Vlad Bodea, Bento: The situation in the Gulf has massive effects, far more important than the temporary rise in diesel prices

♦ The development of economies in recent decades has been based on globalisation, but the conflict in the Middle East, whatever its duration, calls this model into question. How do we move forward?

The message that the conflict in the Middle East brings is not new, especially in the context of the war in Ukraine, ongoing since 2022, which in turn mirrored the price of dependence on a single source. But now a model on which all of humanity has relied in its development, and which tends to become a thing of the past, is being called into question: globalisation.

"The situation in the Gulf has massive effects from a strategic and geopolitical point of view in Europe, far more important than the temporary rise in diesel prices. In recent decades, humanity has evolved by embracing globalisation. We specialised certain areas or countries for specific needs: energy production, production of certain devices, extraction of hydrocarbons, elements needed in any industry. Now, all these premises are being called into question," says Vlad Bodea, co-founder and member of the Board of Directors of Bento.

Bento is a Romanian entrepreneurial company specialised in the development and implementation of software solutions and the provision of IT and cloud infrastructure services.

"Chancelleries all over the world are realising, almost with astonishment, how dependent they are on other countries and regions. Everyone is thinking about how to become more independent – militarily, financially, in strategic resources of impact such as energy. Energy is just one of a broad spectrum of concerns. These trends took shape some time ago, but now their dynamics are accelerating."

The transition towards an energy model independent of fossil fuels must be accelerated, but since the war in Ukraine, despite the greening of the European energy mix, the electrification of economies has stalled. And that means that in areas such as transport or heating, oil and gas dominate the market.

"I am aware that something like this does not happen overnight, because it is an extremely complex process. The transition requires profound changes at the economic, social and mindset level. It is becoming increasingly clear that the current model is outdated, obsolete and generates major imbalances on a global scale. In this context, the priorities should be clear: strengthening the electricity transmission and distribution networks, developing decentralised solutions such as the development of micro-grids, and defining a coherent masterplan at regional level. For Europe in particular, energy independence is no longer just an economic objective, but an essential security component," Vlad Bodea points out.

At the business level, it is early to calculate the "damage," the effect being rather emotional, human. But there is no doubt that there will be an impact on the economy.

"What I can say is that we are following the trajectory we estimated (for the company – ed. note). Traditionally, the first half of the year is slower for us. At the beginning of the year, public procurement and IT in general decline, so we focus on long-cycle projects and on consolidating relationships with existing clients. In particular, on the IT market, one of the major challenges we feel is in the supply chain area, especially regarding hardware components, which directly influence the delivery of equipment within projects. In this context, project management becomes a constant exercise of balance between agility and predictability. And beyond RAM and energy, predictability itself has become an increasingly scarce resource."

For Bento, this year the investment projects revolve around its own software products.

"We will continue to invest in intellectual property in the form of our own software products, similar to recent years. We do not intend to slow down the pace of these investments relative to previous years. In parallel, we are investing more in the distribution, sales and marketing channels associated with these software products. We consider that we have a slightly more prudent approach to how we position ourselves, one that comes from maturity and from the clarity of strategic direction, not from the geopolitical context. Our stake is to evolve towards a model in which we consolidate our position as a software vendor, marketing our own products, with a business model centred on productisation and scalability. This process has already been happening for a few years and was accelerated by the stock exchange listing and by accessing European funds."

Bento has reached a team of over 100 employees, an important milestone for the company.

"The trends in the labour market help us attract valuable IT specialists quickly and efficiently. Interestingly, at this moment it is becoming more difficult to strengthen the sales and corporate area than the IT one. That is what we have been working on lately, because on the technical side things look very good for us, the yield being much better than in previous years."

AI remains a tool for enhancing the company's talents, it does not escalate to the level of a replacement, Vlad Bodea stresses.

"Our position on AI is to increase the performance and yield of the company's talents by using AI and not to replace it. Responsible for what we deliver is still a human, not a machine. It is still people who shake our clients' hands, not algorithms. Bento's biggest projects of the recent period have an inseparable connection with the human workforce. Look at our flagship product, Bento Field Service Management. What does it do? It automates the field workforce, but it does not replace people with robots. It makes these employees' lives easier and allows them to become more productive. Moreover, we have entered new projects in the services area, where we in turn deliver with people in the field."

The balance is maintained through investments in the team, both in the technical and non-technical skills area – a constant concern.

"At the same time, we pay special attention to their well-being, and here I refer to initiatives dedicated to their physical and mental health, which we consider essential for performance and stability. We focus on creating a work environment in which employees can grow, can make mistakes and can learn. Documentation and framework are important because only in this way can people learn important things from one another. We participate constantly in training programmes, both formal and informal, as part of an organisational culture oriented towards curiosity and constant learning. In an industry in which trends, methodologies and working paradigms change very rapidly, we consider that continuous education is an essential condition for remaining relevant and competitive."