“Abraxio’s main benefit is 360° CIO management.”

• Hassan Qamar (Digital Director, Crous d’Orléans):

I first discovered Abraxio when I was a department head in the IT department at the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin. When I joined the Crous in Orléans, I knew that to effectively steer an IT department, you need a tool that covers all aspects of management. My choice naturally fell on Abraxio, as I knew it was capable of meeting those needs.

• Guillaume Rehm (Information Systems Director, Crous de Strasbourg):

I joined the Crous de Strasbourg as its new CIO in the summer of 2024. I needed a tool to steer the IT department, particularly in terms of Reporting, organization, and project portfolio management. In my previous roles, we used an internal tool, so I could clearly see the value of a dedicated solution. Compared to other solutions on the market—which are certainly very comprehensive but too complex and expensive—Abraxio seemed like the right compromise to me. I’m still in the early stages of exploring this; I haven’t gotten my whole team on board yet, but I can already see that it makes it easier to share information.

• Hassan Qamar:

The two most important aspects for us are the project portfolio and the budgets.
First, the project portfolio: Abraxio makes our lives easier throughout the entire project management cycle, from scoping to communication. It allows us to describe all projects, track their progress in a highly automated way, assess the Teams’ workload, and easily generate reports and summaries for management. It’s a real time-saver for project reviews and it strengthens communication.
The budgeting module is also essential because every project involves a financial aspect that must be managed, even if the project spans multiple years. Abraxio is really strong in these two modules.

• Guillaume Rehm:

For me, too, the main goal was to have a tool that organizes projects and Reporting, and that fosters smooth and effective communication within the team. When I arrived, I noticed difficulties with communication and coordination regarding the organization, tasks, Projects, and Budgets. Abraxio is designed to make all this easier and more fluid, by strengthening cross-functionality. It’s a win-win situation.

• Guillaume Rehm:

Even though they know it’s strategic, senior management doesn’t necessarily want to attend the entire IT project review. Having access to automated flash reports that they can quickly and independently access saves them from having to learn a new tool and saves us from having to put together ad hoc presentations . This avoids a major upheaval in their workflows while still allowing for regular tracking of business activity.

• Hassan Qamar:

It’s true that the flash report, which provides a quick weather overview and highlights potential risks related to Projects, is very handy. In the past, we used Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations for tracking, but as the number of projects grows, we need to centralize information and communication across departments and formalize project reviews. Abraxio facilitates communication with management and streamlines our exchanges. My GM really appreciates the clarity of the reports .

• Hassan Qamar:

In universities, and even in the public sector in general, we really need to demonstrate the workload of our Teams to justify our ability to take on new Projects. It’s infuriating to hear from management, who have no real visibility, but who are constantly pushing us to meet new demands, “you’re not at 100%“, or “the PCs don’t break down every day“, even though the Teams are over-staffed. Time recording in Abraxio will enable us to prove that we can’t take on certain Projects for lack of capacity. At least not without giving up others.

• Guillaume Rehm:

This is also a request from our senior management: to assess our capacity to take on new projects. And it’s also very useful for internal management within the CIO, particularly for steering the right balance between run and build. If tomorrow I find that we’re spending 80% of our time on run, we’ll need to question our organization: are we understaffed? Can we automate, streamline, or do things differently? This is a real help in IT department steering.

• Guillaume Rehm:

At our company, no one tracks their time yet. I’ve done this elsewhere, particularly in the private sector, and it’s essential for getting a realistic view of Projects. Sometimes we estimate a project at 130 man-days, and in the end it turns out to be 430… It’s good to manage capacity at the project portfolio level, but without actual measurements, it’s impossible to reliably steer progress or anticipate hidden costs. And this is important to us, but even more so to our senior management, who rightly expect this consolidation.

• Hassan Qamar:

There’s always some apprehension about tracking one’s time: the fear of being monitored, of feeling like you’re being watched. I reassure the members of my team by explaining that, on the contrary, it’s a way to say “no” to management in a factual way , by showing our objective limits. By arguing,“I don’t have time.” Above all, it recognizes the value of their work.

• Guillaume Rehm:

Exactly. That’s our role as managers: to add value to the activity of our Teams. Without data, we can’t do it But at some point, you need reporting with objective proof: that’s the whole point of workload and capacity planning.

• Hassan Qamar:

Formalization, synthesis, efficiency.

• Guillaume Rehm:

Comprehensive, affordable, cross-disciplinary.

• Guillaume Rehm:

For us, Abraxio is in a one-year test phase within the CIO. At the end, we’ll take stock and see if we can extend it to other departments. Ideally, we’d like to have a common tool for all the different departments.

• Hassan Qamar:

The main benefit of Abraxio is its comprehensive CIO management. Abraxio was designed by real CIOs—people who have worked in the field and know what an IT department is really like and what it needs. Today, the tool is already saving me a lot of time in my role as a manager. I hope that in the future, integrations with public sector financial tools will allow us to take budget tracking even further, but as it stands, the service it provides is truly valuable.