Leadership, sustainability, digitisation and innovation: the major vectors of the new society

And there is independent analysis to corroborate this. One example is the study "The imperative transformation: digital drivers in the Covid-19 pandemic", drafted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), commissioned by Microsoft and performed on eight industrial sectors.

One of its main conclusions asserts that 75% of the managers at these companies say that digital transformation should go beyond business success to support social improvements such as a commitment to more inclusive workforces, accessibility and the fight against carbon emissions and climate change.

While it is true that technology adoption provided resilience to companies in a number of metrics in the past, the pandemic has changed our priorities substantially.

We can say today that digitisation and sustainability are the two levers we can and must use to reimagine the world and our organisations and relaunch the economy.

How can we get involved in this process?

Without any doubt, by opting for technologies and services consistent with these principles.

As SEIDOR is a leader in business solutions based on Microsoft technologies, I am very proud to share that our client's commitment to Microsoft Azure public cloud makes it easier to achieve to these sustainability goals.

A 2018 study conducted by Microsoft entitled "The Carbon Benefits of Cloud Computing" revealed that using the Microsoft Azure cloud platform can deliver up to 93% more energy efficiency and up to 98% more carbon efficiency compared to on-premises solutions. This highlights the additional advantages of cloud computing with regard to carbon emissions, compared to on-premise systems, which are more difficult to manage in these parameters.

There's more. In January 2020, Microsoft announced the greatest pledge in its history to try to alleviate the climate crisis. The company committed to becoming carbon negative by 2030. This means that, by that date, the company needs to eliminate more carbon from the environment than it emits.

Not satisfied with this ambitious goal, by 2050 Microsoft plans to offset all carbon it has emitted since its foundation in 1975, either directly or through electricity consumption.

All this would not be possible without setting a parallel goal of transparency. In line with this criterion, Microsoft has also announced a new commitment to be transparent and to submit the data in its annual sustainability report for review by third parties, such as the auditing company Deloitte. It also pledges to account for the progress on its sustainability goals when determining executive remuneration starting in its next fiscal year. Undoubtedly, it is a bold measure that will involve the entire company on a personal level.

I'd like to end by recalling my first reflections. New leadership is not only a matter of innovating and transforming, but also of achieving a better society and improving the well-being of those around us and our children.

On behalf of the team I represent, it is a pleasure to advocate for business transformation projects from this perspective in order to exemplify the true covenant between society and the technologies we use. In a way, it makes us, at SEIDOR, partners in the achievements of our clients as part of their solid commitment to sustainability.