The quarantine imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, freezing most economic sectors where many employees cannot work remotely, reminds us of the importance of digitalization, no matter a company’s size or industry. The fact that many organizations use business management tools to run their operations, gives them an even greater advantage, especially today.
“This crisis has shown how interconnected we are, and just how quickly an isolated situation has a global impact. The past weeks have proven that people are, in fact, extremely flexible and adaptable,” said Adrian Bodomoiu, Managing Director of Wizrom Software, Romania.
“While we see tremendous growth potential, there are still companies in the manufacturing sector who lack a specialized workforce and face increased production costs. Automating production processes is critical, and a growing number of customers are turning to demand planning and manufacturing execution systems,” Bodomoiu added.
“As work environments become more flexible, companies need business management solutions accessible from mobile devices. We expect a surge in mobile app usage, where even the smallest companies will choose digitization, especially cloud solutions.”
Long time Priority Software business partner, Wizrom Software, was founded in Bucharest, Romania in 1994. With over 3,600 local customers, Wizrom also serves an extensive customer base in Bulgaria, Republic of Moldova, Serbia, Hungary, Israel, US, Canada, Belgium, UK, Croatia, and Poland. Closing 2019 with € 5.7M in revenues generated from ERP solutions for professional services, manufacturing, distribution, and HR, Wizrom’s WizSalary software, processes the salaries of over 600,000 employees in Romanian companies.
What do Romanian companies really need?
Wizrom maintains that BI solutions, namely those that help customers leverage and protect their business data, are on the rise in Romania, following the likes of EU-wide GDPR regulations in 2018, and Cambridge Analytica’s data in the 2016 US election campaign.
Many foresee AI technology as the ultimate game-changer. In Romania today, AI can enhance any company’s existing software technology with an entirely new perspective. “The next step is to streamline the solutions that integrate AI, to generate in-depth analysis in less time. Benefits increase dramatically when integrated with existing ERP systems because data is collected and analyzed in real-time,” said Bodomoiu. “I would venture to say that, in five years’ time, it will be difficult to find a company that doesn’t have an AI-based solution in place.”
The early pioneers of digitization in Romania were the distribution companies, as they perceived digitization as the answer to cost efficiency. “It’s their complex operational processes that make manual operations, inefficient. Automation has been embraced industry-wide, particularly by companies with multiple workflows, such as manufacturing or consumer goods. They welcomed automation to reduce operational costs and boost productivity – and it worked.”
Moving from “I want” to “I must”
Automated solutions are no longer perceived as a ‘trend’, but as a reality that responds quickly to labor shortages, and to meeting other critical business needs. “Any company, regardless of size or industry sector, should consider automated solutions to grow their business and increase operational efficiency. It should not be viewed as “nice-to-have”, but rather, “must-have”, said Bodomoiu.
Bodomoiu recalls, “We’ve seen management’s hesitation to invest in complex software integration projects, choosing instead, smaller stand-alone solutions. However, once they implement business management software in their daily operations, and the benefits start to show, they want to get on board. Many understand the value of an automated system, and have increased their IT spend.”
At the brink of digitalization?
“In the last 20 years, Romania has recovered much of the gap in implementing new technologies in the consumer and private sectors, with the business community picking up steam. On the technological front, Romania has successfully competed with the most powerful European countries,” said Bodomoiu. “To make up for a lost time, local companies quickly embraced new technologies. Look at the success of Romania’s Fintech or other collaborative platforms, such as Uber or Airbnb, all emerging local market leaders.”
Romania would still be prepared to adopt early technologies, such as blockchain, 3D printing, or machine learning. However, to maintain its momentum, the IT sector needs new investments to remain attractive, now approaching 6% of Romania’s GDP. More recently, the contribution of education and taxation has further supported IT growth.
“Today, Romania’s IT&C sector is a key contributor to its financial success. Economic benefits, lower labor costs as compared to other EU countries, and a focus on education in this sector have all contributed to its marked increase,” said Bodomoiu. “It remains attractive to investors, but its development potential is limited by a small skilled workforce. The annual number of new graduates fails to keep up with the demand for employees. I believe that the future of IT&C will greatly depend on how well we can attract a foreign workforce or develop new specialists locally, for example, through professional retraining programs.”
Author: Alex Ciutacu, Business MAGAZIN, Romania
(Translated from the original article in Romanian)
