EP.006 – A coffee with ETIES srl

In this article you will find the complete transcript of the interview with Paolo Zanni of ETIES, as part of the Marketing Caffè B2B podcast.
An opportunity to delve into the topic of data fragmentation within companies, digital transformation, and how a structured approach can help European companies turn data into useful and actionable information.

---

Full transcript

Massimo: Good morning and welcome back to our interview series. Today we're going to explore the activities of ETIES. We have with us Engineer Zanni who will be joining us for today's virtual coffee. I welcome him and thank him for his availability and, following our usual style, I won't waste too much time and will immediately, almost abruptly, ask Paolo to introduce himself, to introduce ETIES, and perhaps tell us what he and the company do.

Paolo Zanni: Good morning. Well, I come from a 25-year career as a consultant in operations and digital transformation. I’ve travelled all over the world, so Italy, Europe and America, especially North America. I've overseen several improvement projects and, following this long journey, I decided to open my own company that could help me solve recurring problems I found in various companies, namely the heterogeneity and fragmentation of data, meaning many platforms and applications, and the difficulty of obtaining information, i.e., processed data that provides indications of what to do or, in any case, suggests a problem.

And that's how ETIES was born.

Massimo: Okay, perfect. Thank you for this overview of the history behind the project. As you've already described it, having a series of data in a company that isn't used, or is lost, or isn't managed or analysed, effectively describes a very technical sector and, I imagine, one that's also very complex in its implementation and management.

And my second question goes precisely in that direction: what is the main challenge you encounter when explaining ETIES' service to companies?

Paolo Zanni: The main difficulty is making them understand the possibility of having information, because often they are so used to this fragmentation that for them it's normal to copy a bit from here, copy a bit from there, aggregate, and sometimes spend days on it, when in reality once you have set up integration flows, the information arrives on its own, and from there you can take the next step, which is to act. In other words, there are certain conditions that then tell me to do this, which is the next step we take. So it's not just a mere dashboard of the situation, but it allows us to define priorities and act directly from the platform with three levels.

I can act directly, so it's full automation; in the, let's say, intermediate part where there's semi-automation, meaning it requires confirmation from the operator; and another where it's the operator who acts. Okay? To do this activity, however, everything is centralised in one, and indeed we call it a universal integration layer, i.e., a substratum that unifies all the platforms and infrastructures that exist within the company, and generally, we enter cautiously because, through an assessment, we understand what the critical issues within the company are and we provide solutions with what they already have.

So the company isn't turned upside down; the company is empowered starting from what it already has. Then, if it wants to introduce other applications or further digitise in the future, it will do so on an already solid foundation, and we help them along this path through a very important assessment activity where we identify critical issues that are often not obvious because the company lives in its daily routine, whereas consultancy allows us to see many things. So what for some is everyday life is actually something that can be improved.

Massimo: It immediately brings to mind the usual cartoon of the two cavemen with square wheels saying to the one with the round wheel, 'no, we already have too much to do and we're used to working with these and not bringing in something new.' And I imagine that through an assessment and through this sort of approach to client companies, it's necessary first of all to have an internal approach that includes methods, skills, and procedures that allow you to tackle even complex projects, perhaps in different sectors and with 1,000 different client variables, but with an approach that is solid and has a procedural and process basis from your internal perspective as well.

Paolo Zanni: Well, let's say, going back to the example of the wheel, the example is easy there. At a software level, it's much more difficult because I can't show the code; it's something not directly perceptible, whereas the wheel would be simpler. Look, it's this.

In our case, it's much more difficult because even behind a button there might be 1000-2000 lines of code, interpolations and so on. So this is the first aspect, that is, I don't understand because I don't see. Indeed, I always say the eye sees, the mind reasons, so we always start by creating a vision of what it could be like using our system, and this helps a lot because it allows us to already get into the mechanisms and see what a future scenario could be, and all this falls within the procedures we have defined within our company, and thanks also to the fact that, as I said, after 25 years I am also an auditor, quality, safety, environment systems, so it also comes naturally to me to set up procedures, sequences, checklists that then allow projects to be managed in a structured way.

Because many times we have to bring the organisation ourselves because there is chaos at the client's end and especially because their suppliers are not prepared. Those who build machines, those who develop software, who are actually another company, who might be a single individual who just programs.

So bringing all these particularities together is difficult, also the fact of having, perhaps on the other side, the company's system administrator who does all the direct configurations, so it's another actor to bring everyone together, and in other, perhaps more complex, realities there is also a part related to cybersecurity, data security, and so with our structured and digitised method within our platform we are able to methodically manage all processes, all activities. And as I always say, the elephant's ear must be eaten in small bites, so a problem is big, but the moment you break it down, they are small problems that you can solve with a structured method and with these simple rules we are able to carry out all our activities.

And what I always say is that I call and send an email. What does it mean? I clarify by voice and then send the information that is recorded as a comment within the tickets and the activity. I don't proceed if I don't have all the information, it makes no sense to carry out an activity if I don't actually know where the beginning and the end are. And this must also be explained to the client because they must be clear about what we are doing, how, through mock-ups where we say it will come out like this, okay, then there's the fine-tuning part, but at least we manage to have a raw but quite delineated part, and from there we close. This is the approach.

---

Massimo: Okay, very, very clear. Let's say that applying the methodology that you want to bring into the client company to yourselves, by acting first and foremost in creating a work method, a work approach, that can then be transferred, is, first of all, an element of consistency, because, logically, otherwise you end up being the shoemaker with worn-out shoes. And secondly, as you mentioned, it's a mindset that then allows you to maintain it throughout the supply and service flow, even in very different situations. Now, this was perhaps a question more about a current snapshot, a general overview.

If I were to ask, looking to the future, without wanting to say in a month, in a year, in 3 years, also because it's a bit difficult to make medium-to-long-term plans with the current international situation, but looking to the next few years, let's remain quite generic in this way. What opportunities or transformations do you see in your sector that could become important opportunities for the company?

---

Paolo Zanni: Well, let's say that at a software level, it's something that goes beyond the political and economic context in many cases, because it's something that just goes on. You can't stop software development; you can't stop the fact that new technologies, new languages are being born. It's something that you simply cannot afford not to develop, not to stay on top of.

So companies stuck on their old applications will eventually die out. Therefore, it's necessary to live in reality, travel, attend trade shows, events, listen. We always participate in international trade shows, so CES always, the Barcelona trade fair, TTC, in Amsterdam. You always have to be there to listen to the market, what it's saying, what others are looking at.

It's obvious that right now there's a lot of fog, as I call it, related to AI, but we need to look at the concrete because there's a lot of fluff. First of all, we need to focus on data collection and then analyse it, because ‘garbage in, garbage out’ – if the data isn't good, the result will still be bad. If I enhance it with AI, it will be even worse, probably much worse, and the consequences can lead to it being worse. So, at ETIES, there's a programmatic plan for the next 5 years that is always being readapted and ensures that new technologies are integrated into the platform as soon as possible to make it even more performant.

This is because it's like a plant that needs to be nourished and grown; I can't graft an apricot onto an apple tree. It has to be something that gradually allows the product to grow and be enhanced, to solve new needs, and at the same time, provide new opportunities for our clients.

---

Massimo: Okay. On this, let's say, you open the way for the question I'd like to close with. We always ask for advice, so what advice could be given to an entrepreneur, a manager who is facing complex technical or innovation development projects?

---

Paolo Zanni: I am also a certified Innovation Manager, among other things. I have given several lectures for new innovation managers, and what I continue and will continue to repeat is the analysis of the context and the assessment. It's important to understand where you are. Only then can I say where I want to go, create an action plan that allows me to get there. But as long as I don't know where I am, I can't afford to make an investment plan.

Because, for example, if tomorrow I have to go to Venice and I'm in Milan or I'm in Vicenza and I still have to go to Venice, the travel time is different. The means of transport can also be different, but first I need to know where I am.

So assessment is always something everyone takes for granted, because it's taken for granted that whoever sells software must also do the analysis, but no. And that's why, together with our Software House, there's also a 360° consulting firm, so it deals with digital transformation, quality, safety, environment, energy management, therefore sustainability and responsibility and lean transformation, and guides companies in defining a structured plan with priorities before product development. Because often people confuse a dripping tap with a fire, right? So I go to turn off the tap, but in reality I'm not realising that I'm catching fire elsewhere.

---

Massimo: Yes, I think the example given, starting from Milan to go to Venice, and instead if I start from Vicenza to go to Venice, the road, the time, the means I can use are very different.

You also bring about an expansion of this sort of metaphor, because if I have to go from home to the supermarket which is half a kilometre away, I don't go all the way to Rome just to come back to the supermarket just because Rome is a city that many people talk about, because often the risk is also that of falling in love with the trend of the moment, with some applications or some methods that seem very advantageous and then instead within the single company they are catastrophic for what they create in terms of disruption and lack of use.

Paolo Zanni: I can add a small point, and it's important, I've seen it, as I said, in these 25 years of consulting, it's important to remember that a company is made of people. I can have the most brilliant vision for the next 50 years, but if the people behind me don't follow, I'll be alone, and therefore that improvement project, however good, will fail.

So I not only need to understand where I am, but also with whom I am, and from there make a plan that is sustainable, because otherwise we implode, we don't achieve improvements, and we complain, perhaps, about what was a bad idea. Maybe it's not a bad idea, just not the right time.

Massimo: You used the example of grafting, but I also need to cultivate the environment in which that plant is to grow, and then annually, if I want good fruit, I need to prune what's not needed, but I also need to know where to prune. And that's another very important aspect.

Paolo Zanni: Consultancy helps a lot because you see reality. I've seen the whole world, eaten different things, spoken different languages. I can guarantee you that I always hear the same things in different languages, with different rights, and eat different things, but in reality, they're always the same topics, always the same. And so, returning to another example, another metaphor that helps is like a gym instructor; it's not that he's a genius, it's that he looks at things from another point of view and so he tells you "Look, the exercise you're doing isn't quite right, your back is crooked". You might not even notice it, but you're looking forward, he's looking at you from the side, it's another perspective, he sees that your back isn't in good shape.

---

Massimo: Yes, this is precisely linked to consultancy, which allows you to understand not only that you need to look from a different perspective, but also where to look, and what to look at and where to look. And I believe that with this final example, with this metaphor, we have given a further impetus to everything we've talked about.

Of course, I thank you again for your availability in participating, and also for all the news and topics we've discussed. I naturally leave the links to ETIES for everyone to explore their company further.

---

☕ Want to listen to more interviews?

You can find all episodes on consulenzamarketing.eu or subscribe to the LinkedIn newsletter Marketing Caffè B2B to receive new content and insights from the world of European SMEs.

.libutton { display: flex; flex-direction: column; justify-content: center; padding: 7px; text-align: center; outline: none; text-decoration: none !important; color: #ffffff !important; width: 200px; height: 32px; border-radius: 16px; background-color: #0A66C2; font-family: "SF Pro Text", Helvetica, sans-serif; }

Subscribe on LinkedIn