Michele Mastrella on the evolution of Soft Strategy’s Technology Business Unit: an approach built on expertise, data, artificial intelligence and execution capabilities
Technology is evolving faster than ever. Artificial intelligence, data, automation and new infrastructure models are expanding the range of possibilities available to organisations, while also making the decisions faced by companies and institutions increasingly complex. In this environment, competitive advantage depends less and less on access to technology itself and increasingly on the ability to understand its value, integrate it effectively into processes and manage its evolution over time.
This is the perspective from which Michele Mastrella, General Manager of Soft Strategy’s Technology Business Unit, views digital transformation. His approach has been shaped by 30 years of experience in the ICT sector, including the last ten at Soft Strategy. In his view, innovation in complex projects for large organisations must go hand in hand with reliability, operational continuity and security.
Technology appears to be becoming increasingly accessible. How central is know-how today?
It is essential — more so today than ever before. Some technologies have become easier to use. User experience has improved, tools have become more intuitive and the time required to access certain capabilities has decreased. Yet behind this simplicity, complexity continues to grow. Know-how is what allows organisations to manage that complexity and turn technology into tangible results.
Choosing a solution simply because it is new or particularly advanced has little value unless it delivers a measurable improvement for the organisation. Our role is therefore to find the right balance: on the one hand, innovation, change and the ability to seize emerging market opportunities; on the other, standardisation, reliability, security and long-term sustainability. Technology delivers its real value when these elements come together.
Which changes are having the greatest impact on companies’ technology strategies?
Generative artificial intelligence is undoubtedly the development attracting the greatest attention today. Market demand is extremely strong, and its adoption is progressively extending across a growing number of business areas.
At the same time, other equally significant transformations are underway, including systems modernisation. Many companies have redesigned applications and infrastructures originally developed years ago, with the aim of making them more flexible, scalable and capable of interacting with increasingly complex ecosystems.
Organisations that have yet to embark on this journey will need to address it in the near future. In some cases, the answer may be an off-the-shelf solution already available on the market; in others, a tailored approach will be required.
Data continues to be one of the most valuable assets to protect and enhance throughout architectural and application transformation. As the amount of information generated by organisations grows, so does the need to organise it, ensure its reliability and use it to make better decisions.
Alongside architectural and application evolution, integration is another major area of focus. One of the key challenges of digital transformation is enabling systems created at different times and according to different logics to communicate with one another. Data, modernisation, security and automation create greater value when they are considered as parts of a single, coherent strategy.
GIS has been one of Soft Strategy’s areas of expertise for several years. How has this capability evolved?
We started a long time ago by choosing to build a team specialised in this field. One of our first and most significant challenges came from the railway sector, where we worked extensively on the geospatial representation of extremely large and complex infrastructure asset portfolios.
By combining technological expertise with an in-depth understanding of application domains, we were able to extend this know-how into other markets as well.
Consider, for example, the maintenance of a major infrastructure network. Understanding where assets are located, as well as the relationships between them, makes it possible to plan interventions more accurately, coordinate resources more effectively and carry out activities with greater precision.
This experience led us to deepen our expertise in process optimisation and in the digital management of maintenance activities carried out in the field by technicians and operators.
We therefore developed a capability complementary to GIS, specialising in Field Service Management. We design and implement solutions for intervention planning and assignment, resource management, activity tracking, field data collection, work reporting and performance reporting.
What began as expertise rooted in highly specialised technology projects has progressively evolved into an enterprise-level capability supporting installation, maintenance, inspection and cleaning processes.
In a highly competitive market, what sets Soft Strategy’s approach apart?
First and foremost, I believe in the trust-based relationships we are able to build with our clients.
Projects can evolve through extremely complex phases. A client may, for example, need to bring forward a major milestone. In situations like these, the entire organisation responds quickly to understand the requirement and identify a solution that can accommodate the new planning constraints.
In other cases, when we believe that a client is following an unnecessarily complex path, or that a more effective route exists to achieve the same objective, we propose alternative solutions.
Being an active and proactive partner for our clients, especially during the most complex and challenging phases, is one of the elements that distinguishes us.
This approach is also made possible by the multidisciplinary expertise we bring to our projects. Our Consulting Business Unit has strong expertise in processes and organisational models, while the Technology Business Unit focuses on solution design and implementation.
This allows us to understand client requirements from multiple perspectives and provide genuine support throughout the entire project journey, building solutions that are truly tailored to their needs.
Our broad range of expertise also enables us to maintain a highly pragmatic approach to technology. We are free to evaluate different platforms and paradigms and focus on what we believe will be most effective for each client, in their specific context and at that particular point in time.
In such a highly specialised field, how important are people?
They are fundamental. Technical expertise is the foundation of our work, but today’s projects also require a strong ability to collaborate, communicate and take responsibility within a team.
Our working methodologies involve continuous exchange, and results depend on people’s ability to bring together different yet complementary skills and technologies.
We also strive to preserve something I consider essential in the technology world: passion. It is what drives people to explore topics in greater depth, experiment and seek out new approaches.
In this context, one of the responsibilities of our managers is to nurture that passion while remaining aligned with project requirements.
We invest significantly in mentoring between junior professionals and more experienced colleagues, as well as in Academies, specialised training programmes and certifications. Every year, a significant number of people within our organisation formally strengthen their expertise through professional certification programmes.
Creating an environment in which people have the opportunity to continue evolving is essential.
What do you see as the main obstacle to digitalisation today?
The main barriers are often cultural or regulatory.
Technology now offers an extremely broad range of possibilities and, in some cases, reaches a level of maturity that exceeds an organisation’s ability to adopt it. Digitalisation also involves changing habits, processes, responsibilities and decision-making models. It is a much broader transformation than simply introducing a new tool.
For example, when working with Public Administration organisations, we analyse processes that could be highly automated from a purely technological perspective. Regulatory requirements, however, may impose specific models of control, accountability and validation.
Technology alone therefore does not determine the pace of transformation. Organisations also need to create the right organisational, cultural and regulatory conditions for technology to deliver genuine value.
Looking back over these years, what makes you most proud of the Technology Business Unit?
Over this period, the size of the organisation, the projects we manage, our expertise and our operating environments have all changed.
We have faced complex challenges and achieved significant results. At the same time, we have managed to grow while preserving a strong sense of teamwork and belonging.
I am proud when I walk into the office and see people who genuinely enjoy working together, exchanging ideas and sharing the same environment. In an extremely dynamic and sometimes volatile industry, we have built an organisation where people stay, grow and feel part of the group.
We have achieved a great deal, and there are still many more goals ahead of us.
Soft Strategy in one word?
Presence. Presence for our clients, to whom we bring expertise, accountability and the ability to navigate increasingly complex transformations, including during the most challenging moments; for the people who work within the company, who can rely on a stable and well-structured organisation. And finally, but equally importantly, presence for the partners with whom we build long-lasting relationships and projects.