At Manchester Digital, we like to interview our members to find out a bit more about what they do and their work in the Greater Manchester digital and technology sphere. This week we're speaking with Matt Pound, Vice president at Capgemini.
Capgemini is a global consultancy with a broad range of services. How does Capgemini specialise its offerings to meet the specific needs of businesses in the Manchester region?
Capgemini partners with companies to transform and manage their business by unlocking the value of technology. Our approach allows us to understand the challenges our clients face to meet their business needs, which is of importance to us in the Manchester region.
Since our inception, we have always acted as a partner to our clients, not a services provider. With relationships built on deep trust, understanding, and collaboration, we develop solutions that help our clients address their most pressing challenges today – while providing the proactive ideas that ensure they remain relevant for tomorrow.
We draw on deep industry expertise and an in-depth understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities our clients face. This intimate knowledge of our clients’ businesses, combined with domain capabilities, means we can provide focused solutions tailored to their specific needs and objectives.
Can you elaborate on some of the key technology trends that Capgemini is focusing on to support businesses in their digital transformation journeys?
TechnoVision is Capgemini’s framework for innovation, providing enterprises with a roadmap around current and future technology trends. What is the future of technology? And how will technology affect the future of our society and our businesses? TechnoVision 2024 sets out to address these important questions.
It explores how recently established and emerging technologies are reshaping our world and, how technology is changing, offering examples and use cases to show how businesses are bringing tomorrow’s innovations to life. Areas of focus include the metaverse, blockchain, AI, quantum technologies, and climate tech, providing insights to anticipate trends and assess their potential.
With generative AI making waves around the world in 2023 and looking set to feature in many business’s plans for 2024, we’ve focused significant attention on how generative AI will prompt the future. We hope our ideas will inspire you to extend your organisation’s creativity and productivity with generative AI, but also to evaluate the ethical and governance questions it brings.
How does Capgemini collaborate with other organisations or startups in the Manchester tech ecosystem to deliver comprehensive solutions to clients?
A recent example is our work with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), where Capgemini partnered with Salford Foundation, fostering innovation to educate and empower young people in Greater Manchester.
Utilising Capgemini’s extensive resources and volunteer network, the partnership has co-designed and implemented diverse educational initiatives such as the “Raising Aspirations” projects. The initiatives include engaging and interactive sessions such as Mock Interviews, Enterprise Days, and STEM workshops, each tailored to instil confidence and spark interest in technology and entrepreneurship among students aged 9 to 19.
Capgemini’s volunteers have dedicated approximately 1,500 hours, directly impacting over 1,000 students across Greater Manchester. Looking ahead, Capgemini and the Salford Foundation are expanding their collaboration to include more STEM-focused events that anticipate engaging an additional 150 students per session. These events are designed to not only provide exposure to STEM fields but also to emphasise the practical application of these disciplines in various industries. To find out more, read our client story here.
What role does Capgemini see itself playing in the future of Manchester's digital economy, and how does the company contribute to the city's growth and development?
Across Manchester, there is a spirit of collaboration with the community at the heart of its ambitions for growth and development. Capgemini recognises this and values partnerships in the region, such as the example above with the Salford Foundation. This serves as a beacon of community engagement and innovation, setting a robust foundation for future initiatives that aim to nurture young minds and cultivate a thriving environment for communal prosperity.
To support this, Capgemini provides its employees with the opportunity to use two working days each year for volunteering to share skills, with a dedicated Social Value team also based in Manchester. We look to make a positive impact on our people, the planet and communities with a key focus on digital inclusion and social impact. We’re bridging the digital divide to ensure technology is an opportunity for all, with an objective to support 5 million beneficiaries through our digital inclusion program by 2030.
Joining Manchester Digital is an exciting way to build on our ongoing efforts in this space, and we look forward to being a part of the community.
Beyond technology implementation, how does Capgemini support businesses in achieving their strategic goals and driving business outcomes?
Capgemini is the strategic partner who will help you ask the tough questions – and find the right answers – by harnessing the power of technology. We apply a breadth of expertise to address the full range of business needs across four areas: Strategy and transformation, applications and technology, engineering, and operations. Our consulting strategy is collaborative, partnering with our clients to innovate and transform their business, enabling them to navigate today, while plotting a course for the future.
We bring together passionate, skilled people, a tech-driven approach to innovation, and a deep commitment to our clients to help organisations unlock the true value of technology. We work to understand our clients’ needs with the ability to address challenges with agility, and ingenuity. Our processes and methodologies are designed in such a way that we are able to bring forward the best ideas and expertise from around the world to address our clients’ specific issues – and deliver quickly and efficiently.
Thank you Matt!
Learn more about Capgemini here.
