In a few words, can you tell us about IT Week and its purpose?

IT Week is a week dedicated to sharing best practices in cybersecurity, operational experiences, and methods for implementing tools. We share our visions for the coming years, particularly around AI and interoperability, and the innovative solutions we have at our disposal, which need to be understood in order to be presented to our customers.

Our ambition is for knowledge transfer to take place both from headquarters to operations and from operations to headquarters.

What was the aim of this week dedicated to IT teams?

Our aim is to ensure that knowledge is transferred both from headquarters to operations and from operations to headquarters.

It is vital that we constantly question ourselves. We need the objective and constructive perspective of operations, who use the tools on a daily basis and know better than anyone else what they need and the features we need to provide them with.

The idea is therefore to anticipate new clients demands, respond appropriately to operational emergencies, and understand each other’s difficulties in order to improve our internal communication.

What were the highlights and memorable moments of this IT Week?

Getting together in person and spending time together.

Throughout the year, we stay in touch using digital tools, but nothing can replace face-to-face interaction, looking each other in the eye, talking, working, but also having fun and laughing!

That’s how a mindset is built.

How do the topics covered reflect the major digital transformation challenges facing our Group?

This IT Week was all about interactivity. It was not about giving lectures, but rather about listening and exchanging ideas.

This was the approach taken for the development of operational tools, with the use of new development languages and new features related in particular to AI and the deployment of mobile applications.

One day was devoted to cybersecurity, providing training on the ISO 27001 standard and explaining its meaning and objectives. Awareness of cyber crises was also raised.

In the coming years, the Group aims to roll out all procedures across its subsidiaries and even begin the certification process for some of them.

What our IT teams thought

Abdoul, Mauritania: “This week reinforced my belief that our IT role is strategic and cross-functional. It also made me want to go further, particularly on sensitive issues such as cybersecurity and the adoption of new digital tools.”

Alisher, Kazakhstan: “IT Week gave me a new perspective on how we approach digital transformation. It also gave me ideas on how to better align IT initiatives with business objectives.”

What stood out for you personally during this week?

Loic: “I am always amazed by our ability to share and come together despite our differences.”

Abdoul: “The richness of the exchanges between IT teams from all regions of the Group. The level of expertise was shared, the openness of the discussions and the common desire to align our practices gave real meaning to the word “collaboration”.”

Mohamed: “The warm atmosphere and the great camaraderie between the teams present. Despite our cultural differences, we managed to get along, and it was really motivating to see everyone sharing their ideas and helping each other with a common goal in mind.”

Alisher: “I was particularly impressed by the atmosphere and spirit of cooperation between the teams from different countries, especially those from Algeria, Mauritania, and Guinea, which shows that we all speak the same language: that of technology and innovation.”

Abdenour: “The mix of technical sessions and more relaxed moments made the experience very memorable. Everyone came with their own context, their own constraints, but also their own ideas. It really made me realize that we all share the same challenges, regardless of the country or the size of the organization.”

How do you envision extending the impact of this IT Week?

We need to set up more regular internal training sessions amid already very busy schedules and institutionalize this event, which generates value that is difficult to quantify.

Throughout the year, we stay in touch using digital tools, but nothing can replace face-to-face interaction, looking each other in the eye, talking, working, but also having fun and laughing!