5 questions to...
Laura Croci
Interview to the Business Solution & Innovation Director at Engineering.
Laura Croci is the Business Solution & Innovation Director within Engineering’s Eng Modernize Technology Business Line. In this role, she leads strategic initiatives aimed at evolving architectures, processes, and operating models, supporting organizations on their modernization journey.
Graduated in Telecommunications Engineering from the University of Pavia, she has gained extensive experience in IT consulting, digital transformation, and innovation for both the public and private sectors.
Passionate about training and mentoring, Laura is also actively involved in initiatives that promote female leadership in the STEM sector and foster an inclusive and collaborative culture of innovation.
1. HOW IS THE ROLE OF SYSTEM INTEGRATION EVOLVING WITH THE RISE OF CLOUD-NATIVE ARCHITECTURES AND SAAS SERVICES?
The role of system integration is undergoing a profound and irreversible transformation. Once a predominantly technical activity focused on connecting heterogeneous systems, it has evolved into a strategic enabler of dynamic and interconnected digital ecosystems.
With the widespread adoption of cloud-native architectures, microservices, APIs, and SaaS platforms, integration is no longer just about technical interoperability. It has become a critical element to ensure governance, scalability, security, and speed of delivery. In this new landscape, concepts such as the API economy, event-driven architecture, data orchestration, and DevSecOps are essential to building resilient and adaptable solutions.
This challenge must be addressed with a holistic architectural vision that combines advanced technological expertise with strategic design capabilities, focusing on:
- Designing modular and composable architectures that can evolve over time without compromising system coherence
- Ensuring seamless integration across on-premise, cloud, and hybrid environments to guarantee operational continuity and flexibility
- Automating integration flows through Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) tools and intelligent orchestrators
- Adopting open standards and API-first design to foster interoperability and continuous innovation
- Implementing centralized monitoring and governance to maintain control over performance, security, and compliance
In this context, Engineering’s role is to discreetly but decisively enable digital transformation with tailored solutions that connect technologies, processes, and people in a continuous flow of value. Integration thus becomes the invisible engine of innovation - supporting growth and agility for organizations in an increasingly digital world.
2. HOW CAN LEGACY APPLICATIONS BE SMOOTHLY MIGRATED TO THE CLOUD, AND WHAT IS ENG’S APPROACH TO THIS JOURNEY?
Legacy applications often represent the beating heart of business processes - but without strategic modernization, they can become a barrier to innovation. The main challenge is to ensure a smooth and secure transition to the cloud without compromising operational continuity, especially for mission-critical systems.
To meet this challenge, we adopt a modular and progressive approach, starting with a thorough initial assessment that analyzes architectures, dependencies, technological constraints, and business objectives. We use proprietary tools to map the value and risk of each component, enabling the definition of a sustainable modernization roadmap.
We don’t simply “lift and shift” applications to the cloud - we rethink them architecturally, integrating native cloud services, automating deployment processes, and adopting more agile operating models. In this context, we are also integrating Generative AI solutions into our delivery pipeline - for example, to accelerate and improve software quality, generate documentation, and support automated test writing through intelligent suggestions.
The goal is to enable continuous innovation by enhancing performance, security, scalability, and time-to-market. The result is measurable transformation that delivers tangible value in terms of efficiency, resilience, and adaptability to change.
3. WHAT ARE THE KEY FEATURES OF ENG’S IT CONSULTING SERVICES TO SUPPORT COMPANIES ON THEIR MODERNIZATION JOURNEY IN AN INCREASINGLY DIGITALLY-DRIVEN WORLD?
Eng’s approach to IT consulting in this context is built on a fundamental guiding principle: technology is an enabler. Our goal is to help organizations generate concrete value from every digital transformation initiative.
To achieve this, our modernization projects follow an evolutionary co-design model, beginning with active listening and an in-depth analysis of the client’s business context. We work side by side with our clients to build a tailored transformation roadmap, taking into account their digital maturity, strategic priorities, operational challenges, and organizational dynamics.
Our consulting services stand out thanks to a multidisciplinary and integrated approach, combining expertise in key areas such as:
- Process analysis and reengineering to improve efficiency and agility
- Modernization of core systems to ensure scalability, security, and operational continuity
- Adoption of cloud and hybrid architectures to enable flexibility and continuous innovation
- Implementation of agile and DevOps models to accelerate time-to-market and enhance solution quality
In every project, we position ourselves as a trusted partner, guiding clients throughout their transformation journey with a long-term strategic vision and strong focus on execution. Our strength lies in the ability to combine vision and practicality, innovation and pragmatism, technology and human value.
4. IS THERE A PROJECT THAT YOU BELIEVE CLEARLY DEMONSTRATES THE VALUE THAT CAN BE GENERATED THROUGH THE EVOLUTION OF ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS?
A representative project was carried out for a large public sector organization, with the goal of digitalizing and simplifying interactions between the institution and businesses. The starting point was a fragmented process, heavily reliant on paper-based communications and certified emails (PEC), leading to delays and higher costs.
We designed and implemented a new cloud-native portal, deployed on the National Strategic Hub (PSN), using advanced automation and deployment orchestration tools. The architecture was built to ensure scalability, resilience, and interoperability, with a strong focus on user experience and accessibility.
The results were concrete: reduced costs, improved operational efficiency and faster release cycles. But the most significant outcome was a shift in mindset - the project became a reference model, paving the way for a broader and more structured digital transformation.
5. HOW DOES THE CONCEPT OF “MODERNIZATION” EVOLVE WHEN WORKING WITH CLIENTS WHO HAVE ALREADY BEGUN THEIR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY?
Modernization is not a starting point - it’s a continuous process of evolution. Increasingly, we work with clients who have already taken initial steps in their digital transformation: adopting cloud technologies, experimenting with SaaS solutions, or digitalizing parts of their core processes. In these cases, our role is to take transformation to the next level—more integrated, more intelligent, and above all, more sustainable.
This means moving beyond simple “lift & shift” strategies and embracing true re-architecting of applications, optimizing existing architectures, simplifying hybrid environments, and reinforcing governance. In this evolution, Green Coding becomes a guiding principle: rewriting code and redesigning solutions with energy efficiency, reduced computational resource usage, and overall environmental impact in mind.
Modernization today also means adopting advanced cloud services, automating development and testing processes, and integrating Generative AI to make delivery faster and smarter. But most importantly, it means doing so responsibly - by reducing unnecessary complexity, avoiding computational waste, and promoting a culture of digital sustainability.
It’s a tailor-made approach that requires strategic vision, deep technical expertise, strong process knowledge, and a keen awareness of the balance between innovation and environmental impact. The goal is not just to adapt to change, but to build a continuous, ethical, and sustainable evolution of organizations’ technological capabilities.
The goal is to enable continuous innovation by enhancing performance, security, scalability, and time-to-market. The result is measurable transformation that delivers tangible value in terms of efficiency, resilience, and adaptability to change.
Laura Croci
Business Solution & Innovation Director di Engineering
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