Meet the Expert – Christel De Blieck

Building bridges 

Christel De Blieck, who has been an account manager at Sopra Steria for the past year, is the face of this ambition towards the Flemish government. With a background at leading IT organisations such as Oracle, IBM and Atos, she knows better than anyone how to bridge the gap between technology and the needs of public organisations. ‘Sopra Steria is still a relatively unknown player for the Flemish government,’ she says. ‘It's my job to change that and demonstrate the value we can add.’ 

Digital strategy 

Sopra Steria provides the Flemish government with a wide range of services. These include supporting data migrations, website development and process automation. ‘We are constantly thinking alongside our clients, looking at areas where we can provide support, such as AI, cloud, data and cybersecurity. We have consultants who develop digital transformation roadmaps for merging agencies, as well as consultants who work in change management and think strategically about digital strategy and implementation,’ says Christel. 'This means that I have discussions at various levels, for example with a secretary-general, CISO, data scientists or cybersecurity specialists, delving deeply into the subject matter. We always consider where we can make a difference.” 

IT profiles 

In addition, the Flemish government is always looking for IT specialists. “I work with the business to assess whether we have the right IT profiles in-house to offer them. These could be data analysts, testers, Java developers or enterprise architects, for example. At Sopra Steria, we are interested not only in deploying the right profiles, but also in appealing projects where we can offer customers an end-to-end solution.” 

Three challenges 

In the meantime, the digital transformation process within the Flemish government continues apace. It is a transformation that is far from complete. Christel identifies three major challenges: “First of all, there is artificial intelligence. Where will we use AI, how will we use it, and what will it be useful for within the government, for its employees, and for citizens? We need to consider that carefully.' 

Another important challenge is security. In recent years, the number of cyber-attacks has increased significantly. Government organisations, businesses, and citizens are increasingly falling victim to cybercriminals. For example, several hacker groups attacked a number of major Belgian websites last October. Often, an organisation or company is unaware that it has been hacked. Therefore, the question is how we can protect ourselves against this. Just as importantly, how do we get citizens on board? Simply warning them to be careful and to use secure passwords is not enough. 

The third major challenge is digital inclusion. ‘How are we going to involve citizens in the digital transformation? Not everyone is digitally literate,' notes Christel. “Some people find it easy to adapt, but others have great difficulty getting to grips with digital technology. Even those who are digitally literate will, at some point, find that technology is advancing so quickly that they can no longer keep up. We need to raise awareness of this issue so that all citizens can contact the relevant person, department or agency if they have a question or problem. At the moment, this is still too complex.’ 

Mindset 

According to Christel, digital transformation is not a one-off milestone, but rather a way of thinking. “It's a mindset,” she says. “I always compare it to a tanker changing course, which is a very slow process.” The question, then, is how we can facilitate digitisation appropriately and initiate the necessary changes. It's not just about being able to fill in a form online on my local council's website instead of having to download a PDF, print it out, fill it in, and upload it again. That's just one step in the process of digitisation. It's about being able to follow the entire process online, knowing when the form is being processed, and knowing when you can expect a decision. Both the government and citizens must adopt this digital mindset. The question is: how can we use technology to better serve citizens in all kinds of areas? 

Digital passport 

Other countries are showing us how things can be done differently. Christel cites Estonia as an inspiring example. “In Estonia, they have embraced this approach, establishing the country as a leader in digital government services. The vast majority of residents have a digital passport that they can use for all government affairs, such as registering a newborn baby, applying for a parking permit, or voting in elections. It can all be done with a single e-identity card, which every Estionian resident has. That is where we need to be heading in Flanders.” 

Digital ambition 

This ambition requires partners who can combine technological expertise with sector insight. ‘At Sopra Steria, we want to take on that role,’ Christel concludes. “We bring the right profiles on board, from Java developers to enterprise architects, and we think along with our customers in the long term. IT is a fast-moving landscape. We want to stay on board and help the Flemish government keep up with the pace.”