Great stories often start in small places. Last month, 21 years had passed since a group of IT enthusiasts with international experience met in a modest office in Žilina. Maybe back then they didn’t know exactly what was waiting for them. However, they had a clear vision – to move the IT world and put the GLOBESY brand on the technological map.
Determination, hard work, and a hunger for innovation eventually catapulted us to the top in the field of digitalisation of HR processes on SAP platforms for the Czech and Slovak Republic.
However, few people remember that it all started in a completely different segment.
Expansion to SAP Partnership: Kick-started by Transportation
The first project for the young GLOBESY team came in 2002. It was a subcontract for the Czech company Transgas, where we focused on managing the vehicle fleet in the SAP ERP system. Already at the very beginning, we had crossed Slovak-Czech border, which gave us the necessary confidence.
Successful projects kept adding up. Two years after the first cooperation, we have already opened a new branch in Bratislava. In the early 2000s, remote work options were much more limited than today, and in business the word electronization was used instead of digitalisation. Physical proximity to clients and new talents was crucial.
Another significant milestone came in 2007 when we became an official partner for SAP Slovakia. This decision significantly expanded our opportunities for consultant and developer education and was one of the accelerators of further development.
Time to Set New Standards
After joining the partnership with SAP, we already had a robust team that was ready to prove its position in the market. At the turn of 2007 and 2008, we developed innovative applications for the Czech RWE Group. These applications were designed to manage business trips and streamline the holiday approval process.
At that time, SAP HR systems lacked adequate tools to cover these processes, so we helped the energy group set a new standard in the field of digital HR.
Furthermore, we did not slowdown in this approach and technology leadership. In 2010, we focused on changing the rigid vertical structure on the manager-employee axis, which dominated the information systems of the time.
In collaboration with the telecommunications company Orange, we aimed to empower employees and involve them more in corporate processes. At that time, we became the first Slovak company to implement the SAP HR portal in our market. This strengthened our position as a leader among companies that specialise in HR digitalisation.
Transition to the Cloud and Migration Boom
The portal showed us that technological trends don’t wait and first place counts. We have been monitoring the gradual rise of cloud platforms from the beginning, and in 2014, we focused on SAP SuccessFactors. In the SAP ecosystem, SAP Success Factors is supposed to become the successor of on-premises solutions and bring revolutionary changes to the field of human capital management.
At that time, however, it was not yet an equal rival to on-premise alternatives, either in terms of functionality or availability. Companies have approached this innovation cautiously. The idea of transferring sensitive data and personal information to the cloud was still challenging to grasp.
Nevertheless, we were the first in Slovakia to include SuccessFactors in our portfolio. This gave us time to build a knowledge database. Over time, the first brave customers, such as Slovenské elektrárne and KIA Motors, came along. Thanks to them, we transformed knowledge into experience.
The transition to the cloud is not only about new technology, it is a change of the entire paradigm
When the cloud boom came a few years later, we were prepared. Today, we have successfully completed extensive migrations of processes to the cloud and implemented dozens of modules of this solution in both the Slovak and Czech markets.
SAP Journey Isn't a Solo Adventure
To be a pioneer and innovator in the field of digitalising processes on SAP platforms, you need pioneering and innovative clients. Fortunately, many of our business partners have always had this mindset.
In 2017, we engaged in a successful cooperation with the Czech innogy group. The project’s goal was to replace the traditional paper-based document circulation process, which was time-consuming and administratively demanding. Moreover, it did not meet the modern standards in the field of flexibility and security.
At that time, even many lawyers had doubts about this ambition. However, the innogy Group was not discouraged and chose GLOBESY as its technological partner to turn their vision into reality.
HR found a way. Circulation of labor law documents today is simpler than it seems
The result was a pioneering application for digitising labour-related documents. This was part of the Employee Electronic Signature project at innogy, which reflected the long-term path of the energy group to digital transformation. The successful project was ultimately recognized by the expert jury of the HREA competition and innogy received both the Special Jury Award and the Public Award for it.
Unpredictable Changes
You can think ahead, you can plan. Nonetheless, there are scenarios that are difficult to prepare for. The new COVID-19 pandemic shook the business world and forced companies’ information systems to undergo a baptism by fire.
During the massive acceleration of digitalisation, it was for us a matter of course to stand by our clients. Simultaneously, we were aware of the societal changes and the needs of people who lost their livelihood to the new reality overnight.
Digitization is changing the labor market, workshops help job seekers keep up
We decided to act and started a series of training sessions focused on SAP SuccessFactors solutions. Thanks to funding from the European funds, courses with a market value of hundreds of euros were available to interested individuals for free. This opportunity allowed them to open the way to a more flexible career.
The demand pleasantly surprised us. In the end, we even exceeded the planned limit of 200 trained participants.
Post-COVID Era and Spreading Our Wings
The pandemic didn’t end overnight. The ability to adapt quickly to unprecedented changes was a necessity. We continued to assist with extensive HR migrations to the cloud, but we also knew that waiting for innovations wasn’t worthwhile, and we needed to step towards them. That’s precisely what we did in 2021 when we set out on completely unexplored paths.
INTERVIEW: IT has changed, it used to be more like art, today everything is based on data
We have formed a team of specialists which is still dedicated to scientific research and experimental development in the field of artificial intelligence. We joined forces with business partners and universities and embarked on revolutionary research in the field of integrating unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with artificial intelligence according to Industry 4.0 trends.
In a project supported by European Union funds, together with our partners, we set a goal to develop a prototype of a semi-autonomous drone platform, that would be capable of managing route planning and flight, automatic recharging, and comprehensive collection of data.
We care about the future. The experimental development teams focus on healthcare and the connection of artificial intelligence with drones
The scientific work of GLOBESY specialists made its way into the prestigious Scopus scientific database, and the project was a success. The platform has been born and companies across various parts of the globe are interested in it.
We Are Moving Forward
Twenty years of humanity in IT. A travelogue of HR digitization, through the eyes of consultants and developers
Great stories can truly hide in small places. Just as one of them was hiding in 2002 in Žilina. Today, we employ more than 110 people. Solutions and technologies are constantly changing, but our values and attitudes remain the same.
In the first place, a united and cohesive team is always more than an individual.
With this mindset, we move forward.
Business consultant
Michal Michalec
The right hand of GLOBESY’s sales department. He assists internal teams by creating pricing proposals and activities related to public tenders.
