The IT One Gala welcomed 420 IT professionals for a memorable evening. They could meet and greet during a networking cocktail powered by POST Group with virtual reality experience – by InTech – and hololens and drawpads – by Microsoft. A great kick off for the event before attending the iconic Gala Dinner.
Margaux Vetzel and Charlotte Boutelier launched the dinner with an insightful speech, highlighting the power of technology in uncertain times. “Technology should be used in that sense, not to destroy, not to attack but to heal, to bring communities to a next level, to offer solutions to build a better future”. On the same note, European Commission Director-General for Informatics (DG DIGIT) Veronica Gaffey gave an inspiring keynote on the coming evolution of digital challenges and its importance for public administrations.
“Digital is becoming not just a technological change; it is a change of paradigm, a change of culture, introducing innovation and policy making”
She reflected on how recent events – war, inflation, energy crisis – forced and challenged us to adapt so as to become continuously resilient. And this cannot be achieved without right legislation: “one of our key challenges is to ensure policy-making is digital-ready”. The fact that the European Union came to an agreement on common objectives, targets. This is critical to establish a successful transition. The European Commission is leading a great digital transformation and supports organizations in succeeding with their projects in a world where people use digital to connect, learn, buy, live their lives.
“We all know that investing in digital technologies in the public sector creates value for systems and businesses”
In that sense, the EU Commission identified 5 major challenges that businesses need to face:
- Trust: “governments have to show how to develop trust for its services and show transparency of the data and how it is used”
- Cybersecurity: “we must ensure that we are taking all the necessary measures to protect the entire digital service”
- Public services previsions: “systems and businesses are often stuck with common practices [instead of] moving to fully automated end-to-end digital processes and services”
- Human resources and digital skills: “we need skilled people to develop, operate and maintain IT systems”
- Budgetary constraints: “our budgets are limited; energy crisis increases, the rising inflation, delivery delays, are affecting our capacity to deliver, forcing us to look for alternative and innovative solutions”
She hence recalled the major objectives of the Digital Decade Policy Program: infrastructures, skills, businesses, and public services. Digitization of public services being a major pillar of this program. She made clear that “digital transformation is not just a technical transition, it is a cultural change. Digital skills, cybersecurity, legacy, trust, and limited resources, will remain challenges for the coming years”. To overcome these challenges, research, academia, cyber public administrations are so many essential elements to achieve “our objective of a resilient, competitive, and green digital world”.
Following these thought-provoking words, a CIO+CISO quiz featuring seasoned IT experts occurred on stage. Before starting off the quiz, participants were asked questions about the future of IT, challenges, the current cyber landscape, skills, protection, and compliance. The occasion to share insights on different digital and cyber aspects. Then the CIO+CISO quiz aimed at answering IT-specific questions to the benefit of “Fondatioun Kriibskrank Kanner” represented by its Fundraising Manager, Veerle Dierick. €3,000 for the association were raised at this occasion thanks to the contribution of the public and the experts on stage.
The event continued in full force with the awaited Luxembourg ICT Awards ceremony. A vibrant moment unveiling the names of each category winner. Discover the results here! This was also the occasion for CFL CIO of the Year 2021, Christian Kettmann, to pass the torch to BGL BNP Paribas CIO Wealth Management Arnaud Clément. Clement received the prize with a moving speech highlighting the importance of mentorship in a fast-paced industry, “I’m happy to see such familiar faces, including some of my ex-bosses. The IT community in Luxembourg is strong and being able to acquire relevant skills to, in turn, pass on the knowledge is critical today”.
The evening ended with a festive party when professionals were able to network again and build some more connections and lasting memories.
