Technology as a Lever for Exceptional Digital Experiences
Having recently joined nventive as VP of Technology, Khaled Ben Rhima is already bringing a vision and an expertise that are shaping the company's technological future, paving the way for constant innovation of our services. In this interview, he introduces us to his role and makes his predictions on the technologies he'll be looking out for.
Hello Khaled! First of all, can you introduce your role at nventive?
Hello! My role is to support the technical teams in delivering maximum value to our clients, as well as guiding the technological investment strategies for nventive.
Specifically, the role of VP of Technologies at nventive can be defined in three essential axes:
Human: I ensure that all our experts have the right tools and skills to carry out all our initiatives and projects by creating training and career plans for them, and working with the HR department to ensure a good work environment.
Operational: I make sure that the technological solutions we offer bring the optimal value to our clients. I work with various other stakeholders at nventive to ensure that our processes are as efficient as possible, and I support the sales teams on the technological aspects.
Strategic: I guide the vision and technological development plan of nventive in collaboration with the executive team, and I also oversee and guide the efforts of the technological practice committees.
Tell us about a typical day in the role of VP of Technologies at nventive.
My day usually starts the day before, where I look at my schedule and prepare accordingly, and it ends with a personal retrospective. I try to be in meetings where I can be most useful, and I also have regular contact points with members of my team where we align on priorities and orientations. I often block time to work on cross-cutting and structuring topics, such as defining technological opportunities. But it can also involve more operational and down-to-earth subjects, such as validating certain estimates.
In your opinion, which of our areas of expertise stand out the most in the industry?
I would say that our three biggest strengths are our mobile expertise, creating user experiences, and our ability to address our clients' challenges.
Through the development of Uno Platform, we have built a specialty in mobile technology. We have accumulated valuable expertise by identifying market needs and gaps to develop the platform. Additionally, we are familiar with complementary and similar tools to enhance it. It is a long-standing expertise.
Beyond technical expertise, mobile has been an important vector that has allowed us to invest significantly in user experience across all platforms. The choice of each technology, each architecture, each decision, each screen is made to offer the user an optimal experience so that the digital solution has the best possible impact.
We invest valuable time to understand our clients' needs. When a client entrusts us with a mission, we never look for shortcuts, as the most common requests can hide the most specific needs. The technologies we choose and the architectures we deploy always align with our clients' business needs.
What technologies are you closely monitoring that could continue to change the face of development?
I would like us to continue exploring the possibilities of Cloud. It is a lasting technology in which we are already well involved and advanced. Most of our projects are on the Cloud; we use it internally and for project delivery. It is natural for us to also encourage our clients to consider it.
I think that in the coming years, artificial intelligence will be an important growth lever in the IT field, much like Cloud was a few years ago. We should look at the new possibilities that AI enables, whether it's the productivity gains offered by generative AI or the added value of offering a service that relies on AI technology components. For me, technical choices should always address a business challenge.
The development world is also likely to change with the advent of "low code" and "no code" platforms and the widespread use of code generators like GitHub Copilot and even ChatGPT. The purely coding part of software development will increasingly become a commodity. A developer who only knows how to write code will no longer make a difference. In addition to coding skills, it will be necessary to develop more specialized capabilities that align with business objectives.
What is your vision for nventive in the coming years?
nventive should capitalize on what it does best: building exceptional digital experiences. We have always been recognized for our ability to push the boundaries of creativity in the digital domain.
However, to achieve truly remarkable excellence, it is essential that technology accompanies and proactively supports this expertise. This means that we must understand how our work impacts our clients and be able to align our skills with their needs.
In the years to come, my goal is to establish a culture of excellence that goes beyond the strictly technological framework. This involves creating an environment of strong cohesion among different areas of expertise, where each team member is encouraged to develop cross-functional skills, take initiatives, and contribute proactively to the continuous improvement of our practices.