Exclusive, OT print issue: Teamnet invests ten million Euro in 2016, expands regionally

Romania moves forward adopting technologies such as the Cloud, The Internet of Things (IoT), Geographic Information System (GIS) or Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle (UAV), which will most certainly lead to technological innovation that will drive Romania's development in the next two decades, says Bogdan Padiu, CEO, Teamnet Group.

What would you change about Romania?

Romania's outlook is positive not only in 2016, but even further out as well. However, I strongly believe that technology can fuel our country's future. This is why, instead of changing Romania, I would accelerate the technological development in areas where it can make a real and meaningful difference, significantly contributing to our society's evolution.

What are the latest trends regarding automation, big data and internet of things (IoT) and how will they affect your company and the industry as a whole?

The synergy between state of the art and practical technologies such as Cloud, Internet of Things, GIS or UAV will most certainly lead to technological innovation that will drive Romania's development in the next two decades. Research and development play a key role in this technological evolution, while intelligent automated systems and, furthermore, smart cities, are only some of the new innovations we could experience in the future. With everything connected to the internet, from TVs and smartphones to robots, home appliances or ATMs, automation and Internet of Things will lead to a truly connected society and, in the longer run, to new ways that technology can revolutionize our day-to-day lives.

For us, innovation fields such as Natural Language Processing, Big Data, Computer Vision, Robotics or Ambient Assisted Living have been priorities over the past years and we are currently addressing our R&D initiatives in key areas like Robotics, Cloud, Internet of Things and Smart Cities.
We are focusing both on developing and adopting robotic solutions that can improve the quality of our services and improve their efficiency. We are thus combining our technical expertise and R&D background in fields like Machine Learning with our employees business and process knowledge, in order to help us achieve economies of scale and continuously improved quality of service.
Teamnet is also actively engaged in the research and technology development of unmanned aircraft systems (UAV) with the objective of contributing to the design and integration of innovative solutions for the collection of accurate data in real time, from the air.

Thus, UAV technology is one of the main pillars of development strategy for Teamnet. The Group has designed the innovative and integrated system Hirrus UAV and runs a collaboration with Airbus Defence Space for a new unmanned aircraft, named Signus. These airborne technology systems are a fast and affordable way through which government agencies and private companies obtain high quality images from the ground: orthophoto maps for large areas, 3D digital models of surfaces, or video capture. The systems can be applied for the use of municipalities, emergency inspectorates, police, coast guard, builders and private companies.

How big was the investment into Romanian operations so far, and what are your company's future plans for Romania?

Our history started in Romania in 2001, when members of the current management team laid the foundations for what was to become Teamnet Group, and for the past 15 years we have been experiencing an accelerated development both in Romania and in the region, gaining recognition as one of the fastest growing businesses in its field – the group has been present for eight consecutive years in the Deloitte rankings.

Teamnet is a systems integration group delivering technological services throughout Central Eastern Europe and the Middle East, with a team of 800 experts and a consolidated turnover of over 93 million Euro in 2014. Throughout the years, we expanded both in terms of our solutions portfolio, technologies provided to our customers and our regional footprint, focusing on five business pillars: cloud, engineering, medical services, robotics systems and IT managed services.
In terms of IT managed services, our portfolio ranges from call centre services to applications, IT assets and infrastructure management. We continuously develop partnerships and competences for hardware, networking, operating systems, data bases and middleware, together with key competences in IT and networks security. The division encompasses both delivery and operations capabilities for these fields.

Over the coming years, Teamnet Group will continue to consolidate, continuing to develop innovative technologies and regional expansion. Therefore, we will further support research and development projects aimed at transforming innovative ideas into reality, with ten million Euro planned for investments in innovation in 2016. At the same time, we will enforce our position as a regional player and grow our business in international markets, with immediate focus on UAV (unmanned aircraft vehicle), emergency situations management, cloud, and medical.

What regions are you serving and what skills are predominant?

Besides our headquarters in Romania, today we have direct operations in Turkey, Belgium, Croatia, Serbia and the Republic of Moldova, and we are prospecting other countries.
The investment in the development of the team's key competences is a main focus for the Group. We are among the first organizations in the region integrating the GIS technology with the UAV systems, in order to deliver full solutions or to design a Cloud platform accessible to the SMEs in Romania. Moreover, we are specialized in the design and implementation of the SCADA automatic control systems.
All of our projects are complex, which is why our teams of experts include a wide array of areas of expertise, from software developers, business analysts, project managers to testers, technical support specialists, database administrators, or solution architects.

What are the latest trends in employee motivation?

Aside from the salary package, our benefits are highly motivating. We offer training opportunities, health and wellness customized benefits, as well as team buildings and vacations. There is a wide range of career opportunities within the Group for our employees, irrespective of their seniority while getting to know various industries. We consider performance management process a priority and we constantly improve it, as we want to give each of our team members the chance to work in a position where talent and skills are best valued.

Because the ambience in which we work is very important, in 2014 Teamnet moved to Green Gate to ensure that we have the best possible conditions to interact and maximize our capacities. We created dozens of concepts to represent us, replicated in more than 150 panels which animate the Green Gate headquarters. These panels complete the Green Gate setup concept, together with the other elements in the relaxation, gaming, cafeteria and artist exhibitions areas. All these were meant to create an environment that inspires.

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