ISDIGITAL.MAGAZINE | Number 2

IS DIGITAL NUMBER TWO

NOVEMBER 2017

DIGITAL TALENT

Leroy Merlin’s Community

< THE MAGAZINE FOR DIGITAL OPTIMISTS >

FOCUS

Study on on-line food consumption habits in Spain

CARINA SZPILKA

President of the Spanish Association of Digital Economy “Never stop learning”

A DAY AT...

SALESFORCE

We came down from the clouds to talk to the Cloud giant

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

We talked about digital DNA with Pilar López, President of Microsoft Spain

From the editor

Marketing in the digital age Nacho de Pinedo

ISDI Co-founder and CEO A few months ago, I received a call from the Marketing Association to inform me that ISDI had been awarded the National Marketing Award.

This news filled me with pride and surprise in equal parts. With pride, because I have devoted most of my professional career to marketing, I deeply love this discipline, and I am aware of the meaning of this accolade for the team who created ISDI. And with surprise, because this type of recognitions is usually dominated by wellestablished brands, equipped with huge budgets, and extensive investment in traditional marketing... Evidently, ISDI does not fit that description.

This dissonance led me to reflect on the evolution that marketing has experienced in the last 25 years, when I started my journey as Marketing Director at Procter & Gamble, up until today.

If I look at it from the perspective of marketing executives in traditional companies, the reality is that, during this period, we have been deprived of the type of marketing that I came to know. They took it to distant fiscally optimized lands, where corporate headquarters make strategic decisions, based on the lowest common denominator of their countries. It was auctioned to the highest bidder in cold Procurement tables, where creativity and GRPs are bought in bulk. They cut it to bits and distributed it among Corporate Marketing, Direct Marketing, Communication, Customer Service, Media, Sponsorships or Digital Marketing departments, thus hindering the coordination of actions aimed at consumers.

They abducted its budget to reach annual financial goals, while stifling the development of the brand in the long run. They perverted and brokered its communication value chain, favoring mediators instead of prioritizing consumers.

They turned a profession once proud into the frivolous micromanagement game of Steering Committees. Worst of all is that no one rebelled against this plundering. Instead, professionals embraced a reality of disintegrated, shortsighted, ineffective, mediocre, indecisive marketing, which lacked original content and focus on customers. Some blamed the emergence of internet marketing for this crisis, but the reality is that we just gave up and let others take it away from us.

But if I look at it from the standpoint of a startup like ISDI, which was created in the digital era, our reality is different in that we had to invent a new way of approaching marketing. We found ourselves before a blank canvas

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in which we tried to paint a different scheme that would reclaim the spirit of original marketing, leverage the power conferred on us by the digital age, and manage leanstartup methodology. These were the ingredients of the marketing model that we had to reinterpret: · OBSESSIVE FOCUS ON CLIENTS, understood as an identified and eternal consumer, whose satisfaction is the key mission of all areas of the company. This focus should clearly be perceived by the customer when interacting with anyone in the organization, given that operations, systems, structure, metrics… and especially the organizational design and corporate culture are geared toward such client. · Design of a great USER EXPERIENCE, aimed at delivering satisfaction with a minimal friction: Customer experience is permanently in question and improved from the structural innovation of content, methodologies, services and platforms, iterating on a continual basis. Of course, frictions will occasionally appear, but they are finetuned at the speed of light. · FULL STACK FUNNEL VISION, adapted to the customer journey: integration of the creation and control of reputation, traffic generation, conversion optimization phases, as well as of the development of customer relationships in a funnel marked by all the micromoments that bring us from the prospect stage, and the development of the lead up, to the consolidated customer stage. Everything is measured and iterates on a datadriven culture, with CRM as the centerpiece of a mosaic of experiences, technology, channels, and messages. · A DYNAMIC BRAND DESIGN, which is consistent, differential and collaborative: brands are usually at the core of collecting the sensations and perceptions generated by all the elements that revolve around the client, and they must be a collaborative creation in which content is a two-way message. And it is not important whether this content is generated by the company, the customer, or the ecosystem, through the wide range of communication channels.

It is funny, because on many occasions we fail to internalize that what we do is marketing, but it seems clear that this is the way to do it in the Digital Age. A type of marketing that cannot be stolen. Should we go back to the old days?

That would be so boring… Let’s just kill Marketing once and for all and enter the Digital Era. Because we do not live in a time of change. We live in changing times.

04

08 TRENDS

STARTUP WORLD

12

16

18

MASTER CLASS

10

DIGITAL TALENT

TECH AREA

A DAY AT…

22

26

30

FOCUS

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

32

34

OPTIMISTIC ATTITUDE

AGENDA

INDUSTRY NEWS

EDITED BY: ISDI Legal Deposit: M-3167-2017

IS DIGITAL · 3

MASTER CLASS

“NEVER STOP LEARNING”

The cool that Carina Szpilka (Argentina, 1968) exudes cannot hide the certainty of her courage: the will of someone who was able to leave a successful career for exploring less traveled paths, which were more consistent with her vision of the business world. Today, as President of Adigital and member of the K Fund team, she works hand in hand with entrepreneurs looking to transform the world and create impact.

After 15 years at ING Direct she took off her orange jacket in 2013, leaving a legacy characterized by the lack of fear to embrace transformation and think differently. During her farewell, she said: “Reinventing industries means reinventing yourself.” What happened in the last years?

Time has flown indeed. This has been a period of professional reinvention… I had worked all my life for companies -I started at Banco Santander, then moved on to Argentaria, and finally to ING Direct-.

And I came to a point in my life where I wanted to see the world from a different perspective. So, I made a bold decision and decided to go out and explore.

I didn’t accept any new offers, I just devoted my time to understand what I wanted. And during that process, I had two options: to either return to the corporate world and accept some of the offers I had received, which were all very interesting and enticing, or become the generator of my own work, which I think is the future of how professional relations will be.

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Carina Szpilka President of the Spanish Association of Digital Economy

How would you describe this booming trend?

The relationship of people with their employers will not be long lasting, but a contribution of talent when necessary. People will work on a project basis, more autonomously, and it will be them who generate their own work. I decided that it would be interesting to travel that path.

Why?

I had been fortunate enough to take part in ING Direct at a time when it was a remarkable startup with more or less secured financing. We were given room to grow, test, and build our own model. This is something rather exceptional in large corporations.

Throughout those years, I could understand what it means to be part of a truly customer centric company. I felt the need to share this vision with others. There were two ways of doing it.

Can you describe them?

You can do it for one company or for many. Change processes in companies are usually very slow and face a great deal of resistance, in comparison with the other model which tries to achieve it for many.

You stood by this idea. How do you do it?

On the one hand, I have my main activity. On the other hand, I’m lucky to be on the Board of Directors of three companies led by entrepreneurs, which have come to be part of the Ibex 35 −Abanca, Grifols, Meliá−. I like that idea of entrepreneurs being able to build projects that will become the future Ibex companies. Thirdly, I have been collaborating with Unicef for some years now. ISDI has been a huge advocate and facilitator in UNICEF’s digital

transformation process, and thus their appreciation toward ISDI is enormous.

How is the new Carina Szpilka?

My parameters to measure things have changed. My life is a little freer, but also more complicated, more uncertain, more diversified... 15 years ago, I wouldn’t have had neither the value nor the need to do so. As time goes by, I feel like I want to fight more intensely for what I really believe in.

Carina Szpilka - President of the Spanish Association of Digital Economy. What are your goals for the coming years?

Doing everything in our hands to position Spain as a digital leader. In that sense, we need to work in three areas: institutions, companies, and individuals and society as a whole.

How would you describe the Spanish digital economy landscape?

I believe that in Spain we live in three parallel realities: that of the startups and technology companies leading the digital race with much success, that of large companies currently facing their digital transformation with some uncertainty and the burden of combining two models, the traditional and the new, and, finally, the reality of the SMEs and micro-SMEs, where much remains to be done, as digitization data are still small.

In fact, only 20% of them use cloud services, and only 16% carry out e-commerce activities.

We need to be able to harness the great infrastructure offer that we have in this country, and start thinking more about how to work in the two areas that require more attention at this time: human capital and innovation.

IS DIGITAL · 5

MASTER CLASS What and who must change to realize our potential?

The Administration, companies, society as a whole... We need to understand the new rules of the game and adapt to them.

In every transformation process, we face three barriers: “I don’t know”, “I can’t” and “I don’t want to”. Here is where we must focus on, we must embrace digitization, and be able to do so because the regulatory and economic environment allow for it, and want to do it because everyone will learn and make the best of this new environment.

about 525 million euros, but we hope that 2017 will end up being a great year for funding, because there we managed to get fundraising from several funds.

I think it is increasingly easier to create companies, despite the procedures and difficulties of our country’s regulations, but it’s harder to make them big and relevant for the market in which they operate.

The requirement level for models to be unique, sustainable, recognized, and differential is quite high.

There is much noise, and people trying to capture attention.

What is the secret to identify a “Unicorn” company?

There are no secrets. An article on Forbes a few months ago said that you need to answer two questions: “Why you?” and “why now?” The momentum of things is also key, both for investment and disinvestment. And in terms of “Why you?”, I have never tried to know people as well as I try to know and understand entrepreneurs.

Your current venture is called K Fund, which started in July 2016...

Tell us about its origins.

I was working with my partner, Iñaki Arrola, through his fund, Vita - mina K, and we eventually came up with the idea of creating a larger fund, aimed at entrepreneurs and investors interested in creating a different and more modern business fabric in Spain.

At the beginning, we were somewhat skeptical, because raising 50 million in Spain isn’t so easy, especially for a first team. But pieces began to fit pretty soon.

What is your signature feature?

The main feature of the fund is the people we work for. We have the support of very smart and interesting people: our investors are successful entrepreneurs and professionals with a great track record. And we have a multidisciplinary team that adjusts to them, thanks to their varied experience and profiles.

What are your expectations?

We invest in people. And the success of entrepreneurs is our success. Thus, we will work to help them achieve their goals.

What does the stage of investment in startups in Spain look like?

Quite encouraging. The money injected into venture last year was quite comparable to that of 2015, 6 · IS DIGITAL

“I THINK IT IS INCREASINGLY EASIER TO CREATE COMPANIES, BUT IT’S HARDER TO MAKE THEM BIG AND RELEVANT”

“AND I CAME TO A POINT IN MY LIFE WHERE I WANTED TO SEE THE WORLD FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. SO, I MADE A BOLD DECISION AND I DECIDED TO GO OUT AND EXPLORE”

What do you pay attention to?

On how they resist, how they make decisions, what things are important to them, how they want to build their startup business culture… In the end, the personality of the founder will determine the evolution of the company.

It is very important to me to work with people who really think about the client. This is a world where ego weighs a lot, and you have to know how to channel that in a positive way.

Could you give us an example?

A mythical figure, Steve Jobs.

Working with him was no easy task, but he knew how to channel that to build something unique.

What do conventional companies need to learn from startups?

Above all, agility, the ambition of wanting to build something different, and the creativity that the lack of resources provides. In large corporations, people often do too little, despite having too much.

You argue that, in order to draw the new economy, it is necessary to transform the way in which companies are managed. What are the keys to this new management trend?

Large companies thought that digital transformation meant having a nice website and reliable on-line services. This is something positive, of course, but as you start digging, you realize

that it actually touches the whole chain of the organization, and including its core: people.

It is key to know your talents and how you measure success.

Many transformation models die there, due to the inconsistency between what they preach and the reason why they value the people who work for them. The CEO is the one who determines the discourse.

How does management work in startups?

There is a lot of agility and closeness, physical closeness. It is an inclusive, collaborative, and horizontal model. However, as these companies expand, certain anthropological needs naturally arise.

Recognition, status, power… That is the challenge of many startups.

How important is the impact of companies on society to you?

Back in the day, I started to feel that getting up, going to work, and having a wage was fine, but I needed something else.

As I realized that I was part of a project that was revolutionizing the Spanish financial picture I felt more motivated, with a sense of pride and belonging. People need a job that makes sense to them. And that happens when you do different things.

What is your definition of leader?

A leader needs to be a catalyst for things to happen, to be able

to meet a clear and exciting mission for the whole team, to make that vision a reality.

What are the core competencies that professionals must develop to build companies that adjust to the new environment?

Two: the ability to learn and generosity. What you know today, may be useless tomorrow.

For example, at K Fund us we do not limit ourselves to a single technology or industry, because that may turn out to be obsolete tomorrow. Hence the need to be generous, to put the customer as a priority to achieve a winning project, and to put that project before ourselves as individuals.

You have collaborated with ISDI, among other things, as a trainer.

If you could only choose one, what lesson would you like your students to remember?

I have always considered the people I’ve met at ISDI as pioneers with the ability to see and understand that they had to learn before others did. I would like for them to never lose that ability: “Never stop learning!”

Do you have any pending issues?

Life means constant learning, and the main challenge I have is that my three daughters become autonomous, independent, good and happy.

IS DIGITAL · 7

TRENDS

Biometric Identification: you are listed New technologies have taken off, at least as far as biometric identification goes. This concept refers to the study for the recognition of persons, based on either a behavioral or a physical trait, without any room for error. Fingerprints, iris or facial patterns sound familiar, but in this case, we are also talking about crosschecking DNA (our most inimitable feature), voice recognition, or steps.

mobile devices enabled to perform biometric detections. This means, of course, that there are people already analyzing how to prevent risks and the possibility of fraud to which biometric identification is exposed.

The turnover of biometric systems will reach $33,300 million by 2020.

Although this may sound as the plot of a sci-fi movie, there are precedents of the use of this technique in China in the 15th century, when they used the footprints of children printed on paper to distinguish young people. Going back to our times, its applications are multiple. They are often based on security, and aimed at sectors such as technological devices or banking, to name the most common.

According to a study by Acuity Market Intelligence, the turnover of biometric systems will reach $33,300 million in 2020, with 4,760 billion

In fact, mobile payments are just credit card payments

Farewell to cash?

People in China have grown quickly accustomed to leaving home without any cash, thus triggering a race to dominate the mobile payment market.

This war is being waged by, one the one hand, domestic financial institutions (who are currently losing ground), and Alibaba and Tencent, the e-commerce and social networking giants, on the other hand, with a market share of almost 85%.

Last year, this system was used by a third of the population; transactions reached a value of â&#x201A;Ź5.8 billion, according to data collected by El Pais.

8 ¡ IS DIGITAL

In Spain, 81% of users use smartphones, compared with the 50% of users in the United Kingdom, for example. This puts our country in a great position for developing mobile device payment systems, a growing trend which, according to the experts, will progressively expand.

How does it work? In fact, mobile payments are just credit card payments that require prior registration in one of the existing applications in the Spanish market, with different procedures, and more or less restrictions. In establishments already accepting contactless payments, our device uses NFC technology (with waves capable of transmitting large amounts of information at short distances) and requires verification of operations.

Just like when you pay the amount by swiping the card over the credit card terminal. There are also functionalities for mobile payment in on-line stores.

Memorize this word:

learnability HR specialists say that this concept will be key in the future, in terms of employability. It refers both to the natural abilities as well as to the positive attitude needed to keep on learning in the current labor and social context. That is probably the reason why Spanish linguists prefer to use the term “aprendibilidad”.

Next destination: Silicon Bali Why has Bali turned into one of the favorite destinations for startups and entrepreneurs from all over the world -especially from Europe and North America- for teleworking? Is it because of the low rental, transportation and food prices? Or the pristine turquoise waters of this province of Indonesia? The truth is that, according to various media, the so-called “Island of the Gods” has a large network of co-working spaces and reliable wi-fi connection. It is especially attracting for surf and spirituality lovers, and for those who are looking for a sense of community among digital nomads.

boards of directors of the major Spanish companies are involved in the supervision of cybersecurity issues, according to the Institute of Internal Auditors (IAI) barometer. The recommendations of this body to control this problem include a detailed analysis of associated risks, the implementation of a comprehensive and consistent strategy in line with the company’s objectives and resources, and the construction of a security management model.

7 out of every 10

IS DIGITAL · 9

STARTUP WORLD

A RESTLESS MIND With two girls of one and two years old respectively, Nacho Valledor (Oviedo, 1981) does not have much time for hobbies. But if he can make some time for himself, he enjoys practicing sports (running, soccer), or watching an Atlético de Madrid soccer match. “I am recently devoting time to restoring a vintage 80’s car with a group of friends. We are planning on taking part in a rally, although this will depend on whether we can actually re-assemble it again”, says this entrepreneur who defines himself as restless, hard-working, and tenacious.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN FULL FORM We met with Ignacio Valledor, founder of Healthia, the digital platform of sports medicine that conquered Sanitas’ heart, which turned it into the first startup of the IMPACT accelerator, currently integrated into a large business group.

It all started

with three people working at a building on Gran Vía, but today, after being acquired by Sanitas, Healthia has a team of 60 people working to become increasingly attractive to patients. In just three years, Ignacio Valledor turned this marketplace, specialized in sports medicine treatments, into a real and sustainable business.

But this story started a while ago, when Valledor worked as Clínica Baviera’s Marketing Director. There, he led the company’s digital transformation process over four intense years, not only in Spain, but also in Germany, Italy and Austria. “It was a great period, but it was also exhausting”, he recalls.

In his quest for new challenges, he found the MIB, which sparked his entrepreneurial curiosity. He enrolled in the 2013/2014 course, with a vague idea in the back of his head that eventually materialized. In December, he met with ISDI’s co-founder and CEO, Nacho de Pinedo, and shared his vision with him. That very same week, he said goodbye to his job and, at the beginning of 2014, he started Healthia. “If I hadn’t joined the MIB, I would have never launched it”, he admits.

Potential in eHealth

Healthia looks at the latest trends in the health sector. “We always thought that the next great clinical group would not have any clinics,” Valledor says.

Therefore, this digital platform was born to group a niche of patients who had similar needs in terms of prevention. “Listening allowed us to pivot toward sports, as it was a growing niche that required a great deal of medical treatments”, he says.

Ignacio recognizes his passion for the eHealth sector, which he predicts will grow in the coming years, and this is something he would love to 10 · IS DIGITAL

be a part of. Currently, the health sector is the second largest in terms of expenditure in any country, representing 10% of the GDP. In markets such as the United States, where there is a higher level of expenditure, it reaches 16.4%.

With an aging population and higher treatment costs, the future of health tends to leave the hospital premises, with complex and customized prevention models. “Through new tools for monitoring, analysis and communication, each of us will become experts in our own health. This will generate a new communication paradigm between the doctor and the patient, in addition to putting health at the core of our lives”, the founder of Healthia argues.

A memorable start

Following the acquisition of the startup by Sanitas, Ignacio Valledor recalls the early days with fondness, despite the difficulties: “We created an MVP quickly and with little money, and launched to the market.

The website crashed when there were more than ten active users, so we had to redo the entire platform, and we wasted four months”.

One of the most challenging issues was going from a monthly fee model (similar to an insurance) to a pay-per-service model. “We base change on pure intuition”, Valledor

confesses. The first month was a real disaster and it put a fair amount of pressure on the team.

“It was only when we re-calibrated our media strategy that the model began to respond.” And it worked: “During the third month, we started already billing ten times more than with the previous model.

From then on, the whole experience became tremendously rewarding, as we began to gain traction and thus, a business model on which we could build on.”

The IMPACT boost

What about the search for funding? The case of Healthia was opposite to that of many startups: “Once we were able to capture the idea in a platform, we had no problems to secure funding for the following steps. Both public funders (Enisa, Avalmadrid), and accelerators always showed great interest in the project. There are still few eHealth projects intended for the size of the sector, and there is room for much more.”

In particular, IMPACT -the acceleration program led by ISDI- meant a turning point for the project: “In six months, we made more progress than in the previous 18 months.”

When Healthia came to the program, there were three monetization sources, but it was not growing at an ideal pace. Sebastián Muller and Daniel Twal from the IMPACT team, together with Juan Acosta as mentor, became key to rule out two of those sources, and keep the one that had more potential, the treatment packs.

“With the equity-free € 100,000 provided by IMPACT, we could organize a great team fully devoted to development. They also

provided mentors, great digital experts, who validated every step. In our case, for instance, we had the suport of Nacho de Pinedo (ISDI), Fuencisla Clemares (Google), Didac Lee (member of the Barcelona Soccer Club and CEO of Inspirit), Miguel Ángel Díaz Ferreira (RedKaraokee) or Noelia Fernández (Prisa), among others, the crème de la crème”, reconoce Valledor.

As a result, we ended up with a sound business model, in addition to a thoroughly worked pitch that allowed them to remain focused on growth.

Its acquisition by Sanitas meant the beginning of a new phase. “Of course, this means change, but as a startup, one of our main values is our ability to adapt to change, it’s part of our DNA.” As in previous times, they are working hard to getting used to the new situation, but they now have the proper resources, and are surrounded by “a fantastic team.”

Your current priority? “Consolidating Healthia and keep on growing until we become a benchmark for sports health”.

A TIP OF ADVICE FROM NACHO VALLEDOR: “YOU NEED TO HAVE THE RIGHT MOTIVATION” “Nowadays many people feel attracted to the idea of having their own company, wearing shorts to the office, or being rich. Embarking on an entrepreneurial project is challenging and complex. It puts you to the test every single day. If you don’t believe in what you are doing, things may get really complicated.”

IS DIGITAL · 11

DIGITAL TALENT

SUCCESS STORIES: LEROY MERLIN’S COMMUNITY We visited Leroy Merlin’s home to get to know its well-established community.

Here, there are no chairmen, whining neighbors or contributions, but a project that has managed to gear digital talent towards achieving the company’s transformation from within, and growing beyond its borders.

WHAT IS LEROY MERLIN’S COMMUNITY? “Philip Kotler says Marketing 3.0 represents an evolution from a product-centric approach to a client- or value-centric approach”, says Francisco Campos, former Head of Leroy Merlin’s Community Project, recently promoted to Knowledge and Client Loyalty Director.

Leroy Merlin’s Community consists of a structure that enables talented people to create and share value. To that end, they have a tool that allows collaborators (this is how they call employees at Leroy Merlin), clients, providers and partners to share content, services and teach each other to do new things.

¿What can you do at Leroy Merlin’s Community?

• You can solve your doubts in the forum • You can sign up for workshops at their shops • You can brag about and share your projects

Leroy Merlin’s Community consists of a structure that enables talented people to create and share value

History The 2020 Vision process started in 2010. Leroy Merlin decided to undertake a series of long-lasting initiatives. “That fueled the whole thing”, according to Luis Gallego, current Internet Director, who has been in the company for 11 years, and is currently working on digital transformation which, in his own words, has consisted of “injecting a stimulant to the company and being ready for its reaction.”

“We saw that the evolution of the company required including customers in the value chain”, Gallego acknowledges. Hence the implementation of the so-called ‘Social Internet Project’, which included great strategic lines: social networks, management of corporate reputation, social CRM, social commerce, and the development of a community of people with a common interest in home improvement, together with the ‘Connected ’ project, which dealt with the internal perspective.

Number of monthly visits

800.000 Number of members of the Community

90.000

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ONE BRICK AT A TIME: THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE COMMUNITY Instead of creating the community through a model that would quickly attract people from the outside in (for instance, with contests), something that was not sustainable, we decided to create it from the inside out. “From the heart of our talents to the outside, because the company itself is a community”, says Francisco Campos.

Connected

The Community

We decided that the first members of the clients’ Community should be employees themselves.

“We created a project called ‘Connected’, which focused on how to coordinate and mobilize the creation of value by employees toward customers.

So, when customers began to join, we already had many collaborators who were creating content, sharing photos of their homes”, Campos recalls. The Community showed that employees defended the product philosophy in “real life”.

Originally on-line, and subsequently both on-line and off-line, the Community started to grow. They asked people to join, and received a large number of requests from people who wanted to engage on a completely voluntary basis. Then, they divided their missions and those people had, on the one hand, a local mission (for example, becoming a seller in the Paints section) and, on the other hand, a national mission, such as providing support to the Paints forum or organizing workshops.

For the person responsible for the Community project, “Leroy Merlin is not just a company offering products and services for home improvement. It is also the lifestyle of those who enjoy doing things by themselves, being creative when looking for a unique way to decorate their home, who don’t like that their home to look like any other, who see it as an extension of themselves...”

Figures 97% of employees are members of Leroy Merlin’s Community, and almost 300 are leaders, have a recognized schedule, and generate some 700 pieces of content per month that together with those created by customers, amount to some 1,000 pieces of content per month.

“We could have hired 20 writers, but that wouldn’t have transformed the company. We wanted to have an impact on the income statement” [Francisco Campos] Workshops’ evenings

IDEA: ‘The good social news on Fridays’ The ‘Connected’ project has enabled them to tackle the situation in terms of internal communication, motivation and emotion. “Actually, ‘the good social news on Fridays’ has become a very powerful tool, according to Francisco Campos. Here we describe what’s going on (small or large successes), and fuel the company to move forward and prevent frictions, because everyone has a leading role”.

On July 21st, 7,000 people attended more than 500 workshops, organized by partners at the shops, who volunteered to work on a Friday night. This event was streamed on Facebook to more than one million people, through representatives in five stores, who were selected through a casting for which employees sent a video telling why they were the best option for being reporters. In the view of the former head of Leroy Merlin’s Community, “when the event ended, our company had changed.

Everyone understood that we could offer a value proposition to customers, beyond the product, and that meant us giving our best.”

IS DIGITAL · 13

DIGITAL TALENT

Consolidation A new digital platform that will go from being a website with a community to having a social web where the Community is everywhere, is currently underway. The establishment of long-term relations with and between customers is already taking place massively. In the future, clients will also be able to organize workshops at their own homes for their friends, sponsored by Leroy Merlin.

Leroy Merlin’s Community model has started to progressively spread beyond Spanish borders.

Italy and Russia have already launched projects under the same principles, but adapted to their own markets.

BREAKING DOWN MYTHS The use of Internet as a vehicle for transformation has allowed them to cast doubt on the limitations that retailers traditionally have: • Physical and geographical limitations: Sellers are no longer constrained to applying their talents within 20 meters, but everywhere in the country.

• Hierarchy: There are people from all areas, who are organized according to their talent. A cashier may be responsible for workshops at a national level.

• The concept of time: Once created, most content is timeless, and can generate value for a long time to many different people.

• Array of investment and return: With local investments to generate national returns.

THE MANTRA Elements for “being social and not just look like it”: • Mentoring: The heads of the organization have been highly involved at the motivational level, and have given much autonomy to the team.

• Focus on results: If the performance of volunteers is not good enough, new volunteers replace them. This frames the project into the aspirational field. “We have always tried to have a flexible, yet effective model. We control productivity on an hourly basis, and one of our key indicators is the satisfaction of the leaders involved in the project, in addition to the NPS of customers.”

• Startup spirit: Events and meetings with managers where “they sit on a couch and face questions from employees” are organized, in opposition to those with “60-slide presentations”.

• Generosity: “The sole driver of the project is that someone thanks you for your work. The power of that word is amazing.”

INNOVATION FROM THE FRINGES OF THE COMPANY “I recently came across an article where the author recommended that, in order to generate innovation, it was necessary to have network structures, in parallel, connected with hierarchy. The idea is to create an army of volunteers, organized around a series of projects and a great opportunity for the company, who never cease to perform their tasks, but devote a percentage of their time. Distributed in all levels, they generate innovation adoption actions which are often far above those achieved with traditional approaches to change management.

That is exactly what happened at Leroy Merlin.”

[Luis Gallego, Internet Director]

14 · IS DIGITAL

“Change needs to be comprehensive.It is not a cosmetic issue.”

[Francisco Campos]

THE SIGNING Four years ago, Francisco Campos had sold his startup and wanted to take the plunge into the front line. “I was looking for a cool project. Luis had something interesting to tell me, but the lights went off on us three times”, he recalls.

For Luis Gallego, it was the best, yet the most complicated recruitment process. “I was surprised by how well-prepared people who worked in social marketing came to the interviews.” That process resulted in the recruitment of many of the professionals who are part of the team today.

Among them, Belen Rodríguez, a key figure of the project, who worked as community manager until last September, and is now our new Head of the entire Community and Social Networks area.”

“Recruiting talent is quite complex today”, says Francisco. He knows the feeling, as he is having a hard time finding people with expertise in the technologies they are currently using.

“Companies willing to transform will see that this goes beyond removing the tie from the suit. It means leaving your comfort and power zones to have an area of influence.”

[Luis Gallego]

The type of talent they are looking for largely depends on attitude. “Creating frameworks that allow us to be agile means to having an intellectual capacity, strategic, conversational, and influence vision, and knowing how to work with certain methodologies. That will make us increasingly stronger. That sets the bar for the kind of talent we are looking for”, according to Luis Gallego. Campos adds charisma and ownership of the project to the list.

Lessons for a social marketing specialist

Lessons for enterprises in transformation

• A large company can behave as an SME, if the people who make it up think in a human, close and humble way.

• It is important to work on projects and specific devotions.

• There are endless possibilities for empathy, social intelligence and charisma. Quotas of power are no longer relevant.

• The difficulty of giving up on digital and social transformation projects. New things appear at such a rate, that specialists in social marketing need to know when to give up.

• There may be an already existing network, with its own dynamics, but focused on a great sales process. A digital, participatory and fluid system is often missing.

• Initiative and autonomy must lead to an increasingly cross-cutting project.

• Participatory forms of work generate and implement knowledge.

• We must find the balance between freedom and alignment.

IS DIGITAL · 15

TECH AREA

Happy Anniversary, iPhone!

10 years have passed since the launch of the first iPhone. Feeling nostalgic? Well, there’s no need for that. In this decade, Apple has managed to set the pace for the entire industry. And the best way to mark the occasion was the opening of Apple Park, the new headquarters of the company designed

by Norman Foster at its landmark location, the Californian town of Cupertino, and also Steve Jobs’ last great dream. There, they introduced not one, but two new devices: the iPhone 8, the natural evolution of its predecessor, and a second model, the Edition or iPhone X, a special edition with no Home button, and featuring wireless charging.

Sensors in the mist: fog computing in the IoT Specialists believe that a new generation of autonomous and intelligent sensors will be the protagonists in the progress of Internet of Things (IoT), as stated by several media outlets covering the IoT Solutions World Congress 2017. This hypothesis is based on the idea that, to develop services that help processing information in real time, it is necessary to have devices with the capacity to store huge amounts of information, with high computational power and more intelligent and autonomous sensors.

During this conference, scientists from the University of Arizona pointed out that sensors are the link between the physical world and the digital world, and are benefitting from the integration of fog and cloud methodologies.

After the introduction of the concept of computing in the cloud or cloud computing, fog computing follows the meteorological simile. As the specialized portal Hipertextual states, fog computing is “a model in which data processing and applications focus on devices at the edge of the network [the area between the users’ own devices and their connections to Internet], rather than entirely on the cloud. In this way, data can be processed locally on a smart device rather than being sent to the cloud to do so”. The benefits?

Avoiding latencies and improving efficiency. The drawbacks? Some questions regarding security have already come up.

16 · IS DIGITAL

The greatest threat of history

A vulnerability on Equifax’s website, the body that monitors the credit history of tens of millions of citizens in the United States, has allowed a group of cyber-criminals to steal sensitive data from 143 million users.

Passwords, social security and driver’s license numbers, cards... Today, we are sadly accustomed to this news, but in this case, we are clearly before a milestone.

Welcome, WhatsApp Business!

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s official! The new messaging platform exclusively for companies with which WhatsApp seeks to start earning revenue, something it did not have up until now, despite its 1.3 billion users and the fact that Facebook paid $ 19 billion for it in 2014.

WhatsApp Business will be free for small businesses and local companies, but will bear a cost for large corporations. Its purpose? Allowing companies to contact directly with customers and vice versa.

Augmented reality: Google vs. Apple Augmented reality is very much in vogue these days, so it is not surprising that technology giants want to be secure a privileged position in this battle. On the one hand, Google has announced that it will allow applications, games, and AR experiences through the ARCore platform, as soon as they are available on Android. On the other hand, ARKit, the platform that Apple users to offer this kind of solutions for iOS 11 devices onwards.

Facebook Marketplace lands in Spain A while back, Facebook detected that it naturally provided a window for informal sales transactions. As a result, its team started working to launch a new service that would facilitate such transactions at a local level between individuals, a service that is now available in Spain.

Brace yourselves for battle, second-hand portals.

IS DIGITAL ¡ 17

A DAY AT…

A DAY AT Intense, fun, different, sometimes unpredictable...

A day at Salesforce can have many facets.

How will our walk in the clouds be?

At Salesforce

they know lots about cloud services, but they are also very down to earth. Particularly, in the heart of Madrid’s financial district, where Spanish HQ − they also have offices in Barcelona and Bilbao− of one of the largest software companies in the world is located.

We arrived at Paseo de la Castellana 79, an emblematic business building next to Azca, bypassing a sea of cars and skyscrapers. We went up to the seventh floor to spend a day with a high-flying company: Salesforce, the leading company in CRM, which has had a great influence on the cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS) era.

Our goal was to soak in ‘ohana’, a concept from the Hawaiian culture that the company’s CEO, Marc Benioff, borrowed some years ago. This term refers to the links shared by the members of a family, and Benioff applies this idea to the organization he leads, the ‘Salesforce ohana’, an ecosystem made up of employees, clients, partners and communities that care for each other, have fun, 18 · IS DIGITAL

and work collaboratively to make this world a better place.

Do you follow this concept here as well? “Of course, it’s an essential part of our daily work −they immediately reply−. We work as a family, where each member has a set of goals and achievements. We all work together toward those goals, and celebrate them when the time comes.”

It’s quite easy to picture that because, upon crossing its doors, the first thing one sees is an open space where the movement of people, the abstracted look of some in front of their screens, or the phone conversations here and there, bear witness of the coexistence of the multiple agendas, calls and meetings. “Working at an open office allows you to share more easily. There are neither barriers, nor panels and yet, we have specific spaces where we can focus, should we need to do so”, they explain.

They share this approach with its mother ship, the company’s HQ in San Francisco. Although the size of the California offices is larger, “the company’s culture and values are the same everywhere, and this resonates at our office.”

Laboratory for ideas

The important role of generating new ideas in business is reflected in the physical space. We visited the meeting rooms, which allow for unleashing creativity and teamwork spirit, and which transform in some cases, into project rooms, where teams work and share at the same time, giving life to their projects. We didn’t want to interrupt them, so when the time a pause came, we followed them into the coffee office, where we were offered drinks, fruits and snacks. This is the most special corner in the office, where people meet and talk about “anything to everyone”.

This allows them to disconnect, as well as to collaborate and co-create in a different setting.

“THE MOST SPECIAL CORNER IN THE OFFICE IS THE COFFEE OFFICE, WHERE PEOPLE MEET AND TALK ABOUT “ANYTHING TO EVERYONE” With a cup of coffee in hand, we asked them about the company’s charismatic founder, Marc Benioff, who created Salesforce in 1999 in a small apartment in San Francisco. We are told that his leadership model, which allows employees to work, share, create, and think differently is sustained in Spain... People don’t need to punch a card: they are free to manage their time, provided that they meet their goals. As one would naturally expect from a company occup-

ying such a prominent position in the digital scenario, technology allows them to stay connected and share information from anywhere in the world, at any time. Hierarchies or assigned workstations do not exist here either: the office is a free and open space, where people can sit wherever they choose to do so. Of course, when dealing with special projects that require different skills and diversity of talent, they organize into task forces.

SALESFORCE OHANA: AN ECOSYSTEM MADE UP OF EMPLOYEES, CLIENTS, PARTNERS AND COMMUNITIES THAT CARE FOR EACH OTHER, HAVE FUN, AND WORK COLLABORATIVELY

IS DIGITAL · 19

A DAY AT… Salesforce has a staff of over 22,000 people worldwide. The staff we met at the Madrid office distill commitment and passion for what they do. Their managers corroborate this impression: besides being great professionals focused on innovation, people who work here must be “customer-oriented, committed to a better society and in search for permanent challenges, as well as adaptable to change.”

Emotions in the office

We did not dare to ask about their monthly wages, but we did ask about their emotional wage. One of them broke the ice and confessed that he belongs to an organization that shares his own values: “It’s a privilege to work for a company that is so focused on its customers, partners and employees.

In my case, active engagement in social issues is key, whether in education, helping the most vulnerable, or actively acting in favor of equality.”

This employee talked to us about the Salesforce volunteering program, for which the company even has a strategic model, called 1.1.1. “It’s part of our reward because it allows em-

20 · IS DIGITAL

ployees to bring the best of their human qualities into projects with real and specific needs.”

For nine years, Salesforce has been included on the Best Place to Work list. In 2017, it ranked 8th among the Best Place to Work list worldwide.

This recognition is tangible in the workplace. “The company offers options so that we can manage our time, share in our family and personal environment in a more balanced way, practice sports, participate in creative projects, and promote our quality of life, health and personal growth through wellness and mindfulness programs.”

There is an ongoing focus on talent and, in addition to offering further training programs for employees, the attraction of new talent is promoted through ‘FutureForce’, a channel for detection and assessment of young professionals and new generations worldwide.

Another essential pillar is equality, which is critical at Salesforce for all communities that are socially excluded in some cultures. Here, talent and meritocracy are fundamental.

Volunteering

Throughout the year, Salesforce employees perform, and in many cases lead, volunteer activities. Spain is no exception and when we asked them to show us what they do, examples started to pour, both in Spain and far, far away.

In fact, very close by, CoderDojo is an initiative aimed at teaching young people, between 7 and 17 years old, how to code, build a website, create an application or game, and explore technology in a casual atmosphere.

In one year, they have trained 70 teachers, started 8 dojos in schools, and trained 210 children and students at their offices.

THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, SALESFORCE EMPLOYEES CARRY OUT, AND IN MANY CASES LEAD, VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES

If we look beyond our borders, the work of the Salesforce Foundation with the Saint Martins School, located in a suburb of Nairobi, the Kenyan capital is a living example of their efforts.

They have achieved outstanding results in building schools and providing resources to a village in Kenya. This earned them the Fundacom won the Award for best internal communication campaign.

The good news is that everyone can decide the type of volunteer activity they feel closer to their heart, and lead a program individually or involving other partners. Such is their enthusiasm that before leaving, they made us promise that we would join them for some of these activities. We said goodbye to the giant’s cloud with a smile and the ‘ohana’ spirit in our hearts.

Apparently, the sky felt as much, because as we came out of the building, the sun was shining.

IS DIGITAL · 21

FOCUS

Study on on-line food consumption habits in Spain How do those who enjoy fine cuisine, also known as foodies, consume and behave, especially when booking at a restaurant, ordering take-out food or shopping for groceries on-line in Spain? We decided to follow our gut to find the answers to these questions, thanks to the “Food is digital” research prepared by Ipsos for ISDI.

The food world is undergoing a profound transformation

€80 The top

10 list

The hypermarkets, supermarkets and grocery shops category is already among the top ten e-commerce sales segments in Spain

64% Inter-annual growth

22 · IS DIGITAL

million

In the quarterly turnover of the sector

1-2%

Nevertheless, on-line channels represent only this small portion of the total industry sales. In the UK, digital food purchases account for 20%.

The space for growth in the industry is enormous

3,7%

Sectoral share in the overall digital purchases in Spain

What will this depend on?

On the industry being able to encompass the dynamics of e-commerce growth and, above all, of users

IS DIGITAL · 23

FOCUS

Should we make a reservation?

Among those who usually book a table when going out for lunch or dinner, there aren’t significant differences in terms of their habits and age. Here are some of their features: Profile: 36-year-old woman, living in Madrid, Barcelona and the center of Northern Spain

€42

84% 70%

Average cost per booking Average number of reservations per person in the last 3 months Of customers follow recommendations from friends Of consumers value their experience Of users use the phone to book

Of customers use the on-line channel, which has gained popularity thanks to its freedom of time and use choices

6.8

49%

30%

To the (on-line) market!

42% €82 1.7days 87%

Of users control their budget more efficiently when shopping on-line

Women

represent the majority group among those who buy food online Is the average amount spent

Low frequency

because it is used for relevant shopping

77%

is the average time to receive an on-line purchase Of users buy at super or hypermarket websites, which dominate the scene

Of consumers pay with cards, although Paypal and similar options (47%) are gaining positions

Time and Comfort

These are the main reasons why consumers use on-line shopping platforms

24 · IS DIGITAL

Should we order take-in and stay home?

7orders €22

37%

Of take-out food are heavy, active and dominant users

Is the average number over a 3-month period

Is the average amount spent. Yes, it is high. And it goes up to €27, when we look at the 45-55 year-old range

82%

This amount usually includes a drink + dessert + unexpected food

51%

Usually order from familiar places

68%

48%

Of telephone orders vs. 49% of on-line orders Use apps to order

Of users claim to have made orders after watching an ad. Advertising is a clear trigger for consumption

Of users make on-line orders from home

Payment methods

72% 11%

84%

Pay in cash on delivery Of consumers pay their on-line

55%

Of consumers pay with card on delivery

Pay close attention to these trends

62%

is the percentage of users who also consume more sophisticated products, such as wine tastings or dining experiences. Courses are also making their way into the market

IS DIGITAL · 25

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

“EVERYONE CAN GROW” Pilar López, President of Microsoft Spain, welcomed Javier Rodríguez Zapatero, ISDI’s Executive Chairman, in a house filled with fresh air and the desire to change the world. What is going on in the digital world and in a company as iconic as Microsoft?

Javier Rodríguez Zapatero (JRZ): It is very difficult to define a company that covers so many fields and accumulates so many labels: data technology, artificial intelligence, cloud, education, software, gaming...

Would you dare to define Microsoft in one tweet?

JRZ: How will artificial intelligence improve the lives of people and organizations?

Pilar López Álvarez (PLA): It is challenging, but I would start by the mission we defined as a company three years ago: to empower people and organizations so that they can achieve more. We are involved in everything that related to artificial intelligence, the Cloud and, more recently, in bringing the Cloud as close as possible to people and organizations.

So far, we have seen how technology has improved our capabilities. Just think about the effects of the smartphone revolution. At this point in time, the Cloud and artificial intelligence allow for a never-seen-before ubiquity, enhance our capabilities, and facilitate our relationship with customers.

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PLA: Artificial intelligence is already among us, in tools we use both personally and professionally.

JRZ: ISDI is a SME. How can this technology help me to be faster?

PLA: There are three aspects. Let’s start with the people who work with you: Technology allows you to have access to the best talents, wherever they are, and boost the possibilities of them collaborating with you in real time. Secondly, it helps you stay close to your customers. Technology allows you to capture information and work with it, enables your staff to act, segment, and work with customers in a more personalized way.

“WE TRY TO AVOID KNOW-IT-ALLS AND FAVOR CANDIDATES WHO WANT TO LEARN ABOUT EVERYTHING”

Finally, ISDI provides education and training with a digital component. Technology allows digitizing products, and going to markets and clients that would be unreachable otherwise. At Microsoft, we innovate to attract the best talent, surprise customers, and become more successful as an organization.

JRZ: Transformation has proven to be more challenging than being born digital. However, Microsoft exudes freshness. How has the way of doing things changed in Microsoft?

PLA: Internally, we live it as an incredible and fascinating transformation exercise that few organizations with 40 years of history in the world of technology are able to do. At the same time, transformation requires permanent change efforts.

There are three aspects that are essential to me: going back to our mission as a company as the only element that remains, constant change, and clarity about our business model, different from other large technology companies, which guides us on this journey.

PILAR LÓPEZ, PRESIDENT OF MICROSOFT SPAIN JRZ: Personally, how do you feel leading this transformation?

PLA: It’s rewarding to be part of an organization at a time when a new strategy and a new culture arise, and we need to rise to the occasion. When I look back, I think this helped me a lot, because we were all in the same boat.

JRZ: What changed in your management style?

JRZ: What is the new Microsoft talent like?

PLA: The people we would have hired three years ago have nothing to do with what we are looking for now. We talk about growth mindset: the idea that everyone can grow.

JRZ: How do you identify them?

PLA: Our company has dramatically changed in terms of training, and we now seek more proactivity. We try to avoid know-it-alls and favor candidates who want to learn about everything. That’s the type talent that we are interested in hiring and we have in the company.

This translates into the ability to ask questions.

Another aspect has to do with collaboration. My achievements need to be the achievements of others. This is a very profound change for many companies which have relied on individualism. The third radical change implies favoring diversity and inclusion in the teams.

PLA: Many things. For example, my personal productivity, measured in how many days I can take a break to enjoy dinner with my family. Technology helped me to multiply my time.

JRZ: Are you a workaholic or do you manage to disconnect?

PLA: I would like to disconnect more, but I have some flexibility. Talking about Spain, I would encourage many executives to set limits.

JRZ: What other changes would you highlight?

PLA: For someone with an Administration and Management profile, landing a position in Microsoft required an initial investment of time. From there on, you need to consider what learning needs you need to focus on.

Learning for me is also a matter of teamwork. Sharing knowledge as a team is a radical change. I think

IS DIGITAL · 27

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION the acquisition of LinkedIn transformed us dramatically in that regard. For example, now we play to see who gets the highest score on a course we’re all following.

We are in an enabling environment for SMEs to go even further in terms of digitization. The Cloud may be an answer to their security needs, at a time when cyberattacks may affect them. We wonder how much more we could accelerate if the entire ecosystem spoke on the same terms.

JRZ: You seem to be more optimistic with SMEs than with large corporations...

PLA: Yes, we see a lot going on, although there are sectors that are really setting the pace. The automotive industry, which already accounts for more than 10% of GDP in Spain and is now focused on connected cars; the world of tourism, which has carried out a restructuring, although I think there is room for more; the health sector, with innovative people in the private sector...

JRZ: How does leadership influence the transformation of this scenario?

JRZ: Could you make a diagnosis on the digital transformation of Spanish companies?

PLA: The CEO of an industrial company told me recently: “There are two types of companies: those that innovate and those that die.” In five years, we will see who the leaders in their sector are, namely, those who have been able to reinvent “LEARNING IS ALSO A themselves. The incentive to MATTER OF TEAMWORK” lead change in your own company is survival.

PLA: We are the 12th or the 13th economy in the world, we have a sound environment in terms of infrastructure. However, when it comes to digitization or education rankings, we are in 34th or 35th place. There’s a gap there.

Large companies need to advocate for this cultural transformation more intensely. In the end, this is what facilitates, simplifies and makes organizations more flexible, and allows large technology budgets to be driven towards such innovation and agility.

Administrations are another key agent. In recent years, we have seen that neighboring countries, like Britain or the Netherlands have come out ahead of us. Public sector policies favor private sector behaviors, especially in SMEs. Here is where we see a higher growth. Spanish SMEs have started exporting, and that means they could hire people to go digital. We are seeing virtuous circles that we really like, because they are not bound by the rigid structures of large businesses, nor have a legacy.

28 · IS DIGITAL

JRZ: You mentioned education with real interest... What would you change in education to bridge the gap that you pointed out?

PLA: Personal and team passion.

In Microsoft, we have made education our contribution to society. Education is highly fragmented in Spain. In our view, the message is that it is not so much about having devices, but about having a pedagogical model that technology can help materialize.

We managed to secure investment for educational projects, and we have a plan to train teachers. We believe in people able to personalize education, for example, using Minecraft to teach mathematics, or STEM. If we are able to train teachers and get them out of their legacy environment, things would change more quickly.

Microsoft alone cannot do this, but it is an achievable goal.

You realize that when you look at the rankings of business schools of our country, and wonder why it is not possible to put universities and primary and secondary education centers at that level.

JRZ: Many accuse companies of being participants in a revolution that will destroy many jobs. What would you say to them?

PLA: Jobs are being transformed. Hence the fundamental role of education. In the case of Spain, an economy with high productivity deficits, we still need about 10 years of investment in digitization and robotics to get there. This concern should not be now a thing of the past.

I recently read data from Germany, where the industry has robotized four times more than in the US. The study commented two effects: employment has not been destroyed, but has generated industry movement toward services and the need for more skilled jobs in the world of middle management.

We must anticipate those moves, which requires a vision from Administrations, businesses and social partners, because change will indeed occur. As an economy, do we want to lead this movement or do we want American or German companies to do it?

JRZ: You’re optimistic...

PLA: I am optimistic that the positive effects of fearlessly joining a technological revolution outweigh the short-term effects.

JRZ: Having a society that has been educated for change will allow us to adapt more quickly to new positions.

Learning needs to be exponential…

PLA: Access to technology to lead that change from anywhere in the world is something that 100 years ago we did not have.

JRZ: We started with a tweet, so let us end up with another. How would you define yourself in a few characters?

PLA: Passion for technology, digitization, education, for improving the lives of people and organizations.

“WE ARE IN AN ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR SMES TO GO EVEN FURTHER IN TERMS OF DIGITIZATION”

Profile Pilar López Álvarez has been the President of Microsoft Spain since July 2015. She holds a degree in Business Administration with a major in Finance from ICADE. She developed an important part of her career at Telefónica, a company she joined in 1999.

She had previously various management positions at JP Morgan in Madrid, London and New York.

During her time at Telefónica, Pilar López worked in the Finance and Business Strategy areas for Europe and Latin America, holding a position as Financial Controller at Telefónica Móviles, Strategy Director at Telefónica Spain, Chief Financial Officer of O2 in London, and Chief Financial Officer of Telefónica Europe in Madrid.

Pilar López is also non-executive Director at Ferguson, the world’s largest distributor of construction materials.

She was also Director of Telefónica Czech Republic AS, Vice-President of the Board of Telefónica Deutschland Holding AG, and a Member of the Board of Tuenti Technologies.

IS DIGITAL · 29

AGENDA

NOV Barcelona 30.11.2017 Innovators under 35 MIT Technology Review is coming back to Spain. Paris will host the gala presentation of the 35 European entrepreneurs and researchers under that age who have excelled in the technological field. But prior to that venue, the MIT Technology Review will select the best Spanish talent, whose work will be recognized in a ceremony at the Barcelona Tech City cluster, featuring previous laureates and experts from the Spanish technology ecosystem. www.innovatorsunder35.com

30 ¡ IS DIGITAL

DEC Madrid 12.12.2017 FinTechStage Madrid 2017 Eurostars Madrid Towers will host a conference organized by the Spanish Association of Fintech and InsurTech, aimed at discovering the latest innovations in the sector, and identifying business opportunities.

Top leaders will gather to explore issues related to artificial intelligence, PSD2, GDPR, RegTech, to name a few. https://asociacionfintech.es/eventos

JAN Madrid 24.01.2018 - 25.01.2018 CivilDRON’18 Unmanned aircraft, popularly known as drones, have sparked great interest in various industries. As a result, this event, organized by the Regional Government of Madrid, has become a benchmark in the national landscape. It is an excellent setting to create a network of contacts related to the market, address the relevance of this technology, and know or show innovative projects. www.civildron.com

FEB Barcelona 19.02.2018 Global Master Digital Business (GMDB) Up until November 2018, Barcelona will offer a unique experience combining face-to-face learning in different cities of the world with on-line training, including three weeks with the leading international experts in the digital field. [ISDI] New calls Master Data Analytics (MDA) The time for data has come. If you want to lead this revolution, we welcome you to this program, focused on digital data analysis and big data with a business vision, offering a six-month blended training on data capture, processing, and display for decision-making processes.[450 hours] [ISDI]

Barcelona, 26.02.2018 - 01.03.2018

Mobile World Congress 2018 #MWC18

Attending an event, soaking up the new ideas on display, visiting the pavilions, advertising a brand or product... Many doors open every year at the Mobile World Congress, a not-to-be-missed major event that brings together professionals from all over the world and sets the pace in the mobile field.

The most anticipated subjects of this year’s event include 5G, and the next generation networks, IoT, digital content, privacy and security, sustainable development, among many others. www.mobileworldcongress.com

4YFN Barcelona 2018

‘4 Years from Now’ is the platform for startups at the Mobile World Congress Barcelona, which enables companies, investors, corporations and public institutions to discover talents and ideas, and forge partnerships that turn into new ventures. The figures from 2017 figures are impressive: more than 19,000 attendees, 600 startups, 700 investors, 275 speakers, and more than 40 workshops. www.4yfn.com

IS DIGITAL · 31

OPTIMISTIC ATTITUDE

ARSH SHAH DILBAGI THE ‘TECHIEST’ VOICE Precocious and full of talent, Arsh Shah Dilbagi surprises the world with his creations in the field of robotics. He is only 19 years old, but there is much to learn from the way this young Hindu sees life.

Arsh Shah Dilbagi grew up in India, as a “very spoiled” only child. He had everything he wanted. Until one day in high school, when he asked his parents for a PlayStation and, for the first time in his life, they said ‘no’. He insisted for a month, until he realized that nothing would work. “So, I came up with a master plan”, he recalls.

“YOU DO NOT NEED ALL THE RESOURCES AND KNOWLEDGE IN THE WORLD TO MAKE SOMETHING THAT CAN HAVE AN IMPACT”

32 · IS DIGITAL

For this bright young man, “growing up in India meant permanent challenges to gather resources and get the latest tools, whether advanced robotic components or basic robotics training kits.” He found one that was not available in his country, and cost more than his coveted game console, and gave his parents a month to get it for him. “I was really spoiled,” he jokes. One night, he went to the dining table and there it was.

“For the first time ever, I was allowed to stay up all night”, he says. Protected by darkness, he built a robot that dodged

A tip of advice for entrepreneurs “It takes a lot of time to do something even marginally significant in the context of our existence. Faith in oneself, passion, purpose, and perseverance altogether, help in the challenging journey to make an impact on people’s lives. If you’ve ever seen a hockey stick, you will recognize the smoothness with which the heal rises until it reaches the end of the stick. That is the graph of progress of any project I’ve worked on, and I can tell you that most people give up too early to make a change. To become the change.”

obstacles and had a revelation: it was not so difficult ‘make things’.

“You do not need all the resources and knowledge in the world to make something that can have an impact, and age is really just a number”, Arsh declares. “That was how I got into Robotics.”

He didn’t insist, but as a joke, but when he finished high school, his parents gave him that PlayStation. “I think science and technology through robotics and many other fields allows us, as human beings, to do things better than we’ll ever be able to.

It’s like tricking evolution. “ At 16, he won the Google Science Fair 2014 thanks to Talk, a device to turn breath into words, designed to help people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and other debilitating diseases.

A year later, he brought to life a robot dog, ‘Clumsy’, and inspired thousands of young and not-so-young people, at a TedxTeen talk. Today, he studies at Princeton. This path has allowed

him to “create new things”, “travel” and especially, “meet great people from different cultures and backgrounds.” For Arsh Shah Dilbagi, “it is amazing to see how people look at the same things in a different way, and present astronomically different perspectives.”

Innovating for a cause

“There are three basic questions I ask myself before starting a project: Why? What? How? The order in which to ask these questions has always been a topic for discussion. “I never start with an idea or a business plan, I always start with a purpose. Why do I want to solve this problem?”, Arsh Shah Dilbagi wonders.

Most of the projects he has worked on in the last couple of years have involved a significant investment of time. Therefore, he explains, when he asks himself “why?”, that means that he feels passionate not only about the idea, but also about the purpose. “This allows me to deal

“FAILURE HURTS, BUT IT MAKES YOU STRONGER”

with setbacks, to push harder even when failure persists, and to do great things that may potentially have an impact”, he states.

Failure as a way to learn

“I know that failure is good for my future”, he says. “It’s true that one needs time to recover from failure, but that’s just natural. It hurts, but it makes you stronger. Accepting this reality and not fighting the pain, giving failure enough time to teach its lessons, has been instrumental in handling setbacks.”

“I NEVER START WITH AN IDEA OR A BUSINESS PLAN, I ALWAYS START WITH A PURPOSE” IS DIGITAL · 33

INDUSTRY NEWS Welcome, startups!

IMPACT Growth hosts its Welcome Week

Following a selection process that included 2,000 participants from around the world, the 14 startups participating in the IMPACT Growth accelerating have met, alongside their mentors, in the Welcome Week organized by ISDI. World renowned accelerators, experts, and, of course, the CEOs and C-levels from the startups chosen for the program, traveled from across the globe to participate in an intense week, which started with an opening event at the new and improved ISDI Madrid CAD, and continued with a training camp, designed to bring the highest level of performance to the participating startups.

Data scientist is the hottest profession in

the 21st century, thanks to the rise of Big Data, according to The New York Times. Banking, telecom and retail are the sectors that feel most attracted by this profile. A report by Randstad adds that professionals mastering Hadoop, Java, Cassandra, MongoDB, Kafka, Python, Spark, R, SAS, Hive and Tableau, are the most sought by companies.

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Inspiration, learning and work have been the three concepts leading an innovative format, with morning master classes and afternoon workshops, thanks to which the startups could work on validating their business hypotheses with the experts, and on practicing the skills learned, together with the rest of participants. Trainers included entrepreneurs and experts as relevant as: Sergio Álvarez (founder of CARTO), Bartek Kunowski (CPO, Glovo), Andy Stalman (CEO, Totem), David Tomás (founder of Cyberclick), Efi Shema (Director at Rhodium VC), Juan López Santamaría (Kibo Ventures) or Jorge Villabona (CMO, ISDI).

“In May 2018, the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) should be fully incorporated, and will affect both processes and professionals who handle data in organizations. Noncompliance will result in substantial penalties, so the time for excuses is over.” [Mar Palazuelos, Program Coordinator of the First European Conference on Privacy and Data Protection]

Serial entrepreneurs 48% of Spaniards are serial entrepreneurs, according to the “2017 Entrepreneurship Map“, presented by the Spain startup-South Summit.

With a sample of 1,585 projects, they developed a snapshot of the Spanish entrepreneurial profile: mostly men (only 18% of projects sub-

mitted to the South Summit are led by women) with an average age of 36 years old, university education (especially in engineering and social sciences), and professional experience. 57% of participants used to be employees, and only 1.5% were unemployed.

As for the main features of their projects...

19% has already 9%

of projects have a duration of 3 to 5 years (twice than in 2016).

Failure is shrinking, from 62% to

55%

reached the growth stage (compared to 17% the previous year).

As for profits,

14%

have achieved a positive EBITDA.

this year.

2

10

out of every In Spain, startups have a team of between 5 and 10 people, and 9% have between 10 and 20 employees on staff. The bad news is that, according to the “2017 Entrepreneurship Map”, with every year of company life, at least 7% of founders abandon the project.

September 30th was the final deadline

for making contributions to the public consultation launched by the Ministry of Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda, inviting businesses, organizations and citizens to participate in the design of its new “Digital Strategy for a Smart Spain.”

And what about funding? That is still an obstacle to be overcome.

57% of entrepreneurs invest their own savings, and 24% turn to the Triple “F” (Friends, Family and Fools). Some also obtain capital from private funds (15%) and crowdfunding (2%).

7 out of every 10 Internet users

buy on-line, according to the “2017 Annual E-commerce Survey”, prepared by Elogia for IAB. This research emphasizes that there is no growth in the number of buyers compared to 2016, but there is indeed an increase in exclusive buyers in the on-line channel, at the expense of the exclusive off-line channel buyers. Its authors point out that although the market stabilizes in terms of penetration, its value increases due to increased frequency and average ticket amounts.

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