding of the large volumes of data under its portfolio. The use of automation is now another tool the team is keen to explore, where adopting technology based on Salesforce and 8x8 Call Center has enabled the organisation to look at further ways of transforming the student lifecycle.

“With big data, it's a full transformation.

Before undertaking this project, there was one key question that was put on the table – ‘how many people nowadays are enrolled at our university? Marketing has one answer, sales has another and IT another, all of which are not the same. Big data has been a revolutionary approach, successfully led by the IT department,” notes Milner Resel.

However, limited resources within the education sector remain a global issue. To bolster its resiliency and drive quality results, the organisation has utilised audio-visual technologies to promote collaboration.

Implementing Lifesize to encourage the sharing of ideas, it is now Universidad Europea’s main tool for videoconferencing, as well as Skype for Business and Zoom. Its project with Smart– w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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UNIVERSIDAD EUROPEA

boards in the classroom is also expected to revolutionise student learning, where the implementation of Clevertouch 86 will work to deliver an immersive student experience within a digital classroom environment. Not only that, to further promote accessibility, Universidad Europea’s partnership with Chilean contractor Moofwd has led the development of a mobile app, powered by cloud technology.

Educational services will continue to evolve, in which Milner Resel coins 232

this ‘the third revolution.’ Students will gain knowledge and expertise through various platforms, where Universidad Europea will soon be taking this to the next stage and look at the long-term benefits of remote working across the organisation.

“We have a lot of initiatives, where in the near future a great percentage of our work force is going to be working from home. It gives families flexibility, lowers utility bills at establishments and more. Here in Spain and Portugal, we are trying to get a more ambitious approach to this kind of work,” he says.

Universidad Europea delivers edu– JANUARY 2019

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233

‘ Students are demanding tools that not only provide greater flexibility, but ones that encourage continuous improvement, both personally and professionally’ w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

UNIVERSIDAD EUROPEA

“W e have a lot of initiatives, where in the near future a great percentage of our work force is going to be working from home”

234

— Daniel Milner Resel, Chief Technology Officer

JANUARY 2019

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cation that is high quality, accessible and affordable, supporting students in all walks of life. Technology will become a key driver to unlock change, supporting the development of connections across its infrastructure to make a significant impact upon the lives of its students. Universidad Europea is committed to undertaking an ongoing digital journey, which will be key to its enduring success.

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JANUARY 2019

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Fuelling rapid growth with an innovative procurement transformation

237

WRIT TEN BY

L AUR A MULL AN PRODUCED BY

RICHARD DURR ANT

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U I PAT H

We speak to UiPath’s Head of Global Procurement, Catalin Lupu, to discover how a cutting-edge procurement transformation is helping to enable the firm’s exponential growth 238

I

t seems that when it comes to robotic processing automation (RPA), the name on everyone’s lips is UiPath. The American

firm has achieved a lot in its short history.

At its genesis, UiPath was just a team of 10 based in Bucharest but now it’s headquartered in New York City, boasting 30 offices in 16 countries and more than 1,700 employees. “‘Growth’ is the key word at the firm,” points out Catalin Lupu, Head of Global Procurement, and the technology community seems to agree. The firm was listed 26th on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 – a ranking of the crème de la crème in the technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies in North America. In 2018 alone, JANUARY 2019

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UiPath closed its Series B and Series C financing rounds totalling US$418mn, lifting the company’s valuation to an impressive $3bn.

UiPath has, by all accounts, been a gleaming example of how to scale a tech startup and, for Lupu, this is thanks in part to the firm’s robust procurement function. Before joining UiPath, Lupu cut his teeth in procurement with time at firms like Renault and the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company respectively. Through these roles, Lupu honed his skills and says that it provided him with a “global view” which enabled him to “understand the challenges and steps needed to scale up a business”.

This proved to be a critical skill when he later moved to UiPath.

UiPath began as a small startup

“ ‘Growth’is the key word at the firm” — Catalin Lupu, Head of Global Procurement, UiPath

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239

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function should look like in a year from now. That’s where it started.” UiPath didn’t think small; it crafted its roadmap with a global mindset from the offset.

Rather than confining itself by regions, with a procurement spend of around

it standardised its procurement function

$2-3mn but CEO Daniel Dines had

at a global level.

big ambitions. He wanted UiPath to

Compliance was also a crucial factor.

be a market leader. To kick off this

“The policies are shaped around the

growth, the firm first had to convince

business’ needs and compliance

the market of the merits of RPA and

because when you’re working with

build a strategic roadmap. “We basically

clients like Fortune 500 firms, we

started from scratch,” explains Lupu.

wanted to make sure that everything is

“I like to describe it like building a house.

auditable, that they’re doing every-

First of all, we laid the foundation. In

thing by the book. We also didn’t want

procurement, we decided our policies,

to make it too difficult to manage or

how we should buy, what architecture

too granular for approvals so we

we should use, how the procurement

implemented procurement cards.” Afw w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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U I PAT H

ter laying the foundation, UiPath turned its attention to building the walls and the structure. For procurement, this meant implementing the systems. “We wanted everything to be digitalised so, for instance, we implemented procure-to-pay (P2P) and finance modules from Net Suite,” notes Lupu. “We wanted to drive the company forward, we wanted to automate and to liberate our people from repetitive stuff so that they could be more focused on strategic tasks like emailing a new supplier.

It also enabled us to deliver analytics at a global level. I think that is the holy grail 242

and it’s where a lot of companies struggle.”

By implementing a cloud-based solution, this not only made the move from offline to digital seamless, it also allowed UiPath to get access to purchase orders (POs) on all devices – ideal for any global, fast-moving firm – which were easily integrated with other applications.

A key task for any company, particularly in the IT sector, is attracting, retaining and training the right talent and it was another key facet in UiPath’s transformation story.

“Bringing the right people is essential when scaling,” reflects Lupu. “We built up a culture and a team that’s ready to scale and that’s prepared for any challenges the clients may have. “They’re very focused on the client JANUARY 2019

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243

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

Catalin Lupu Catalin Lupu is Head of Global Procurement of UiPath. He spent all his career in Procurement covering global roles within the automotive industry. Catalin joined UiPath in 2017 with a clear mission to build up a global procurement organization for the first Romanian Unicorn. Passionate about Robotic Process Automation, which he considers a disruptive enterprise technology for Procurement, his new challenge is to scale and automate all procurement processes for UiPath.

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U I PAT H

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘UIPATH GO! – AUTOMATION MADE EASY’ 244 needs, and internally it’s been quite

To tackle this, UiPath’s

a successful journey for them, because

procurement team have

most of them come from different

worked hard to develop

industries. We looked at their potential

strong industry links and

as well as their skills.”

vendor partnerships that

UiPath has quickly become synonymous with the RPA market, acquiring

are able to keep pace with the firm’s global vision.

an average of six new customers per

“We don’t see these firms as suppliers

day. Yet, this rapid growth hasn’t come

or vendors, they’re partners because

without its challenges. As the first

when we try to go global, we need

footprint has expanded it had to establish

partners that will stick by us, who will

new real estate, pay rolls and recruit-

insulate us, and be able to adapt to

ment in different geographies.

the market,” Lupu explains. Take the

“Growth is a good problem to have,”

issue of real estate, highlights Lupu.

laughs Lupu, “but it’s still a challenge.”

With a footprint spanning from London

JANUARY 2019

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“ Bringing in the right people is essential when scaling” — Catalin Lupu, Head of Global Procurement, UiPath

to Tokyo, Bengaluru to Singapore,

create a presence there and start

offices are a top priority for UiPath

hiring. We have a global partnership

and therefore it has developed strong

with We Work, which provides a

relationships to make this a reality.

single point of contact for us globally,

“We have a big spend on real-estate,

which is a robust model when you

so we have a very interesting and

need a presence across the world.”

successful strategy,” he says. “When

UiPath has sought out partners

we enter a new country, we start off in

which have an international presence

co-working space so that we can

yet local knowledge. It found this with w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

542

U I PAT H

partner CDW who helped to enhance the firm’s IT management. “One of the challenges when growing globally is finding global partners who can meet this footprint and deliver what you need, whether it’s in Europe, the US, Asia or in India,” notes Lupu. “We found that CDW was one of the few in the market who could achieve this and helps us manage the IT span and delivery.

They helped us centralise all the hardware that we were buying individually in countries by creating synergies. They understood that we needed a global single point of contact which is hands on.”

246

As the role of procurement morphs

JANUARY 2019

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247 rapidly into a business enabler, rather than a back-office function, it’s also getting more digitally-savvy. Just as its users have adopted UiPath’s RPA platform to take their business to the next level, UiPath’s procurement team are also using its own product. Lupu points out that, by getting robots to automate mundane and repetitive tasks, it allows his team to focus on value-adding jobs. “It automates repetitive work so people can focus on more strategic or creative jobs,” he explains.

“RPA doesn’t only apply to procurement or finance. It can be applied to supply chain, it can be applied to delivery, call centres, banking, any industry that’s had repetitive w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

U I PAT H

“ We found that CDW was one of the few in the market who could help us manage the IT span and delivery” — Catalin Lupu, Head of Global Procurement, UiPath

248

JANUARY 2019

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standardised processes which could be automated. That’s why I think it’s very disruptive, because it can apply to any industry.”

Lupu believes the procurement sector is undergoing a seismic shift – teams are more focused on return on investment (ROI) rather than savings, the field is also becoming more digitised, and teams are being created based on ambition just as much as their skills.

Having built its procurement function from the ground up, procurement has been a pivotal enable of UiPath’s growth and Lupu believes his strategy is a simple but meaningful one.

“The main rule is that procurement needs to be smart, it needs to be simple and it needs to be scalable,” asserts Lupu. “Now, we have around 1,700 employees, next year we could have 10,000. I think the keyword now is still growth; we’re in skyrocket mode. Where there is an enterprise market, we need to be there.

Our focus now is growing the business and to remain a leader in the RPA sector.”

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249

Digital transformat to educate customers

WRIT TEN BY

CATHERINE S TURM AN PRODUCED BY

JUS TIN BR AND

250

JANUARY 2019

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tion 251

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NEDBANK

Nedbank has sought to educate customers in the application of new digital solutions, revolutionising the payment and transactional industry across South Africa

P

resent in six countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC)

and East Africa, Nedbank’s vast portfolio has seen the business acquire subsidiaries and banks in Namibia, Swaziland, Malawi, Mozambique, Leso252

tho and Zimbabwe, as well as representative offices in Angola and Kenya.

Throughout its ongoing expansion, technology has continued to challenge traditional banking services, leading Nedbank to break down barriers, overhaul its processes and take a closer look at the way customers engage with its services.

A chartered accountant by back-

in an organisation that houses a strong

ground, having audited a large number

passion for clients and embraces new

of automotive groups –such as BMW

ways of thinking. Appointed as Manag-

and Daimler – Dayalan Govender,

ing Executive in 2017, he has taken this

Managing Executive of Nedbank Card,

objective further by seeking to reform

Payments and Transactional, entered

the card and payments space and the

the fast-evolving world of financial ser-

transactional industry in South Africa,

vices with the aim to make a difference

leveraging technologies and capabili-

JANUARY 2019

AFRICA

and transactional solutions to clients that fast, safe, reliable, convenient and cost effective all focused on enabling clients to achieve their goals and outcomes?’ That’s the first departure point that’s really important to us,” he explains.

“We have two key challenges. One is around transforming the culture from ties in a fundamentally different way.

“The first thing in our approach is,

an incremental mindset to an exponential disruptive mindset. The second is

‘Delivering delightful client experiences

around digital adoption and education:

and how do we transform not just our

once we get clients to start adopting

Nedbank Card, Payments and Trans-

these solutions, how do we ensure

actional business but also the indus-

sustainability in digital adoption? What

try? How do we reshape the industry

is accelerating digital adoption, not just

so that we are able to provide payment

in South Africa but globally, is that all w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

253

AFRICA

“ Behavioural biometrics is also something that we are exploring and believe it’s going to enhance customer experience” — Dayalan Govender, Managing Executive of Nedbank Card, Payments and Transactional

tication methods to bolster security across various digital applications to build trust and transparency. Investing in new fraud prevention mechanisms, Nedbank has gained increased awareof us live in an increasingly digitised

ness into fraudulent activity – some-

world and we are being influenced by

thing which has become a significant

digital solutions in our everyday lives.

threat across South Africa and globally.

The proliferation of applications that

“We are investing in tokenisation,

exist satisfy many of our needs that

enabling secure in store and online

we didn’t think possible. People are

transactions. Behavioural biometrics

being influenced by digital in many

is also something that we are exploring

aspects of their lives and we are at

and believe it’s going to give clients

a point where clients expect this from

a superior customer experience,”

financial services.”

says Govender.

Trust is going to be a key requirement

Accelerating digital adoption will go

underpinning digital adoption. Within

hand in hand with building trust, which

its Card, Payments and Transactional

will no doubt feed into Nedbank’s abil-

operations, Nedbank has therefore

ity to scale. However, despite such ef-

sought to invest in the latest authen-

forts, customers will only utilise smart w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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NEDBANK

payment solutions if they are somewhat intuitive, in order to remove the fear of the unknown and fully engage with new digital services. “Far too often, there’s a perception that digital is complex. Not everyone understands these digital solutions and they get paralysed when they experience a digital solution for the first time, so we have invested significantly in how we design these solutions with the client at the very heart of this,” he says, Since the bank launched the Nedbank 256

Money app in 2018, the new digital platform has been met with acclaim by clients. Gaining significant traction with more than a million downloads, the app provides customers with financial access and services at the click of a button, fully empowering users and putting them in control of their finances. Harnessing a sophisticated design with ‘next level authentication’, the app enables customers to do a myriad of activities including viewing balances and statements, buy prepaid data and other value-added services, send money to a recipient or make payments to friends, family or providers.

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257

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Tipping the scale on mobile payments

By Mark Elliott, Division President, Mastercard Southern Africa The app economy has changed the way we live. We depend on our smartphone apps for everything from entertainment to photography, to messaging, personal productivity and ordering transport or accommodation. In South Africa, we’re increasingly using our smartphones for in-app, in-store and online payments.

“The promise of mobile payment services lies in creating safer, richer experiences for consumers and merchants.”

We’re also seeing merchants use apps that turn their smartphones into point of sale devices or use QR codes to accept mobile payments from their customers. The mobile device brings the convenience, safety and customer choice associated with cashless transactions to spaza shops, flea market stalls, trades people like plumbers and electricians, and other sectors where traditional card terminals are not a practical or affordable solution.

Mobile innovations need to improve the consumer experience As we think about the rapid adoption of mobile payments, the promise of mobile payment services lies in creating safer, richer experiences for consumers and merchants. The key is not to simply recreate what you could do before, but to make paying for things simpler, safer and faster. That’s why connecting with consumers wherever they are and whenever they want is critical.

Imagine, for example, a world where people don’t need to queue for hours to send money to their families in the rural areas or where no one needs to withdraw cash from an ATM and then stand in a long queue at a retailer on a Saturday to pay a rates bill. They don’t even need to log in to online banking and input a lot of payment information. Instead, they’ll be able to scan a QR code on the statement and pay from an app. This is a world where merchants don’t need to keep large amounts of cash on their premises. It’s one where consumers demand convenience and control, and

FIND OUT MORE: VISIT WWW.MASTERCARD.CO.ZA

expect payment experiences to make their lives better.

We are not talking about a distant future, either. In South Africa, more than 900,000 ratepayers in the City of Ekurhuleni can pay their municipal bills online with their smartphones, using Masterpass, our global digital payment service. Masterpass is also accepted online by a growing list of merchants of all sizes as well as in-app for convenient air and data mobile top-up.

Partnerships key to drive mass digital payment adoption The consumer experience is simple, but there is a lot of complexity in the background. Without collaboration across industries to ensure that digital payments systems are secure and interoperable, it will be impossible to deliver the experiences consumers demand or to scale mobile payments.

That’s why we are collaborating with key players to develop and deliver new consumer propositions that span multiple industries across multiple channels – in-store, in-app and online.

One example is the partnership between Mastercard and Entersekt to enable Nedbank’s customers to make QR payments to Masterpass, Pay@, SnapScan, and Zapper merchants and billers through the Nedbank Money app, whether they are paying online or at a physical point of presence.

This market-first development means that Nedbank Money users need just one smartphone app for all major domestic scan-to-pay services, rather than needing to store card data in multiple apps, and they will be able to use biometrics as an authentication method.

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within the Nedbank Money App which

“Being able to give clients control over

is the first banking app in the South Af-

their debit orders, where they could

rica that allows clients to scan a Mas-

go through their accounts, recognise

terpass, Snapscan or Zapper QR code

a debit order to be fraudulent or inac-

for making retail and utility payments.

curate and be able to reverse that

This is convenience at your fingertips

– this has been an extremely powerful

that no longer requires clients to carry

service. Also, simple things like freez-

cards or cash.

ing and unfreezing cards are being

“A number of other services in the app are extremely popular, which debit order reversals are a prime example.

used by customers all over the world, especially when travelling.”

However, with such a diverse

In South Africa, we have an issue from

demographic, it has been imperative

a customer perspective around debit

for Nedbank to ensure financial

order abuse,” explains Govender.

inclusion throughout the development w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

NEDBANK

“ Nedbank also launched Scan To Pay within the Nedbank Money App which is the first banking app in the South Africa that allows clients to scan 260 a Masterpass, Snapscan or Zapper QR code for making retail and utility payments. This is convenience at your fingertips that no longer requires clients to carry cards or cash” — Dayalan Govender, Managing Executive of Nedbank Card, Payments and Transactional

JANUARY 2019

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of its banking applications. Based on USSD (unstructured supplementary service data) technology, Nedbank’s transactional product MobiMoney has also seen customers gain access to financial services via smartphone and feature phone, where they can deposit money into the account for free as well as send money to recipients for free.

Other value-added services include purchasing prepaid electricity and more. “There have been examples of people wanting to buy prepaid electricity, they had to take transportation to get to a mall or vendor and it would cost them R60-80 to buy R100 worth of prepaid electricity. Now, it is at their fingertips and will cost next to nothing,” Govender adds.

“We are solving problems that really matter to clients and address some of these key pain points. Through this particular platform we will build a lot more services that resonate with clients. It is also a free banking account that does not attract a monthly service fee.”

Remaining aggressive in developing new digital tools and solutions for those in all walks of life, Nedbank is w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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Banking and Payment services in Africa are experiencing a digital transformation, putting the customer experience at the core of innovations. New technologies such as ID verification and behavioral risk management will enrich banks customer engagement strategy.

Behavioral Risk Management: Gemalto Assurance Hub employs AI to assess user behavior patterns and determine the potential for fraud. Anything out of the ordinary can be identified and additional authentication will be requested, to ensure maximum security.

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Š Gemalto 2018. All rights reserved. Gemalto, the Gemalto logo, are trademarks and service marks of Gemalto and are registered in certain countries. November 2018 - CC

Banking and Payment (r)evolution

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND THE OBVIOUS’ 263 also set to launch a solution that is

“From travel to household require-

tailored to the student customer that

ments, the app will find you a service

will be truly disruptive and be the first of

provider that meets your needs and is

its kind in South Africa, as well as offer

testament to the focus on client experi-

entrepreneurs with the tools and skills

ence and enabling client outcomes,”

that they need to succeed.

notes Govender.

Fully supporting customers beyond

However, with the rise of hyperper-

traditional banking services, Nedbank’s

sonalised services, data will become

partnership with Hey Jude has even

a key differentiator in delivering relevant

seen the bank integrate a new lifestyle

services to clients including merchants.

solution into the Nedbank Money app

Nedbank’s end-to-end business man-

for ease and simplicity. The solution

agement solution, POSplus, provides

works to enable customers to book

advanced data analytics and enhances

travel services, obtain support for find-

a business’ presence not only in ecom-

ing various services, and much more.

merce, but to gain a significant growth w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

NEDBANK

in the physical environment. “This innovation and solution allows business and business owners; especially small business services and entrepreneurs to focus more on growing and running their business, as opposed to managing multiple vendors and other distractions within their environment.”

Successfully reaching R125bn (US$8.8bn) market capitalisation throughout its operations is no easy feat, but building strong partnerships has remained key to Nedbank’s 264

upward trajectory in supporting 8mn clients across Africa and beyond. Recently, the bank’s alliance with pan-African banking conglomerate Ecobank Transnational Inc has seen Nedbank cater to the growing for cross border remittance solutions in Africa.

Additionally, by effectively embracing collaboration to bring solutions to life, Nedbank’s partnership with FEXCO has seen the business harness its global, dynamic currency conversion solution for customers visiting South Africa, and pay for services in their home currency. “We’ve leveraged FEXCO’s expertise and capability, which gives our merchants the ability JANUARY 2019

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Building Borderless Business Fexco are proud to partner with Nedbank to provide Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) and Multi-Currency Pricing (MCP).

Read more online

For more information, contact: Gavin O’ Sullivan | Fexco Country Manager - South Africa | Tel: +27 66 478 9450 | Email: gavosullivan@fexco.com

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘“SEE MONEY DIFFERENTLY” WITH NEDBANK | 90” TVC’

to offer tourists coming to South Africa

which will provide jurisdiction over all

a value-add by paying in their home

financial institutions. This, he explains,

currency, where they don’t have to ex-

will enable the ongoing transformation

perience the volatility in the currency or

of financial services and the delivery of

the exchange rate,” explains Govender.

further advantages in terms of inter-

Long term, looking at the future of

acting, servicing as well as delivering

Nedbank and its position in South Africa, Govender believes a flood of new

innovative value propositions.

“Enabling regulations are going to be

opportunities are set to be unlocked

key in achieving the reserve bank’s vi-

as the country undergoes significant

sion for 2025 which is tackling some of

regulatory change. The Financial Sec-

the social issues that we have in South

tor Conduct Authority and Prudential

Africa,” he says.

Authority are set to be located in the

“The move could also unlock trade,

South African Reserve Bank (SARB),

growth and create employment. The inw w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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5705 Wetpaint

There’s an operational resilience associated with strong partnerships. It’s the resilience that comes from sharing a vision of the future and an understanding of the past. That is why, while we innovate on the ever-shifting technological forefront, iVeri Payment Technologies has always been committed to the solidity of partnerships.

Specialising in providing cutting-edge multichannel transaction technologies in the context of developing economies, iVeri has been a preferred payment partner of banks for two decades. Built on consistency and reliability, it is a partnership that has led to mutual success and long-term growth.

Active in 12 countries and internationally certiďŹ ed, choose iVeri Payment Technologies as your payment gateway partner.

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formal sector in South Africa facilitates

mindset, Nedbank has transformed

huge amounts of economic activity but

its capabilities to deliver solutions

it’s fundamentally based on cash. How

that are convenient, secure and scal-

do we, through regulation, also go and

able. With Govender certain that the

solve facilitating trade and entrepre-

finance industry in South Africa will

neurship? That’s where we’re going to

become wholly digitally led, data will

see a significant amount of transforma-

support decision making and provide

tion take place over the coming years

key insights into the way customers

in South Africa.”

engage beyond banking services, as

Housing an exponential and disruptive

well as provide essential insights which w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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“ We are solving problems that really matter to clients and helping address some of these key pain points� — Dayalan Govender, Managing Executive of Nedbank Card, Payments and Transactional

will fundamentally change the way in which financial institutions design and bring solutions to market. Fully revolutionising its corporate culture to think more innovatively and client centered, as well as adapt a commercially savvy mindset, Nedbank will continue to place significant investment in its people and new exponential technologies to take banking services in South Africa into a whole new era.

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Resolving digital transformation challenges with CIO Ayanda Saki WRIT TEN BY

L AUR A MULL AN PRODUCED BY

M A LVERN K ANDEM WA

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CIO Ayanda Saki weighs in on some of the top challenges and opportunities facing technology executives today

A

s more CIOs take the first tentative steps on their digital transformation journeys,

many are turning to seasoned professionals for guidance. With over 20 274

years of experience in the technology sector, Ayanda Saki, now CIO at a leading African automotive parts company, is a fountain of wisdom. For Saki, her technology career began after she obtained her Computer Science degree, which allowed her to gain a true understanding of technological innovation.

Later, before cutting her teeth in the sector, Saki completed a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA).

She credits this educational experience with affording her the necessary insight to distinguish between technology for technology’s sake in comparison to technology which enables true business value.

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C I O — AYA N D A S A K I

“ It doesn’t make sense to have a technical understanding of technology without having the necessary business acumen” — Ayanda Saki, Chief Information Officer 278

BUSINESS PROWESS

sure I understood the businesses, how

“I realised that it didn’t make sense

it worked and what it was trying to

to have a technical understanding of

achieve, then aligned the technology

technology without having the neces-

as much as possible to that,” she says.

sary business acumen to understand

“Technology shouldn’t be implemented

how these can help businesses gen-

for the sake of it. Technology should

erate revenue or enable strategies,”

be used to improve the quality of life of

she recalls. By understanding how

people and to enable business value.

the business works as well as what it

I think this perspective has created

hopes to achieve, Saki has been able

a good foundation for where I am today.”

to align her digital strategies to meet

This business insight has put her in

these needs, whilst remaining laser

good stead in the technology sector.

focused on the people involved.

Whilst Saki may have an impressive un-

“Throughout my career, I made JANUARY 2019

derstanding of technology – spanning

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everything from software engineering to business intelligence – she says that, more than anything, it’s vital executives recognise that the customer is king.

“In recent years, the biggest change has been that the power is now in the hands of the customer. The customer now decides how they want to buy, who they want to buy from, and when they want to buy products and services.” As the on demand economy takes off and more and more devices are at consumers’ fingertips, this challenge is only set to amplify. Mobile phone ownership is racing ahead in South Africa and across the continent. This not only

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

Ayanda Saki Ayanda Saki is an entrepreneurial, seasoned business and IT strategist, who is currently Chief Information Officer at Motus Aftermarket Parts. Prior to this role, she worked at firms such as Standard Bank, the National Research Foundation, HSBC Investment Services and The Foschini Retail Group. Throughout her career, she has led and prudently managed projects and departments with budgets of up to ZAR70mn (USD$4.86mn). Her specialties include ICT and business strategy, leadership, governance, portfolio and programme management, as well as value creation.

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serves as a communication device but also as a cost-effective channel to get online, which has provided companies with the opportunity to interact with customers like never before. “Africa is very mobile focused and this creates an opportunity for us to provide an economic type of architecture for our customers,” comments Saki. “It’s required us to adjust our thinking and to align ourselves with how the customer interacts with us.”

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THE CUSTOMER IS KING Not only should CIOs pay heed to their customers’ wants and needs, but they should also be aware of their location. Digital transformation isn’t ‘one size fits all’, and therefore companies should be wary of copying and pasting their business strategies into new locations. The key, Saki highlights, is to adapt to each location.

“In Africa, many of the companies are multinational companies and when they’ve entered this market, they’ve taken the same template of their business from international markets and applied it here which doesn’t work. For an African market, the way a business JANUARY 2019

“ Technology shouldn’t be implemented for the sake of it.

Technology should be used to improve the quality of people’s lives and to enable businesses value” — Ayanda Saki, Chief Information Officer

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sells to its customers has to be different as their buying power is different, and the way they interact with the market has to be different. Many are entrepreneurial businesses and they typically have less access to technology. It requires a shift in thinking.”

Saki cites Unilever’s entry into the rural Indian market as a relevant case study to parallel. After conducting indepth research, the firm calculated the buying power of an average woman in India and worked out how they could effectively sell to this market. “For instance, many consumers didn’t have the buying power to purchase a 100ml bottle of body lotion so following the study Unilever launched smaller sized sachets of body lotion which were more affordable and which allowed the company to penetrate the market further,” she explains. “I think the same mindset needs to be applied in Africa.”

CONVENIENCE IS CRUCIAL The success of firms like Amazon, Deliveroo, Uber and others only goes to show that convenience sells.

This is a sentiment echoed by Saki who contends that as more and more w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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businesses go digital, convenience will be the differentiating factor. “We’re seeing that the companies which are succeeding in digitisation are companies which create convenience that goes over and above just buying a product,” Saki reflects. “The better the customer experience, the more chance of customers coming back time and time again.” Data analytics, cloud computing and other emerging technologies could play a key role in helping companies realise this goal, Saki notes.

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TACKLING THE SKILLS GAP One of the most pressing challenges facing the technology sector is undoubtedly the widening skills gap in the market. In a world where today’s graduates have grown up with the internet, tablets and mobile devices, Saki said that young people already have an inherent understanding of IT, what recruiters need to watch out for is those who can take this understanding and do something new with it.

Additionally, she believes there needs to be a cultural shift that encourages young people to enter more corporate environments.

“I believe there’s so much value in combining how older and younger people think, especially as we move towards a more digital future,” she observes. “We need to make a lot of JANUARY 2019

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C I O – AYA N D A S A K I

“ From the very beginning it was really hard to be taken seriously as a woman…

Even if you said something that had value, you had to say it a number of times, justify it a million times more, and sometimes even demonstrate it for you to be taken seriously” — Ayanda Saki, Chief Information Officer 284

JANUARY 2018

AFRICA

changes to absorb this new talent into the technology landscape.”

Creating an inclusive environment could also help. Having studied in apartheid times in South Africa, as well as being a woman in the technology field, Saki is all too aware of the hurdles facing workers trying to make their mark on the technology sector. “From the very beginning it was really hard to be taken seriously as a woman,” she reflects. “Even if you said something that had value, you had to say it a number of times, justify it a million times more, and sometimes even demonstrate it for you to be taken seriously.

“I think what helped me was that if I feel an issue is important, I’ll create a prototype of the suggestion which allowed me to demonstrate my ideas clearly.” On top of this, there’s also the issue of work culture. In the corporate world, where competing egos are commonplace, Saki is keen to point out the importance of remaining humble, particularly when you’re in a leadership position. In doing so, she says CIOs can create an approachable and inclusive IT environment that works with, not in tangent, to the wider business operation. “I try to keep myself humble and approachable,” she says. “It’s important to be able to explain technology in a way that makes sense to businesses so that they can really comprehend how IT can benefit the organisation.”

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ABC GROUP: DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FOR THE LEBANESE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE WRIT TEN BY

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DA LE BENTON PRODUCED BY

CR AIG DANIEL S

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ABC

AMID A TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION PLAN, ELIE HARB, HEAD OF IT AT ABC, TALKS DIGITAL DISRUPTION IN LEBANON

T

echnology has completely redefined the modern world and the modern customer.

As innovation drives change, businesses

across the globe have to adapt and evolve in order to continue to meet and ultimately exceed changing customer expectations. As one of the premier 288

shopping and lifestyle destinations in Lebanon, understanding this evolving customer and the role that technology has and continues to play in that shifting landscape is more important than ever before for ABC. As the first retailer to open in the country since 1936, ABC Group combines world-class shopping dining and entertainment across six branches and three flagship stores throughout Lebanon. The company prides itself on one critical component – innovation – and it strives to deliver on this through outstanding customer experience. “At ABC our purpose is to make Lebanon a better place and we do that by creating a great social hub offering the best brand mix and outstanding customer experience,” says Elie Harb, Head of IT & PMO. “ABC raises the bar very high when it comes to customer JANUARY 2019

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service, creating an unprecedented

business enabler. “IT is now becoming

environment where we and our cust–

more and more of a business driver

omers are part of one family. Our CSR

pushing the boundaries of possibility

activities and environmental initiatives

for ABC to the max,” he says. “The CIO

are unique in the country and set an

has assumed a prominent place in the

example for the competition and our

strategic thinking of the business, not

population alike.”

simply enabling and supporting

Over the last five years, Harb has

other members of the C-suite to

overseen a major digital transformation

achieve their vision, but rather

of ABC as the company continues to

actively setting the agenda

stay at the forefront of innovation and

for the future of the digital

technology. With a career in IT spanning

enterprise. His role isn’t

over 18 years, Harb has seen the role

limited to just keeping the

of IT and that of the CIO shift dramat-

system running and

ically, moving away from the tradition-

updated (while that

al support function and becoming a

is obviously still

JANUARY 2019

MIDDLE EAST

important), but he became an agent of

“ ABC raises the bar very high when it comes to customer service,creating an unprecedented environment where we and our customers are part of one family” — Elie Harb, Head of IT and PMO, ABC

change and innovation.”

As Head of IT, Harb is a key driver of the digital transformation and looks to steer the company towards understanding how best to capitalise on the technologies on hand in order to optimise and automate business processes, enhance customer experience and improve productivity, all the while keeping a stable, updated and secure platform. Harb admits that as technology continues to evolve, the company must be agile in its approach to trans– formation and so it breaks down its transformation roadmap into three year plans that are renewed at the end of

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ABC

each period. This, Harb explains, allows the company to continuously assess its position on the edge of technology to remain the leader in the market.

ABC has defined its priorities for its digital transformation based on four pillars: enabling state-of-the-art customer experience, business enhancement and innovation; productivity increase and automation; infrastructure and stability.

Throughout this journey, Harb can already point to key successes where technology has enabled true innovation and efficiency for the business.

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“Looking at customer experience, we built the best loyalty program in the country and we became the first fashion retailer to implement a call centre as well as a 3D virtual reality way finding and mobile point of sale systems,” he says.

“We were also the first to implement an intuitive business intelligence system with predictive analysis and machine learning.

We’ve also optimised the buyers’ work by adding merchandise planning systems as well as opening our recruitment possibilities by adding an online recruitment system.”

With technology comes the risk of always turning to technology for the sake of following industry trends rather than enabling true value for the business and return of JANUARY 2019

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘ABC OF LEADERSHIP’

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ABC

investment (ROI). Harb is all too aware of this and recognises that while ABC is an early adopter, it does not follow blindly. “We pick and choose based on extensive vetting and we don’t let ourselves be impressed by ‘big words’,” he says. “Some trends have had a major impact on the retail industry, such as omnichannel retail which is causing major disruption, while others are still to show their worthiness.

It falls to us to use our better judgment and expertise in the field in order to adopt the best solution possible and 294

follow the route that will have a positive impact on our business.”

To this end, ABC will vet technology both internally and externally through the use of technology vendors and filter innovation and solutions through variable committees like the company’s Customer Experience Committee (CEC). “The CEC or the steering committee will analyse the business impact and the ROI both locally and globally,” says Harb. “Once approved, we then proceed with a final round of validation in order to ensure there are no hidden costs or impacts and that it fits exactly to our needs.”

Ultimately, those needs revolve around the customer and their experience. Harb JANUARY 2019

“ We were the first to implement an intuitive business intelligence system with predictive analysis and machine learning” — Elie Harb, Head of IT and PMO, ABC

MIDDLE EAST

notes that technology has opened up greater communications and visibility with its customers, something that he feels is an edge that no other retailers can offer. This is best exemplified through its mobile application. “Our mobile app ensures that our customers are always connected and informed about what we are doing for them,” he says. “It gives the customer full control over their loyalty points to redeem at any time without the need of physical interaction.”

This loyalty scheme was extended to all shops within ABC’s department stores and malls, which vastly improved customer satis– 295 E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

Elie Harb An experienced IT professional, with more than 18 years working in the technology space, Elie Harb is currently the IT and Project Management Officer at ABC Sal. In this role, Harb is tasked with keeping ABC Sal at the forefront of innovation and technology, having overseen a major companywide digital transformation based on four pillars: enabling state of the art customer experiences, business enhancements and innovations; productivity increase and automation; infrastructure and stability. Harb is a key driver of the digital transformation and looks to steer the company towards understanding how best to capitalise on the technologies on hand in order to optimise and automate business processes, enhance customer experience and improve productivity, all the while keeping a stable, updated and secure platform.

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ABC

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faction. The company also became the first retailer to implement mobile POS within its malls to drastically reduce queues and allow for fast checkout during high seasons. “We also have digital signage, our VR way finding systems and free Wi-Fi. Combine all of our digital initiatives and we have created an incredibly unique customer experience that cannot be matched by other malls.”

For more than 75 years, ABC has strategically invested into technology in order to cement its position as the leading retailer in the market. Investing in technology is important, but Harb understands that the true enabler for ABC’s success today and tomorrow is its people. “At ABC, we believe that our greatest asset is our employees,” he says. “ABC takes employee development very seriously and makes it a high priority. Part of this development is participating in seminars, expos and developmental courses in each field. We’ve established an internal training academy and created programs specific for retail and our way of business and enrolled key people in them. We also built a talent academy to retain, motivate and promote talents.”

ABC’s investment into its people matches that of its investment into technology. It has and will continue to prove key in enabling opportunities and growth into the future. “We will continue to invest in innovation, technology and people,” says Harb.

“We’ll do this to keep them updated and to not allow them to become obsolete or lose the investment placed in them and to continue to be the retailer of w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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“ We will continue to invest in innovation, technology and people” — Elie Harb, Head of IT and PMO, ABC

JANUARY 2019

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choice in the country.”

The future is bright for ABC. The company has already begun to make inroads into ecommerce and omnichannel that will be launched in 2019 and is also in advanced negotiations with some major brands to represent them in the country.

As Harb looks to that future, he can reflect on the digital journey of ABC and the lessons learned along the way. “It has been a challenging and interesting journey. The main take away would be to always challenge the status quo, build on solid ground by choosing the right partners, technologies and peoples and always be on the watch for disruptive technologies or market shifts. Internal communication, openness and team work are also key in any venture.

“From our past experience, we believe that constant evolution by pushing our limits and boundaries, market and trends awareness, employee development and most importantly customer satisfaction are the main pillars to achieve business success.”

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Navigating digital transformation in Saudi Arabia with Fakeeh Healthcare WRIT TEN BY

SE AN GA LE A-PACE PRODUCED BY

CR AIG DANIEL S

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Executive Vice President of Fakeeh and Chairman of Kameda Arabia, Sanjay Shah, discusses how his group is embracing new technology systems amid rapid change across Saudi Arabia

I

n an era of technological change, it has become vital for all companies to innovate

in order to stay ahead of their rivals. In a country driven by transformation, Fakeeh Healthcare has been a pioneer in the healthcare industry in Saudi Arabia. Since it was founded by Dr. Soliman Fakeeh in Jeddah in 1978, Fakeeh has experienced two major expansions in the form of the 1986 inauguration by King Fahd bin Abd al-Aziz, which saw the facility’s inpatient capacity increased, and the addition of two new structures to the Fakeeh JANUARY 2019

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Hospital campus in 1999. Executive Vice President of Fakeeh, Sanjay Shah, believes that its Fakeeh’s willingness to improve its services consistently that has acted as a catalyst for this success.

“Fakeeh’s journey began with the current president’s father, the late Dr. Solomon Fakeeh, and he was really the key reason for the company’s early success,” says Shah. “That tradition has carried over with under his son’s leadership and completely changed the face and the path of Fakeeh. We have increased the visibility, penetraw w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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tion, pioneering to become leading edge. We’re very proud of our legacy and heritage and we want to continue that as much as we can.”

CONFORMING TO THE SAUDI VISION 2030 Shah draws on Fakeeh’s determination to help improve lives as a key reason it has achieved such significant success.

“We are all about transforming lives,” he notes. “Fakeeh is known in the market for its clinical excellence and compassionate care. One of the most important attributes is that it believes in health edu– cation and that remains the real differentiating factor from our competitors.”

As the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia looks to diversify its reliance on oil and seeks to develop public services such as education and health, it remains vital that all companies align themselves to the Saudi Vision 2030. Shah believes that Fakeeh are taking its contribution to it very seriously. “We’re incumbent on developing the 2030 plan and improving the wellbeing of the populations of Saudi. We take the primary care element very seriously and it’s a very important part of the vision for 2030,” says Shah. “Developing private medicine and transferring some of the w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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assets perpetually from public to private

introduced a new hospital information

ownership or operation is a very

system called Yasasii, which was

important element and we want to

formed out of a joint collaboration

participate in that,” he adds. “We

between an Indian and Japanese

really want to be the cornerstone of

software house. The system, which

this vision. We welcome and encour-

utilises all aspects of a healthcare

age it and we look forward to playing

institution, ensures healthcare profes-

a significant part in this exciting

sionals can monitor the functioning and

transformation for the Kingdom.”

management of all departments while also increasing Return On Investment

EMBRACING NEW TECHNOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

(ROI) for the company and saving lives.

In order to keep up with the latest

embrace disruptive technology at an

technology trends, Fakeeh has

increased rate,” explains Shah.

“We are seeing the whole industry

Transforming Care Infant Protection and Staff Duress Contact our MEA office today at stanleyhealthcare-mea@sbdinc.com

©2018 STANLEY Healthcare. DOC-23-00120-AA

MIDDLE EAST

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘FAKEEH SMART HOSPITAL’ 307

“ We’re incumbent on developing the 2030 plan and improving the wellbeing of the Saudi population.

We take the primary care element very seriously and it’s a very important part of the vision for 2030” — Sanjay Shah, Executive Vice President, Fakeeh Care

“Fakeeh’s focus is to make technology a true enabler. It’s about patient care from the outset and returning patients safely back into the community and into their homes. We want our tools to embed the best practices that are beginning to come to market and we want to utilise machine learning and artificial intelligence in order to enable faster access and reach the best outcomes for patients and improving patient safety.”

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F A K E E H H E A LT H C A R E

(a significant milestone for professional development of knowledge in the field), Shah credits Fakeeh’s technology platform as key to his significant achievement. “It’s a very big accolade for our technology platform which I believe is one of the most superb platforms I have come across,” affirms Shah. “It’s helped decision making for all members within the care community, whether that be a physician, pharmacist or nurse, from management information all the way through to complete technician support.

We have a very powerful platform and we 308

want to grow that as much as possible.”

With technology becoming increasingly vital to Fakeeh and its patients, Shah believes that the implementation of the company’s new digital tools has allowed the firm to provide its hospitals with the latest innovations. “We are using the latest technology tools in our smart hospitals to provide the latest technology for a superior hospital experience, similar to a luxury hotel. We have also set up an offshore regional research hub in southern India to enable smarter and automated techniques,” explains Shah. “We have already introduced robotics in some of our operation departments in order to remove low JANUARY 2019

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E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

Sanjay Shah A Board Member & Executive Vice President at Fakeeh since 2015, Shah has overseen the development of the state-of-the-art 260 bedded hospital, rehab and academic medical centre in partnership with University College of London Hospital in Dubai. The projects Shah is currently working on include eight Family Medical Centres in Saudi Arabia and UAE, diabetes and urgent care centres in Jeddah and Dubai, and Surgical Tower.

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“ We are using the latest technology tools in our smart hospitals to provide a superior experience, similar to a luxury hotel” — Sanjay Shah, Executive Vice President, Fakeeh Care

310

end tasks and we will continue to invest in this technology. We see technology giving us a special advantage over our competitors and see this as our core competency.”

Looking to the future, Fakeeh plans to diversify the business by developing JANUARY 2019

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a hospital and medical university in

centers of excellence, such as neurosur-

Dubai Silicon Oasis in a bid to estab-

gery, cardiac, cardio-thoracic, spine

lish the brand in the United Arab Emirates.

surgery, orthopedics, oncology and

Shah believes that new facilities such

ENT. It’s a very unique set up and its

as this are key to the future growth

one of a kind with nothing similar

and development of Fakeeh. “It’s a

currently available in Dubai.”

very important facility,” he says. “We are going to have a helicopter pad in order to cater for trauma patients.

We’re trying to provide to a market which is going to be very distinctive and must deal with trauma cases, 311

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Reinventing the automotive industry

WRIT TEN BY

M ARÍA COBANO-CONDE PRODUCED BY

M ANUEL NAVARRO

JANUARY 2019

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MERCEDES-BENZ BRASIL

Mauricio Mazza, CIO at Mercedes-Benz Brazil, offers the keys to Daimler’s digital transformation through innovation, sustainability and employees

D

aimler AG belongs to that select group of companies that has had the privilege of forging history.

314 The history of the automobile began in 1886 with Daimler’s first motor carriage and Carl Benz’s three-wheeled vehicle.

Since then, Daimler has been synonymous with tradition, quality and innovation.

This stamp is printed in its five divisions: Mercedes-Benz Cars, Daimler Trucks, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Daimler Buses and Daimler Financial Services.

Mauricio Mazza, CIO at Mercedes-Benz Brazil, one of the companies of Daimler AG, explains the great responsibility of the company in Brazil as the leader in innovation in the automotive industry.

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THE BASIS FOR THE FUTURE, IN THE CULTURE SHIFT Daimler founded its Brazilian production plant in 1956, in the city of São Bernardo do Campo (São Paulo). It was one of the first automotive manufacturing companies that decided to start operations in the country, thanks to the opportunities in the truck manufacturing market.

Mazza begins: “The community had a strong participation in making this possible, as we covered the heavy need for transportation through trucks 316

and buses to move people and goods

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“ As a company, Daimler has confidence that our history and our culture are strong assets that we have to use” — Mauricio Mazza, CIO at Mercedes-Benz Brasil

L AT I N A M E R I C A

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘MERCEDES-BENZ MUSEUM: AWAKEN YOUR INNER CHILD’ 317 around. I think the company has very

culture, that allows us to continue

strong ties with Brazil and what makes

growing while being relevant for the

us unique, besides this strong link, is

economy of Brazil,” Mazza analyses

that we have a very broad portfolio of

about the beginnings in Brazil.

products that has, in many ways, adapted to the Brazilian reality.”

“We also have dense penetration

From this strong market position, Daimler is going through a deep cultural change in its strategy and internal

in the different logistics areas in the

culture. That change, of course, is

country: transportation for retail,

based on innovation. “We always had

for agribusiness, for oil and gas, for

a very strong culture of innovation;

chemicals and for several different

I think this is something that in the DNA

types of industries is essential. That

of Daimler, ever since the founding of

has positioned us uniquely in terms

the company. We always had strong

of knowledge of the market, relation-

engineering departments here in Brazil

ships with key players as well as the

particularly; it was something very w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

L AT I N A M E R I C A

important in the company, and we live

big investments that we are deploying

up to those standard.”

to redesign our plant. We believe that

“It’s not innovation per se and alone,

every innovation is important and

but innovation applied to the busi-

that it belongs to everybody. All the

ness that moves into efficiency. We

employees in the company.”

have the recognition mechanics, the and from the whole board on really

INNOVATION IN MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING

developing innovative solutions that

As Mazza states, innovation at all levels

don’t necessarily need to be big and

is the key to Daimler’s transformation

expensive. It does not matter if it is

in Brazil: “We have been making a huge

a small detail on the shop floor or the

investment for the last two years in

support from specific departments

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

319

Mauricio Mazza graduated in Mechatronics Engineering in 1999 from the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo, Brazil.

For over 16 years Mauricio has worked as a consultant, helping clients through the challenges of business and technology innovation, enabling them to become more relevant and valuable.

Whilst always valuing and respecting everyone’s insight — client or colleague, analyst or VP — Mauricio’s down-to-earth yet empowered approach allows him to contribute at both operational and executive levels, building relationships rooted in credibility and trust.

Mauricio developed his skills serving different clients, industries and cultures, with over three years of international experience working in the US and Europe, besides multiple locations within Brazil.

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C OMPA N Y FA C T S

• Daimler divisions are Mercedes-Benz Cars, Daimler Trucks, MercedesBenz Vans, Daimler Buses and Daimler Financial Services • In 2017, the Group sold around 3.3 million vehicles and employed a workforce of more than 289,300 people in the world • The history of the automobile began in 1886 with Daimler’s first motor carriage and Carl Benz’s three-wheeled vehicle • Daimler sells its vehicles and services in nearly all the countries of the world and has production facilities in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Africa • In 2017, Daimler generated €164,330mn in revenue

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redesigning and rebuilding our own factory. We are trying to rebuild our production lines and our logistics infrastructure around the new digitalisation and automation capabilities that are there in the market, or that we are pioneering or inventing.”

“In general, we are driving around 15% to 20% efficiency with the new layouts of the logistics and production. Previously, we had two assembly lines, but we amalgamated them into one single line that is more efficient 322

than the other two combined with more flexibility” – explains Mazza – “We are applying the same concepts of flexibility and digitalisation to the assembly lines for chassis, engines, trucks, gearboxes and cabins.”

Besides that, for even further enhancements in its digitalization strategy,

is not only on the company and the

Daimler Brazil is partnering with tech-

employees, but also for the client, as

nology giants such as Microsoft, IBM,

we have a parallel improvement in

T-Systems and additional partners such

terms of quality, failure prevention,

as start-ups and niche players such as

vehicle testing and a series of activi-

Semantix as well as hardware/automa-

ties to create better, more technologi-

tion solution partners like Durr.

cally advanced and safer products.

Subsequently, the positive effect

Our customers are the first ones to

of this transformation is spreading

benefit and we believe that by the

across all stakeholders. “The effect

time Brazil recovers as an economy,

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323

our production figures will probably increase significantly, because we are in a better position to fulfil our customers’ requirements, more efficiently.”

PEOPLE, PLANET AND PROFIT Sustainability, as a driving force for change, is also a priority for Daimler in Brazil and part of its culture shift. As Mazza explains: “People, Planet and w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

L AT I N A M E R I C A

“ We have a very strong culture of innovation, ever since the founding of the company” — Mauricio Mazza, CIO at Mercedes-Benz Brasil

ronmental regulations, but also going further and trying to offer something really relevant for society and the local community around us.”

This approach is ingrained in the sales strategy of the company, as Mazza explains: “It needs to make economic sense – we believe that we have to not only focus on being green, on being environmentally correct, and empowering our people. We need to do that in the direction of maintaining the company’s profitability while ensuring that the initiatives are profitable for sale on this journey.”

Profit, the three Ps, is a framework out in the market. You have to make

PARTNERSHIP IN A CUSTOMERCENTRIC ERA

a combination of these three dimen-

As Daimler Company in Brazil we are

sions to be successful in terms of

laying a very clear vision for the future,

sustainability.”

challenges lay ahead. This includes the

that has been more and more used

“In São Bernardo we have our huge

manufacturing of e-vehicles, and car-

manufacturing plant, and also a hos-

rying on with building trust in the brand.

pital sponsored by the company and

“Electrical is definitely a very strong

a firefighter station that not only serve

component of the strategy. Daimler

the company but also the local com-

launched the fully electric vehicle called

munity around the plant. We are, in

EQC in Stockholm on September, 4th

both ways, from a people and a planet

– our first 100% electrical vehicle.”

perspective, very concerned and active not only to withstand local envi-

“The electrification of the powertrain is not our only priority, but we also w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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MERCEDES-BENZ BRASIL

“ I think every company in the automative industry is facing one very big challenge: reinventing themselves” — Mauricio Mazza, CIO at Mercedes-Benz Brasil

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JANUARY 2019

have to understand how we can make the usage of our products more efficient both economically for our customers and the environment. We want to make sure our vehicles are shared and that they have a better occupation of the capacity of the equipment and the assets. This is definitely a significant

L AT I N A M E R I C A

part of our strategy that is not only

one in the market will be able to offer

a long-term dream but a dream that is

solutions by himself to all kinds of prob-

turning into reality as we speak.�

lems that our customers could have.

For Mazza, liaising with Daimler’s

It involves collaboration, partnership

customers in Brazil is an integral part

and a combination of strengths and

of facing the future: “I think the key

openly talking about your weaknesses

message is to be open to listen, and be

and where you can improve. All this

humble enough to understand that no

technology and the wider trends need

327

w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

Welcome to the

Visioneering

Group

Digital solutions are only as good as the minds behind them. Dürr combines creativity with experience and focuses on developments in the usability of your system. More efficiency, more flexibility, more sustainability – that’s the direction of tomorrow! www.durr.com

to be used to become really customercentric to solve your customer’s problems or requirements and fulfil their expectations, comprehensively.”

“I think every company in the automotive industry is facing one very big challenge: reinventing themselves.

That is, trying to understand how the future will look; what the future is holding for us in the next 20, 30 years.

What will the role of mobility be in a new fully digital society, and how can digital change impact our business? I think one important challenge

JANUARY 2019

1956

Year Mercedes-Benz do Brasil founded

+ 10,000 Approximate number of Mercedes-Benz do Brasil employees

L AT I N A M E R I C A

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘MERCEDES-BENZ | PEÇA PARA UMA ESTRELA’ 329 is to understand the digital mechanics of the industry.”

“As a company, Daimler has confidence that our history and our culture are strong assets that we have to use.

We are also very aware that the past success is no guarantee of a future success, so we have to be very smart, to be very alert and to be very sensitive to the changes that are going on in the market,” concludes Mazza.

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M A N U FA C T U R I N G

WORKING TO SOLVE WHAT MATTERS WRIT TEN BY

M ARÍA COBANO-CONDE

PRODUCED BY

M ANUEL NAVARRO

331

SIEMENS

HOMERO JAVALERA, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, EXPLAINS THE TRANSFORMATION THE MONTERREY PLANT UNDERWENT WITH THE LATEST TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS

S

iemens enjoys a privileged position as one of today’s leaders in the industries of technology, health-

care, and solutions for the processes of electrification and digitalisation.

332

Siemens may be defined as an actor that understands what truly matters in today’s society: the extreme urbanisation of the planet, globalisation, digitalisation, climate change, and the ageing of the population are some of the hot topics for which Siemens creates solutions that leverage change. All this is focused on the creation of a catalogue and implemented in three cornerstones: automation, electrification, and digitalisation.

Its production plant in Monterrey (Mexico) is going through a digitalisation renewal process that is making its manufacturing processes more agile and efficient – it’s truly a factory from the future.

Homero Javalera, director of Operations in Siemens Mexico, has been at the forefront of JANUARY 2019

Homero Javalera, Director of Operations for Siemens Mexico

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SIEMENS

“SIEMENS HAS AN IIOT (INDUSTRIAL INTERNET OF THINGS) OPERATIVE SYSTEM CALLED MINDSPHERE, AND OUR 3.0 VERSION IS IN THE SERVERS OF AMAZON WEB SERVICES” — Homero Javalera, Director of Operations for Siemens Mexico

334

JANUARY 2019

the plant’s operations for four years, a labour that has earned him awards as renowned as the Global Siemens AG Award 2016 (Werner von Siemens Award) for the best global performance, the biggest recognition awarded by Siemens in the entire corporation.

THE COMBINATION OF TWO BUSINESS AREAS The most relevant development that Javalera may have had in his adminis-

L AT I N A M E R I C A

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘SIEMENS — MANIFIESTO INTERNACIONAL’ 335 tration to date has been the fusing together of two production plants into

$220mn and over 20mn units per year.”

Javalera delves into the plant creation

today’s Monterrey plant, where work is

process: “What we did was bring two

done in three different areas. “I took

factories together into one – we had

care of the transfer of two business

a single type of product here, and then,

areas and the coordination of the

we brought over two more from two

whole team, a task that consisted of

different factories. Now, we have three

building warehouses, hiring 1,000

types of products in Monterrey:

people, implementing ERP (Enterprise

residential circuit breakers, industrial

Resource Planning), redirecting the

circuit breakers, and safety switches,”

entire supply chain and all the suppli-

Javalera analyzes. “This isn’t just

ers, contacting internal clients and

a manufacturing facility; it’s an Investi-

investors, buying new equipment, etc.

gation and Development center as we

We have 1,500 employees in the

design and launch new products here

factory, and we sell approximately

as well. We have a group of researchers w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

We make ideas happen.

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SIEMENS

conducting advanced materials investigations using nanotechnology, and another group doing Investigation and Development with the supply chain group from Global Procurement in the areas of automation and digitalisation here in this organisation as well.”

“This is truly a company doing complex things, a company facing today’s most complex challenges. It generates technology to address issues such as climate change, energy distribution, clean energy generation... our portfolio 338

is vast in that sense. We also address the issue of the planet’s extreme urbanisation, and to do so, Siemens’s catalogue serves, for example, mobility, trains, smart buildings, and energy consumption control in urban concentrations. We have the opportunity to contribute that to our clients. Digitalisation is a global trend and a priority for Siemens. Through our portfolio, we provide solutions for our clients, and we’re also developing our internal systems. For example, we’ve grown very much in comparison to previous years with clients such as Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft given the investments they’ve made in infrastrucJANUARY 2019

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“SIEMENS IS MIGRATING TOWARDS BECOMING A COMPANY THAT IS THOROUGHLY ABOUT DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY” — Homero Javalera, Director of Operations for Siemens Mexico

ture such as data centers.

The world is going electric, and Siemens has this whole catalogue.”

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FROM THE INSIDE Siemens Mexico doesn’t create innovation for its clients only, but it also applies it to its production processes.

The radical changes in the plant’s production lines were a result of introducing the most relevant trends in digitalisation to maximise resources. Javalera explains

how this change developed. “The change has been exponential in the last years, not so much before then.

Ten years ago, we made very slow changes as needs would arise and according to the available technology.

Now, we have a deeper understanding of digitalisation and automation; technology is more readily available, and new generations are entering the labour market with different skills in digitalisation.”

“Change in the past three or four w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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Proud Partner of Siemens Monterrey MX Digital Transformation

Smart Man Manufacturing www.InnovarSystems.com www.Innovar

L AT I N A M E R I C A

The Siemens Mexico management team

341

years has been exponential indeed

transition and application of digital

since, 10-15 years ago, we hadn’t done

technologies: “Digital Factory is our

what we’ve been doing lately. For

division leading us through the

example, mobile technology already

digitalisation process – they have the

existed then, but today, new communi-

entire portfolio, and it’s quite vertical.

cation protocols in mobile technology

It includes the physical elements

allow for the exchange of data in

necessary to connect the machines

massive amounts and at unbelievable

and generate data as well as the

speeds. This way, data from thousands

elements for interconnectivity and

of connections in your production lines

industrial networking purposes. Our

may be connected in real time and be

Siemens PLM division has an entire

used in a very valuable way.”

software portfolio for the different

Siemens Mexico has its own team of experts in charge of leading the

stages in our digitalisation, and it also has the design software Siemens NX w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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COMPAN Y FAC TS

• Siemens Mexico employs 1,500 collaborators in its Monterrey plant • On average, Siemens Mexico generates $220M in revenue, and it sells 30M units per year

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1847

Year founded

372,000 Number of Siemens employees globally

$95bn+ Revenue in fiscal year 2017

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Siemens building in Monterrey, Mexico

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to create digital twins of industrial processes and/or products such as cars, airplanes, circuit breakers, etc.”

By executing a circular strategy, Siemens uses these same digital processes to leverage the efficiency of the products it offers to market.

“For example, you can monitor the efficiency of our electricity generation turbines in real time. You can monitor the efficiency of the electric distribution and make decisions on the spot.

Also in real time and through customised solutions tailored to your needs, you can monitor and distribute energy in a smart way in cities and buildings.

Even at the production line level, through Siemens’s portfolio of software and hardware, you can know which engine is consuming more energy, or you can know what the peak times of energy consumption are in a smart building to implement energysaving projects,” he concludes.

INNOVATION APPLIED TO MANUFACTURE PROCESSES In Siemens’s Mexico particular case, the application of digital innovations is accomplishing a very high level of w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘SIEMENS MÉXICO— DIGITALIZATION’ 344 satisfaction with processes, produc-

of dollars by preventing potential

tion, and manufacturing. Javalera

failures from errors in the design of

offers exclusive information on this

the productions lines. Moreover, once

newly obtained acceleration: “We can

it’s running, you can make sure its

save on months of prototype develop-

efficiency is as close as possible to the

ment, long hours of engineering, and

efficiency you expect from production,

lots of money in materials and tools

emphasising automatic management

by simply creating digital twins for the

of the client’s demands, where we have

products before launching them.”

much less human intervention.”

“Before ordering new machinery

In matters of production execution,

and investing hundreds of thousands

we monitor the performance of the

of dollars in equipment, simulations

lines in real time, and we receive

are designed by computer right at the

an immediate response whenever

production line to determine what is

a problem arises. Regarding quality

really needed. This saves up thousands

and product safety, in very critical

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“ O UR DIGITAL FACTORY IS LEADING OUR DIGITALISATION” — Homero Javalera, Director of Operations for Siemens Mexico

345

processes, we accomplished having

need to do a maintenance intervention

deep and detailed traceability at an

so the machine won’t fail. In the future,

individual level for each of the 30 million

we’re moving up to a prescriptive level

units we make every year. We have

in such a way that the system itself will

a “birth certificate” for every one of

give instructions, carry out maintenance

them, a matrix code that is unique for

activities automatically, and even

every product. All of that is available in

create purchasing orders [for parts]

the cloud, and we can make inquiries,

promptly. Whenever the replacement

analyse, improve, monitor, etc. through

part is ready in the warehouse, it will

applications.”

create and send a maintenance work

“For machine maintenance, we’re

order to be executed.”

installing additional sensors, connectivity modules, HMIs, and PLCs. We are

SOLID ALLIANCES WITH COLLABORATORS

getting them connected so they can let

Siemens Mexico is proud to offer its

us know in a predictive way when we

avant-garde innovation to clients as w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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“GENERATING TECHNOLOGY TO TAKE CARE OF ISSUES SUCH AS CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY DISTRIBUTION, CLEAN ENERGY GENERATION...

OUR PORTFOLIO IS EXTENSIVE IN THAT SENSE” — Homero Javalera, Director of Operations for Siemens Mexico

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renowned as Microsoft, Facebook, BMW, General Motors, and Ford, and this is thanks to its collaboration with top companies as well as with partners and suppliers. This has been evidenced by the recent association of Siemens with Amazon Web Services, the digital giant: “Siemens has an IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) operative system called MindSphere, and our 3.0 version is in the servers of Amazon Web Services. These servers have a superior processing capability when 348

compared to what we have internally and to what we’ve seen from other potential partners.”

“Amazon’s processing capability is brutal; it’s very fast, and it can process a huge amount of data simultaneously.

Our operative system is installed there.

We already started by implementing the first application, and we plan on connecting over 550 pieces of equipment. Every piece of equipment will have at least 10 connection points; that is, over 5,500 connection points that will generate millions of data.”

The company also enjoys an excellent collaborative relationship with its suppliers, such as ARRK, for example.

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A specialist in product development, it has been a global supplier of prototypes and production tools for Siemens since 1997, working jointly in many different divisions including Siemens Medical. This year, it has been in charge of the largest version of a toolkit for a single provider.

In great measure, said collaborations drive digitalisation in Latin American, enriching and leveraging transformation. Javalera analyses the digital disruption situation in the region: “Here, we see it at our operation’s level.

Job positions are truly changing. The demand for process engineers is decreasing, and so is the demand for data entry clerks, inspectors, etc.

However, there is a higher demand for programmers, applications developers, and people who know about automation, PLCs, industrial networks, and big data analysis.”

“That is a challenge; there will be a huge demand, and there won’t be enough people to fulfill it. We’re going to need to hurry up, both the industry and universities, in order to develop the necessary skills. Another important challenge is implementing a big part of w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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the innovation in digitalisation. The industry needs to be more willing to invest and experiment without the burden of traditional accounting. The value is clear, and it does exist, but on occasion, it will be difficult to calculate an immediate return of investment.”

Siemens Mexico has defined its strategy to continue transforming itself in the future: “Siemens is migrating towards becoming a company that is thoroughly about digital technology.

Regarding software and digital 350

services, we grew 20% last year, with a revenue of over $5.78 billion – Siemens is already the eight largest software company in the world in terms of size.

We’ve acquired over $11.55 billion in software in the last 10 years. We’ve also

Homero Javalera and Miguel Guerrero

increased our investment in investigation and development significantly in the last few years. Almost $7 billion will

“In California, we have the Next

go to Investigation and Development

47 division, which works as a kind of

every year. This includes both the

catalyst for startups. For the next five

digital and automation areas as well

years, Siemens sets aside $1.16 billion

as the areas of additive manufacturing,

for Next 47, and it’s mainly working

autonomous robots, blockchain

with 3D printing, IoT, robotics and

applications, Artificial Intelligence,

drones, artificial intelli-

advanced materials, and energy

gence, augmented reality,

storage among others.

and virtual reality.”

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Collecting the Global Siemens AG Award 2016 (Werner von Siemens Award) for best global performance, the highest recognition granted by Siemens

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“We are not only helping with capital, but Siemens connects these startups with either our partners or with Siemens itself to see how to implement their proposals in the industry. We also get them closer to both the industry and potential clients,� concludes Javalera.

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