19/05-08   -   Press releases

Sogeti Group’s first online collaborative brainstorm generates a wealth of valuable ideas

Using social networking technologies to shape the Sogeti of the Future

Paris/Stockholm, May 16, 2008 – Sogeti Group, a leading international provider of professional IT services, has successfully held its first ever 72-hour online collaborative brainstorm for all 18,000 Sogeti employees in 14 countries around the world. The objective of the event, which ran April 15-17th 2008, was to use social networking technologies to bring employees together from across multiple time-zones to generate ideas and discuss ways of building the Sogeti of the Future.

Within the 72-hour period, the level of activity was higher than anticipated:

• Over 4,200 users actively went on line
• Nearly 2,000 individual ideas were posted
• In excess of 3,475 comments were made
• 12,045 ratings were made, and there were
• More than 70,000 individual viewings of the posted ideas.

Employees focused their energies and creativity on 4 key themes: Clients, People, Technology and Corporate Social Responsibility. The suggestions ranged from the relatively simple -- ‘giving back’ to local communities -- to more complex technological client solutions, evidence of the high levels of energy, enthusiasm and creativity from around the Sogeti Group.

An important aspect of the event was to enable an open dialogue between colleagues from different countries and time zones. As a multi-national company with 18,000 employees dispersed, from India to the US, Sogeti aimed not only to bring people together who had never met, but also to provide them with an informal ‘space’ in which minds could meet and networks be established.

Key to this dynamic interactivity is the use of social networking (Web 2.0) technologies. While these form the basis of popular networks such as Facebook and YouTube, businesses generally have been slow to utilize their potential in a commercial context. Sogeti is one of the few companies that have invested significantly in this kind of initiative.

The next phase, which will run until October 2008, will make even greater use of the collaborative technologies. After an initial consolidation of ideas, employees will be invited to debate and decide the most promising in terms of business value and ability to implement. They will use a special IBM innovation site, incorporating wikis, blogs, etc. By October, many of these ideas will have become a reality, others will be stand-alone projects; all will be shaped by ongoing involvement of employees.

Luc-François Salvador, CEO Sogeti Group, sponsor of this Sogeti-wide initiative commented: “This initiative was an unprecedented and important step for this company. Sogeti’s dynamic rate of growth means that it is critical develop further and maintain the bonds between our increasingly geographically-dispersed people, and, at the same time, offer them the opportunity to make a practical contribution to their company. Sogeti’s management will reflect that commitment through significant investment in the implementation of the best ideas."

Contacts Sweden:
Stefan Ek, CEO Sogeti Sweden: +46 8 53 68 20 10
Therese Sinter, Marketing Director Sogeti Sweden: +46 70 361 46 21

For Interviews:
Michiel Boreel, CTO Sogeti Group: +31(0) 6 224 74 772
Rene Speelman, Project Manager, Sogeti: +31(0)6 55 84 00 40

About Sogeti Group
Sogeti Group specializes in Professional IT Services focusing on three key complementary business areas: IT Application Management, IT Infrastructure Services and High Tech Consulting. Working closely with our clients, we enable them to leverage global technological innovations, and achieve above average results from their IT programs. Sogeti Group employs more than 18,000 people in over 200 locations in Europe, the US and India. The Sogeti Group is a division of the Capgemini Group. For more information please visit www.sogeti.com or www.sogeti.se.

About IBM Idea Factory
IBM Idea Factory for Cloud Computing is a collaboration platform. Using Web 2.0 technologies such as Lotus Connection and WebSphere Portal, it assembles professionals into social networks for them to participate in the development of new ideas from any device. It hosts business processes -- from their beginnings as ideas, through testing to commercialization --
speeding up brainstorming among employees, partners, and others.