Company life
Sopra Steria Benelux
consulting, digital services and software development
News (10)
Company lifeOrdina is now Sopra Steria !
RecruitmentTobania and Sopra Steria to join forces
Belgian IT service provider Tobania, and European Tech leader Sopra Steria, join forces*. This tie-up aims to offer an expanded range of customer services and solutions, attractive career opportunities to the companies’ consultants, and a broader ecosystem of premium partnerships. Tobania and Sopra Steria, a common DNA The two companies are an ideal match, with similar missions and values. Tobania and Sopra Steria share an entrepreneurial spirit and the importance of customer and people focus. They value customer proximity, premium relationships, as well as a pragmatic and ambitious approach to conducting business. A magnet for talent The new company’s expanded portfolio of activities and clients will be a real driver for recruitment across Belgium. From an HR perspective, the group will be able to offer its consultants both local and international career development opportunities. Moreover, the tie-up will enable an acceleration in learning and training programmes through a dedicated academy. A new leader on the Belgian Information & Technology Market This tie-up will enable the group to extend its coverage of the Belgian market (Dutch and French speaking areas), doubling market share to become a leading market player (with a combined turnover of around 225 million euros, and more than 2,000 consultants in 2022). Tobania and Sopra Steria will considerably reinforce their footprint in their chosen industries. The significant acceleration in the financial services sector will propel the group to market leader with end-to-end references. It will continue to grow its business with European and international institutions, as well as the Belgian public sector, and enrich its know-how. Finally, it will be in an even stronger position to address the health, industry, retail, media, telco and energy sectors. A complementary portfolio of services The tie-up will enable the group to make significant inroads in consulting, becoming a key player in various domains. Development, testing, and support businesses remain key and can be bolstered by group capacity. Similarly, data, cybersecurity, cloud, and SAP expertise will be boosted. Besides in-depth technology expertise, both parties bring considerable industry and business domain knowledge and are driven by innovation. Together, Sopra Steria and Tobania will strive to offer their customers and end users excellence while driving their digital transformation. A very promising future The tie-up certainly holds great promise for the future. Whether in terms of services, geographical customer portfolio, or corporate culture, they form a perfect duo. Together, Sopra Steria and Tobania intend to create the largest and most transformative Information & Technology services company in Belgium. The new united company will be even stronger and aims to become a leader in Belgium, for customers, partners, and consultants. In the coming weeks, both companies will cooperate to obtain the necessary approvals from the competition authorities. Lode Peeters (CEO of Tobania) and Michel Lorgeré (CEO of Sopra Steria Benelux) are personally committed to ensuring a successful integration. * Pending approval from the Belgian competition authorities. Read the full financial Press Release
RecruitmentLife as an SAP Consultant and Business Analyst at Sopra Steria Benelux - Victoria Douin
A master’s degree in International Business and Strategy and a strong willingness to learn: that’s in a nutshell what it took for Victoria Douin to get hired by Sopra Steria Benelux as an SAP Consultant and Business Analyst. “I act as an intermediary between two worlds: the world of IT and the world of business,” she neatly sums up her new job. What made you decide to apply for this job? “I didn’t specifically apply for this job, to be honest. In fact, I didn’t apply for any specific job at Sopra Steria. It was a spontaneous open application on my part. I was living and working in Vancouver, Canada at the time, when one of my relatives mentioned Sopra Steria to me, speaking very positively of the company. So I decided to present myself as a potential candidate to them, especially since I was planning to return to Belgium anyway and looking for job opportunities over here. This led to the first meeting with one of their HR business partners. That general discussion, not related to any particular job offer, was then followed by other interviews with various directors and managers. Eventually, we both came to the conclusion that SAP consultancy would probably be the best fit for me. So the whole recruitment process started and evolved quite organically, which is actually how I like it best.” How would you describe what you do to an outsider? “As a Junior SAP Consultant, I assist in and contribute to SAP implementation projects at our customers’ sites. SAP is an Enterprise Resource Planning software. That is a comprehensive IT solution which basically covers all the day-to-day operations for different departments: from manufacturing and logistics to HR and finance. My involvement in those projects ranges from managing the business and functional aspects to the actual project management itself. A crucial aspect of my day-to-day job consists in understanding the needs and wishes of our customers and then translating them into concrete and tangible requirements for our developers to work on. That’s why on top of hard skills this job also requires some good soft skills. The way I see it, as an SAP Consultant, you form the link between the business users, or the actual end-users of the software solution, and the technical experts who develop and manage that solution. Therefore you need to be able to work and communicate with both profiles within any organisation, be it a customer, a partner or subcontractor, or even another consultancy. And often you have to collaborate with them every day. So you also have to be able to quickly adapt and build a sense of trust.” Did your studies prepare you for this new challenge? “To a certain extent they did, yes. The approach used at my university, called problem-based learning, helped me build a certain mindset and strengthen my adaptability. I got used to collaborating with lots of different parties, working together on short deadlines, and developing solutions for business-related problems. Through my international business studies, I got introduced to all the different departments within a company, their specific workings, and the potential problems they can face. However, acquiring on-the-job experience is even more important to succeed in SAP consulting. I only had a few months of experience as an SAP end user before starting at Sopra Steria, but I am ready and willing to learn a lot more in the years to come.” Interested in a career at Sopra Steria? Have a look at the Careers section on our website. Or better yet: check our current vacancies and apply immediately for the job that suits you!
RecruitmentIf you’re applying, we’re hiring!
Today, Sopra Steria can pride itself on being a European leader in consulting, digital services, and software development. In the next two years, our Benelux branch, driven by steady growth and a fast post-covid recovery, aims to recruit no less than 400 new employees, mostly tech profiles. With several high-level projects for large institutions on the horizon, and by focusing on internal training, well-being at work, and sustainability, we hope to attract many young candidates. Who knows, you just might be one of them! Sopra Steria Benelux, one of seven branches of our group, has weathered the coronavirus crisis well. So much so, in fact, that we now need several new professionals to support and sustain our local growth ambitions. To quote our Benelux CEO, Michel Lorgeré: "In 2021, we recorded growth of almost 20 percent. Our goal is to recruit 400 new people over the next 18 months." It probably won’t come as a great surprise that technical profiles and consultants remain firmly at the head of our recruitment priority list. Candidates with proven skills and knowledge in software development, data analysis, cloud architecture, cybersecurity, payment technology, and infrastructure management are especially in demand today. But on top of those ‘usual suspects, we are also looking for project managers, program directors, and service delivery managers to guide our customer projects. Experience not essential Management jobs generally attract more senior profiles, but we are happy to stress that young graduates and junior candidates shouldn't hesitate to apply. We hope to fill at least half our vacancies with younger candidates. And that's not an empty promise either: in neighbouring France, where our headquarters are situated, we’re aiming at 75 percent young recruits. With our extensive expertise, we help clients in various sectors realise their digital transformation. More in particular, we supervise some large, complex projects and multi-year ICT programs at various government departments and financial institutions, all the way up to the European level. So naturally we will always need some senior profiles. But we do make it possible for younger employees to climb the ladder quickly - for instance, by investing in custom-designed training through our in-house academy. Numerous benefits Other vital motives for choosing Sopra Steria? You'll get to work with the latest technologies in prestigious projects and for well-known clients in government and finance, the manufacturing industry, the energy and utility sectors, and transport and aviation. Our company also commits to sustainability and well-being at work. For example, company vehicles are replaced with hybrid and electric models, and the use of (electric) bicycles and public transport for commuting is strongly encouraged with incentives. To quote our CEO once again: “We're committed to reducing CO2 emissions to zero by 2028. After that, we want to be completely climate neutral. In the fight against climate change, we take pride in being one of the most ambitious companies in our sector." We also believe in an optimal work-life balance for our employees, as illustrated by our new HR policy, called 'Smart Way of Working'. Hybrid work is at the core of this. Our employees can work partly from home and partly at the office. In addition, expats are allowed even more flexibility. If they're within the Schengen zone, they're allowed to work from their home country for two weeks a year. Great place to work The efforts made by us in recent years in work culture, leadership, and well-being are now clearly reflected in our workforce. Therefore, it is no surprise that our Benelux branch was awarded the 'Great Place to Work' certification this year, based on the evaluations provided by our own Benelux-based employees in an anonymous survey conducted at the end of 2021. So don’t hesitate to contact us, if you think you have what it takes to work at Sopra Steria. Before long you might be joining our extended global family of 47,000 happy Sopra Steria employees. Interested in a career at Sopra Steria? Have a look at the Careers section on our website. Or better yet: check our current vacancies and apply immediately for the job that suits you!
RecruitmentFrom Catering to Computers - Frederick Wood
As proved many times before already, you don’t necessarily need a degree in computer science to work in IT. And what’s more, you don’t necessarily need prior work experience in IT either, as the example of Frederick Wood shows. You’re currently working as a system administrator in the SAP security team that has been putting together. What did you do before this? “Actually, before I joined Sopra Steria in September of last year, I was managing a food catering business. (laughs) You should know, though, that I’ve also studied computer science for a couple of years. And to be honest, I’ve always been somewhat of a computer geek. In the best sense of the word, mind you. Back when I was in catering, for instance, I used to install, configure and manage my own mail servers. And trust me, this may sound simple, yet it's anything but!” What made you decide to turn that particular hobby of yours into a full-time job? “Basically, I was asked to join the SAP security team by Gilles Doyen. I knew Gilles from the time we’d spent together at university, where we became really good friends. We naturally kept in touch all those years, you might say. And from talking to him as well as some other friends and even a relative who’ve been working here, I knew what a great place to work Sopra Steria is. Add to that, as you’ve already suggested, the opportunity to earn a living, build a career even, out of what I love doing anyhow and the decision to apply was quickly made.” How did the application process go? “Gilles needed someone for his team who’s not necessarily a security expert, but who’s really good at working with operating systems and not afraid to deal with the computer network and go into the system parameters. Giles knew I fit that system administrator profile perfectly, even though I do not have the paper diploma to prove it, as I didn’t finish my degree at the time but started working instead. Recruiting me obviously made sense to him, so he vouched for me and I was mainly hired at his recommendation. I still had to do a full month of training on PC-specific issues first, though. So in a sense, I was tested in advance.” Now that you mention training: do you feel you have enough support here when it comes to that? After all, professionally speaking, this is a new world for you. And it’s been a while since your studies. “I do feel I get enough support here. Apart from the formal training opportunities that the Sopra Steria Academy provides, I know that I can always consult a colleague who is an expert or has more experience than me. But I also like to find out for myself how something is working.” Now that you’re actually working in IT, what do you like about it? “I’ve always liked to manage computer systems. I also enjoy finding out and understanding why and how a system works. But most of all, I like to find solutions to the problems our customers are facing. And then applying them, of course.” A lot of administrator tasks can be done remotely these days, I suppose? “For the most part, yes, because by now we are often working on a virtual version in the cloud, where someone else is managing the physical system. But in some cases, we still have to go on-site. Personally, I prefer to work directly at the customer site, because that usually makes it easier to find the right person you need to talk to.” Looking to the future: what are your plans or ambitions? “There is still a lot of knowledge and experience I need to acquire. So my ambition in the short term is to learn as much as I can. In the longer run, I look forward to helping Giles develop and grow our local SAP security team.” To find out more about that SAP security team, read our interview with Gilles Doyen. Interested in a career at Sopra Steria? Have a look at the Careers section on our website. Or better yet: check our current vacancies and apply immediately for the job that suits you!
OtherHow explainability methods help the French Air Force adopt AI - Caroline Gardet
One of the thornier issues around the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by defence organisations is the explainability of AI-generated results. Since military analysis and decision-making can result in potentially life-or-death decisions, it is important to have the necessary confidence in those results. Explainability is an essential component for building trust in AI, as it makes AI applications more transparent and comprehensible. Deploying AI to support and augment the process of defence decision-making is gaining more and more traction these days. A key issue for commanders and other decision-makers, however, is the explainability of AI-generated results and the degree of confidence that can be afforded to partially automated assessment and advice systems. Explainability methods are increasingly used to improve the level of trust in AI tools and therefore increase their adoption rate. Decision support tool As part of the work we carry out with the French Air and Space Force (FAF) to support their military air safety and risk management, we have developed models and tools that provide a stronger degree of confidence in the results delivered by SAFIR SA, the FAF’s air safety risk management toolset. SAFIR SA has been developed to classify air incident reports according to two categories of labels: on the one hand, the causes of the incidents and on the other hand the consequences in the form of so-called harmful results. Each category contains several labels; for example, the category "causes" contains: equipment, human factor, environment, etc. This AI-based classification system is used as a decision support tool that allows Air Force safety management to focus on analysing incident reports from across different sources and automating the detection of emerging trends, instead of simply searching for information. Incident reports are categorized based on text inputs provided by the different contributors to the incident management process: aircrews, maintenance crews, line management, etc. Human validation For reasons of stability and reliability, SAFIR SA is used exclusively as an analysis and decision-making support tool: all automatically generated classification is submitted for human validation. Explainability is therefore of dual interest for the SAFIR SA toolset and the FAF’s air safety risk management community process: Firstly, human users can understand the reasons behind automated categorizing for a given incident report. This is of significant help to understand whether a given classification may be accepted or rejected. Indeed, the explainability approach indicates those important words, and words on which models base their classification decision. That same approach can also help identify those words in an incident report that may influence a decision towards another category, revealing for instance human factor involvement. Secondly, explainability provides a better analysis of the model’s behaviour. This in turn can help refine the model training input data for the improvement of automatic classification. It can reveal if the model is relying on relevant words or if it has been overfitted. Continuous improvement In the long run, confidence brought on by greater explainability may help shift the usage of the SAFIR SA toolset by the air safety management chain. For instance, quality validation may be achieved through the sampling of categorized reports rather than through exhaustive validation. The productivity and operational gain for defence users is already considerable and may yet be increased as explainability matures. A more extensive presentation on this topic was held at NATO Edge 22, a technology conference hosted by the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency). To find out more about this complex but explainable AI solution and, more specifically, the different explainability techniques used in our AI research project with FAF, please contact me or my colleagues.
OtherPrivacy Shield 2.0: a business solution for international personal data transfers - Javier López-Guzmán
To transfer data internationally, it is important to choose the right legal instrument. A major development in the transatlantic framework has emerged recently. Could this be the start of a new Privacy Shield 2.0, and be of business use for these transfers? Let’s investigate! Data processing is one of the main pillars of the current digital market. Data transfers between different jurisdictions are integrated as part of everyday business in many companies and public entities - either in digital tools used daily or as a business growth model to benefit from economies of scale. Personal data is legally protected in a specific way, which limits digital business. This sensitive context explains the importance of choosing the right legal instrument to transfer data internationally. Compliance is challenging and necessary. However, it also brings potential improvements in cybersecurity and reliability for entities which implement it by design. Open transfers of personal data The topic could not be trendier: last October US President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) to adapt the existing American legal framework in order to reassure the data flows between the US and the EU. The aim of that legal act is to approximate to the EU legal framework in aspects such as state surveillance, security, and legal remedies for EU citizens. This alignment should facilitate the creation of a new adequacy decision between the EU and the US: Privacy Shield 2.0. Adequacy decisions, as defined in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), are one of the core legal instruments designed to protect fundamental rights and boost innovation and international trade. They are the legal instrument created in the personal data protection regime of the EU to validate privacy frameworks of other countries and allow automatic transfers of personal data to those countries, without any other specific (and often bureaucratic) legal warranties. By declaring a third country adequate, the European Commission whitelists it, and allows businesses to send the personal data automatically there. The original Privacy Shield and its predecessor Safe Harbour were struck down by the Court of Justice of the EU in the ’Schrems’ and ‘Schrems II’ cases respectively. The Court found that Europeans’ data was not sufficiently safe from US surveillance. As a result, these past eight years have been a bumpy road for digital innovators. The road ahead President Biden’s new Executive Order, entitled “Enhancing Safeguards for United States Signals Intelligence Activities”, does go some way to close the transatlantic gap between the legal systems. However, experts agree that this document alone does not signal a return to business as usual. The topic is far from closed. To guarantee that transatlantic data flows will continue, the European Commission must pass a new adequacy decision in the coming weeks (Privacy Shield 2.0, or any other savvy title). There is a firm political agreement at the highest level to land this legal scheme. It originated in the visit of the US government to Brussels last March, with the meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Ursula von der Leyen, and the political agreement to build a new Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework. Since then, the topic has already been extensively discussed in the EU-US Trade and Technology Council, a bilateral transatlantic governmental forum. What about the EU Court of Justice? As with any political agreement on trade (even if digital), this matter is highly controversial. It is also subject to political decisions that impact business development worth billions in international transfers. Pro-business entities advocate that the US has honoured its part of the agreement. Now the ball is on the EU’s side. However, even if the EU Commission and Member States seem to be willing to return to the status quo as soon as possible, there is another actor in the play: the Court of Justice of the European Union. Most academics and civil society activists do not buy the new rhetoric on the pro-business American side. They do not consider these new legal safeguards sufficient to protect Europeans’ personal data abroad. The agreement is therefore very likely to be challenged before the Court. Both previous adequacy decisions were annulled by the Court due to fundamental rights concerns. Will it consider sufficient these new safeguards? What will be the tribunal’s take on the new influence of the US government on European secret services and European citizens’ data? Navigating uncertainty Meanwhile, as a pressure measure, and to raise its international profile on this specific topic, the US has impulsed its own fora on international data transfers, which could rival the one established in the EU as a business-friendlier approach in the digital era. The United Kingdom, too, wants to propose a similar framework of its own in the post-Brexit period. And transfers to other economic areas, such as China, are also of a high business interest. How to navigate this uncertainty for digital businesses and public entities? The answer is to stay well informed, up to date, and find the right partnerships. With our team of experts, we are well-equipped to help you do just that. So don’t hesitate to call on us for (extra) support and assistance.