The first half of 2026 marks a quiet but profound turning point for French companies.

For several years, digital transformation was primarily driven by goals such as performance, innovation, and cost optimization. Today, another force is becoming increasingly influential: European regulation.

Generative AI, cybersecurity, data governance, digital sovereignty, system traceability… European regulations are multiplying and gradually reshaping the very nature of IT needs within organizations.

The issue is no longer purely technological.

It is becoming organizational, legal, operational, and strategic.

And in this context, a question is beginning to emerge in many executive committees:

Do companies truly have the skills needed to absorb this new regulatory complexity?

Regulatory Pressure Is Changing the Nature of IT Projects

For a long time, IT projects were primarily designed around three dimensions: cost, timelines, and technical performance.

That model is no longer sufficient.

With the gradual implementation of European regulations such as the AI Act, the strengthening of NIS2 cybersecurity requirements, and growing expectations around data governance, companies must now integrate a new variable: continuous compliance.

This fundamentally changes how information systems are designed.

An AI application is no longer assessed solely on its functional capabilities.

It must now meet requirements related to transparency, human oversight, model documentation, data quality, and, in some cases, auditability.

Cybersecurity projects follow the same logic.

Organizations must now demonstrate resilience, document incident management procedures, strengthen monitoring capabilities, and prove their control over risks.

Regulation no longer comes after technology—it now redefines how technology isdesigned.

For many executives, the shock is less legal than human: they discover that their existing teams do not always possess the expertise required to meet these new frameworks.

The Emergence of Still-Rare Roles in the Market

Perhaps the most striking phenomenon of early 2026 is the rapid emergence of hybrid profiles.

Jobs that barely existed three or four years ago have suddenly become critical.

Growing demand is appearing for:

   • AI governance specialists
   • AI compliance experts
   • Regulatory cybersecurity architects
   • Data compliance managers
   • NIS2 consultants
   • Model auditability experts
   • Algorithmic risk management specialists
   • Sovereign cloud security engineers
   • Advanced IAM experts
   • Digital resilience consultants
   • Professionals capable of bridging IT, legal, and business teams

The challenge is that these skills remain scarce.

The French market has already suffered from a shortage of cybersecurity experts for several years. The simultaneous rise of AI and compliance requirements is adding further pressure.

Companies are seeking not only technical experts but also professionals who understand the regulatory and organizational implications of deployed technologies.

These profiles typically require years of cross-functional experience spanning infrastructure, security, architecture, data, and governance.

They cannot be developed in a matter of months.

The real challenge of 2026 is not access to technology—it is access to the skills capable of making technology sustainable and compliant.

Cybersecurity Is Becoming a Governance Issue

For a long time, cybersecurity was viewed primarily as a technical issue handled by IT teams.

That paradigm is changing rapidly.

With NIS2 in particular, accountability is moving much higher within organizations.

Executive management and boards of directors are increasingly becoming responsible for their companies’ digital resilience.

This shift is changing hiring needs.

Organizations are no longer looking solely for technicians capable of configuring security systems.

They are seeking professionals capable of establishing governance frameworks, managing risk programs, organizing business continuity procedures, and coordinating company-wide incident responses.

This evolution is creating significant pressure on highly experienced professionals.

Experts capable of communicating with CISOs, business leaders, legal teams, and executive management are becoming especially valuable.

The Strategic Return of Legacy Skills

Paradoxically, this new regulatory wave is also bringing older technical skills back into focus.

Many large French organizations continue to rely on critical legacy environments: mainframes, IBM systems, hybrid architectures, complex network infrastructures, UNIX environments, and older databases.

These systems must now also comply with new security, traceability, and governance requirements.

As a result, expertise that was sometimes considered outdated is regaining strategic value.

COBOL, MVS, CICS, Oracle, complex networking, industrial systems, and hybrid architectures are once again becoming critical subjects when they must be integrated into modern cybersecurity and compliance frameworks.

Some organizations are even discovering that they no longer have the internal resources necessary to maintain or secure these critical environments.

Scarcity does not affect only new professions—it also affects historical skills that companies long assumed were abundant.

Anticipating Critical Skills Becomes a Competitive Advantage

Many companies still approach regulation from a defensive perspective.

How can we avoid penalties?

How can we remain compliant?

How can we minimize risk?

But some organizations are beginning to adopt a different approach.

They now view the anticipation of critical skills as a genuine competitive advantage.

Because when regulation becomes fully enforceable, the market tightens rapidly.

Rare profiles become harder to recruit, costs increase, projects slow down, and trade-offs become more difficult.

Organizations that anticipate these needs will enjoy a significant advantage: they will be able to continue transforming their systems while others struggle simply to catch up.

In this environment, the ability to quickly identify rare skills becomes a strategic challenge.

Not only for large enterprises but also for SMEs and mid-sized companies facing the same regulatory obligations with often more limited resources.

Finding the Unfindable Skills

This market evolution is precisely what some specialized firms have been observing for several years.

One such example is Team2i, a company founded and led by Philippe Roche, which has spent more than ten years addressing the challenge of rare IT skills.

His observation is straightforward:

The difficulty companies face is no longer simply recruiting talent.

It is now identifying professionals capable of operating in technological environments that have become extremely specialized and increasingly constrained by regulatory requirements.

This reality applies equally to:

   • Cybersecurity experts
   • Complex project managers
   • Systems architects
   • Network engineers
   • Legacy infrastructure specialists
   • Highly specialized technical experts
   • Hybrid professionals capable of connecting technology, governance, and business operations

The challenge now extends far beyond a simple talent shortage.

It directly affects companies’ ability to continue their digital transformation in an increasingly complex regulatory environment.

And in this new phase, leaders capable of anticipating critical skills will likely enjoy a decisive advantage in the years ahead.

The post European Tech Regulation: Why 2026 Is Already Transforming IT Skills Requirements. By Philippe ROCHE, President of Team2I. Ancien X-Mines-Ponts-Telecom. appeared first on Nexiviti.

Motivation in various cultural contexts requires additional expertise and consideration. The issue must be carefully assessed by managers to create a plan that respects each person’s values and needs.

Understanding the reasons behind a person’s undesirable or poor conduct is the first step toward effective behavior change. It is simpler to change a person’s behavior when they are aware of the reasons behind it.

We may have a better understanding of employees’ motivations if we get to know them. When they are late for work or don’t complete a task on time, we can eventually ask them why. If we do it with respect, we will be able to obtain important information that will help motivate the needed outcome.

In a multicultural company where many cultures will work together in the same workplace, it is advantageous to clarify the expectations of those who were not raised in this culture.

Whatever the problem, if employees aren’t aware of the expectations, it’s impossible for them to be motivated to attain their goals.

It’s crucial to keep in mind that strategies that are successful in one culture might not be as successful in another. If the method of providing ideas and feedback is not having the desired, motivating impact, we should learn about the cultures involved and modify the method.

Motivating employees from different backgrounds can be difficult, but once we succeed, we can reap the rewards of diversity in the workplace.

Autonomy, competence, social connection, responsibility, and self-esteem are intrinsic elements that drive employee motivation. Extrinsic factors (remuneration, relationship with supervisor and colleagues, recognition) also have an impact. Managers’ major responsibility is to improve motivation, so they must be aware of how employees perceive the elements that influence motivation. Knowing what determines an employee’s motivation can help with the implementation of specific targets for ongoing improvement.

The level of motivation and willpower varies for everyone. When it comes to pursuing our objectives, we could occasionally feel fired up and motivated, but other times we might feel aimless or unsure of what we want or how to get it. However, even if we are feeling low on motivation, we should keep moving forward.

When lacking motivation, it is important to concentrate on issues that are important and attempt to break them into smaller tasks and steps. Furthermore, to constantly repeat that achieving goals takes time. If something is discouraging or preventing from reaching goals, looking for ad-hoc solutions will be the most effective solution.

By praising and rewarding excellent work, leaders and managers can begin raising the level of motivation among all their employees. The employees need to understand that their supervisors value their effort. Self-esteem, excitement, and team spirit all rise when deserved individuals receive appreciation. It’s not required that the reward be monetary; it could even be a benefit, like giving them a day off. If we want to motivate employees to go above and beyond, make their efforts worthwhile with a reward or kind deed. Assigning a metric to evaluate employee motivation is challenging, particularly in a multicultural company. Knowing how employees truly feel is the only accurate method to assess this. Building and maintaining motivation at work is essential in unexpected times. Employers are responsible for putting strategies and initiatives in place that effectively engage and motivate employees throughout the year.

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Every leader feels the need to guide, motivate, and advance the greater good. And for this reason, to succeed, every leader needs to possess the appropriate leadership traits.

Whether in a regional or global context, the main leadership attributes that should be presented are integrity, self-confidence, decision-making skill, empowerment, and humility. The route is paved with perseverance and self-belief. Consequently, for sustainable growth, leaders should be aware of and use these leadership qualities.

When it comes to leadership style and behavior, culture will continue to play a determining role.

Increased employee stress is one of the effects of authoritarian leadership, especially when they work for a system that is intolerant of errors, demands blind loyalty and compliance, and motivates performance by expecting workers to work harder and faster. Furthermore, authoritarian leadership promotes power abuses. Authoritarian leaders frequently lack empathy and tend to be emotionally disconnected.

They are, in fact, task-oriented leaders as opposed to people-oriented ones. Participative leadership is when employees are consulted and given a voice in decision-making by leaders. It needs the capacity to share authority, an inclusive perspective, and effective communication abilities.

An organization that adopts participatory leadership would receive a variety of advantages. Employee involvement in business decisions increases awareness, encourages contributions, and boosts morale.

When employees’ thoughts are rejected, they may feel constrained or silenced. There is a platform for these thoughts to be heard through participative leadership. A free exchange of ideas is facilitated by participative leadership. Even if not every comment will be useful or actionable, fostering a discussion-based environment will encourage others to provide their thoughts, which may then be improved, assessed, and expanded upon. Participative leadership encourages employee morale. People are more likely to contribute and feel that their input is valued if they know they will be heard. This is a necessary condition for a pleasant, motivated workforce.

Understanding what behaviors and leadership styles fit into a specific culture is the key to effective global leadership in an international context.

The leader becomes aware of the type of workplace that must be built to best allow its implementation if they are aware of these cultural components and how they affect leadership theory. A new degree of commitment and engagement on the side of the management and the employee is likely to result from this, even though it may need some qualities that run counter to the direction of the established cultural norms.

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When a corporation enters a new international market, it gains access to new clients, which can increase revenues. To successfully offer a product or service in a new international market, the company must develop an international strategy.

The most common entry approaches to a foreign market are export and import operations, wholly-owned subsidiaries, licensing, franchising, joint ventures, alliance, merger, and acquisitions. The following are the advantages and disadvantages of the most common approaches: For Exporting, the advantages are fast entry and low risk however the disadvantages are low control, low local knowledge, and potential negative environmental impact of transportation.

The advantages of licensing and franchising are quick entry, low cost, and little risk; the downsides are less control and the possibility that the licensee will become a competitor. Partnering and strategic alliance, the advantages are shared costs reduce investment needed, reduced risk, seen as a local entity.

The disadvantages are the Higher cost of exporting, licensing, or franchising; integration problems between two corporate cultures. The advantages of a wholly-owned subsidiary include getting local market knowledge; being perceived as an insider who employs locals; and having complete control over the business. The downsides include high costs, high risk due to unknowns, and slow entry due to setup time.

Acquisition, the advantages are fast entry; known, established operations. The disadvantages are high cost and integration issues with the home office. Healthcare, technology, financial services, and retail are the most typical industries for mergers and acquisitions. After reading several successful M&A stories, I have concluded that a successful acquisition is just as much about the people as it is about the technology, therefore culture alignment is one of the high bar requirements.

Every merger or acquisition will have its own set of obstacles and unforeseen circumstances. Successful M&A requires quick integration of fundamental business, real- time visibility into combined enterprises, and embracing and aligning on culture. A commitment to communication, a Win-Win attitude, a shared vision, a well-timed plan, and a contingency plan are all essential components of a successful and effective merger or acquisition. “The historical evolution of organizational patterns indicates that in the early phase of internationalization, most firms separate their exports departments from domestic marketing or have separate international divisions.

Companies with emphasis on global business strategies move towards global product structures whereas those with emphasis on location base strategies move towards global geographic structures. Subsequently, a large number of companies graduate to a matrix or transnational network structure due to dual demands of local adaptations pressures and globalization. In practice, most companies hardly adopt either pure matrix or trans-national structures; rather they opt for hybrid structures incorporating both.”

(International Organizational Structures, 2025) Many firms choose an organizational structure that best fits their size and business goals to ensure that operations function smoothly. Having and communicating a clear organizational structure aids employees in understanding their roles and responsibilities, as well as in goal-setting. International organizational structure is critical to a company’s performance as it assists managers in determining departmental groupings.

Any questions to the author? please write a message to us.

The post Strategic Systems for International Expansion, Integration, and Long- Term Growth. appeared first on Nexiviti.

International operations depend heavily on control and decision-making. International managers’ decision to retain control or give decision-making to a subsidiary, may be influenced by several factors. Every organization should decide whether its operations are centralized or decentralized, and many organizations fall somewhere in between. Understanding both the centralized and decentralized organizational structures lay the groundwork for comprehending the various types of management accounting that organizations use.

MNCs face a variety of challenges in their decision-making processes that consist of Total Quality Management (TQM) decisions and strategies for attacking the competition.

MNCs have a variety of mechanisms for managing their international operations.

One of the processes is the controlling process, which entails assessing outcomes in light of plans or objectives and selecting the correct plan of action. Most multinational corporations (MNCs) combine direct and indirect controls; some choose quantitative approaches, others qualitative.

Nevertheless, for control purposes, a variety of performance measurements are used to control subsidiaries. The financial, quality, and personnel performances.

The most crucial metric to consider as a sign of market access for financial performance is market share. Second, ROA/ROI and profit-based metrics may not be as significant in the short run as sales-based metrics. Finally, performance relative to HQ evaluates the subsidiary’s performance within the MNC framework.

Customer satisfaction and product/service quality may be considered to be significant nonfinancial measures when evaluating the performance of overseas operations. However, performance evaluation techniques are also employed to evaluate employee performance. Companies’ performance evaluation is already a difficult process, but it becomes significantly more difficult in global contexts. With international businesses, the complexity significantly rises.

Performance evaluation of overseas subsidiaries involves some complexities, such as exchange rate fluctuations, effects of inflation abroad, transfer pricing, the diversity of national and host cultures, and numerous other issues relating to environmental elements and variables in host nations. In order to determine the extent to which the company is successful in attaining its strategic goals of internationalization, multinational corporations use a variety of indicators to assess the performance of their foreign subsidiaries.

Any questions to the author? please write a message to us.

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When businesses invest time and money into creating a culture of learning and putting organizational learning into practice, they become more competitive.

Highly motivated employees, invested in the success of the businesses, and ready to go above and beyond in their everyday job are said to be engaged. They are driven, talented, high performers who are eager to dedicate themselves to the organization and their careers.

To ensure a productive workplace where all employees feel valued, Human Resources is important. Human resources can significantly improve productivity and show its commitment to the long-term success of the company by taking steps to enhance employee engagement. In international and global organizations, international human resource management refers to the process of hiring, training, developing, and compensating employees. When a company has a productive workforce, it has a competitive advantage. Furthermore, many organizations are operating internationally. As a result, managing international employees is becoming increasingly important.

Employers in international organizations are finding it harder to find, train, and retain employees. When it comes to managing personnel from various countries and regions, International Human Resources is quite important. International assignments are difficult and come with a lot of added pressures. If a job in a different place would require the same set of abilities is false. The social and cultural forces may be too complicated, and the local dynamics may be different.

If the spouse and kids go abroad with the expat, there will be further challenges to overcome, such as adjusting to a new language and culture, finding unfamiliar places to shop, and helping the kids make friends and enroll in new schools.

The applicant for a foreign assignment must acknowledge the significance of the position and exhibit some idealism or a feeling of purpose. Applicants who are unhappy with their existing circumstances at home and are trying to leave rarely succeed as abroad managers.

This component is made up of several factors, such as the ability of the spouse and family to adjust, the spouse’s perception of the situation, and the spouse’s willingness to relocate. The importance of this aspect in determining an expat’s success or failure in a foreign country was determined to be the highest of the list above.

To guarantee the success of the foreign assignee, careful selection is only the first stage. The expatriate may therefore need suitable orientation, cross-cultural training, and aid with career planning and development to manage the assigned jobs effectively. It was a bit challenging for me to be assigned to a job abroad. A few advantages are the opportunity to travel to new countries, exposure to other business practices, and international business experience.

The drawbacks of an international assignment include emotional difficulties, interrupted career progress, and cultural differences. What I have discovered from my experience is that moving to a new country requires a significant life adjustment. It is crucial to fully engage in the experience and maintain a positive attitude through the highs and lows.

Any questions to the author? please write a message to us.

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