Connected to the future - ITnation

Grand entretien THOMAS SCHNEIDER
What kind of evolution have you
seen since SES AMERICOM joined
the group ?
SES started out serving the European market.
With SES AMERICOM, SES became a global
operator. Obviously, this changed our way of
working.
We have a close relationship with our colleagues
at SES AMERICOM. We have aligned
processes, systems, and operating principles.
Our approach to IT has historically been quite
similar, and we have a close coordination.
How do you share experience ?
Our teams run formal coordination meetings
on a regular basis. We share experiences
and coordinate our activities on a daily basis
whenever required. This is a basic way of
operating within a global environment. Prior
to introducing new local tools, we enquire
about possible existing solutions within the
group. For example, we introduced a content
management system for our intranet and
our websites [at ASTRA – it was not solely
ASTRA, but also SES corporate and AME-
RICOM, so I’d leave out the “at ASTRA”],
which is now being used throughout the
group. This is an excellent way to leverage
internal knowledge, save costs and contribute
to organisational efficiency.
How do you use IT
to communicate as a group ?
We use audio bridges, voice over IP, and
video conferencing systems. We have standardised
these tools accross the group and
have used them for quite a while. Our intranet
and our websites are generated based on a
standardised content management system.
We see intense use of Messaging and Collaboration
tools such as instant messaging,
document management and information
sharing through collaboration database replication.
Email goes without saying.
What is your vision of innovation ?
Innovation is a new way of doing things.
Our ASTRA2Connect product is a good
example for this. Where DSL type terrestrial
connectivity is not available, ASTRA2Connect
offers the capability to connect to
the internet without a terrestrial backlink,
combining send and receive capability on
a single satellite dish.
In general, I think that the combination of small
and incremental innovations will lead to more
significant steps of doing things differently in the
future. Think about biometrical authentication
systems using fingerprints or eye background
scanning, and combine this with cloud computing.
Imagine a scenario where you walk
into a random place somewhere on the planet
and authenticate on a computer with your fingerprint.
You would get instant access to your
personal computing environment, independently
of location, password, or type of system.
Although this seems technologically possible
already today, it has a significant downside
which will slow down the speed of that innovation.
There is always the risk of somebody
stealing your identity or getting access to your
private information. In this particular example,
it is about balancing convenience and security.
How can you innovate
in terms of processes ?
You need to permanently analyse and
improve existing process, while continuously
implementing best practices, sharing experiences
and learning from others. Going back
to the innovation definition, adapting processes
means changing the way of doing things
or doing them in a different way.
How do you choose your partners ?
We select partners based on required skills
and – as you would guess – based on commercials
aspects. As the word suggests, a
longer term partnership requires mutual trust.
Can you describe your satellite fleet ?
The SES ASTRA satellite fleet consists of
14 ASTRA and 2 SIRIUS satellites. These
spacecraft transmit more than 2,300 TV
and radio services. Our fleet is positioned
at prime orbital positions 19.2° East, 28.2°
East, 23.5° East, 5° East and 31.5° East.
10 NOVEMbre 08