In the domestic IT sector, especially since the global crisis emerged, a distinction has recently been made between companies that develop their own software products and those that sell their services (agencies). While the former have remained relatively unscathed during the crisis, thanks to their work on their own products, the latter have been hit harder: projects were canceled, layoffs occurred, and businesses were restructured.
However, the situation is much more complex and varies from company to company. Due to the overarching narrative that it is more desirable, but also more challenging, to develop one’s own product, it is necessary to dispel the myths regarding the advantages of product-based IT companies over service-based ones and vice versa, as well as to define what a product and a service actually mean in a software context. It would also be fair to show future entrepreneurs what they can expect from both business paths and what the consequences are of transitioning from service activities to production. The truths and myths in the Croatian IT sector are discussed by Donatella Pauković.
Fiorella Passoni, the director of the Italian branch of the global communication company Edelman based in Milan, is among the veterans of the local business arena, yet despite her exceptional experience of over three decades, she still dedicates herself with the same passion to every client – whether it is a startup, a multinational corporation, or a family business. In recent years, perhaps even greater passion motivates her to teach younger women how to successfully navigate often turbulent business waters. Her energy is incredible, she is very measured, yet simultaneously approachable, and after meeting her, you feel as if you have received a turbo dose of business therapy.
We spoke with Fiorella Passoni at the ‘WomenX Impact’ conference in Bologna, which gathers successful businesswomen at the end of each year, many of whom work as high-ranking managers for global corporations such as Pinterest and Shopify. Exclusively for Lider, the director of Edelman Italy revealed the secrets of her business longevity and shared how the coronavirus pandemic and global lockdown brought her to a new professional level – entering the exclusive society of the most successful women in the world gathered in the prestigious International Women’s Forum (IWF), whose members include top executives, Olympic winners, astronauts, and scientists…
