"Let's analyze the macroeconomic situation and the funds allocated to the areas of infrastructure, digitalization, education, and more. The Romanian economy is recording healthy growth. In this context, performance management is a critical and continuous component that every leader must take into account to ensure the health of their company," says Marian Murgulet, CEO of Trencadis.

The year 2024 was, by definition, the biggest challenge – locally, it is the year with several major rounds of elections; practically, many people expected changes in the Romanian administration at the local and central levels. Romania is not the only country in this situation – in more than 50% of the world's states, the same thing happened, including at the European Union level. "In this context, we expected there to be delays in the projects already opened, but also in the identification of new needs that would respond to Romania's strategic direction. Considering the completion deadlines of the funding programs, however, all these delays will have to be recovered by the providers and the beneficiaries in the next two years, mainly concerning projects financed through Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR)", adds Marian Murgulet.

For Trencadis, in the second quarter of 2024, it became clear that the Romanian economy was facing a slowdown against a general European recession in some industries, although the implications were still uncertain.

The company immediately initiated cost optimization measures, and reorganized the organization, especially in the departments affected by the reduced demand for software services in 2024. Trencadis significantly reduced administrative costs, as evidenced by the results for the 3rd quarter 2024.

However, Trencadis did not focus exclusively on reducing costs; the savings are reinvested in innovation and improving the services and products. The management of the company used the moment to create new products in the area of ​​education and Big Data using AI tools.

Thus, Trencadis focuses in the coming period on integrating technologies that meet customers' most essential needs, such as cybersecurity, exponential technologies such as AI, RPA, data engineering, and research and development.

Machine Learning (ML) & AI represent the continuation of the technological boom we have been witnessing for several decades

Artificial Intelligence is a challenge that the whole IT market in Romania has been looking closely at in the last year. It represents a concept and a direction that significantly changes how we do things and interact with technology.

"Artificial Intelligence has positively influenced our way of life, but only because we have used it properly. We see a very high level of support for AI worldwide, but there are also strong voices that criticize or raise questions. Machine Learning (ML) & AI certainly represent the continuation of the technological boom we have been witnessing for several decades and which, used in a healthy way, will help people as there are many industries where it can be successfully applied", said Marian Murgulet.

"In this context, the company Trencadis has also adopted ML & AI in certain activities and projects (research and not only). Suppose we refer to the simplest example, ChatGPT's launch. In that case, we have at our fingertips a personal "advisor" who helps us with quick information on different responsibilities & activities, which provides us with real help through quick access to agreed information. I have noticed the same thing in several companies that have started to use AI (in this case, ChatGPT) in internal processes", stated Adrian Vaduva, Deputy CEO at Trencadis.

What are the expectations from the Romanian authorities?

The following priorities represent the main expectations from the Romanian authorities, according to Trencadis: digital transformation in education and health, increasing digital skills, and promoting innovation and start-ups.

Digital transformation in education and health. Authorities could support legislative initiatives that facilitate the digitalization of education and health systems, ensuring equal access to technology and quality services based on the trend of democratization of technology.

Increasing digital skills. Adopting policies that promote the training and improvement of civil servants' and citizens' digital skills is vital for the success of digital transformation and adoption. There are many examples of state-of-the-art integrated IT systems implemented in Romania, and not only, but also, due to low adoption, they have turned into failures.

Promoting innovation and start-ups. Legislation should support innovation by creating a favorable environment for Romanian start-ups and SMEs in the technology sector, providing incentives, and reducing bureaucracy.

The main 3 points of the business strategy for 2025

Trencadis has established a series of strategic and high-impact investments for next year – mainly since Pareto's rule works perfectly in everyday life. These will be game-changers in the Romanian and international markets, impacting the public and private sectors.

One of the medium- and long-term strategic directions is regionalization/internationalization, and its investments are in supporting them.

Trencadis will also continue to develop new products through direct investments or within the research and development projects to which we have applied this year.

The third, but certainly not the last in importance, is team consolidation, investments in the continuous development/specialization of Trencadis professionals. Healthy organizations create the framework for discussion, debate, collaboration, common sense, and opportunities for people to learn and grow together.

The biggest global challenges in tech

Interoperability and standardization, investment in digital infrastructure, and access to open data and data governance are three challenges in 2025 in digital transformation.

Interoperability and standardization: we expect international legislation to promote common standards and interoperability between digital systems of different member states. This facilitates the exchange of information and significantly improves the efficiency of cross-border services.

Trencadis estimates new investments in digital infrastructure: prioritizing European funds for developing digital infrastructure, including high-speed internet networks and 5G technology, is essential to support modern public services.

Access to open data and data governance. Creating a legal framework that encourages data sharing between public institutions, with strict compliance with data protection rules, can improve the quality and accessibility of public services.