(*) per l’indebitamento finanziario netto ESMA, si rimanda alla nota di commento 30.
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Region 1: ITA, USA, BRA, POL, ROU, CHN (Nanjing), NZL
Region 2: DEU, CHE, CHN (Beijing), HRV
Region 3: GBR, LUX, BEL, NLD, FRA, BLR, SGP, HKG
In every market segment in which it operates, Reply combines specific sector expertise with a broad experience in the provision of services and a wealth of advanced technological capabilities.
The automotive sector is undergoing a profound evolution, driven by recent technological and environmental changes: electric propulsion, increasingly intelligent, connected vehicles and autonomous driving are the new paradigms of mobility over the next few years. In this context, Reply is contributing to the transformation of the entire supply chain, supporting leading manufacturers not only in production and logistics/distribution activities, but also in the evolution of in-vehicle services, through the design and development of advanced connectivity systems.
In 2021 Reply confirmed its leadership in the logistics and production areas of the automotive sector, implementing integrated projects that cover the end-to-end supply chain: from the logistics of raw materials and finished products to shop floor control, and from production and material planning to quality management, without forgetting transport and after-sales distribution. In particular, Reply has expertly combined, in a holistic vision of the sector, proprietary expertise, tools and technologies - such as LEA Reply (logistics) and Brick Reply (manufacturing execution system) platforms - with ad hoc solutions developed based on the cloud and edge computing paradigms.
On the connectivity front, Reply is engaged in the development of V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure) connectivity platforms, as well as actively studying and prototyping new end-to-end architectures based on edge computing technology to manage the next generation of in-vehicle integrated services. Another important area of specialisation, with several projects under way with leading players in the sector, concerns the development of autonomous driving systems, quality assurance solutions (e.g. remote vehicle diagnostics) and new types of integrated services in the smart city landscape.
In addition, Reply is applying its consolidated expertise with blockchain technology in the automotive sector, with the aim of improving vehicle maintenance processes, aftersales fraud control and vehicle recall campaign management. Lastly, Reply is actively engaged in the increasingly important e-commerce segment, with projects designed specifically for the automotive sector that integrate data-driven marketing solutions and 3D showrooms, allowing users to create customised real-time configurations of the cars and to perform virtual test drives enabled by AR/VR.
Read our research on e-commerce
trends in the automotive market
The Energy and Utilities market is undergoing a profound transformation, thanks to its key role in achieving global climate neutrality. Indeed, government plans for decarbonisation, particularly in Europe and the USA, are driving operators towards a major overhaul of the way energy is produced and distributed, with a strong push towards the adoption of renewable sources.
All major operators have launched industrial-scale technological innovation projects, with the aim of becoming increasingly flexible and resilient. Among the technologies and platforms available and adaptable in the energy sector, cloud computing is currently the most widespread solution amongst operators while IoT, on the other hand, enables the development of monitoring processes, optimising operations and activating new services and models for interaction with customers.
2021 also saw the growth of investments in advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and edge computing. These investments aim to improve the efficiency of renewable energy production (e.g. wind and photovoltaic farms) and to develop new business models in the energy management field, especially in the industrial context. In this scenario, Reply is one of the reference partners for the sector, thanks to its profound knowledge of the market and its ability to design, implement and manage innovative digital solutions and vertical technological platforms, in particular leveraging expertise and solutions in IoT, big data, advanced analytics, data governance and the cloud. These are skills and expertise that Reply has relied upon to implement international-scale projects for leading operators in the sector, ranging from energy and demand management to the management of new mobility and electric car charging services, smart metering, smart grid, asset management and renewable generation solutions.
The innovations brought about by specialised players such as FinTechs and InsurTechs mean that continuous investments need to be made in the creation and updating of digital channels that support all aspects of the relationship with customers, both commercial and transactional. New products integrating connected services and hardware are gaining the market’s favour, particularly in the insurance sector.
Thanks to its acknowledged expertise in the design and implementation of digital channels in the banking and insurance sector, Reply has gained a distinctive positioning in Europe in this context. Indeed, the announcement of the partnership with Nexi for the creation of the Nexi Digital competence centre is part of the innovation path initiated by the Group in areas such as advanced payment, open banking, blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital asset systems.
Reply is supporting financial institutions in their journey to substantially increase their use of cloud solutions, with the adoption of hybrid architectures and the continuous innovation and migration of legacy systems. Cloud-based artificial intelligence solutions are demonstrating great potential in terms of improving the efficiency of operations, with increasing investments in intelligent process automation platforms that simplify internal processes, particularly those relating to back office and customer onboarding.
The Group also boasts extensive expertise in Governance, Risk and Control (GRC) and Wealth and Asset Management. Reply’s teams support financial institutions in their compliance needs and in the adoption of new business models, including when it comes to the strong push by the market and by regulators towards sustainability and environmental protection. The Group’s consolidated experience in advanced consulting models has been complemented by a growing expertise in the design and implementation of robo-advisory solutions aimed at customers and financial advisors.
Digital transformation has become an integral part of industrial processes, revolutionising not only production, but also the end-to-end supply chain: from procurement to logistics, and from sales to maintenance. Production plants are being transformed into open and flexible ecosystems, capable of also managing communication flows and the distribution chain better, thus generating a virtuous mechanism capable of minimising costs and maximising results.
Reply collaborates with leading European industrial groups in the sector, accompanying them in this complex transformation process that covers a range of different areas. These include supply and purchase management; the design and implementation of control and planning systems based on the new generation of cloud-based ERP, MOM and MES solutions for the planning and control of production processes and integration with supply logistics networks. Thanks to this experience, the IDC has positioned Reply as a Leader in the ’MarketScape European Smart Manufacturing Service Providers 2021 Vendor Assessment’.
Read more about the growth of Industrial IoT
The Group’s planning and control expertise has been increasingly complemented by knowledge on product lifecycle management, with particular attention to the connected products sphere. Alongside its extensive capabilities in the implementation of vendor suites such as Oracle, SAP and Microsoft, Reply has enriched its portfolio of solutions in the Industry 4.0 realm, thanks to its proprietary Brick Reply (MES) and Axulus Reply (Industrial Internet of Things) solutions.
Markets experienced a significant disruption in supply chains in 2021 - also due to the impact of the ongoing pandemic - with the consequent need to rebuild them in a more resilient and digitised manner. In this context, Reply supported companies from different sectors with initiatives that have not only enabled new ways of managing just-in-time, industrial shipping and last mile (e.g. e-commerce) processes, but also the adoption of electric and autonomous vehicles in intra-logistics contexts, together with a growing use of robotics and the Internet of Things.
Reply has confirmed its logistics expertise in various sectors including the automotive, healthcare and food industries, where the Group has specialised in the management of logistics flows of raw materials, fleets and automated warehouses. Following the latest market trends, the Group has broadened its horizons, engaging in areas related to the sustainability and decarbonisation of supply chains, omnichannel solutions and the evolution of the different ways of working in logistics and transport.
Reply’s expertise in the logistics area has been recognised by several analysts, including Gartner, which included the LEA Reply platform in the “Magic Quadrant for Warehouse Management Systems 2021“. The features introduced on the platform during the year concerned new services to support the retail market, and in particular dark store and in-store operating processes that leverage algorithms optimisation to improve supply chain efficiency. The Group’s various studies and implementations on advanced wearables, computer vision and drones also continued.
Reply is continuing to support national and local public administrations in managing the Covid-19 pandemic, both from a management point of view and in the healthcare sector. After supporting government and healthcare agencies in the monitoring and tracking of infections and in the organisation and management of vaccination campaigns, the Group is now operating in countries where plans for recovery from the economic crisis have been launched, playing the role of a technological partner in innovation, sustainability and resilience initiatives.
In the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors, Reply’s portfolio of products and services has complemented traditional expertise in cost optimisation, process digitalisation, management of medical equipment and logistics, with solutions based on artificial intelligence.
In 2021, Reply strengthened its offering of services and products in the reception and telemedicine realms, anticipating the technological and organisational trends of the new hospital-territory healthcare ecosystem and improving the efficiency of patient journey processes from a connected care perspective. Reply is promoting the adoption of the One-Health model (integration of data collected from people, animals and the environment to establish new diagnosis and treatment processes), working to connect technologies and applications from sectors parallel to healthcare, such as the pharma, genomics and bioinformatics research fields.
2021 was a year of further growth for the retail sector, following the significant disruptions caused by the pandemic. Reply supported leading European players in the implementation of integrated strategies spanning the online and physical networks. The demand for increasingly ‘phygital’ experiences has led to several projects in the master data management space. The aim of these projects is to harmonise information about end consumers, products and services, thus providing new insights and KPIs useful for measuring the effectiveness of the various initiatives, as well as identifying areas where the existing offer can be enhanced.
Reply has been involved in numerous initiatives concerning the migration of e-commerce systems to native cloud platforms. In these contexts, the success factor was characterised by the ability to provide technological solutions capable of breaking down business capabilities into re-combinable services, thus enabling the implementation of increasingly sophisticated and channel-independent forms of relationships and sales. Reply has stood out from the crowd for its ability to design truly omnichannel architectures, taking full advantage of the offer of the various cloud platforms and creating real-time order management and inventory solutions.
The Group also supported retailers in reviewing their organisational processes. Reply’s profound knowledge of the dynamics of this sector have been instrumental in achieving the transformation and enabling the necessary intra-departmental coordination mechanisms. These capabilities are becoming increasingly important in order to effectively support retail customers towards international openness and experimentation with the new B2B2C and ‘consumer to consumer’ relationship models that favour growth and a reduction of the time to market.
In the Telco market, lower operating costs and the introduction of new service lines have led to an organisational tension which, in many contexts, has spilled over and is affecting economic performance. Thanks to its consolidated expertise in the Telco field, Reply is supporting leading European operators in optimising their technological solutions and the investments needed for the implementation of new generation networks. In the 5G realm in particular, Reply has developed a diverse offer portfolio, based on innovative use cases and the ability to work on the unbundling of networks.
The Group is also supporting large network operators in the development of cloud-based and edge computing solutions. For example, in addition to satisfying companies that use the services and that are able to benefit from technological and economic advantages in terms of a reduction in data transmission latency and costs, public cloud solutions also support business processes in ensuring compliance with local data privacy regulations. These solutions allow companies to reap the benefits of the public cloud, without the need to assume the complexities involved in managing their own private cloud.
In the Media sector, publishers are reacting to the deep crisis experienced by traditional channels, which is paving the way for the development of new digital solutions and products that can meet new customer preferences. Thanks to its profound knowledge of the Telco world, Reply is supporting leading European players in the Media sector towards the convergence of offers, contributing to the design and implementation of new bundles consisting of fixed/mobile broadband connectivity, value-added services and premium editorial and/or television content.
Technological innovation is the basis of Reply’s growth. The company has always pursued the objective of providing its clients with the tools they need to increase flexibility and efficiency. Reply is involved in a continuous process of research, selection and marketing of innovative solutions for sustaining the creation of value within organisations.
Cloud computing has established itself as the infrastructure standard in all the markets in which Reply operates. The Group has developed significant expertise in supporting companies towards the adoption of solutions relying on Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud Platform and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS). This cross-functional expertise has allowed Reply to support customers in a growing number of multi-cloud and hybrid implementations, where on-premises systems and cloud services are seamlessly integrated into the user experience. The Group has also confirmed its strong architectural capabilities and an ongoing commitment to optimising investments and operating costs.
Read more about Cloud and Edge Computing
from our research “From Cloud to edge“
Its consolidated experience in designing and managing the complexity of multi-cloud solutions has led Reply to develop the CAFFE methodological framework (Cloud Adoption Framework for Enterprise). Thanks to this structured approach, Reply customers can build their Cloud adoption journey and define an efficient operating model with a set of tools that enable the automation of cloud services.
In addition to offering 24/7 operational support services for cloud infrastructures, Reply has significantly expanded its products and services offer with advanced models that take advantage of the edge cloud, distributed cloud and edge computing technologies, to support Telcos and leading industrial groups. These approaches make it possible to design solutions that offer low latency and a high degree of security/privacy, with immediate benefits in the local processing of data, connected to artificial intelligence, machine learning and high-performance computing solutions made available by cloud providers.
At the application level, Reply has adopted the Software as a Service (SaaS) model as its main solution in the development of specific platforms for customers in different industries such as banking, telco, automotive, insurance, energy, retail and healthcare. This approach is complemented by the significant expertise in customising platforms offered by vendors such as Salesforce, SAP and Adobe in different areas, including omni-channel sales, data-driven marketing and industrial and logistics solutions.
Alongside cloud computing and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity has established itself as one of the top priorities for the market. The growing number of attacks - both in the industrial and in the consumer sectors - combined with the significant increase in connected devices driven by the success of IoT technologies, makes it necessary for businesses to invest continuously in the prevention, detection and management of incidents.
The activities conducted by Reply for its customers range from the definition and implementation of security and risk management policies, to the development of predictive models, operational cybersecurity monitoring activities, incident management and threat intelligence. Reply has partnered with leading vendors of cloud and legacy security solutions; it is also active in monitoring innovative startups and participating in open source initiatives.
Among the areas that have seen the most significant growth in recent years, the IT security of industrial plants and logistics systems is of particular importance and is one of the main areas of study in Reply’s new Cyber Security Lab. In this context, Reply has invested in frameworks to strengthen the test phases of connected industrial devices, attack interception and response, including through the adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques.
During the course of 2021, the hyperautomation paradigm has been widely embraced, particularly in the business context. Indeed, the drastic changes in the way we work brought on by the pandemic have contributed to a growing interest in robot process automation and intelligent process automation solutions by different sectors, from banking to insurance, and from telco to energy.
Automation technologies have also been used in the development of solutions based on the principles of ‘Low-Code’ and ‘No-Code’. The ability to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the adoption of AI-powered software development techniques, is in fact bringing greater efficiency to the activities conducted by developers - both for Reply and its customers - in the coding, testing and software deployment phases.
AI-powered data automation is being used more and more by Reply teams specialising in machine learning, to improve the efficiency of data preparation and the identification and sharing of insights on large databases. In this context, Reply is supporting customers in evolving their business intelligence and analytics platforms in this direction, making it possible to obtain data and information that is increasingly accurate and valuable for business development, operational management and cybersecurity.
Another area experiencing a strong automation acceleration is robotics. Alongside the modernisation of industrial robots, the emergence of autonomous mobile robots enables companies to obtain benefits in terms of logistics optimisation, building management, plant safety and the protection of workers. Reply covers all the various design, programming and training phases of software and artificial intelligence algorithms that give life to robots, as well as the implementation of cloud-based architectures such as the one developed on the Microsoft Azure stack for the management of Boston Dynamics’ Spot robots.
In a world filled with stimuli and in which relationships are often mediated by interactive screens, it is imperative for companies to be able to establish a solid relationship with their audience. To address these trends, Reply helps customers to design and implement a customer journey filled with experiences, using innovative technologies and an in-depth knowledge of the human experience on digital channels. Moreover, the use of artificial intelligence algorithms enables the creation of a richer and more personalised digital experience thanks also to the greater ability to understand, analyse and anticipate customer behaviours, as well as to implement more effective customer engagement actions.
With its consolidated expertise in the design and implementation of marketing automation and CRM platforms, based on the partnership with leading players such as Salesforce, Adobe, Microsoft and Oracle, Reply specialises in developing digital communication solutions and campaigns aimed at increasing engagement, reducing friction points and improving mutual knowledge between company and customer, with great attention paid to privacy and data security. Reply combines this expertise with the support offered to large multinationals and companies operating in different sectors in building an active and responsible presence on social media.
Alongside the design and implementation of digital platforms in various industries - from banking to energy, insurance and telco - Reply supports the proprietary Sonar Reply, Pulse Reply and China Beats solutions designed to help marketers monitor the international market and track marketing and branding KPIs, as well as the Discovery Reply digital asset management platform.
In 2021, Reply was listed as a leader in Gartner’s global ‘Magic Quadrant for CRM and Customer Experience Implementation Services 2021’. This prestigious milestone recognises Reply’s consolidated expertise in creating customer experiences that integrate CRM, Sales, Service, Marketing and Data Analysis components, joining the numerous other recognitions obtained by Reply agencies in designing integrated and unique digital experiences for brands.
The strong shift towards digital channels marked the development of relationships between customers and companies during the limitations imposed by the global pandemic. The gradual re-openings subsequently saw the emergence of increasingly hybrid models, characterised by a strong omni-channel focus of the purchasing experiences and new communication and interaction interfaces, both at a commercial and at a customer care level.
Reply has launched international competence centres dedicated to studying new interfaces, designing the best user experiences and subsequently implementing front-end systems and integration with company systems and artificial intelligence engines. Starting from its broad expertise in the mobile interfaces realm and in advanced e-commerce models, the Group has managed initiatives involving the adoption of virtual reality, augmented reality, wearable, touchless and voice interfaces in the B2C and B2B spaces.
Read more about the raise of new user interfaces
from our research “New Interfaces Zero Interfaces“
Alongside the growing number of implementations and prototypes in areas related to the metaverse, Reply has seen a renewed interest in conversational systems, with a significant increase in platforms and algorithms for the management of chatbots, shopping assistants and digital assistants. Indeed, conversational systems are evolving, both in improving the interaction with the user, and in analysing their style and manner of conversation, to offer an increasingly personalised service.
Reply’s expertise ranges from the design of new interfaces, to the integration with customer AI analytics and the creation of omni-channel frameworks. The goal is to build data-driven experiences in which interfaces can autonomously interact with the user. In the case of customer care services, for example, the aim is to ensure the complete resolution of problems, while human operators remain active as a point of escalation, with complete visibility of the interaction that took place up until that moment.
After the solutions deployed during the 2020 lockdowns to facilitate remote work and social distancing, companies have faced 2021 by adopting a more structured approach, taking advantage of the technological opportunities available and proactively managing the temporary restrictions on the mobility of customers, employees and sales networks. In recent months, Reply has supported client companies in the design, development and adoption of advanced collaboration and communication tools, which combine the improvement of individual productivity and the effectiveness of teams, regardless of their physical location.
Collaboration and communication solutions are designed by prioritising the adoption of cloud-based tools, which can be used seamlessly by employees whether activities are carried out in the office, on the move or at home. Moreover, thanks to the analysis and management of possible security issues resulting from hybrid working methods, Reply is also supporting companies in the adoption of advanced cybersecurity solutions and of platforms offered by leading vendors in the desktop/mobile management space. The Reply offer incorporates the experience gained on productivity tools included in digital workplace suites offered by leading vendors, integrated with hardware/software enablers based on artificial intelligence. Intelligent process automation, in particular, is gaining ground as a tool to bring the potential of artificial intelligence and machine learning into the daily lives of workers, by speeding up and simplifying their activities.
Read more about the technologies that are reshaping
the employee expericence, from our research “Hybrid work“
Reply is continuing the development of proprietary platforms such as TamTamy Reply, aimed at maintaining and evolving social relationships and training activities, on-site as well as remotely. In parallel with its technological offer, the Group companies specialising in training, internal communication and human resources development have expanded their portfolio of services aimed at promoting employee engagement and continuous learning.
The growing number of connected objects, both in the consumer and industrial sectors, enables innovative business models on the one hand, whilst making significant investments in connectivity necessary on the other. In the Operational Technology (OT) space, in particular, the use of drones, robots, autonomous vehicles, connected machines and augmented/virtual reality components requires not only highly reliable connectivity, but also minimum latency and high security/privacy of the data transmitted.
Reply is collaborating with leading European operators to tackle the medium-term scenarios in which companies will experience a radical change in their communication infrastructure, with the creation of fully wireless enterprise W-LANs, designed to provide a connectivity that is always available and highly reliable. These dedicated and specialised communication networks will not only carry data and perform traffic control to connect and manage network nodes and devices, but also code and algorithms.
The line between OTT and public telephone operators will be increasingly blurred. Indeed, the consolidation and maturation of 5G networks will see an affluence of corporate mobile private networks: bubbles isolated from public networks with high service standards managed by so-called digital operators. The new players will support Telcos with specialised offers, guaranteeing connectivity services optimised for the individual building, the single machine or the specific application.
The Internet of Things is one of today’s most important technological trends. In fact, use cases cover the adoption of connected technologies in the corporate, consumer and public sectors. The rise in the number of connected platforms leverages, on the one hand, the increasing availability of services by large cloud providers and, on the other, the increase in innovative devices and sensors, both at the industrial and the domestic level.
At consumer level, ‘connected products’ have been the common thread of the evolution of Reply’s offer. The Group is supporting its customers in the launch of new products natively equipped with connected services, in particular in the smart home and smart mobility sectors. The IoT solutions designed and implemented by Reply are characterised by a ‘security by design’ approach, complemented by highly usable interfaces and innovative service models.
The Industrial IoT has affirmed its crucial role as the linking element between the Industry 4.0 models, thanks to the analysis, predictive and forecasting capabilities enabled by cloud and edge computing technologies and supported by the growing availability of sensors and 5G networks. The projects carried out by Reply primarily concerned large customers in the manufacturing, energy, automotive and logistics sectors. Lastly, the use of connected robots and drones has been successfully implemented in warehouse management and plant safety solutions.
Read more about the areas that are pushing the growth
of IoT within industry, from our research
“Industral IoT: a Reality Check“
Reply continues to invest in IoT innovation, both by evolving its connected platforms such as Ticuro Reply, and through various studies in the smart city space. Innovation on the Internet of Things is also guaranteed by the monitoring of the start-up and scale-up markets carried out by the Breed Reply incubator, which has continued its selection and investment activities in B2C and B2B companies specialised in IoT and operating in different industries.
Today, networks consist of distributed ‘information systems’ that provide real-time access to an everincreasing quantity of complex data, information and content. This use of the internet is creating new competitive models, based on approaches to service that depend on three fundamental components: the software platforms involved, the understanding of and expertise in the relevant processes, and the management of the service. Reply supports its customers in this quest for innovation, with services and platforms that are designed to exploit in full the new potential offered by networks and by communication technologies.
Axulus Reply is our cloud-based accelerator for the Industrial Internet of Things and the digitalisation of manufacturing companies. The platform offers a modular approach, templates and libraries that make it possible to identify possible use cases, configure the most suitable solutions and implement them through the adoption of scalable workflows, right down to the production environment.
Brick Reply is our Industry 4.0 platform dedicated to the digital transformation of industrial operations. Thanks to its micro-services based architecture, to a set of vertical applications that can be used in a mobile context and to its advanced connectivity capabilities with machinery and sensors, Brick Reply provides a flexible and reactive solution for the supervision and control of production activities, capable of going as far as facilitating the predictive management of the shop floor.
China Beats Reply is our marketing intelligence and social listening platform solution dedicated to understanding the Chinese market and its broad data ecosystem. It can connect to all major Chinese e-commerce platforms, search engines and social media platforms such as Alibaba, Baidu and Sina Weibo. News flows, patent databases and publicly available open data sources are also integrated. The platform collects relevant data relating to different industries, including the automotive, fashion, consumer goods and technology sectors.
Discovery Reply is our platform dedicated to enterprise digital experience management. The platform centralises the management of images, videos, audio and documents in a secure, fast and complete way. Any type of multimedia file is analysed and modified directly on the platform and subsequently published on websites, apps, e-commerce channels, Web TV platforms, digital displays and social media networks, in full compliance with the specific usage rights and ensuring the quality and consistency of communication across all channels.
LEA Reply is our digital platform designed to enable efficient, agile and connected supply chains. The solution consists of a suite of microservices covering various business processes including the management of warehousing, inventory, distribution, delivery and store logistics. LEA Reply modules are highly configurable and customisable, and the platform uses technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics and the Internet of Things to ensure enhanced quality and operational efficiency.
Pulse Reply is a data-driven insight solution. The platform combines data science and marketing intelligence within an agile dashboard. Pulse Reply includes advanced data visualisation and modelling capabilities and has been designed to allow users to understand what is happening, but also to enable forecasting. Thanks to the integration of machine learning algorithms, Pulse Reply is able to automatically notify users when changes in a KPI are detected, while also providing evidence of the reasons behind such changes and explaining their potential impact.
Sonar Reply is our solution for research on data-driven trends, developed in collaboration with the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). The platform was designed with the aim of offering a user experience similar to that of common search engines and is intended not only for data analysis professionals, but also for researchers and journalists. The central element in Sonar Reply’s architecture is an ever-expanding database that today includes over 40 million indexed scientific publications, patents, expert blogs, news articles and other documents.
TamTamy Reply is Reply’s Enterprise Social Network solution, designed to respond to the need - both B2B and B2C - for communication, collaboration and education through social media. The vertical ‘TamTamy Learning Experience Platform’ version, developed in 2021, incorporates engagement and gamification dynamics with the aim of being able to offer companies an innovative tool for the implementation of communication and training campaigns, including in the new hybrid work contexts.
Ticuro Reply is designed to enable processes supporting prevention and the continuity of care, on-site as well as remotely, according to the Connected Care model for digital healthcare. Designed based on the SaaS model, the platform relies on IoMT (Internet of Medical Things) technology, thanks to which it is capable of connecting to medical devices, wearable multi-parametric and environmental sensors. The solution thus enables an enhanced and ongoing remote collaboration between patients, caregivers and healthcare personnel, both in the prevention phase and in the more critical phases of treatment and rehabilitation.
X-Rais Reply is the Reply artificial intelligence solution designed to support radiological diagnosis processes through deep learning. The solution is verticalised on different diagnostic methods and on specific anatomical districts and is able to support medical diagnosis processes through medical image recognition techniques. During the course of 2021, the platform has been enhanced with regard to its mammography analysis capabilities, thanks to the implementation of specific algorithms capable of identifying microcalcifications, suspected radiopacities and lesions.
Reply considers research and continuous innovation to be fundamental assets in supporting its customers as they adopt new technologies.
The crisis linked to the global pandemic appears to have speeded up many significant transformations in target markets, in customers and in society as a whole. Thanks to the creation of international competence centres, Reply monitors the market constantly in order to identify emerging technologies and business opportunities and to anticipate the leading engines for the creation of tomorrow’s business value.
Reply has launched several initiatives to support its customers in tackling the heterogeneous mix of technologies and the new operational and organisational methods needed in order to position themselves on the leading metaverse platforms. The main areas of development include 3D modelling, 3D reconstruction of environments, avatar creation, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other assets based on the blockchain infrastructure and on virtual, augmented or mixed reality technologies.
The metaverse approach dictates that companies need to rethink the traditional communication paradigms, today predominantly asynchronous on the web and on social media networks. The metaverse is accelerating the displacement of interaction into the synchronous and real-time communication space. The self-representation of users through avatars involves not only the creation of a 3D model that depicts them, but also the secure and centralised storage of everything that represents them in the digital world: their assets, NFTs, payment instruments, personal data, and the artificial intelligence model built on top of these.
Reply has consolidated expertise in all the core elements of the metaverse - artificial intelligence, blockchain and 3D in real-time - combined with the international experiences gained with Reply Game Studios in the gaming area and in the development of customised 3D applications and AR/VR/MX in the business world. This means the Group is an increasingly important point of reference in helping customers from different industries to orient themselves in these new worlds and to be able to seize the opportunities offered.
Quantum computing is the technology with the highest potential in reaching the processing peaks required by today’s increasingly powerful artificial intelligence and machine learning systems. In fact, the evolution towards the so-called ‘general artificial intelligence’ necessitates instructing and training complex machine learning models in a reasonable length of time and with a high degree of accuracy, but also remodelling the algorithms based on the - sometimes continuous - changes in input data.
Reply is supporting large European groups in the adoption of ‘quantum-inspired’ algorithms. This approach makes it possible to anticipate the future benefits of a mass implementation of quantum computing technologies in specific contexts, such as workforce optimisation and other use cases where a high number of variables need to be combined to obtain timely answers that can be used in daily business management activities.
Other studies followed by Reply concerned the railway sector, where Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimisation (QUBO) was used. This is a solution designed to describe optimisation problems that can be solved through quantum technologies. Particular interest was also identified in the finance sector, where complex areas such as investment banking can benefit from accelerated computing to obtain insights from huge databases and input sources with an extremely high refresh rate.
The transport sector is undergoing a significant transformation, linked primarily to the development of ‘Mobility as a Service’ offers. This paradigm is emerging not only based on new consumption models, but also thanks to the technologies that make vehicles more environmentally efficient and connected to roads and smart cities. The changes are also affecting public transport, an area where Reply has launched various projects and studies with different operators, carrying out projects related to the new sustainable and smart mobility.
Attention to the environment is translating into the electrification of all vehicle categories and the optimisation of their life cycle. Batteries are also an area undergoing strong innovation. Indeed, Reply is working on cloud-based models in which Internet of Things solutions monitor and optimise battery consumption, extending their life and generally improving the efficiency of the vehicles using them.
At a technological level, the high availability of software and hardware on board the vehicle makes it possible to improve its safety, efficiency and maintenance. At the same time, the gradual diffusion of high-capacity networks such as 5G is enabling a significant number of support, entertainment, payment and interaction services. New business models see specialised players working alongside historic vehicle manufacturers, and the latter radically renewing their catalogue and digitising their business processes.
Reply has long been committed to making its operations as sustainable as possible, with a primary focus on reducing the Group’s ecological footprint. Also thanks to the increasing sensitivity of its customers, Reply has embarked on a path focused on the definition of its project management and code development methodologies based on the principles of energy efficiency and a reduction in the potential waste of resources, especially energy.
Indeed, ICT is currently a significant area when it comes to energy consumption. The global push towards digitalisation, accelerated by the pandemic, is expected to lead to a further increase in data centre consumption, also due to the diffusion of new energy-intensive activities such as training complex machine-learning algorithms. Cloud migration is an opportunity for companies to make their systems ‘greener’, given that many large vendors are acquiring a big part or all of their energy needs through renewable sources.
The increasing use of connected devices - for example in the Industrial Internet of Things - makes it necessary to optimise energy consumption at the level of a single sensor or connected terminal. Even at software level, writing optimised code can bring benefits in the reduction of the ecological footprint. In this scenario of transformation, Reply has created an international working group with the aim of developing the necessary skills and expertise to be able to adopt, in a significant manner, the use of green computing and green coding both internally and during collaboration with customers’ development teams.
In order to offer the most appropriate solutions to different business requirements, Reply has established a set of key partnerships with major global vendors. In particular, Reply has achieved top certification levels with regard to leading technologies in the enterprise field, including: Adobe, AWS, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce and SAP.
The main focus of the partnership between Adobe and Reply is in the creation of digital marketing solutions. The main areas covered include: digital information management (including web portals, e-commerce solutions and mobile apps), digital asset management (with management of the end-to-end life cycle of documents and digital assets) and marketing automation (for the creation, planning, management and optimisation of omni-channel marketing campaigns). In these domains, Reply is able to develop applications that make it possible to optimise the targeting, personalisation and optimisation of content, while ensuring the efficiency of marketing operations and a high overall level of customer experience for important clients. Today, thanks to the extensive knowledge of the products included in the Adobe Experience Platform, Reply is a Gold Partner and an AEM Specialised Partner at Adobe’s EMEA level, with projects under way in Italy, Germany, the UK and the United States. This continuously expanding coverage allows Reply customers to obtain value-added services and state-of-the-art solutions at both national and international levels.
Reply is a leading Amazon Web Services (AWS) partner, with whom it collaborates in numerous projects both in the B2B and B2C fields, offering companies cloud computing, content processing and distribution services, together with end-to-end support, ranging from the creation and integration of custom applications and platforms, to the activation of 24/7 maintenance and management. Over the years, the Group has gained specific expertise in the cloud migration of systems of large companies. In 2021, a strategic collaboration agreement was launched between Reply and AWS for the development of solutions dedicated to customers operating in the manufacturing sector, financial services, the automotive industry, retail and the utilities and telecommunications sector, with the aim of supporting customers to accelerate and innovate business processes. Reply has also been included by AWS, for the eighth consecutive year, in the select global circle of Premier Consulting Partners. In 2021, Reply acquired expertise in the Retail and Energy sectors, accorded to partners that have demonstrated technical capabilities and success stories in these two industries. These achievements complement Reply’s other certified competencies in Data and Analytics, DevOps, Oracle, Migration, IoT, Industrial Software, SaaS, Machine Learning, Financial Services and Security, in addition to those related to the Managed Service Programme and the Well-Architected Programme.
Reply’s expertise in the services and solutions offered by Google has been consolidated over the last five years, leading to its Premier Partner status on the Google Cloud Platform. Reply has in fact carried out numerous successful projects in different countries focused on the design and implementation of cloud solutions in a range of different areas: cloud strategy and migration, cloud hosting, big data, machine learning, PCI/ISO compliance and security management, productivity services and 24/7 service management. In addition to its extensive expertise in the Google Workspace, Reply has also obtained several specialisations on the Google stack, including those of Managed Service Provider Worldwide, Infrastructure and Migration Specialist and Machine Learning Specialist. The Company has also received several recognitions as Partner Expertise in areas including Data Lake Modernisation, Data Warehouse Modernisation and Conversational Design.
Reply is a gold-certified Microsoft partner with specialised companies operating in Europe, the UK, the US and Brazil. It offers consulting and system integration services based on the three Microsoft clouds: Azure, Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365, all solutions that have been seeing strong growth. Reply develops its business in close collaboration with Microsoft’s local branches and, in 2021, it also continued its growth path as a Microsoft Corporation partner within the Multi-Area Partner Orchestration programme. Over the years, Reply has seen the collaboration with Microsoft develop significantly with its services related to cloud migrations and infrastructures, the development of solutions in the IoT, artificial intelligence and robotics realms, in addition to the specialisation in the deployment of platforms for the modern workplace to support the adoption of hybrid work models. In 2021, Reply confirmed its participation in the select Azure Expert MSP (Managed Service Provider) programme and obtained twelve advanced specialisations in Azure, Business Applications, Modern Work and Security, which have been added to its 16 already certified Gold competencies.
With one of the leading European Competence Centres, Reply in 2021 was confirmed as a leader in Oracle Cloud Computing and obtained the recognition of Service Expertise for the main Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and Oracle Cloud Application offer areas. Moreover, for the fourth consecutive year, Reply has been confirmed as an Oracle Cloud Service Provider, representing a reference point for services managed on OCI. Reply has confirmed its leadership in the ERP space, with numerous projects carried out on ERP Cloud and the NetSuite technology. Among these, the first cloud ERP projects carried out in the public and private health sectors. Reply also won the ‘NetSuite FY21 Top Innovation Award’ for developing and continuing to evolve Nexil, NetSuite’s Italian localisation. Lastly, Reply has distinguished itself in the marketing automation and customer experience domains, thanks to various strategic projects based on the Oracle Xstore suite.
Reply is a Salesforce Consulting Partner with certifications in Europe and the USA. Reply’s advanced technical competencies cover the entire Salesforce offer: Sales, Service and Marketing, Commerce for B2B and B2C, MuleSoft and Analytics with Tableau. Moreover, Reply’s experts work with the various Salesforce extensions for CPQ, Field Service Lightning, Pardot, E-mail Automation and Einstein AI, as well as overseeing the offer on newly-acquired Salesforce products, such as Datorama, Vlocity and Slack. Thanks to its long-standing expertise in Salesforce, Reply is able to provide various models and starter kits for different sectors and processes, such as those related to facility management, healthcare, sustainability and ‘return to work’ in the pandemic context. Through projects documented by Salesforce and evaluated by customers, Reply was able to obtain a wide range of specialisations in Salesforce products in different industries. In addition to being an expert in the various Salesforce product areas, Reply is one of the few experts worldwide in the automotive sector. Other industry specialisations attributed to Reply by Salesforce include manufacturing, retail, financial services, energy, healthcare and life sciences.
The partnership between Reply and SAP evolved into a Partner Group Agreement in 2021, accompanied by numerous SAP Recognised Expertise certificates. The international growth of this important partnership has led to the creation of a complete portfolio of consulting and deployable solutions on all SAP products including RISE with SAP (S/4HANA), Digital Supply Chain, Business Technology Platform (BTP), ARIBA and SAP Customer Experience. Distinctive projects also covered the SAP Sales Cloud area. In 2021, Reply received the ‘SAP Quality Award’ for the eighth consecutive year, in recognition of the quality and relevance of its activities. The Group follows the SAP cloud strategy, contributing to the development of vertical solutions and accelerators for different industries, including ARIBA’s verticalisation for the Italian market. Another important pillar was the role in RISE with SAP, which in addition to the development of the S/4HANA solutions, also saw the consolidation of extensions based on the SAP Business Technology Platform and Business Process Intelligence.
We believe that sustainability is a responsibility, but also a unique opportunity for all of us.
Climate change and sustainability present challenges as well as opportunities for companies and their stakeholders, and Reply is increasingly committed to conducting its activities while paying close attention to the issues of sustainability. The Group actively integrates key environmental practices into its business strategy and operations, promoting awareness and social and environmental responsibility amongst its employees, customers, suppliers and other business partners.
Understanding and using technology is the foundation of Reply’s mission, also confirmed by its commitment to helping customers achieve their sustainability goals through the adoption of cutting-edge technologies. On the domestic front, for several years now Reply has been adopting new models to help reduce the impact of its activities and generate long-term financial growth, with the aim of driving sustainable innovation.
Reply’s focus on sustainability issues is also expressed through the commitments made at national, regional and global levels, such as the signing of the United Nations Global Compact. The principles deeply embedded into the Group’s culture thus make it possible to contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals focused on the following aspects:
Since its inception, Reply has distinguished itself within the market as a network of professionals recruited from the best universities, whose potential is then matured together based on strong shared values. Today, this approach has been applied on a global scale.
In 2020, in an international market context marked by strong turbulence, Reply has vigorously pursued its plan for hiring resources with great potential. In each country in which it operates, Reply builds and grows a strong link with the academic world, gaining access to high-potential talent.
The selection criteria for young graduates is strict and concerns both the importance of the university of origin, as well as the distinctive nature of the candidate’s curriculum. Together with professionals recruited in emerging markets in particular, they are asked to fully adhere to Reply’s value system.
Excellence is the common thread of this system: the search for quality must be a daily and constant commitment, focused on the continuous improvement of one’s work and the benefits delivered to customers. Each year, a strong, merit-based evaluation system makes it possible to recognise and reward excellent results.
The customer is the protagonist of the Reply value system. Reply consultants take the customer’s objectives and make them their own, striving to achieve them with a collaborative spirit and with a sense of responsibility and high moral integrity. Each customer is individually sent an annual survey to determine the level of satisfaction in relation to each project.
Innovation must be integrated on a daily basis into projects with customers, based on a pragmatic approach that combines courage in the choices made and the ability to recognise the most suitable solutions to the context, from an IT point of view and beyond. Internal reward systems make it possible to recognise the most innovative ideas and projects.
Over time, speed has proven to be a distinctive feature of Reply’s teams on the market. By capitalising of the expertise gained in various sectors and the collaboration with major vendors, Reply is able to respond to customer needs quickly and in a measured way. A strong, shared methodology accelerates design and implementation work.
Teamwork is the glue of the Reply approach. Younger professionals bring the skills gained in their academic career, joining teams led by individuals who have followed the same path and whose seniority, leadership and knowledge transfer capabilities have been progressively recognised. The result of the integration of a strong, value-based system and constant attention to recognising the value of expertise and knowledge has allowed Reply to continue to grow organically, with people as the protagonists of its offer in the technological, consulting and creative fields. Mindful of the importance of a diversified, inclusive and rewarding workplace, Reply is constantly investing in the growth and enhancement of its people, guaranteeing professional development paths and creating the conditions necessary for a collaborative and motivating work environment. Ensuring that everyone feels equally involved and supported is essential for improving the employee’s daily work life and creating a work environment where ideas and innovation can flourish. This is precisely why Reply is committed to eliminating discrimination and any kind of difference between its employees, by ensuring equal opportunities and treatment and making everyone feel part of an inclusive and cohesive community.
Horizontal structures, open doors and direct communication are key pillars that guide life at Reply. Moreover, the Company adopts policies that are consistent with the regulatory provisions for protected categories in all the countries in which it operates, promoting their social and work inclusion.
The Corporate Code of Ethics defines, explains and formalises the Reply values and guides all Group members on how to behave and how to act correctly during their daily activities, with customers, suppliers, business partners and their colleagues. Its adoption by all employees makes it possible to create and maintain a common ethical culture among the various teams, allowing everyone to act in line with Reply’s values.
To promote cross-country knowledge sharing and corporate welfare activities, Reply has created the Reply Social Network structure that engages employees (referred to as ‘Replyers’) through both informal and formal learning activities and paths, using digital channels and events. At Reply, we pay particular attention to the protection of the health and safety of employees, both by taking the necessary measures to ensure the safety of the workplace, and through training and information activities aimed at effectively preventing and managing professional risks related to the performance of business activities.
The Reply Wellness programme, established in 2018, incorporates several activities articulated in three areas: nutrition, fitness and prevention activities. Both annual programmes and specific activities, related to global campaigns or specific events, are developed for each of these categories. Awareness initiatives are also adopted on specific issues such as Mention for Prevention, a campaign aimed at cancer prevention through educational and information initiatives, events and challenges.
Since its early days, the Reply Group has adopted policies consistent with the regulatory provisions on protected categories in all the countries in which it operates, striving to promote their social and work inclusion. In particular, in 2021, on an experimental basis, a project called ‘Training Island’ was launched, which saw Reply collaborate with a partner specialised in the job placement of neurodivergent people, specifically those with Asperger’s Syndrome. The project consists of the completion of a training course aimed at the job placement of candidates in the testing field, an activity particularly well suited to the characteristics of great precision, inclination to repetitiveness and attention to detail that characterise people with Asperger’s. Once the experimentation phase has been completed, the goal is to make use of partnership relationships for specific training aimed at specific disabilities, in other and different ‘training islands’.
Focusing on people during the Covid-19 emergenciey
The Covid-19 emergency was managed through the adoption of remote working policies to ensure access to work in the safest ways possible, based on the progression of the pandemic in the various countries where Reply operates. Since remote work is already part of the Group’s model, its adoption has not led to significant changes in the Company’s normal operations. Support teams were set up in the various countries, with the aim of providing information on personal hygiene precautions, overseeing the sanitisation of the premises, providing the necessary PPE, managing common and travel areas, carrying out health surveillance and reporting isolation measures as needed.
Climate change and environmental sustainability present challenges and opportunities for everyone. In this context, Reply is determined to do its part, driven by the firm belief that the business community plays a key role in making this happen.
With this in mind, Reply is committed to achieving Carbon Neutrality by 2025 and Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. In order to reach the ambitious net zero target, Reply is actively working on its carbon reduction programme, which includes a series of actions to optimise energy consumption and reduce the Company’s CO2 emissions:
continuously monitoring emissions as broadly as possible, including indirect emissions;
Establishing an adequate, sustainable governance model;
Defining Environmental Policy guidelines to reduce and monitor the impact of business activities on the environment in offices which Reply does not own;
Switching to 50% renewable electricity in all countries in which it operates by 2025;
Encouraging the sustainable use of space, by continuously reducing the waste generated and the water used;
Establishing the Reply Forest to absorb tonnes of CO2 and to support reforestation;
Evolving towards a greener fleet, with a goal of going from 10% hybrid/electric vehicles in 2020 to 30% hybrid/electric vehicles in 2025;
Neutralising the impacts of residual emissions with carbon removal offsets. While carbon reduction is the primary objective of our sustainability actions, residual emissions will also need to be offset.
The Reply Group values suppliers who have a proven track record of sustainability in their operations and to do so, it requires them to meet certain ethical and environmental behaviour requirements in order to ensure the sustainability of its supply chain. Moreover, to promote its Sustainable Supply Chain, Reply adopted an environmental policy in 2021 for its main suppliers (e.g. requirements, scoring, remedial actions, sanctions, etc.) and, starting in 2022, the Group will introduce an annual environmental performance assessment for key suppliers.
Although Reply is not a water-intensive company, we minimise water use wherever possible, including the responsible use, reuse, management and discharge of water throughout our offices. To achieve this goal, Reply will develop plans to reduce the impact of floods, droughts and water scarcity by 2025, and will reduce water use in all locations by 2025. In 2021 Reply launched ‘Reply to Earth’, an internal communication programme aimed at raising awareness among Replyers about a greener and more sustainable approach to work, promoting sustainable mobility or the use of recycled materials and highlighting the positive effect on the environment that Reply’s services have on customers.
Reply is constantly up to date on the latest information on ESG issues obtained from non-governmental organisations, academia and industry trends, thus enabling the Group to revise its frameworks and best practices and to be at the very forefront of opportunities to help build a more sustainable world. To this end, periodic meetings of the Sustainability Committee are organised to evaluate the results achieved and to discuss new strategies for further improvements through the assessment of opportunities and risks. Reply is also committed to involving its Suppliers in sustainability initiatives aimed at increasing awareness on sustainability issues and brainstorming ideas for internal sustainability projects. Mindful of the importance of exchanging ideas even outside its borders, Reply has launched several programmes with universities and other partners to organise challenges related to the issues of innovation and sustainability.
