“There are important changes in the ICT strategy”

The consulting firm Viewnext is seeing how Spanish companies continue to accelerate their digital transformation processes. We spoke with Jorge Jiménez, General Manager and CEO of the company about the temperature of the digitization thermometer in Spain.

Interview with Jorge Jiménez, General Manager and CEO of Viewnext

As one of the main consultants in Spain, what trends do you observe in the current market? What do clients most request from you?

What we are seeing from Viewnext is that precisely in a scenario like the one we currently have, in which we are still under the effects of a pandemic and live in an environment of economic uncertainty, companies are addressing important changes in their technological strategy to face the challenge of business continuity and scalability. To do so, they tackle projects for the transformation and digitization of the workplace, automation of processes to seek maximum efficiency in their organizations and design of new ways of interacting with their customers through digital media, which is where the consumer moves. . And all this, in addition, they have to do guaranteeing the maximum security and privacy of the data, because we are not only talking about growing threats, but also about increasingly demanding regulations.

In this sense, our conversations with clients revolve around all those models and technologies that can make it possible: the hybrid cloud, cybersecurity, microservice architectures, DevOps models, Agile projects and, of course, about the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence. in their processes.

What needs are most pressing for the Spanish company?

We see four key areas where we believe companies should focus their investment:

In the first place, in order to face all the changes that we mentioned before, they have to rely on reliable, robust and flexible IT models with which they can adapt at all times to their own needs and face changes in the market.

They must also face a deep modernization of applications. We cannot afford to remain disconnected and depending on outdated functionalities and features that are difficult to update and, above all, do not allow us to scale. Application modernization allows you to take advantage of all the benefits of the cloud and also operate faster, with more performance and at scale.

A third block would be to adapt its work model to a hybrid environment where professionals can have more flexibility operating in both remote and face-to-face environments, when needed or required by projects. The challenge now is to find new ways to maintain the bond with the company and the feeling of belonging of employees who telecommute.

And the fourth block, which encompasses and drives the rest, is the urgent migration to the cloud. As I said before, today only cloud models allow us to maintain an adequate scalability model. Hybrid cloud models and the migration of applications, including critical ones, to the cloud is essential to face the challenges of a modern company, which needs to connect its processes, both internally and with its suppliers.

In terms of digitization, what are the main deficits that you observe in organizations?

What we observe in the companies that come to us to start their digital transformation processes is that they are often slaves to obsolete infrastructures and legacy applications with which they have not been able to operate in a connected manner. Therefore, most processes have been trapped in silos, from which it is difficult to get out.

These companies have difficulties migrating to modern architectures and are also afraid of facing a more open and connected model, with data in which there is a lot of order, using data governance initiatives and, above all, keeping them safe, using cybersecurity models from the start. the first moment.

Our first approach to these companies is precisely to facilitate this transition as much as possible, that they can make it from the first moment, with Viewnext by their side, accompanying them to overcome these fears and all these difficulties.

What goals has Viewnext set for the rest of the year?

In the first place, we want to consolidate our own growth, being the technological partner of our clients in this decisive moment of their transformation. In this sense, we are going to focus a lot on promoting our offer of cloud services.

We are also working on transitioning our own work model towards hybrid models, with different telecommuting options and flexibility so that our employees can reconcile more easily.

And another of the areas in which we are going to put a lot of focus is sustainability, understanding it in its broadest sense. On the one hand, accelerating the adoption of a more sustainable energy system and carbon footprint. But also stimulating a much more equitable and diverse business model, for example, promoting the presence of women in our company, in all kinds of profiles and responsibilities.

In a market as competitive as yours, what sets Viewnext apart from its competitors?

First of all, I would highlight that we are a company with 30 years of history that is part of the IBM Group, which offers our clients a lot of solidity and confidence. In these years we have grown together with many of our current clients and we have accumulated learning and experience that we take advantage of in all new clients and new projects. In addition, our ‘local’ origin, born and raised in Spain and with innovation centers and offices throughout the Spanish geography, places us in a position of proximity to our clients that allows us to take advantage of all the ‘proximity’ resources in each locality, which represents a great competitive advantage for our clients, who can start their projects much faster and in a more productive and profitable way.

An example of proximity is the relationship we have with numerous training centers throughout our country, which allows us to be in contact with new talent and promote the adoption of the new skills required by digital transformation.

In fact, talent -and diverse talent- is one of our main assets for our clients. At Viewnext we value the skills that people may have today, but our commitment is the growth of our professionals and talent in the long term, which is what adds the most value.