05 MAY 2021
A NEW WAY OF TALKING BUSINESS
BUSINESS AND RESEARCH Like a desire for an art rush /P.15
GOOD NEWS Education: where does digital technology sit? /P.16
A BETTER SOCIETY NICE TO MEET YOU Boris Paillard, CEO and co-founder The Wagon /P.18
SCREEN OVERDOSE? P.04
EMPOWERING CHANGEMAKERS FOR A BETTER SOCIETY
LOOK
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE... THANKS GO TO:
A BETTER SOCIETY
Smile, you’re connected!
/P.08
• Grégory Bounatian • Pierre de Bernouis • Bernard Coulaty • Violaine Debarge • Luc Julia • Yasser Khazaal • Bernadett Koles • Thomas Leclercq • Aurélie Leclercq-Vandelannoitte • Florian Marcus • Boris Paillard • Laure Quedillac • Frédéric Saint-Etienne
BUSINESS AND RESEARCH
Logistics in the digital age
NUMBER 05
A new way of talking business IÉSEG 3 rue de la Digue - 59000 Lille 1 parvis de La Défense - 92044 Paris www.ieseg.fr May 2021 Publishing Director and editor-in-chief: Jean-Philippe Ammeux Editorial Team: Alexandra Briot, Antoine Decouvelaere, Anne-Marie Deprimoz, Laetitia Dugrain-Noël, Manon Duhem, Andrew Miller, Victoire Salmon Design & production: Caillé associés Editing: Caillé associés Photography: IÉSEG, CHUV/Laurianne Aeby, Copyright MJNJ 2020, DHL, Le Wagon, Rene Riisalu, Istockphoto2021
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BUSINESS AND RESEARCH
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Faster faster: is it really reasonable?
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GOOD NEWS
Reality, but better
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BETWEEN US
“Technology is almost eveywhere, ubiquitous, miniaturized and deported into small connected devices that are constantly with us.”
CONNECTED YES, HOWEVER... We almost tend to forget it, but computers have been part of our lives for a long time, so much so that we can already distinguish three major stages in their development. The large mainframe computers of the early days, used by several people, were followed by the revolution of individual PC’s. We are now living in a third phase, that of ubiquitous computing. Driven by engineering advances, new technologies are everywhere, ubiquitous, miniaturized and deported into dozens of small connected devices that are constantly with us - our indispensable smartphone is just one example. Forced to telecommute and social distancing, the current health crisis has further reinforced this feeling of dependence - some would say addiction. But beware of the magnifying glass effect: by reinforcing the place of digital technology in our daily lives, the pandemic has only highlighted an undeniable, but contrasting reality. Undeniable because digital technology is everywhere and provides us with incomparable services whenever and wherever. Contrasted because hyperconnection remains a largely urban phenomenon, but not everyone is impacted. Integrated and obvious for some - just take a look at our students’ habits – it’s only an empty word for others. Not everyone receives delivery in the evening from their morning online order. Not everyone has the latest fashionable gadget, ever more connected, precise and powerful. Not everyone works equally from home or elsewhere thanks to the latest applications. One’s age, location, and financial means are all limits to a hyperconnection that remains above all a phenomenon specific to large cities and mostly the upper classes.
Laure QUÉDILLAC
IÉSEG Corporate Relations Director.
A phenomenon that has its limits and its dangers too. The articles in this magazine do not ignore it, by asking the question of how the digital has invaded our lives, sometimes to the point of abuse. Hyperconnectedness is a response to an overload and the sudden desire to take the bull by the horns to regain a free will that we feel more or less confusedly undermined by the all-digital world. It’s a question of balance: connected all right, but for what?
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SCREEN OVERDOSE?
Between lockdown and remote work, the pandemic has only reinforced an already well-established phenomenon of (almost) permanent connection to our screens. From Facebook to Twitter or LinkedIn, our personal and professional lives are saturated with notifications, sometimes to the point of exceeding the alert level. What form can hyper connection take? When should we be concerned? Professor Yasser Khazaal, a specialist in addiction psychiatry and psychotherapy at the CHUV’s addiction medicine department*, provides an update. THE MEDIA REGULARLY REPORTS ON A NEW FORM OF DIGITAL ADDICTION. CAN WE GO SO FAR AS TO SPEAK OF AN ADDICTION?
Our society is characterized by a widely shared use of digital services that can take very different forms, from digital books to video games, social networks or dating websites. There is no particular problem as long as their use remains at the service of our needs, but certain excessive practices can be problematic, even to the point of taking an addictive form.
AS SOON AS WE TALK ABOUT CYBERADDICTION, VIDEO GAMES ARE OFTEN MENTIONED. WHAT OTHER ADDICTIONS DO YOU OBSERVE IN YOUR PATIENTS?
AN ADULT CONSULTS HIS OR HER SMARTPHONE AN AVERAGE OF 221 TIMES A DAY.
WHAT ARE THE SPECIFICITIES?
It is not linked to the use of any particular substance. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) of the WHO describes it as a loss of control. Patients give priority to one digital activity, which takes precedence over other needs, despite the harmful effects. If the situation persists for more than a year and is associated with other behavioral alterations, it can be called an addiction. Since it is not associated with the consumption of a given product with known effects, as is the case with alcohol, cocaine, heroin, etc., it is more difficult to assess the symptoms and to measure withdrawal. Another difference is the secondary risks associated with these different addictions. Beyond the increased risk of developing cancer or cardiovascular diseases, a person addic-
*University Hospital of Vaud
ted to alcohol has a greater risk of being involved in a car accident. In the case of an addiction to online gambling, a compulsive gambler is confronted with a whole series of potential consequences: over-indebtedness, difficulties at school or at work, relationship problems... It is often these associated effects that lead to an awareness on the part of the users or their entourage.
Some online services are more conducive to excessive use than others. Video games are one of the four main areas identified, along with online gambling, pornography and social networking. This does not mean, of course, that all use of these activities leads to an addiction. However, some people may, at a certain time and in a certain context, be more exposed to the risk
4
HOURS
IN 2019, 8-YEAR-OLDS SPENT AN AVERAGE OF 4 HOURS AND 11 MINUTES A DAY IN FRONT OF SCREENS, A FIGURE THAT RISES TO 7 HOURS AND 30 MINUTES FOR TEENS AND YOUNG ADULTS. BEFORE THE LOCKDOWN... (AXA PREVENTION)
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of excessive use. Social and cultural differences also play a role: addiction to pornography, video games or sports betting affects men a little more than women, while women seem to be more exposed to social networks. However, the boundaries are changing according to social evolutions, with the appearance of new tools, marketing campaigns... Today, it is almost impossible to watch a game or a competition without seeing several ads for sports betting sites, whereas until recently, it was alcohol or tobacco that was promoted.
companies are developing applications designed to encourage users to put down their phone beyond a given time, for example by installing configurable trackers, blocking certain applications on specific time slots... The goal is indeed to help consumers measure the risks to which they expose themselves and to help them preserve a fair balance between their different priorities.
EVERY 10 MINUTES ACCORDING TO A SURVEY BY THE OBSERVATOIRE DE LA PRÉVENTION DES RISQUES DU QUOTIDIEN, 34 % OF PEOPLE WHO RESPONDED ADMITTED THAT THEY COULDN’T STOP CHECKING THEIR PHONE EVERY 10 MINUTES.
DO THE COMPANIES THAT DEVELOP THESE SITES BEAR A FORM OF RESPONSIBILITY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THESE EXCESSIVE PRACTICES?
The situation is very heterogeneous on this point, especially since the different forms of regulation and prevention that are gradually being put in place differ from one country to another and from one field of activity to another. The case of poker sites is a good example: until a few years ago, none of the provisions intended to limit abuse in real gaming circles had any real equivalent on the Internet. Today, a form of supervision has gradually been put in place: prevention messages, time and amount limits... Some sites have taken the initiative by setting up their own control tools, other
95 %
IN FRANCE, 95 % OF THE POPULATION UNDER THE AGE OF 20 HAVE A SMARTPHONE.
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Yasser KHAZAAL
Specialist in addiction psychiatry and psychotherapy at the CHUV*’s addiction medecine department and at Lausanne University.
MOLIÈRE ALREADY KNEW The Web is full of acronyms of all kinds, and has of course found an acronym to designate the almost compulsive tendency of some people to constantly consult their smartphone or screen. Created by marketing expert Dan Herman at the beginning of the social networking era, the acronym FOMO (“fear of missing out”) refers to the fear of missing an important news (or not). Largely fueled by social networks and the media with alerts and push notifications, is the phenomenon so new? Not really. Molière, in Les Précieuses Ridicules, was already making fun of this panic fear of missing the latest news that everyone is talking about...
ESTONIA, A 4.0 COUNTRY As soon as it regained its independence from the USSR, Estonia gambled on a large-scale digital transformation, which was all the more spectacular given that the country was starting from scratch. 30 years later, its model is still appealing. What if the Estonians had reinvented the very notion of state? support by building a digital ecosystem that is certainly reliable but above all user-friendly, designed to save citizens time. A user-friendly approach that has won over the public: in just a few years, digital technology has become a matter of course in a country that has been helped by a “doer” mentality, inherited from the Soviet era when doing things with little means was the rule.
NO MORE PAPERWORK
Florian MARCUS
Expert in digitalization for the e-Estonia Briefing Center.
August 20, 1991: two years after the fall of the Wall, Estonia separated from the Soviet Union and regained its independence. The challenges are considerable, explains Florian Marcus, an expert in digitalization for the e-Estonia Briefing Center, the structure in charge of bringing the Estonian experience to the international level: “Estonia is larger than Belgium but has few natural resources and a very low population density. In 1991, the government did not have the means to set up an efficient territorial network of public services. The only way to do that was to create online services, accessible at all times wherever you live.” The country then decided to rethink the very role of the state from top to bottom, conceiving it as a platform of services thought for its citizens - a long way as the country was starting from scratch. “In the early 1990s, most people didn’t have computers or Internet connections, and online services were virtually unknown to the population,” observes Florian Marcus. Hence the authorities’ gamble: provoke
The result: apart from getting married (or divorced...), a citizen can do almost everything online in Estonia today via X-Road, the state platform launched in 2000. Civil status, filing taxes, healthcare and insurance, transport, banking, education, online voting, mobile parking payment... More than 2,000 e-services in all and over 900 integrated organizations that share databases encrypted by the state blockchain, thanks to APIs* that allow administrations to communicate with each other in a completely dematerialized way, without ever having to ask its citizens for the same information twice. “If
I move, all I have to do is inform the population registry of my change of address and all other relevant administrations will then have the updated information.” Icing on the cake: the fluidity that e-government allows has enabled the country to significantly reduce the amount of its public spending: about 2% of GDP. But the advantages of the system are not only measured in this respect, Florian Marcus insists. “If we take the pandemic as an example, it is difficult to measure the benefits of not having to travel to vote, but the gain is obvious. Similarly, it’s not easy to measure in detail what everyone gains in terms of stress reduction, but the time we no longer spend filling out forms is time we can devote to our family, to our leisure activities... In terms of quality of life, it’s not neutral.” Digital technology at the service of “real” life? An idea to be further explored...
ESTONIA IN FIGURES Capital : Tallinn Surface area : 45 000 km2 Population : 1,3 million d’habitants 98 % of Estonians are e-citizens 99 % of administrative procedures can be done online
*Application Programming Interface
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SMILE,
YOU’RE CONNECTED! Although the arrival of networks and information technologies in the professional world is not new, the generalization of remote work has seriously reinforced their use by employees who are increasingly connected - sometimes too much. How can you manage your teams through their screens? How do you find the right balance between trust and control? What tools do companies have at their disposal? Aurélie Leclercq-Vandelannoitte, PhD in management sciences, researcher at the CNRS and professor at IÉSEG, provides some answers. By considerably accelerating the use of telework, the pandemic has only reinforced a strong trend. Remote networks, messaging, chat, mobile applications, broadband, virtual offices, tablets and laptops, 5G... by freeing managers and employees from the constraints of time and place, NICTs have profoundly changed professional practices. There is a kind of historical inversion,” explains Aurélie Leclercq-Vandelannoitte. After decades of bringing teams together in a centralized and collective location to ensure controlled production, technology makes it possible to bring work to employees wherever they are.” Not without risk: “The danger is to privilege only reactivity to the detriment of reflection,” says the researcher, mentioning some of the possible drifts. “Some employees will become over-involved, others will become demotivated, believing that the
reality of their work is made invisible by technology. The absence of direct human contact can go hand in hand with a loss of meaning, with workers sometimes feeling reduced to mere operators behind their screens. They are hyperconnected, yes, but to whom, to what and until when?” (see article on next page).
DISTANCE VS. TRUST
On the other side: for managers, it is not always easy to follow the work done by their teams - hence the temptation to measure employee productivity more closely. Constant pressure, incessant reporting, information overload, always being short on time... As an ambiguous tool, technology serves the professional world as much as it threatens its balance. Finding the right balance between trust, control and monitoring has never been easy, but the widespread use of telewor-
70 % OF PROFESSIONAL E-MAILS ARE OPENED WITHIN SIX SECONDS OF RECEIPT.
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EVERY YEAR, THE CNIL RECEIVES 1,000 COMPLAINTS FROM EMPLOYEES WHO BELIEVE THEY ARE VICTIMS OF AN ILLICIT FORM OF MONITORING. THE FIGURE DID NOT INCREASE IN 2020.
Aurélie LECLERCQ-VANDELANNOITTE Professor in management sciences at IÉSEG.
king and rapid digitization complicates the equation even more, especially since the technical tools exist to measure every minute of activity. Even to the point of being spied on? It’s a strong word, but it reflects a feeling that can be felt even in companies that could hardly be accused of being reticent about new technologies. Last December, Microsoft had to back down and give up its “productivity score”, an index deployed to its own employees to give each one a score out of 800. Based on a series of data collected from Microsoft 365, it allowed for a follow-up that was considered opaque and invasive by the employees of the Redmond firm, who finally made their management step back. From now on, managers no longer have access to the statistics of a specific person and must be satisfied with data processed at the their entire team level.
IS BIG BROTHER MANAGING YOU?
Not surprisingly, the market is adapting. Faced with managers seduced by the promise of an ever more accurate evaluation of productivity, manufacturers are multiplying tracking software and parameterization possibilities. Time Doctor, Hubstaff, Teramind, DeskTime... The number of players is increasing, competing in ingenuity with ever more advanced features, such as keylogging, which constantly records every keystroke on the keyboard - and even every
*Local transport union
mouse movement... Other tools take random screen shots or activate webcams remotely, when they don’t run semantic analysis on email content or track movements by sucking up GPS data from smartphones... Behind it all, a promise: Ensure that everyone is fully dedicated to their tasks and goals. But behind the bells of technology, practical and ethical questions are numerous. Beyond the frightening aspect of a world where monitoring would be constant, these tools have flaws and are like any other subject to bugs. How can we interpret a screenshot that shows a page from a news site, when it can be consulted for perfectly legitimate reasons? Unlike other countries, “France has a relatively strict legal framework,” says Aurélie Leclercq-Vandelannoitte. For example, such tools cannot be installed without the knowledge of employees, the CSE ( Social and Economic Committee in French companies) must be consulted, their use must respect the principle of proportionality and the fundamental freedoms of employees, particularly in terms of respecting their private life, must be honored.” For all that, regulating practices cannot do everything in a country where the manager-controller culture is very strong. While the pandemic has shown that productivity does not fall with telework, it is on the issue of trust that
“While the pandemic has shown that productivity does not fall with telework, it is on the issue of trust that we need to move forward, probably in both directions.” we need to move forward - probably in both directions. If managers need to be able to assess the quality of work done by employees, any kind of monitoring system creates mistrust, with all that it entails in terms of demotivation and turnover. What if the focus on results took precedence over control?
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CONNECTED YES, BUT ENGAGED? The good news is that new technologies have helped companies limit the impact of the crisis by facilitating remote work. But a form of digital fatigue is sometimes expressed, raising the threat of a new form of disengagement. Bernard Coulaty, a human resources expert and professor at IÉSEG, believes that this is an opportunity to find other ways of balancing and reinventing an engaging management style. CAN WE REALLY MOTIVATE OUR EMPLOYEES BEHIND THEIR SCREENS?
Bernard COULATY
Human resources expert and professor at IÉSEG.
Crisis or not, good managers tend to remain so, as long as the necessary qualities remain more or less the same, distance or not. If there was already a problem with team leadership, teleworking can be a revealing or accelerating factor that goes beyond the issue of commitment. The questions that have arisen with the pandemic have been around for a long time. It is particularly sensitive among the younger generations, but many of us already wanted to be able to work from home one or two days a week. Some of what has now been put in place for over a year was already in the air, and I regret the tendency of some companies to want to bring their teams back to the office full time at all costs. In my opinion, they are missing an opportunity to seize the crisis in order to anticipate an inevitable evolution by trying to find a better balance between different modalities.
Engagement 4.0, Éditions Management & Société, 2018.
WHAT MIGHT THEY LOOK LIKE?
LOSS OF MEANING, DISTANCE... HAS THE PANDEMIC UNDERMINED EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT?
One of the essential keys to ensure commitment is the emotional connection between members of the same organization. The pandemic and its required social distancing have certainly changed this, but the consequences should not be exaggerated either: the sense of belonging, motivation and investment of each individual is not exclusively based on working in the office rather than at home. Employees who were very committed before the pandemic remained so, and those who already saw no real meaning in their work did not wait until they were isolated to question their role or their future.
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There is no one-size-fits-all solution, precisely because the days of a single rule that applies to everyone in the same way no longer work. It has become urgent to entrust managers with the task of deciding how they can organize themselves by adapting to the constraints of their particular sector, to changes in the business, to the personalities of each employee within their team. Some can be engaged and productive from home, others need a physical link with their company... It’s a fine-tuning but this pandemic can at least serve as a trigger by inviting companies to rethink their organization in order to foster the emergence of a new “nomadic” management.
“Crisis or not, good managers tend to remain so, as long, as the necessary qualities remain more or less the same, distance or not.”
HOMO CONNECTUS From weight to blood pressure or heart rate measurement, permanent self-assessment is becoming widespread, driven by the trend for connected objects. Is this a fad or a profound change? Sleep quality, kilometers traveled, calories burned... At a time when any smartphone counts your steps, the market for connected sensors is exploding, helped by the limitless imagination of entrepreneurs, from fitness bracelets to watches, not to mention the Kolibree toothbrush, which evaluates the quality of brushing, or... baby diapers (Pixie Scientific products alert parents when it’s time to change their child).
A BASIC TREND
Is this new? Not really, explains Frédéric SaintEtienne, communications manager for the Garmin group, a specialist in GPS navigation systems and sports watches: “For there to be a market, there has to be a need. Our products or those of our competitors have come to meet a demand initially driven by professionals, athletes or good level athletic novice.” The rest is a classic pattern of objects that were once reserved for a few and now quickly becoming popular. Yesterday only used by marathon runners, mountain climbers or extreme sportsmen, the American manufacturer’s watches have been adopted by a much wider public - a phenomenon further accentuated by the pandemic, as shown by a turnover up 11% in one year. “The evolution is structural, but the effects of the health crisis have had a clear impact on an underlying trend. Deprived of their gyms, consumers have taken up fitness, running, cycling...” With a considerable advantage: everyone can evaluate themselves without outside help. No more coach holding the stopwatch while his pupil runs laps around the track: our watches or bracelets recognize by themselves the activity practiced, measure the difference in altitude covered if in the mountains, sending us back a summary of the route covered, line up recommendations and suggestions, alerting those who are close to the red zone by pushing their effort too far...
NEW USES
Initially designed for sports, connected objects have long since gone beyond this framework, observes Frédéric Saint-Etienne. “Performance measurements have added other functions such as sending SMS and emails, music, calendar, notifications ... Other uses are more associated with well-being and health, such as evaluating the quality of sleep, oxygen saturation of blood or measuring stress.” All of this contributes to giving watches a new life: often replaced by our smartphones, they become, with these new advances in design, the ideal complement. Is it risking pushing the measurement obsession and the taste for performance a little too far? No, according to Frédéric Saint-Etienne: “it brings encouragement or stimulation, but intensive practice remains exceptional. Everyone has their own Everest: following one’s activity is simply a matter of objectively measuring the set goals, without necessarily looking for a huge accomplishment.” Walking 10,000 steps a day is already very good...
Frédéric SAINT-ÉTIENNE Communications manager for the Garmin group.
700
THAT’S HOW MANY SENSORS CHRIS DANCY, A 50-YEAR-OLD AMERICAN WHO CALLS HIMSELF THE MOST CONNECTED MAN IN THE WORLD, IS PERMANENTLY EQUIPPED WITH.
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LOGISTICS IN THE DIGITAL AGE The explosion of e-commerce, compounded by the health crisis, has highlighted the importance of logistics in our daily lives. Beyond the famous last mile, the entire logistics and transport sector is being digitized at a rapid pace. The aim is to improve operational performance and meet the new expectations of its customers. Flow management, safety, IoT* devices, robotics, warehouse location management, peak activity forecasting, delivery optimization, customer/prospect, supplier and partner relations... Like all sectors, the logistics and transport sector is not escaping digitization, which was not so obvious just five years ago, recalls Grégory Bounatian, who has led the charge of the digital transformation at DHL since 2015. Why change? “First, to gain operational excellence by relying on a series of programs, logarithms and digital tools,” explains the carrier’s commercial vice president.” How? Through optimization of sortation systems and delivery routes. “We hate transporting air,” smiles Grégory Bounatian, “hence the implementation of scanning systems that allow us to gain precision and improve aircraft loading or containerization.” In other words, to better manage this great game of Tetris that consists of placing all the packages in order to lose the least amount of space as possible. The result is improved loading and a reduction in
*Internet of Things
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time, cost and fuel consumption.
NEW SERVICES
Beyond pure operational optimization, logistics is also betting on digital technology to improve the satisfaction of customers whose expectations are constantly evolving: fluidity, flexibility, responsiveness... In the B2C market in particular, the habit of having real-time access to increasingly transparent and efficient services is pushing the sector to transform itself. “In France, 300 employees are dedicated solely to responding to customer requests, online, by phone or on social networks. To enable them to focus on high valueadded tasks, we have deployed a series of automated tools,” observes Grégory Bounatian. In concrete terms, the chat boxes we have set up draw on constantly enriched data libraries to provide relevant answers to 70% of requests.
Grégory BOUNATIAN Commercial VP at DHL.
DIGITAL ARMADA
In warehouses, digital technology is once again used to improve the efficiency and fluidity of the supply chain, with the help of robots, connected objects and sensors capable of collecting information from the physical world and communicating it to an armada of management software. RFID tags or motion detectors integrated into automatic systems such as stacker cranes or conveyors are examples, and the growing role of machines and robots is another: “At DHL, pallets that were previously transported by human operators are now moved by robots,” explains Grégory Bounatian. It’s a way of improving fluidity, reducing the risk of wear and tear and protecting our teams by reducing the risk of accidents. Finally, at the end of the chain, digital technology comes to the aid of the delivery drivers responsible for ensuring that the parcels reach their final destination - and therefore cover that famous last mile. “To help our drivers, we have developed an ad hoc algorithm to calculate the best route according to the number of parcels loaded, but also to improve their driving by limiting the number of U-turns and shortening the stopping time as much as possible,” summarizes Grégory Bounatian. This is a way of limiting fatigue and fuel consumption, drastically reducing delivery delays and better satisfying the customer. Predictive flow analysis, very useful during the pandemic, also contributes to this, thanks to algorithms designed to finely assess peak loads, with an increasingly level of granularity that is better adapted to each period and each territory. Driven by the need to improve productivity and by the new customer demands, logistics is only just beginning its transformation...
MARKETING: LET THE GAMES BEGIN Theorized in the early 2010s, the concept of gamification has become widespread in the marketing field since 2015. With effects that remain to be demonstrated, explains Thomas Leclercq, professor at IÉSEG. Whether you prefer the French equivalent of “ludification” or choose the Anglicism, the definition of gamification does not change: “the process consists of exploiting the mechanisms of the game in other areas,” says Thomas Leclercq. In marketing, it is used to engage the consumer to encourage certain behaviors, build loyalty or reinforce their belonging to a brand and its products or services.” All kinds of fun techniques are used: points systems, badges, challenges, rewards, collective or individual challenges, levels and associated “privileges”, 3D and augmented reality... Some brands, like Danette, go so far as to involve their customers in the design of new products, and some sectors are more advanced than others: “retail is one of the most advanced, somewhat by necessity: faced with the disaffection of consumers for brick and mortar? stores, brands see it as a way to revitalize their sales areas,” observes Thomas Leclercq. The results are still difficult to interpret: “We still lack the necessary hindsight on the real effects of gamification, which can sometimes seem mixed, or even counterproductive in some cases. This is due to a particularity of this promising branch of marketing, but which has not yet reached its full maturity, believes the researcher: “those who design the gamified offer are still often pure marketers, whereas the contribution of talents coming from the world of video games or board games could be useful, insofar as they perfectly master the mechanics of playful engagement.” Same player, play again!
20 %
IN FRANCE, THE LAST KILOMETER WEIGHS ABOUT 20% OF THE TRAFFIC, OCCUPIES 30% OF THE ROADWAY AND REPRESENTS 25% OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS (SOURCE: FRANCE STRATÉGIE).
Thomas LECLERCQ
Professor of marketing at IÉSEG.
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FASTER FASTER: IS IT REALLY REASONABLE? The days of low bandwidth and Wanadoo modems are long gone. Broadband, fiber, Wi-Fi, 5G... Our bandwidths are constantly expanding. But for which uses? Luc Julia, co-inventor of the voice assistant Siri and vice-president for innovation at Samsung, argues for a more sensible use of the web. WITH DEMAND BOOMING, THE IDEA OF NETWORK SATURATION COMES UP REGULARLY. CAN THE INTERNET REALLY “GO DOWN”?
The volume of data transmitted has undeniably exploded, but the infrastructures have adapted and are quite capable of supporting the flows. The few connection problems that we sometimes encounter on Netflix or elsewhere are most often related to human error or hardware problems limited to a specific data center. It’s not the whole network that goes down... Could the problem ever arise? Anything is possible, but the real question is whether we should continue to increase network capacity rather than learn to use it more intelligently.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THIS?
All areas of computer science today are driven by brute force, where the goal is to provide more and more speed and more and more data. Why? Because the technology allows it. But for which uses? Do we really need to broadcast series in 4K when we watch them on TVs that are not all adapted to this level of detail? To take just one example, a technology like 5G is honestly of little interest on a nationwide scale, even if it is useful as a local network in certain high-tech sectors, such as in factories where the operation of thousands of connected robots requires a technology that is more efficient than Wi-Fi.
47 ZETTABYTES
ACCORDING TO THE GERMAN FIRM STATISTA, THE ANNUAL VOLUME OF DATA CREATED IS 20 TIMES GREATER THAN THE PAST DECADE TO REACH 47 ZETTABYTES IN 2020. THE EQUIVALENT OF 960 BILLION BLU-RAYS.
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HOWEVER, THERE IS A DEMAND FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC...
Do we really need to deploy dozens of 5G antennas to allow the 80,000 spectators of a stadium to watch the video of the goal they have just seen on their phones, just because we can do it? Compared to 4G, it certainly offers better latency, but what is the point for the end user to go from ten milliseconds to one when watching a streaming series? Some point to the need to respond to an ever-increasing number of connected objects. But again, 5G is not necessary. Recent Wi-Fi networks can easily support the 219 connected objects in my home, and most of them consume very little bandwidth: together, they take up barely 1% of my connection.
NETFLIX ACCORDING TO ARCEP, NETFLIX REPRESENTED 23 % OF FRENCH INTERNET TRAFFIC IN 2019, FAR AHEAD OF GOOGLE (17%). AND THAT WAS BEFORE THE LOCKDOWN...
LIKE A DESIRE FOR AN ART RUSH
SHOULD WE STOP CONNECTING EVERYTHING TO EVERYTHING, ALL THE TIME?
There lies the real issue, first and foremost for environmental reasons: the energy bill of the web is becoming outrageous without us necessarily being aware of it as consumers. Data centers alone consume around 200 TWh per day, whereas a nuclear power plant like the one in Gravelines, the largest in France, produces 32 TWh per year. And people take a billion selfies every day, while each of them consumes 180 watts...
SOME USES OF THE WEB HAVE BECOME HABITS. CAN WE STILL SLOW DOWN?
Digital education is a first answer, but the question of regulation, which started with the GDPR, will continue to arise. I would prefer that we learn collectively to better manage our relationship with the web and its uses, but regulation is one way to push for individual and collective awareness.
Few sectors have suffered more from the crisis than the Violaine DEBARGE Artistic director performing arts. of maelstrÖm théâtre. Violaine Debarge, an IÉSEG graduate and artistic director of maelstrÖm théâtre, looks back on a year that has at least had the merit to point out the immense desire to reunite artists and their public. No performances or almost none, compromised rehearsals and a visceral lack of stage and game: the pandemic months will undoubtedly remain engraved in the memories of the hundred or so actors, slammers and poets who gather around the artistic team of the maelstrÖm theater, an association of eight students founded in Lille 25 years ago, which has become a community of 100 passionate amateur actors. For the seven troupes (including one of slam and poetry), the shock was harsh to a disrupted programming, testifies Violaine Debarge: “at the cost of a thousand adjustments, we were able to play our show Testosterone by Antoine Lemaire in September but over the whole year and once the time of flabbergasting and denial over, the lack of performing has caused a feeling of wear, anger, but also dejection.” So, and with health instructions not always easy to understand, the company jumped at the slightest opportunity to get together, like when one member suggested to go for a bike ride - a simple excuse to play a few scenes on the side of the road. It’s a kind of philosophy of interstices,” explains Violaine Debarge. Either we give in to sadness and buy the whole Kleenex aisle, or we jump at the slightest opportunity to rediscover that visceral pleasure that brings us together: playing, improvising, creating something together.” If the company obviously only dreams of being reunited with its audience, these almost stolen moments sound like a revolt in the face of the pandemic, a way of resisting the grimness while waiting for better days. It’s also a way of embodying the theater’s motto, which has never sounded so true: “Let’s stay alive!” For more information www.maelstromtheatre.fr
Luc JULIA
CTO and vice-president for innovation at Samsung. A new way of talking business I N°05
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GOOD NEWS
EDUCATION: WHERE DOES DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY SIT? By forcing institutions to give priority to distance learning, the pandemic has reinforced a strong trend that sees digital technology taking an ever-greater place in teaching. But what are the advantages and limitations? Bernadett Koles, Director of the Bachelor in International Business Program at IÉSEG, explains. DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY HAS GRADUALLY BEEN INTRODUCED INTO CLASSROOMS IN RECENT YEARS. WITH WHAT IMPACT?
Having more pedagogical options is both an asset and an invitation to rethink the way we teach and learn. When used properly, digital tools offer more autonomy to our students and contribute to their learning journey. The challenge is to select the right solutions for each subject and audience, while helping students navigate this vast array of resources responsibly.
IN CLASS, STUDENTS HAVE REALTIME ACCESS TO SOURCES OTHER THAN TEACHERS’ WORDS. DOES THIS CHANGE TEACHERS’ POSTURE?
The days when textbooks and teachers were the main source of knowledge are over, but this change is welcome. On the teacher’s side, it is important to recognize that no one can know everything and that there is nothing wrong with saying “I’ll check it out”. On the student side, taking more responsibility can be valuable. Looking for examples or experiences to share makes them more active and provides more interesting exchanges for everyone. Finally, it prepares them to meet the expectations of a job market that wants to recruit critical and agile thinkers who can evaluate different options and challenge the status quo. What better place to develop skills than
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in the classroom?
CAN DIGITAL HELP BRING LEARNING TO LIFE?
It allows us to diversify our approach. In class, we can give short quizzes to check understanding of concepts, brainstorm, build collaborative models, provoke real-time feedback, turn static content into dynamic content... Professors can mix real Bernadett KOLES cases and simulations thanks Director of the Bachelor in International to numerous online resources, Business Program at IÉSEG. invite speakers to share their experience with students more easily. However, there are obvious limitations. First, not everyone is at the same comfort level with technology. Second, we need to think about where and how we integrate these digital solutions so that they add real value. Finally, repeated use of the same tool can lead to fatigue. Avoiding these pitfalls requires integrating the digital issue into the very design of programs.
THE REALITY, BUT BETTER Following the merging of Bear and SnapPress in 2019, Argo is one of the heavyweights in the Augmented Reality market, with offices in Paris, Montpellier and Montreal. Where the virtual enriches the real.
WITH THE CRISIS, MANY STUDENTS SAY THEY FIND IT DIFFICULT TO FOLLOW PURELY VIRTUAL COURSES. WHAT ARE THEY MISSING?
The pandemic forced institutions to offer online courses almost overnight. The efforts have been remarkable, but with two important limitations. First, the urgency has not left much room for planning, and many of us have simply moved courses that were designed for face-to-face use online, without having time to rethink them from the ground up. Second, this change is not a choice but a necessity. However, the use of digital solutions alone can be discouraging when it becomes the only way to teach. We will have to find the right balance between the all virtual and the all face-to-face. To achieve this, we will need to rethink each course to determine what technology can do for it. We will need to understand how to balance synchronous and asynchronous activities and accept that students learn both inside and outside the classroom.
Anyone who has had fun hunting Pokémon with their children (or not...) knows about augmented reality, these technologies that allow virtual objects and content to be superimposed on the physical world. But beyond the wow effect specific to the gaming world, the range of applications is limitless, explains Pierre de Bernouis, sales director of the Argo platform. “A bit like Shazam brings something to someone listening to a song by recognizing the track that’s playing, Argo adds information to the print.” How? The concept is simple: the user points his or her smartphone at a compatible piece of print - newspaper, catalog, book, poster, packaging...) and the phone displays interactive content. We are not a creative studio,” says Pierre de Bernouis. We offer our customers a simple technical solution that allows them to build their own content through a series of overlays and interactions.” In concrete terms, the case of JouéClub is a good example of what Argo allows: “Every year JouéClub sends twelve million 400-page catalogs to its customers. Its augmented version certainly makes it possible to play on the 3D effect, but above all to make information gathering and the purchasing process more fluid, to build Christmas lists, to place orders... Each page can be scanned and each toy is accompanied by a short video, its technical data sheet, audio content...” So much valuable information for consumers who no longer waste time hunting for the details they need. The icing on the cake: competitions and treasure hunts scattered throughout the pages, with visuals that readers can scan to hope to win a particular prize. Gamification is one of the keys to marketing. For its part, the retailer makes the buying process more fluid, modernizes its brand image and can exploit a whole range of data useful to its business model. Augmented Reality is good, but useful Augmented Reality, with multiple uses, is better.
Pierre DE BERNOUIS
For more information www.ar-go.co
Sales directot of the Argo platform.
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NICE TO MEET YOU
THE CODE HAS CHANGED Many recruiters will tell you that while demand is exploding, France has an even greater shortage of coders, developers and data scientists that traditional higher education alone can meet the volume of training needed. Hence the birth in 2013 of The Wagon, a new kind of school that bets on fast, practical and intense training. Here are some explanations from its CEO and co-founder, Boris Paillard. HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE THE WAGON MODEL?
We’re a coding and data science school specializing in intensive training (see insert, ed.) that targets beginners in order to teach them the skills that will enable them to find a job in this sector, work as a freelancer or launch their own entrepreneurial project.
ON PAPER, NOTHING DESTINED YOU TO HAVE FOUND A CODING SCHOOL. HOW DID YOU GET THERE?
Boris PAILLARD
CEO and co-founder of The Wagon.
“The Wagon is more for those who are looking to enter the working world quickly, often with a first background experience behind them.”
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After graduating from Centrale (famous engineering school in France), I didn’t have a very clear idea of what I wanted to do. I turned to applied finance mathematics. I joined HSBC in Hong Kong and then in Paris to build models designed to help traders better evaluate their portfolios. But something was missing! I found that my job didn’t make much sense and I wanted something else. To explore other possibilities, I started learning to code on my own, with the help of some developer friends. While working on my application projects, I realized that classical programming courses, as taught in universities or engineering schools, are often quite boring and too theoretical. That’s when the idea of developing a practical and
concrete training came to mind.
OTHER SCHOOLS HAVE CHOSEN A SIMILAR POSITIONING, SUCH AS 42, THE SCHOOL FOUNDED BY XAVIER NIEL. WHAT DIFFERENCES SET YOU APART?
42, which is more geared towards post-baccalaureate students, is more like a Bachelor’s program, with courses that last two or three years on average. The Wagon is more for those who are looking to enter the working world quickly, often with a first background experience behind them. They can be students or young graduates who are looking to complete their career with a more technical training, or even to change track completely because their sector is no longer recruiting or growing. We also welcome people who already have a solid experience in banking or consulting but who wish to open up to new possibilities without having to enter into too heavy a commitment. Again, this may be out of simple curiosity or with the idea of a complete change of career path.
THE WAGON AT FULL STEAM The Wagon offers coding bootcamps, in other words, very intensive learning modules in web development or data sciences, originally spread over nine weeks. However, this principle has evolved to adapt to people with certain constraints: the courses are available on a part-time basis over 24 weeks, with two evenings of training per week, doubled with courses on Saturdays. Ideal for working professionals who want to learn to code without giving up their job.
E IN SPITE OF A STRONG DEMAND, THE PROFESSION OF CODER OR DEVELOPER HAS LONG SUFFERED FROM A CERTAIN DISAFFECTION. WHY IS THIS? IS IT CHANGING?
The discipline has changed a lot in the last few years. Of course, the market still needs experts trained over several years, but technological maturity means that these jobs are much more accessible today than they were in the past, with developers able to quickly implement new features on a website. This is one of the factors that explains why the profile of coders is diversifying, as shown by the fact that we now welcome 40% women in a sector that was long considered very masculine. The same phenomenon is also affecting data sciences, with an explosion of technical tools and libraries that allow complex analysis or machine learning tools to be deployed quickly, without the need for a doctorate in mathematics.
Africa through a partnership with Honoris United Universities which will lead to the opening of centers in several parts of the world. We trained 3,500 students last year, we should welcome 5,000 this year and the goal is to cross the threshold of 10,000 students in three to four years.
10 000
STUDENTS : THAT IS THE OBJECTIVE FOR THE WAGON WITHIN THE NEXT 3 TO 4 YEARS.
YOU’VE GROWN A LOT IN SEVEN YEARS. HOW FAR HAVE YOU COME AND WHAT ARE YOUR PROSPECTS?
We are present in 25 countries and 40 cities around the world. We have a strong presence in major European capitals such as Paris, London and Berlin, which are our three largest campuses. We have also expanded into South America, Asia and Canada. We have just turned to
www.lewagon.com
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A NEW MOMENTUM! > Meet inspiring speakers and participate in discussions of great quality! > UNIVERSITÉ
D’ÉTÉ - 5TH EDITION > FRIDAY, JUNE 11TH, 2021 - ONLINE