In a world where digital transformation is moving at a dizzying pace, companies are looking for reliable partners who can guide them through the most complex challenges posed by change. It is in this context that the foundations are laid for an evolution of WebSciencea well-known name in the Italian IT landscape as a Software Factory specialized in the creation of tailor-made digital applications, application modernization and cloud migration, which becomes adesso.it.
A brand change that marks the beginning of a new chapter for the company founded in 2000 as a spin-off of the EBLab Research Center of Politecnico Innovazione based on the many years of experience of a group of professors from the Polytechnic of Milan and professionals which after a long series of successful projects and faced with the limiting domestic dimension to operate in the digital world, has decided to open up to a global vision and interpret it in the Italian market.
A significant step in the evolution of one’s mindset which opens the doors to new challenges on an international level, following the acquisition by the German group now IF and which reflects the desire to communicate the entry into the Italian market of one of the main IT service providers in Europe.
“It is a change of perspective that demonstrates our desire to grow, innovate and compete with the big players in the sector” he stated Stefano MainettiExecutive Chairman di adesso.it. With a distinctive approach that finds its foundations inAgilewith consolidated experience and the support of a successful international group, ora.it positions itself as the reference partner for Italian companies that wish to face and overcome the most complex challenges of digital transformation.
Agile and pragmatism: the key to international success
The approach Agilewith its principles of concreteness, transparency, innovation and attention to people, represents the backbone of the philosophy of ora.it. In a rapidly evolving competitive context, Agile is confirmed as the best strategy for successfully implementing digital innovation projects, guaranteeing high-quality software solutions and creating concrete and lasting value for client companies.
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L’Agile Digital Factory presents itself as the partner for those companies that want to successfully navigate digital transformation, offering a winning mix of cutting-edge methodologies, technical excellence and close collaboration with customers which translates into an agile “on the job” coaching path, to intervene on the company’s mindset and get everyone to act and think in an agile and collaborative way.
Because the objective, as Mainetti insisted during the press conference, is value creation, a capacity which, among other things, is suggested by the Italian term “now”, and not the simple satisfaction of the requirements defined a priori. “This means not only welcoming change, but enhancing it, working in iterations, collecting feedback and ultimately building digital services and/or products together with our customers”.
The strategic vision of ora.it, underlined the Executive Chairman, “is to enable real and sustainable innovation in our customers’ companies by introducing Agile in a pragmatic, conscious, gradual and consistent way with company governance models complex and large”.
So, a pragmatic approach to agile methodologies which is based on the ability to accompany clients in understanding, on an objective basis, how it is possible to: plan for the long term; plan and manage costs; scale across multiple teams; promote control and govern a project; find resources with adequate skills; evolve the organization and corporate culture.
But “At the same time – continued Mainetti – we are committed to cultivating a positive and inclusive work environment for our employees, putting the person at the centre, promoting a collaborative approach, responsible autonomy and collective alignment”. A commitment that has now been recognized by the Group in 2023 with the first prize as Best Employer in Germany in the ICT sector, and with second place in the Best Workplaces Europe ranking.
The strategic choice of now SE to position itself on the Italian IT market
The choice of WebScience as the gateway to the Italian market by now IFan IT service provider listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange with over 1.1 billion euros in turnover by 2023 and more than 10,000 employees in 14 countries, was no coincidence.
WebScience’s proven capacity for growth and expansion, the high quality of its services and the effectiveness of its agile approach, the strong cultural affinity with the Group now, a solid customer base, a well-established position in the Italian IT services market , an experienced and well-connected management team, financial stability, profitability, highly skilled engineers and an optimal headcount size have made WebScience the most attractive partner for SE now, allowing it to strengthen its presence and positively influence the Italian digital landscape.
ora.it is based on a successful model that has seen the German group grow well beyond the market average, thanks to a distinctive approach that combines numerical growth, advanced skills and valuable human relationships. With which it aims to optimize the core business processes of Italian companies, offering high-level consultancy and developing tailor-made software and specialized solutions for the industrial sector.
Hansjörg SüessBusiness area lead Central Europe & Nordics di now IF, said: “We are an ambitious, growth-oriented company with a solid customer portfolio, which is continuing its internationalization journey. Entering the Italian market is an important step for us and we have identified WebScience as a company consistent with our DNA and value base. We now see in ora.it the right platform to achieve our growth objectives in Italy too.”
WebScience becomes ora.it: a new identity for new challenges
One year after the acquisition by one of the main consultancy, software development and IT services groups in Europe, WebScience, a company with solid roots in the Italian IT sector with over 120 employees and a turnover that exceeded 12 million euro in 2023, changes face and adopts the new brand ora.it.
With the aim of creating joint value, ora.it designs, creates and facilitates the adoption of tailor-made digital applicationsaccompanies companies in modernization of the application architecture towards cloud-native paradigms to encourage the evolution and scalability required by the market in designing cloud migration paths and in the creation and adoption of low-code applications.
ora.it, which has its headquarters in Milan and boasts a team of over 120 people, distributed between Northern Italy, Southern Italy in Lecce and Bulgaria in Sofia, has set a goal of 20 million in turnover and 200 people in staff by 2027.
Francesco MicottiCEO of adesso.it, he added: “SE is now one of the largest IT companies on a European scale and it is an opportunity for us to go beyond the local dimension, face global challenges and open up opportunities for international career development. Already after a year of collaboration we can see the first results: the market is growing, our customer portfolio is growing, and the complexity of the projects that we know how to manage with an agile approach is gradually growing. Our growing numbers are in line with those of the group and, above all, we now have the adequate size to manage large projects digital transformation. Proof of this is the recent collaboration started with Alpitour for the modernization of the company’s core applications.
An example of excellence: the collaboration with Alpitour
The solidity and effectiveness of the positioning of ora.it are confirmed by the recent collaboration with Alpitour, an established company in the tourism sector. In its digital transformation journey, Alpitour has chosen ora.it as partner for the modernization of its application portfolio, in order to be able to follow the speed required by the market and be more ready to accept new technological opportunities, recognizing the quality and experience gained by the Software Factory over the years. A partnership that not only demonstrates the competence and reliability of ora.it but also its ability to be a driver of innovation and growth for its customers.
In recent years, in fact, to provide its customers with cutting-edge solutions and an increasingly better travel experience, the Italian travel and holiday group has given a strong acceleration to innovation, with projects that also embrace the most recent technological developments such as Generative Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain with NFTs.
ora.it charts the course for a “Great Place to Work”
The ora.it strategy for 2024-2027 outlines a plan focused on several key pillars to drive growth and strengthen the organization’s structure. In essence, it aims to enhance sales and customer management and therefore, improve the effectiveness with which the company approaches the market and manages relationships with existing and potential customers. Strong is also theorientation towards growth: The company is looking to expand, both in terms of size and scope of its operations. Central will then be the ability to build or maintain a powerful organization, in terms of human resources, processes and technologies. The idea is to create a solid and flexible corporate structure, capable of facing market challenges and exploiting growth opportunities. Finally, the importance of maintaining high quality standards in the work carried out, combining the attention to detail typical of craftsmanship with the efficiency and scalability of an industrial approach.
But a fundamental value that guides the work of ora.it is people. Sonia MaccioniPeople Care Leader di adesso.it, he said “They are our superpower, the key that opens the door to success and growth. Through our dedication to caring for people, we aim to create an environment where talent is not only attracted, but also transformed, allowing them to bring innovation and positive change.”
The vision of ora.it focuses on building multifunctional and multidisciplinary teams, supported by leadership that not only promotes, but embodies agility in every process and decision. He firmly believes in agile talent managementan approach that values open communication and ongoing collaboration, essential elements for successfully navigating today’s dynamic business landscape.
Looking to the future, ora.it aims to establish itself as “Great Place to Work“, a place where talent, innovation and personal growth go hand in hand with business success. Therefore, it plans to further expand the team, with 40 new hires in 2024, investing significantly in the training and development of employee skills, with over 4,300 hours of training already in 2023. “We are also attentive to the sustainability of our working environment, so that in 2023 we maintained a turnover rate of 12%, an indicator of the satisfaction and loyalty of our collaborators – continued Maccioni – Furthermore, we are committed to promoting diversity and inclusion within our company, which until it has now allowed us to increase the female presence to 28%”.
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