From the roots, the goal of I had was to adapt and grow in a context characterized by rapid and complex changes, both on the technological and corporate fronts. Forty years ago, the company began its journey in the marine engineering sector, supplying specific CAD solutionsbut today faces broader, encompassing challenges and opportunities the entire industrial segment.
Over time, the evolution of Had was driven by three fundamental pillars: portfolio unification, organic growth and strategic acquisitions. These elements have helped shape the company into what it is today: a reality entirely integrated into the group Schneider Electric, but at the same time distinctive for strategy, roadmap and vision.
L’portfolio unification it was a key move to consolidate the solutions offered by Ave and make them more accessible and consistent for customers. By collaborating with Schneider Electric and integrating the Wonder World brand, Had has optimized its approach to the market, offering a complete range of industrial and digital solutions under a single brand.
Industrial software – Organic growth and acquisitions
Organic growth and acquisitions have further expanded the portfolio, allowing the company to expand into new markets and sectors. L’acquisition of companies such as Posisoft and the consolidation of partnerships with Schneider Electric have strengthened Had’s presence in the sector of hardware and digitalisationcreating added value for customers through a diversified range of solutions. Today, Had is totally part of the Schneider group, but has its own autonomy and focuses on the hardware sector and everything related to digitalisation. “The combination of these two factors represents the added value – he has declared Luca Branca Country Director Had – and it allows us to go to those customers who perhaps have a part of the solutions and complement it with another part of our portfolio. These efforts of ours have already brought tangible results, with some products that have become market leaders in specific sectors, such as maintenance control and the design industriale. However, we intend to extend this leadership across the portfolio”.
Maurizio Galardo (left), Luca-Branca (right)
The stated objective is become the leading industrial software company, an essential component of the software landscape as a whole. “If we look at our portfolio and the various industries served – he added Maurizio Galardo Chief Technologist XR and Visualization –, we notice today a leadership that extends unevenly. We intend to standardize this leadership across our product and service portfolio. A key element that contributes to this goal is the benefit of belonging to a well-structured ecosystem, like that of Schneider, which offers us considerable support. This allows us to have a strong presence in the area thanks to a very strong shipping network and an ecosystem of over 5,000 partners that support our growth”.
However, deal with it the complexities of the Italian market it was not an easy task. Our economic fabric presents unique challenges because it is characterized by a wide range of companies of different sizes and sectors, each with specific needs and expectations. This requires a targeted approach and an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of local realities. “Despite these significant challenges, we have a solid base of experience in relation to the Italian market – Galardo argued – which has been instrumental in building our leadership over the years”.
Rapid digitization
Italy, like other countries, is facing a phase of rapid digitalisationwith companies becoming increasingly interested in use data to optimize their operations. Had is well positioned to capitalize on this trend, offering scalable solutions suitable for businesses of different sizes.
Digitalization has emerged as a key strategy to address the challenges and exploit the opportunities offered by an evolving market. Companies are increasingly embracing it technology to optimize their processes and remain competitive in an increasingly digitalized global landscape.
However, Data quality remains a concern transversal for realities of all dimensions. Effective information management is essential to ensure the success of digitalisation and maximize the value deriving from the technological solutions implemented.
Industrial software
Consultative and customer-oriented approach
However, adopting technology is only the beginning; it’s important integrate digitalization strategically within business operations to maximize long-term benefits. This requires a consultative and customer-oriented approachwhich understands the specific needs of each company and offers scalable and integrated solutions.
“In the current technological landscape, there is a strong trend towards the acquisition of a vast amount of data – declared Branca –, as AI serves as an enabling tool to leverage such information. However, in Italy, the data management becomes more complex due to the presence of a large installed base it faces challenges in data structuring”.
There are macro-trends that characterize this context, one of the main ones is Data Management, both at an engineering and operational level. Each reality then tends to implement the technology based on its affinity or the immediate availability of investments.
Furthermore, as part of a holistic approach, together with the various declinations of artificial intelligence, business trends such as sustainability and decarbonisation. Technology must not be an end in itself, but must be integrated into a broader context. “This is all addressed within the paradigma del cloudwhich serves as unifying platform to integrate mega-trends and sustainability”, concluded Galardo.