BR Interview | Iulia Surugiu: A New Vision for IT Growth in Romania

In a captivating conversation with Business Review, Iulia Surugiu, the newly appointed CEO of SII Romania, unveils her ambitious strategic vision for the company. She articulates her goals for propelling SII Romania into a new era of sustained growth and innovation, emphasizing the importance of expanding operations both locally and internationally across various key sectors. Surugiu’s strategy focuses on leveraging cutting-edge technologies and enhancing the company’s presence in significant business hubs throughout Romania, aiming to meet the rapidly evolving demands of the global IT industry. This insightful dialogue offers a comprehensive look into the future directions SII Romania will take under her leadership, reflecting on the integration of innovation at the core of their operations and the strategic steps they are taking to shape the future of the IT landscape.

As the new CEO, what are your medium and long-term strategic goals for SII Romania? How do you plan to align these goals with the evolving needs of the global IT industry?

First of all, my vision is to drive SII Romania towards sustained growth and innovation. Therefore, as mid-term objective, SII Romania will continue consolidating and expanding operations on the local and international markets, in the key activity sectors.

Our focus is to support the continuous development of industries that are relevant to the dynamics of the business environment, with medium and long-term perspectives. We are here referring (but not limited) to Transportation, Space, Defense, Semiconductors, Energy, Industry, Automotive, Banking and Financial services, IT & Telecommunication, Retail, etc. industries, in which we contribute significantly as strategic technological partner for the key market players. Our vision is to harness cutting-edge technologies to propel these sectors forward, ensuring that our clients remain ahead of the curve.

Also, the openings of new regional offices in Romania were the first important step for us, in line with the company’s growth and territorial expansion strategy. Furthermore, we aim to strengthen our presence in the most important business poles of Romania, to be even closer to our customers and teams,. This expansion not only enhances our local presence but also boosts our capacity to deliver innovative solutions tailored to the unique needs of our clients.

Territorial expansion is an essential step for the empowerment of our Distributed Delivery Centers that serve both national and international customers. We rely on nationally distributed teams, enabling us with quick access to a wide range of technologies, skills, and resources, to respond to the technological needs versus domain expertise needs & challenges in the upcoming years. By leveraging a diverse talent pool across regions, we ensure agility and resilience in our service delivery, meeting the evolving demands of the global IT landscape.

Innovation is key to staying competitive in IT. Could you discuss any upcoming initiatives or technologies that SII Romania is investing in to spearhead growth and enhance your service offerings?

In the fast-paced world of IT, staying ahead means continually pushing the boundaries of innovation. Technology-wise, we have built during the years a significant footprint in key industries, and we carry on these achievements in the new business and technological context though innovation. The future of IT industry relies on cybersecurity, AI and Data, automatization and rapid business value creation using technology – so here is where we constantly invest. On the one hand, we strive to generate additional needs around our current footprint in several business areas, on the other one, we build our own plug & play solutions technology related. Our focus is to integrate these advanced technologies seamlessly into our existing frameworks, ensuring that we deliver robust, scalable, and future-proof solutions.

Business-wise, today we are taking decisive steps towards a new stage in our company evolution, continuing to innovate and transform our activities, while expanding our operations and investing more and more in specific areas of expertise. Our main focus remains excellence in software engineering and technology consulting services, while innovation is at the heart of our organization across all our business process. I often say that operations help us grow, while innovation makes us evolve.

So innovation should be much more – a constant topic in our day to day business. It’s not only a discretionary approach, it’s the driving force behind our strategic initiatives and our commitment to excellence. The ultimate goal is to deliver faster, better, and more competitive services.

How is SII Romania approaching the adoption of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning? What challenges and opportunities do you foresee in integrating these technologies into your services?

Embracing AI and ML is essential for staying competitive in the modern IT landscape. With the complexity of our projects and mastering many data driven activity sectors, the adoption of the new technologies comes natural for SII Romania’s teams. Together with strategic business partners, we have started dedicated initiatives and we will develop a series of pilot projects in the next period.. Our strategy involves not only adopting these technologies but also innovating around them to create bespoke solutions that address specific client needs.

Opportunities are far beyond any challenges; we anticipate activity consolidation across strategic suppliers for most of our customers and huge business potential for companies that embrace with commitment the new paradigm & all associated challenges. In the services area, the excellence is given by your customer, they trust you or not based on what you deliver today and your promise for tomorrow. By fostering strong partnerships and maintaining a customer-centric approach, we are confident in our ability to navigate the complexities of AI and ML integration effectively .

What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the IT sector in Romania today, and conversely, what is the biggest opportunity for a company like SII Romania in this environment?

IT sector in Romania presents constant challenges and opportunities. The gap between the number of specialists available on the local market and the demand for talent continues to be a challenge for Romania. As part of a multinational company, however, we successfully access the global talent network of SII Group, completing the skills requirements with dynamic set-ups, which brings long-term added value to our clients. Where the learning curve allows, we also invest in specific training programs. By fostering continuous learning and development, we bridge the talent gap and equip our teams with the skills needed to excel in a rapidly evolving industry.

Looking five to ten years into the future, where do you see SII Romania in the IT landscape? How do you envision the company shaping or adapting to the future of the tech industry?

Our vision for the future is ambitious and forward-thinking. We target an organic and sustainable development of SII Romania for the next few years, as it’s clearly a market with huge potential. Thus, we will continue investing in key activity axis, with a direct impact on our performance, supporting our customers, partners, and collaborators at any time, in line with the growth and performance objectives we assumed together, on short, medium and long term. We aim to become a cornerstone in the IT landscape by consistently delivering innovative and high-impact solutions.

At the same time, I reaffirm my confidence in the competence, dedication and passion for technology in Romania, which position us alongside the most powerful IT markets in the world. So, for the next 5 to 10 years, our target is to position ourselves in the top 3 technology consulting companies in Romania, through massification and industrialization, delivering high value-added services, with full responsability to industry and domain expertise. By staying at the forefront of technological advancements and maintaining our commitment to excellence, we aim to shape the future of the tech industry in Romania and beyond.