VISZ’s summer kick-off conference this year – sponsored by Quattrosoft – centred on one question: how do we cope with the pressure – both people and systems?
It was no coincidence that the event, entitled “Stress–Kresz, or People and Machines Under Pressure”, chose this theme.
Day in, day out, IT professionals are confronted with the fact that the flood of innovations, ongoing digitalisation and cyber security challenges are simultaneously putting pressure on both the systems and the people operating them.
Data on the football pitch, resilience on the battlefield
Henrik Hegedűs, FTC’s chief data analyst, drew a surprising parallel: in football, too, it all comes down to how people handle data under pressure. There is often a gulf between popular wisdom and actual performance data – and this is true in the business world as well.
Dr Milán Mór Markovics from the National University of Public Service shared the secrets of military resilience. A person’s resilience is not an innate trait, but a skill that can be developed. This idea was a recurring theme throughout the day.
Building an IT organisation: it’s not enough just to be good
Dániel Kósa from MBH Bank spoke about how to build a ‘good’ IT organisation. The emphasis was on a service management culture: it is not enough to be technologically excellent if people cannot work together. Blanka Hevesi from HPE presented the FinOps approach, where service-centricity meets cost-efficiency.
Group discussions: where real-life experiences came to the fore
The highlight of the morning’s programme was the five parallel round-table discussions. The topics touched on sensitive issues:
Anita Nagy moderated the discussion on the dilemmas of working with young people. The participants spoke candidly about how the fresh perspective of the new generation is both a blessing and a challenge.
Emese Magyar from EGIS discussed the classic IT-business conflict: the question of whether ‘the fault lies with the machine or the person sitting in front of it’ always creates tension. The solution? To accept that the business side also thinks logically – just according to a different logic.
Dr Viktor Spilák from OTP spoke about the role of infrastructure. Are we building on sand or granite? There is a place for both, but we need to know which one to use and when.
Afternoon: AI, quantum computing and day-to-day survival
Gergely Kiss from Attrecto painted a realistic picture of artificial intelligence. The question is not whether we use it, but whether we can apply it with a clear head.
Lea Vass Boros spoke about the data protection challenges posed by quantum computers, whilst Martin Janzsó emphasised the importance of proactive protection. Eszter D. Kecskés presented collaborative models for modern working practices.
Administrative stress – a robotic solution
János Lepesi from EconomySoft raised a topic of particular relevance to us. Administrative overload is a serious problem at company level, and robotic process automation offers a solution to this. This is precisely the area where solutions such as BürOffice are bringing about dramatic change.
At the closing round-table discussion, Tamás Pataki from Canon issued an important warning: a haphazard approach to digitisation is not a solution, but a source of further problems. The digital transition can only succeed with a well-thought-out strategy.
What’s left?
By the end of the day, it had become clear to everyone: resilience is the fundamental skill upon which we can build the future, in both technological and human terms. Boating and sailing provided the perfect conclusion to the day – after all, adaptability is what counts on the water too.
