Technology is part of our DNA

Qinshift and Avenga are currently undergoing a merger and transformative phase, putting together their consultancy and engineering power to form a unified organization of over 7,000 professionals spanning multiple continents. In this interview, Claudiu Constantinescu, the CTO of the joint Qinshift-Avenga entity, discusses the future fusion of two corporate cultures, the technological setup in the making, and the client benefits, all while envisioning impactful contributions to the world. As he expresses, this journey is an exciting process, driven by ambitious dreams.

Can you describe the primary technological goals for the merged company in the next year? Are there any new technologies or innovations that the company plans to invest in following the merger?

The primary objective of our merged company is to become a leading player in the consultancy and technology service industry, focused on three to five industry verticals where we have significant expertise. By collaborating closely with our clients, we aim to co-drive strategic thinking, shape future trends, and leverage the power of technology to deliver significant business outcomes.

Technology is part of our DNA, and this is not going to change. Our goals, however, focus on leveraging technology to create impactful changes in the world.

In terms of innovations, our primary focus is set on structuring our services around three key pillars: consultancy to create strategies, smart use of platforms to leverage our expertise and speed up time-to-market, and custom engineering of software. This approach is designed to generate new forms of value in our clients’ businesses.

Depending on the specific industry and context, we will employ technologies such as AI, data science, enhanced automation, and much more.

What are the key projects or initiatives that the tech department will prioritize in the coming months?

The next period will be very busy for our Technical Operations team. We are currently dedicated to structuring the team and designing the main processes: business winning and delivery, and the interfaces between functions.

Our next step will be to create a consolidated inventory of our offerings and see how we can improve them. This effort will involve collaboration with Sales and Delivery Management and is expected to significantly impact our engineering department.

What changes can stakeholders expect in terms of product development and service delivery?

There are several aspects that will change with the merger. We are creating this CTO function that existed in Avenga and was modeled in the Service Offers on the Qinshift side, but we are now expanding it to include several elements designed to help our clients get more value added from us as one company: integrated consultancy (business, tech, platforms), solutions and accelerators, design, and R&D. These will be underpinned by pre-sales operations and partnerships. Thus, engaging with the new company should feel premium.

The second change that stakeholders will notice is wider access to capabilities. As a result of us aligning communities of practice and seniority levels across geographies, it will be common to have delivery spread across multiple countries and continents. And, since we operate in many regions, the breadth of skillsets will be wider, including our industry vertical expertise.

Our increased capacity is another significant improvement as we are putting together our engineering power to form a 7,000+ people organization based on several continents. We will continuously plan and manage a balanced bench ready to engage in new projects, and our talent acquisition team will have access to a wide market to recruit the best talent available.

How do you plan to address potential cultural differences in work practices between the technology teams of the two companies?

We are already very compatible from the cultural point of view. In terms of work practices, there is a certain alignment, but this is encompassed in the scope of the merger project, and we will align the practices between the two companies to form a unified approach – resulting in an entity that is greater than the sum of the parts.

“In terms of innovations, our primary focus is set on structuring our services around three key pillars: consultancy to create strategies, smart use of platforms to leverage our expertise and speed up time-to-market, and custom engineering of software. This approach is designed to generate new forms of value in our clients’ businesses.”

Claudiu Constantinescu

CTO of the joint Qinshift-Avenga entity

AI is already used in our combined companies. Mainly in programming, data analysis, and security, but also in testing and, more generally, in automation. The main impact is on productivity, consistency, and progress tracking. We also have several very cool AI projects —smart homes management, and industrial production line supervision, to name a couple.

I believe the Tech team, but also the rest of the company, will have growth opportunities related to three main areas: more impactful projects with higher functional and technical complexity, tech skills enhancement, increased engagement that requires multiple teams to deliver in parallel, leadership and project management skills boost, and exposure to a wider variety of industry domains, which is bound to expand our business skills.

What areas within the company’s operations will AI significantly impact soon? How is the company handling ethical considerations with AI deployment, and what strategies are in place for building AI capabilities in the new team?

AI is already used in our combined companies. Mainly in programming, data analysis, and security, but also in testing and, more generally, in automation. The main impact is on productivity, consistency, and progress tracking. We also have several very cool AI projects —smart homes management, and industrial production line supervision, to name a couple.

Despite the significant hype around AI, the scope of commercial projects using it is limited, but quite a bit of R&D is ongoing. We are currently looking to combine the experience of the two companies and obtain more projects in this area.

These projects require, indeed, a very close attention to ethical considerations, data used for “training” the system, as well as issues related to copyright and ownership rights, privacy, and manipulation. We have looked into some of these aspects with the help of our legal department, IT support, and our tech specialists, who validate the tools we use, and instruct their correct usage.

Finally, what excites you the most about the future of technology at the new company?

I am passionate about organizational design, technology, big projects execution, and generally solving what few others have managed to solve. Fortunately, the KKCG-Qinshift-Avenga project has all these elements in an imposing combination.

Now, getting close to the size that allows us to play in the big league, we will gradually have the opportunity to work with the biggest players and be invited to solve highly complex challenges and problems. In this sense, we expect to make a global impact. It will be my pleasure to utilize the consultancy and technology power for this purpose, and I have been happy to observe a great team coming together, forming up from the two companies to combine knowledge and expertise.

In my view, the most exciting part of the process is the ambitious dream we are building together.