Silviano Andreu, Director of Minsait: “Companies have a clear idea of the transformation roadmap, but the actual complexity lies in execution”

Silviano Andreu, Head of Minsait, Indra's business unit responsible for providing a response to digital transformation, addressed the keys to successfully face the challenges derived from the disruption wave that is shaking up the economy during the talks of different multinational company executives at the DES 201 (Digital Enterprise Show).

From the need to have a clear vision and integrating leadership approaches to the importance of effective communication between teams and agile development, the Head of Minsait addressed the different aspects that can determine the success - or failure - of such a complex process as the digital transformation of an organization. The executive stressed the need to nurture internal talent and effectively attract external talent. He stated that "creating a truly innovative project and having a clear corporate vision are required to attract the top professionals".

Francisco Javier Ahijado, Manager of Digital Practices at Minsait, said that Digital transformation is forcing companies to progress from traditional IT architectures to cutting-edge Open IT architectures, which can provide a robust infrastructure to face the challenges of the digital era, "a process that requires us to take advantage of the business synergies to streamline costs in the current environment".

He considers that a development model must be designed to facilitate the implementation and governance of an open architecture, putting their progress in line with the Organization's business priorities. "Along this way, the legacy systems must coexist with new scalable, flexible, secure, open and agile technologies (API-planning, micro-services, Cloud, DevOps...)", which involves starting up a new internal infrastructure project that does not have immediate visibility in business and developments in environments in which the budget scenario is reduced and limited".

The model proposed by Indra's digital transformation unit provides the steps that the Organization must follow "on paper" and those required to execute strategic projects that are demanded by the business with agility.

Specifically, the challenges of connectivity as the basis of the Open Business were the central theme of the intervention of Joseph Gelman, Partner of Innovation and Digital transformation at Minsait. Gelman views the Open concept as "a change of a radical mindset" for large companies that had traditionally built their competitive advantages based on proprietary infrastructures and captive customers. Likewise, he stated that "the regulation on open banking can become a wake-up call for these companies to join this key trend of digital transformation".

Urban ecosystems and factories 4.0

Moreover, Miguel Ángel Gonzalez San Román, Director of Digital Solutions at Minsait, presented the keys to the digital city in "an ecosystem of services created by and for the citizen" that improves the life of its inhabitants, while having them participate in decision-making processes through technology. "To achieve this goal, we need citizens, companies, knowledge centers and the public administration to work together to create and build services based on existing developments and experiences. Likewise, the collaboration between different cities and regions will allow us to create a common knowledge and solutions platform that anyone can access, regardless of its size or economic situation", explained Miguel Ángel Gonzalez.

Gerardo Villalba, Head of Digital Operations and Industry 4.0 at Minsait participated in the debate "The Autonomous Factory", where he spoke about the importance these digital technologies are gaining in the new platforms and business cultures. In an increasingly connected world, "manufacturers are moving from selling their products to customers to selling end-to-end comprehensive solutions and business ecosystems beyond their capacity, which revolve around these products and where multiple factors are integrated". In such a competitive scenario, Gerardo Villalba recalled that digital solutions and new technologies "are becoming key to reaching these new business models, in which the products and services are mixed and relationships are changing thanks to connectivity".

About Minsait

Minsait (www.minsait.com) is the Indra digital transformation business unit. Its offering is designed to achieve rapid and tangible results. Its multidisciplinary team of more than 3,000 experts in Europe and Latin America are grouped around four main lines of service: business consulting, digital technology and consulting, proprietary digital products and cybersecurity. The integral approach promoted by Minsait requires, beyond the implementation of transformation initiatives, a profound rethinking of the management model. The acquisition of Paradigma, leader in the "digital native" format offering with an innovative culture and agile methodologies, completes Minsait’s value proposition, whose differential offer covers, end to end, all the digital transformation needs of companies and institutions.

About Indra

Indra is one of the world's top technology and consulting and a technology partner for the key operations of its customers' businesses worldwide. It is a leading worldwide provider of proprietary solutions in niche areas in Transport and Defense Markets and the absolute leader in IT in Spain and Latin America. It offers a comprehensive range of proprietary solutions and cutting edge services with a high added value in technology based on a unique culture of reliability, flexibility and adaptability to the needs of its customers. Indra is a world leader in the development of end-to-end technology solutions in fields such as Defense and Security, Transport and Traffic, Energy and Industry, Telecommunications and Media, Financial Services, Electoral Processes, and Public Administrations and Healthcare. Minsait is Indra’s digital transformation business unit. In 2017 Indra posted a revenue of €3,011m, employed 40,000 professionals, and had a local presence in 46 countries plus sales operations in more than 140 countries.