Under the slogan Technology for digital reinvention, we brought together prominent business and political leaders at Palacio de Neptuno in Madrid, highlighting three decades of growth, international expansion and a commitment to sustainability and talent.
We celebrated our 30th anniversary at Palacio de Neptuno in Madrid on 13 November. Under the slogan Technology for digital reinvention, the event brought together leading figures in tech, business and politics, including our CEO, Constantino Fernández, as well as politicians Miguel López-Valverde, Minister of Digitalisation of the Community of Madrid, and Juan Corro Beseler, manager of IAM, the IT office of the Madrid City Council, to discuss the impact of digitalisation on the private sector and public administrations.
The night began with a welcome by the journalist and master of ceremonies, Julia Varela, who highlighted Altia’s role in the technology sector and its commitment to grow by boosting growth with every project.
After the welcome, our CEO, Constantino Fernández, highlighted the milestones achieved in these thirty years, “from the IPO at BME Growth in 2010 to our international expansion, consolidating our position in the European market with offices in nine countries and more than 4,000 employees”. In his speech, he highlighted “our firm commitment to sustainable growth and the search for and retention of talent” and “the choice of Madrid as the city to celebrate this anniversary, as it has become a key location for Altia and its growth. We look forward to consolidating our presence in Europe and continuing to innovate in the field of digital transformation”.
Panel discussion
The event included a panel discussion on Technology for digital reinvention, which brought together leaders from the public and private sector.
Juan Corro Beseler, manager of the Madrid City Council’s IAM, highlighted some of the main advances made in digitisation within the public administration. For Juan Corro, “the most important thing has been our digital relationship with citizens. Before, 79% of paperwork was carried out at the office; now, approximately 80% of the general requests at the City Council are handled electronically. Madrid has become one of the most digitised cities in the world, completely changing the user experience, making it more user-friendly and accessible from wherever a citizen is. The City Council has also digitised its internal operations”.
María Ángeles Vicente, CIO of Alsa, addressed the role of innovation in the transport sector, considering that her company has made a threefold commitment: “on the one hand, giving customers digital tools not only for the purchase of tickets but also providing information during the journey”, highlighting that currently “more than 70% of transactions are already digital”. Secondly, “safety, with the aim of preventing accidents”, and lastly, “by focusing on efficiency with the aim of achieving zero emissions in a few years’ time”.
Ignacio Rivera, CEO of Hijos de Rivera, shared how technology has driven the company’s growth, both nationally and internationally, highlighting how digitalisation is helping them to “sell more and be more efficient in their operations”, being “a great help to be closer to our customers”. He noted that digital transformation has helped them “change many things internally; for example, we are using quantum computing in product testing”.
For the panellists, technologies such as cybersecurity and big data are transforming the internal processes of organisations and improving their competitiveness, highlighting that artificial intelligence has become the most disruptive element of the last decades since the emergence of the internet, which will reimagine the future of all industries and society in general.
This was followed by a keynote session by Silvia Leal, an expert in technology and future trends, who addressed the impact of artificial intelligence and the change it represents for companies and society, assuring that “it will mark a turning point in the field of productivity”. Leal mentioned three technologies that will become the new digital wave in the coming years: “quantum computing, the generation of new materials and immersive experiences”. Leal believes that what we have known until now as the metaverse “is going to be called spatial computing, and this is going to profoundly transform the business world”.
For Leal, AI and other technologies will be at the core of companies in the coming years, and she gives three tips for their successful adoption: “don’t be afraid of something going wrong; keep learning without stopping and, finally, don’t judge without trying”. Leal concluded by assuring that we are living in an extraordinary moment of technologies that are going to arrive, “and we have to try these technologies out”.
To conclude the event, Miguel López-Valverde, Minister of Digitalisation of the Community of Madrid, stressed the importance of Madrid being an attractive environment for tech companies. “We want Madrid to be the ideal place for companies to establish themselves. And this business growth is only possible if workers and students have the necessary skills”, he explained. For this reason, the Community of Madrid is pressing ahead with a shock plan aimed at meeting the financial and employment demands of companies, thus preparing citizens with the skills that the sector needs.
For the Minister, “Madrid wants to be at the forefront of technology, and public-private collaboration is essential for us to evolve in this direction”. López-Valverde expressed his enthusiasm for the future, stressing that “we continue to work with great enthusiasm so that companies like Altia, which has been collaborating for almost seven years on key projects, such as healthcare and justice, continue to grow in the Community of Madrid”, reinforcing Madrid’s role as an innovative ecosystem that is open to technological development.
We finished the event with a cocktail that allowed us to toast with all the attendees – clients and partners – for us to continue to grow by boosting growth and for 30 more years driving companies through change.