June was a very eventful month for us at Siveco. As usual, some will say! We have signed very exiting deals including yet another multisite automotive account (with leading Italian auto supplier Magneti Marelli) and a flagship oil & gas project with state-owned Fushun Mining Group.

Another month has passed, I have spoken at a few more conferences, we have recruited a few more people, signed a few more deals… Business as usual? Well, perhaps, but in that special Siveco way…

In a recent interview by China Plant Engineering magazine, I spoke about the “death of EAM”… This interview apparently drew a lot of attention. How can software introduced more than 15 years ago, long before even mobile phones and internet connections became common (I distinctly remember a time when I was implementing EAM systems but did not own a personal mobile phone), represent a modern approach to maintenance?

Ancient maps used by Western explorers would sometimes bear this mention “Here be Dragons” to indicate unknown overseas realms, rich with threats and perhaps, to the most adventurous minds… wonders.

Once more, we have come to this special time of the year. We have set up the Christmas tree at the office and at home. For me, Christmas always brings back childhood memories of family members reunited on snowy days.

People often ask me who my competitors are. Truth is, our single biggest competitor is “doing nothing”. The single biggest obstacle to our business, with multinationals, is “but we don’t do it that way back home”. With Chinese companies, it is more like “your approach so different from all your competitors”.