Agoria-Sirris industrial community: a unique combination of expertise to guide Belgian technology companies through complexity of transition

A climate of challenges and opportunities 

Companies are the beating heart of the economy and the engine of our social prosperity: they create jobs, ensure the progress that makes life easier and more pleasant, and provide the added value necessary to finance social security and many other public expenditures. 

One of the pillars of the economic fabric in our country is the technology sector. With 320,000 employees (7.65% of all workers)  and 8.3% of Belgium's gross domestic product, the technology industry generates as much as 11.6% of all taxes on labour and corporate profits. This means, in absolute figures, that by 2021, our country's digital and manufacturing companies have contributed some €15.2 billion to public finances.

The question that then arises is of course how our technology companies will continue to be able to assume that vital role. Because that is certainly not so self-evident, what with international competition, the labour cost handicap, ever-shortening innovation cycles, environmental and climate issues, a scarcity of raw materials, the deteriorating geopolitical situation and the resulting trade and logistics problems,... The general business climate is particularly challenging today, and our country's digital and manufacturing companies are experiencing that too. Fortunately, however, there are opportunities alongside challenges. Consider in particular the green and digital transitions that are radically changing not only our economy, but our entire society. Belgian technology companies are ideally placed to help bring about and shape those transitions. Here too, once again, this will not come about on its own. 

Partners to build on 

Privileged partners of the Belgian technology companies for more than 70 years, Agoria and Sirris are adapting to continue to provide optimal support for these companies, even in these complex times, based on their complementary areas of expertise. 

Many of the above challenges and other concrete questions they face today can be addressed adequately only through the combination of expertise in different disciplines on the economic, social, and technological front. Together, Agoria and Sirris are the only ones in the market with that full range of expertise:

• Agoria, the country's largest sector federation with over 2,000 member companies, ensures that the framework within which our companies can operate is as favourable as possible. Its 200 experts represent the interests of the technology sector at all political consultation and decision-making levels. They help create the climate and ecosystems in which entrepreneurship can flourish, facilitate interaction and cooperation among members and assist these companies with expertise services on various professional and strategic topics.
• Sirris, the innovation centre of and for the technology industry, assists 1,300 companies every year with their technological innovations. It makes its 150 engineers and technology experts and its high-tech test and demo infrastructure available to help technology companies make concrete progress in manufacturing, product development and the digital and green transition.

What does this mean for your company? 

The Agoria-Sirris industrial community was developed to address these specific challenges in an integrated manner. More specifically, it is an intensified form of cooperation, in which both partners combine complementary expertise to create a total range of actions and services that can tackle the challenge in question adequately and from all relevant angles of incidence. 

As a technology company, you can raise your concrete questions within this industrial community and arrive at practical solutions. In doing so, you can rely on the deployment of various pools of expertise of an economic, social and technological nature: the lobbying power of a federation to create a technology- and business-friendly environment, the networks and ecosystems to stimulate business development nationally and internationally, the specialised market and business knowledge as well as the technological expertise and facilities to innovate and grow as a technology company, etc. 

A concrete example: A lot of companies are faced with questions about 'people' and 'organisation'. This is a topic that encompasses various facets. There are political-social aspects such as 'How do we create a climate in which sustainable work is encouraged or in which people can stay motivated at work for longer?' Then there are the business organisational aspects: 'How do I deal with talent recruitment and development in my individual company?' and then very often technological aspects, such as 'How can automation and cobots make work easier for my employees and how do I tackle their implementation in concrete terms?'. We at the Agoria-Sirris industrial community can map the topic with all relevant stakeholders and give your company – and by extension the entire technology sector --  maximum support from the economic, social, professional and technological angles of incidence.

Another example is our joint offer on 'cyber security', a growing problem for companies but also for private individuals and governments. There is a need for sensitisation and awareness-raising, but also for technological expertise to implement the solutions available and, finally, for companies to be able to discuss this in a confidential environment / community and come to a solution. All these options are available in the Agoria-Sirris industry community where they bundled in a clear range of expertise. Moreover, we have taken the lead to work with knowledge institutions to chart a survey on the current cybersecurity status in the Belgian technology sector. By making the collective problem visible in such an explicit and quantified way, we were also able to raise the necessary awareness so as to spur policymakers into action as well. Agoria and Sirris have currently also teamed up with the digital sector (more specifically, companies specialised in cybersecurity) to launch a survey around the collective needs detected and have from there developed a vision of what actions are needed. A communication and training campaign, supported by the regional authorities across the country, will be rolled out as of November 2022.

In brief, the Agoria-Sirris industrial community can assist you in a multidisciplinary manner and from different angles in a way that really advances your competitiveness. The biggest advantage for your company of this intensified cooperation between Agoria and Sirris is that you will no longer have to compare two helplines if you have a concrete question that interfaces with the expertise of both Agoria and Sirris. In such case, you simply turn to the Agoria-Sirris industrial community, and our experts will guide you proactively to the most appropriate solution.