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Will show off
- These are two global companies with a strong foothold in Norway but which perhaps not many people know well enough, so we tinkered a bit together and believe that Kongsberg Agenda can be an arena where we both gain profiling and which can be a nice exhibition arena, says Gunnar Brennekåsa, Director Defence & Defence Industry at CGI Norway.
And the two companies are much larger than many people realize. CGI is a 50-year-old IT company that started with two employees in Quebec, Canada, and has had wild growth. There are now over 92,000 employees globally, 600 of whom are in Norway. IFS is originally a Swedish company that was started in Lindkjøping, but today extends far beyond Sweden's borders. They operate in more than 50 countries and have 6,000 employees globally.
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Large companies
CGI delivers business consulting, system integration and outsourcing services within many different markets. IFS is a global supplier of business systems, everything from finance, purchasing, production, logistics, projects to maintenance and service. They work a lot with the defense and energy sectors, among other things. IFS and CGI have been partners for over 20 years.
- We have been to many different large events and are looking forward to this year's Kongsberg Agenda. We see it as an advantage that Kongsberg Agenda is not that big yet - neither geographically nor in terms of audience numbers. It makes it easier to show off and be able to walk around the city yourself to see how others have done it at their stands and programs, says Brennekåsa.
- I hope we get the opportunity to actually talk to each other. I still believe that discussing and getting good debates has great value.
Tom A. Smith, VP of marketing at IFS, also has high expectations for this year's festival.
- This is a new arena, as it is our first time there. We hope to meet our established relationships, as well as create new customer relationships during this year's event - both existing and new customers are important to us, says Smith.
In addition to good dialogues, profiling and new acquaintances - they are also concerned with further recruitment.
Recruitment can be difficult, and then it is important to also be able to talk to academia. The Kongsberg environment is very interesting to us, says Brennekåsa.
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Want to use the arena
CGI and IFS are clear that they want to use the arena well. They will set up several entries on the program, use their own resources and at the same time be visible – including with a large stand. There is now internal discussion about what type of technological solutions they should bring to show.
- We will use program entries to present good discussions, and we are looking forward to talking about politics, industry, technology and what future solutions will look like, says Smith.
- We of course hope that we leave Kongsberg Agenda with many new thoughts and ideas, so we are looking forward to being inspired. Brennekåsa at CGI adds that they are also looking forward to meeting companies within several industries, both large and small.
- Time and again, we experience that innovation happens in some of the smaller companies, says Brennekåsa.
- We are really looking forward to this event. We have been sold on what Kongsberg Agenda wants to achieve as a leading tech festival, and if they manage to deliver on that – then this will be great. Just sitting down and having a beer, and discussing with others in a more relaxed atmosphere than what we are usually preoccupied with, concludes Brennekåsa.
