Our first focus is to proceed with the combination of Bombardier Transportation. We need to end it as shortly as doable after which proceed supporting the enterprise and its initiatives. We additionally need to scale back the power consumption of our options. It’s an necessary focus and we have already got initiatives concerning this. As well as, we’re engaged on the evolution of autonomous driving. We’re nice connoisseurs of trains, subways, and the completely different rolling inventory at airports, however now we’re selling extra environment friendly autonomous driving operations.

Will there come a time when trains run with out drivers?

In the present day we have already got totally automated metros in Singapore and Madrid. The airport shuttles are too. And so far as the railway community is worried, there are already a number of levels of automation within the trains; in nations like China, they’ve opted for the very best degree. Sure, driverless trains are a pattern, whether or not they arrive eventually is one other situation, however this is determined by authorized points, not technical ones.

What are your greatest challenges as CIO?

Attracting expertise. However at Alstom, we’re fortunate to be acknowledged as a prime employer globally, in addition to in Spain, and it’s one of many pillars of our progress. Actually, in Madrid, we’ve one of many principal facilities of excellence in software program growth. The attraction of technological expertise remains to be one of many challenges we’ve, although. Not solely Alstom, however all firms. It’s a principal focus for us. In Spain this 12 months, we’ve employed 350 individuals out of round 3,000 between Spain and Portugal. We’re in search of all types of profiles, from information scientists to techniques engineers. Different challenges embody finishing the combination of Bombardier Transportation, and persevering with to investigate how new applied sciences can assist make our merchandise extra sturdy and sustainable.

What does the R&D heart in Madrid do?

It develops software program to enhance communication between the prepare and the bottom, software program that’s embedded within the trains themselves, and digital mobility techniques that facilitate the frequency of the metro or tram, in that there are techniques that can management the site visitors lights of the road the place they’re.

Cybersecurity can be important within the railway ecosystem, isn’t it?

Sure, lots of our prospects and operators have crucial infrastructures, so cybersecurity is one among our greatest considerations. At present, round 500 individuals work in cybersecurity inside Alstom, not simply in safety of merchandise but in addition internally. Our motto is ‘safety by design.’ In our operational and manufacturing processes, safety performs an necessary position within the design, implementation, and validation part.

How do you suppose Alstom is positioned when it comes to digital transformation in comparison with its competitors?

We’ve been fortunate to start out the journey very early. In 2015 we needed to arrange our IT techniques virtually from scratch, and there we adopted a extra disruptive technique than conventional firms within the sector, way more centered on the cloud, mobility, and information. At present, 70% of our options work in the cloud, our workloads are cloud prepared, and we are able to use our options with any sort of gadget wherever in digital continuity. We’re actually a information pushed firm.

The very fact of going way more to the cloud and having a reasonably commonplace core system will permit us to work in the identical manner in Spain as in France, or in every other nation, and it permits us to combine Bombardier Transportation or every other firm sooner and extra effectively.

Is Alstom’s core enterprise within the cloud?

We now have an information heart in France however all the things else is within the cloud; our principal cloud supplier is Microsoft Azure. Earlier than, going to the cloud was a riskier step, however when you’ve got a cybersecurity and entry technique primarily based on identification management and information, you get good outcomes.

And what in regards to the hidden prices of the cloud that many CIOs have situation with?

You need to do a enterprise case of any mission each three or 4 years, consider it and comply with it up. It’s the identical in cloud initiatives, and that’s what we do. For now, we need to proceed profiting from the technological advantages of the cloud via our companions. 

What different companions do you’re employed with in IT?

In 2015 we determined to work with a really small variety of IT companions. One is Microsoft, however we’re additionally supported by the consulting agency DXC Know-how, whose staff, by the best way, manages our cloud. Within the telecommunications space, our international accomplice is British Telecom, within the ERP and finance half, we work with Accenture, and we’ve one other international accomplice for help.

Know-how firms have the identical issues we do in capturing expertise. In addition they face others like SLA controls, prices, and people associated to the connection with the shopper, and information. However our companions are firms we’ve labored with for a few years and have created a robust relationship of information and belief.