Business innovation requires the acquisition of skills and knowledge. Interview with Michał Grzegorzewski, Head of Solution Architects and Services Delivery in Fujitsu Poland

Many companies still have not developed effective innovation capabilities. Where lies the problem – in people, management or technology?

Business faces different challenges in each of these areas. Innovation requires certain changes that are often difficult to make, which require thought, preparation and the development of concepts for their implementation. In such a situation, people must be open to change. There must be a willingness within the team to innovate. Without a change in organisational culture, without an attitude that is open to new things, it is difficult to carry out any innovation. It is also important to remember that innovating requires acquiring skills and knowledge about new tools. A good example is artificial intelligence. Furthermore, if we talk about innovation, the key word that comes up is strategy. Many companies do not have a strategy on how these innovations can be implemented. The lack of strategy causes companies to approach the topic of innovation in a haphazard manner, trying to implement individual solutions without a holistic and complete plan. This often causes implementations to fail and end in bitterness. We always say in our conversations with clients that they must accept that innovative projects can fail, which is not a bad thing by itself. The important thing is to learn the right lessons and approach the issue in a different way next time.

Does Fujitsu help to build such strategies?

We are doing this increasingly through free Co-Creation workshops, where we define the problem of the organisation in question. At the same time, using the Design Thinking methodology, we work out possible scenarios and solutions together with the client. The aim of these workshops is not to implement anything, it is first and foremost to create a ‘road map’ of certain activities. We give the client this ‘map’ and they decide whether they want to continue working with us and whether we can help them. We have the potential for such support thanks to our broad portfolio, technologies and solutions that can be utilized as part of the implementation of the strategy developed.

Will innovations stay in the domain of large multinational organisations?

Of course not. An example is Fujitsu, which has a rich technological background, so it is a good partner to build innovative solutions for small and medium-sized companies. However, at Fujitsu, we are creating a whole ecosystem of partnerships, in which local IT companies and universities are discovering an important role. Together, with the innovative thought of the research centers, the technology and experience of Fujitsu, and the specific competences of the partner, we can build innovative solutions. The leader of such a project can be Fujitsu, but it can also be a subcontractor or partner. We can fulfil different roles. Innovation is no longer just the domain of large companies. Our goal is to involve Polish companies in building new solutions. We are open, we want to cooperate with such organisations and create interesting innovative answers together.

What should characterise a contemporary leader who will implement innovation in the company?

A leader should have an open mind and see the potential of new solutions. He or she should be able to identify problems and areas where innovation will be addressed. It does not have to be a “one-man band”, as there are partners available to help design, plan and implement certain solutions. Problem identification is mostly on the side of such a leader. He or she must be able to infect people with the vision of innovation and show what the benefits will be.

What is the level of digital business transformation in Poland? How far are we from the global leaders and where do we need to catch up the most?

There are areas where we are leading the way when it comes to innovative solutions. Banking is a good example. There are also areas where there is still much to be done, such as education. We are a long way behind Western Europe in the use of the public cloud. In Poland, there is still a strong fear of operating in the public cloud, which is related to the classic approach that data must be stored “at my place”, in my Data Centre, because it is better and safer that way. In the West, this approach is different. There, the use of the public cloud is becoming commonplace. It is worth educating, and we at Fujitsu are doing this, that the public cloud or hybrid solutions provide greater security, flexibility and can bring a few benefits related to, for example, more efficient use of data. It is also a much cheaper solution than an in-house Data Centre, which requires expensive security and a team of specialists.

We already know that artificial intelligence is a technological breakthrough. But will it also play a significant social role?

Artificial intelligence will certainly replace humans in many situations. There are already examples of AI being used to perform repetitive tasks related to customer service, for example. I think this will have an impact on societies. Some people are already afraid of losing their jobs because of the growing popularity of AI. There are occupations that I think will disappear, although it is more about certain groups of activities that are easily replaced by algorithms and how many completely new occupations will be created. There is also another side to this coin. The world has a growing demographic problem. The number of people who will take up active work in the future is diminishing. Artificial intelligence, with its capabilities, can support the global economy in filling this human resource gap.

The digital transformation has its dark side in the form of cybercrimes. Are we facing serious problems soon and are we ready for them?

Cyber security has been a very hot topic recently. According to the Digital Poland Association, one of the key trends for 2023 is precisely to work on improving cyber security. Compared to other countries, Poland does not fare too badly in this topic. We live in a world where we’re having a war just across our border for a year and a half, but so far we have managed to stop spectacular cyberattacks. Cyber security requires being a mature organization in choosing a partner, or solution, accordingly. The nature of threats and how we fight them is changing. It is a battle of two worlds all the time. On the one hand, there are people who want to acquire data illegally, and they do it through sophisticated tools and technologies, such as artificial intelligence. On the other hand, we have security companies with solutions based on artificial intelligence. We can feel safe if we are vigilant and do not forget basic security elements. This unfortunately costs money and does not immediately translate into a spectacular return on investment, but by doing so we protect ourselves from serious problems.

Interviewed by Marcin Majerek

Michał Grzegorzewski – has been involved in the IT industry in Poland and Europe for over 20 years. He gained his professional experience working, among others, in the Research and Development Centre of the Orange Group, where he dealt with innovative multimedia communication services. For many years, he was responsible for the implementation of key service projects in Poland and Eastern Europe both on the side of the client, integrator and producer of IT solutions. Currently at Fujitsu, he is responsible for the sales support team, operations, as well as the service department, which implements service and maintenance projects for customers in Poland and Europe.

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Last Updated on February 1, 2024 by Anastazja Lach