Two weeks ago, I travelled to Stockholm, and then to Oslo, together with a delegation of Romanian IT companies and ARIES, the professional association representing the companies of this sector in Romania. For Pentalog, this is a first concrete approach of a geographic area that we have been interested in for a long time. We established contacts with big companies and Fred has just travelled to Stockholm to meet other people. There are real opportunities here that we can benefit from.

I visited, among others, the headquarters of two major local companies which are first-rate players on the international stage: Ericsson (that we are well acquainted with), at the heart of the “Wireless Valley” that the Swedes are proud of, and Telenor, the fixed and mobile telephony operator, ranked first in Norway and sixth worldwide, in a pleasant setting by the water… What I distinctly remember is the speech which clearly focused on innovation and internationalization. Of course, in small countries with low populations, markets are rapidly saturated, and export and continuous innovation are the only means that enable a company to develop, assert itself and last.

Ecology, technology, civic and social engagement, gender parity in company management seem to be the pillars of the Scandinavian business environment. There are many women who occupy top management positions in prestigious local companies. This is a good enough reason to flatter the feminist side that every woman nourishes within herself! At Ericsson, the Vice-President in charge of marketing is a superb high-class blue-eyed blond woman in her forties, who well embodies the image of Nordic business women This is rather cliché, but it is true! At Telenor, we were told that women make up for 40% of the Board of Directors, which is not exceptional, it is simply the law. The woman Vice-President who received us is endowed with a firm grip and charisma, which are consistent with the company’s philosophy. They have eliminated walls and paper to the greatest extent possible. The objective is, on the one hand, to facilitate human interaction and communication, thus boosting creativity in each employee and, on the other hand, to support the use of new technologies in every aspect of the daily professional activity. I saw intelligent communication equipment in their meeting rooms that I thought only existed as prototypes… Therefore, R&D, M2M, social networks, emerging and international markets were recurring themes in the meetings I attended during my stay. Actually, I thought about Pentalabbs and its employees who would have probably been in their element here.

Moving towards more general aspects, I had a slight feeling of disorientation in Sweden and Norway, not as much as when I landed in Bangalore this time last year, but enough to feel its presence: at 2.30 p.m. on leaving my hotel room, I was frightened to notice that it was almost night. I once read that Scandinavians are the greatest European antidepressant consumers, despite living in a social and economic environment envied by many… A taxi driver in Stockholm explained to me what chemical, physical and psychological consequences the lack of light has on the human body in winter. But, on the other side, everything here is about modernity, aestheticism, cleanliness and public spiritedness. In one week, I didn’t see any dog droppings, shabby bistros or worn building facades. Contemporary art is present everywhere, from company headquarters to clothing shops. Everything is harmoniously designed. People pay everything by credit card: bread, packs of cigarettes, subway tickets. They really seem to be ahead in many respects. My only regret was that no matter how much I watched out for Lisbeth Salander at 7 eleven stores, which are present everywhere in Stockholm, I didn’t get the chance to see her coming out with a few frozen pizzas under her arm…