The last year has been a turbulent one for the technology industry; for each innovation there’s a host of complex news stories that help us redefine how we use tech.
From high-profile, large-scale data leaks to laws and rulings that re-interpret the internet, it’s clear to see that some of the biggest tech stories of the last few years have had new instalments in 2018. Perhaps it was a year when new technology became more of an exciting opportunity to better serve clients and talent and less as something to fear and be cynical about? Or a year when the industry embraced innovation and change more than resisted it? Maybe even a year that would mark when a seismic shift in ‘industry structure’ began?
But, as a tech company, we’ve also transformed with the times, to reflect the changes in today’s society. It’s fair to say that this year has been another busy one: from new office openings and business appointments, to extended partnerships and adoption of new technologies – this year has been a success.
We won plenty of accolades
To start the year off with a bang, Stefanini was given the Business Innovation Award, specifically for successful new systems and services that have been introduced. In March, we received the “IBM Cloud Business Unit Excellence Award: Worldwide IBM Hybrid Cloud Digital Business Automation” at the IBM Think event, which took place in Las Vegas. Adding to the trophy cabinet in November, we were elected the fifth most internationalised company for the fourth consecutive year, according to the FDC Ranking of Brazilian Multinational Companies 2018.
In May, Raluca Andreea Andrei, Stefanini’s EMEA Quality and Customer Experience Manager, was crowned Manager of the Year at the 2018 GSA UK Professional Awards. The prestigious awards recognise the most highly regarded sourcing individuals and teams – the real trailblazers of our time driving notable change in the industry.
And last, but certainly not least, Beth Gebrai, vice president of global process leadership at Stefanini was nominated as one of the Notable Women in Technology by Crain Content Studio. The achievement highlights Beth as one of the most brilliant female leaders in technology, changing the face of the industry day by day.
We put increased focus on automation
This year, we reinforced our investments in Sophie, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform with the ability to turn data into valuable solutions. In October, we launched the latest version – Sophie 3.0. The AI solution is based on cognitive computing, assisting with tasks such as triggering workflow, auto escalations and presenting knowledge to users.
We also led the largest cognitive customer service project ever in Brazil, with one of its largest banks, Caixa. The solution redefined how its IT interacts with users, having the ability to learn exponentially over time from all available internal IT data, improving user experience.
Our fantastic team went from strength to strength
The topic of gender diversity and equality has been high on the media agenda this year. With that in mind, we’re extremely pleased that in both the United States and Brazil, female participation is increasing, with women holding half of the positions on the Board of Directors and Vice-Presidency in Brazil and two-thirds of the leadership positions in the US.
In September, we made two notable promotions; Florin Stefan was announced as applications development director. Florin’s career at Stefanini spans an impressive 13 years in which time he has occupied roles as a developer, project manager and an account manager in customer relations. Additionally, Anca Fotache took over the leadership of the Service Delivery Division for the EMEA region.
Through mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, we have successfully enhanced our portfolio in 2018, bringing together the latest solutions in cognitive intelligence, loyalty platforms, location, robotics, cybersecurity, Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 and hope to continue this momentum into 2019 and beyond.
