5 questions to...
Guido Porro
Interview with the Executive Vice President Enterprise of Engineering.
Guido Porro, at Engineering since 2022, leads the Enterprise business unit, overseeing the markets of Energy & Utilities, Media & Communication, Retail & Fashion, Industries, and Transportation.
A graduate in Economics from Bocconi University, Guido began his career at Accenture before moving to BCG, where he spent 6 years in the Energy, Industrial Goods, and Telco practices.
In 2009, he joined Oracle as Senior Director and in 2012, he joined Dassault Systèmes, where he held regional roles as Managing Director for Southern Europe and global responsibilities as the head of the indirect channel for the Americas, EMEAR, and Asia.
1. AI IS NOW A DISRUPTIVE AND STRATEGIC ELEMENT, CAPABLE OF GENERATING INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS THAT GO BEYOND MERE OPTIMIZATION. HOW CAN THE POWER OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DATA BE HARNESSED TO CREATE SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION IN CRITICAL SECTORS SUCH AS MANUFACTURING, INDUSTRY, TRANSPORTATION, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, AND UTILITIES?
The strategy is to adopt a 360-degree vision: start with small projects but maintain a long-term horizon, examine processes as a whole, and then decide which specific areas to address, focusing first on those most suited to enhancing quality and innovation.
In this approach, one of the most critical factors is choosing the right technology partner, as it’s not just about developing algorithms. It requires the ability to integrate them into business processes by leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as Digital Twin or Extended Reality. It’s essential to foster augmented knowledge within company departments and eliminate barriers caused by technological and organizational limitations.
Today, data is increasingly pervasive, and information can be located, analyzed, and verified with speed and accuracy. It’s as if every company held gold deposits data from which valuable insights could be extracted but lacked the tools to do so. This is now changing with Artificial Intelligence, Digital Twin, and Cloud technologies, which, when integrated, act as agents of change. They enable solutions that address global challenges while supporting strategies aimed at building more inclusive and equitable social ecosystems.
2. IN AN INCREASINGLY COMPETITIVE AND RAPIDLY EVOLVING MARKET, MANAGING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS AND THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IN AN ENGAGING AND RELEVANT WAY BECOMES CRUCIAL. THIS INVOLVES IMPLEMENTING SOLUTIONS THAT ALLOW SERVICES TO BE QUICKLY ADAPTED TO USER NEEDS. GENERATIVE AI IS UNDOUBTEDLY A VALUABLE TOOL IN THIS CONTEXT, BUT HOW DOES IT HELP?
Generative Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are fundamentally transforming forecasting methodologies.
Generative AI enhances top-line performance and increases revenue by providing top management with new insights and indicators in a simple and immediate way, enabling decisions such as the introduction of a new product (or service) to the market or determining the optimal pricing for a commercial offering.
Generative AI can also learn from proprietary and restricted data sets, generating targeted responses to resolve straightforward issues, thereby reducing call volumes, time, and costs. Systems based on Private Gen AI are secure, scalable, capable of overcoming linguistic and cultural barriers, and potentially able to gather insights from user interactions. At the same time, we have long been witnessing a shift from client-centric to user-centric approaches in processes and technological solutions.
This trend appears well established, and prioritizing the end customer means emphasizing the user experience and customer journey, seeking solutions that enable rapid adaptation of service offerings to changing user behaviors. Achieving this requires understanding customers through online interactions, such as implementing AI projects in Contact Centers, a crucial touchpoint in the customer journey.
In this context, systems like EngGPT, our generative AI solution, support sentiment analysis, enhance virtual assistance activities, and enable the creation of personalized content.
3. ANOTHER KEY FACTOR FOR COMPETITIVENESS IS THE EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF IT/OT CONVERGENCE ACROSS ALL STAGES OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN. WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS FOR A TRANSFORMATIVE AND EVOLUTIONARY IT/OT PLATFORM PLAN?
In each of the sectors we operate in (Telco & Media, Energy & Utilities, Retail & Fashion, Transportation, Industry), it is crucial to adopt an asset management approach that focuses on value enhancement. This involves strengthening control and automation within the supply chain through investments in Operational Technology and IT/OT convergence a key factor for competitiveness.
IT/OT convergence enables the optimization of operational efficiency, improved traceability, risk reduction, and more timely, informed decision-making, transforming the supply chain into an intelligent, interconnected digital ecosystem.
Equally important is the need to safeguard the OT network and all devices from cyber threats. Cybersecurity technologies and expertise are therefore essential components of a transformative and evolutionary IT/OT platform plan.
Since achieving total security is impossible, the first step must be defining a cybersecurity strategy. This involves determining where and how to focus efforts using a risk management approach, protecting IoT devices used in the supply chain from attacks, employing blockchain technology to ensure data integrity and product traceability, or implementing artificial intelligence solutions to detect anomalies and prevent attacks.
4. NEW TECHNOLOGIES ARE ALSO A STRATEGIC ALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF ECOLOGICAL AND ENERGY TRANSITIONS. THEY PROVIDE ADVANCED TOOLS TO MONITOR, ANALYZE, AND REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, IMPLEMENT DECARBONIZATION STRATEGIES, PROMOTE ENERGY EFFICIENCY, AND ACCELERATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC MODELS, TURNING ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES INTO OPPORTUNITIES FOR INNOVATION AND RESPONSIBLE GROWTH. WHAT IS ENG’S ROLE IN THIS LANDSCAPE?
The world is navigating a pivotal decade in the pursuit of a safer, more sustainable, and affordable energy system. The potential for accelerated progress is immense if immediate action is taken. Investments in clean electricity, electrification, and the expansion and modernization of grids present clear, cost-effective opportunities to rapidly reduce emissions and lower electricity costs.
Contributing to the creation and development of an efficient, responsible, and secure Energy & Utilities ecosystem is one of the defining challenges of our times, and there are many concrete ways to address it.
- For instance, supporting the activities of Energy Community members through composable platforms and an end-to-end approach applied to business processes and operational activities.
- Leveraging technologies like Digital Twin to design and test solutions based on renewable and circular energy sources while promoting intelligent demand-supply management and the repurposing of energy waste.
- Developing optimization algorithms to assess the real-time load status of grids, thereby accelerating electrical flexibility, and much more.
5. HOW IMPORTANT IS COOPERATION AMONG ALL ECOSYSTEM PLAYERS IN THE ENTERPRISE SECTOR?
At Eng, we have always been aware that cooperation is the key to progress, especially in recent times, given the continuous and rapid development of technology and the enormous global challenges we all face.
Organizations that collaborate by sharing visions, expertise, and knowledge, and building solutions, are able to better meet market needs and have a more significant impact on the evolution and improvement of the world we live in. This is why we actively collaborate with all the players defining the best in technology. From AWS to Microsoft, from SAP to Google, ...
We have also signed the "Digital Alliance for Italy," an open partnership with Lutech, to accelerate the digitalization of businesses through the use of PNRR resources. This alliance focuses on various issues, particularly integrated systems and artificial intelligence.
As technology takes us beyond optimization (costs, processes, etc.), we explore new frontiers and solutions by cooperating with companies, institutions, organizations, and individuals to achieve common goals and integrate technology effectively and sustainably.
Cooperation between complex systems: this is the key to growth, and today even more so. The most powerful enabler? Technology.
Guido Porro
Executive Vice President Enterprise, Engineering
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