Julij Božič: Our Forté is Connecting Global Technologies with Local Know-How
To me, leadership is more than just crunching numbers; above all, it’s about creating a culture where people believe we can achieve more if we work together.
You have led major IT corporations, including IBM Slovenia and Oracle Slovenia. What insights from those experiences are you bringing with you to Smartis?
At both corporations – I was with IBM for 16 years, and with Oracle for six – I had the honour of leading teams and projects across multiple regions, mainly Central and Eastern Europe. My time at those corporations taught me more than I can say. I learned how to manage diverse teams, bring different cultures together, and keep my eye on the ball even while navigating highly complex organisational structures. The key thing I bring to Smartis is my ability to think strategically and manage complex business ecosystems, as well as connecting teams to maximise efficiency. I learned how essential it is to integrate sales, technology, and business partnerships to deliver a comprehensive solution to the client. This experience produced valuable takeaways about IT market dynamics, customer challenges, and setting up efficient processes that enable scalable growth.
What convinced you to accept the position of CEO at Smartis this past August?
The decision was the result of careful consideration and built on more than 15 years of collaboration: Smartis has long been a key partner of IBM, and more recently also of Oracle. In Smartis, I see a company with a strong presence on the Slovenian and Croatian markets and tremendous potential based on its know-how, standout team, and stellar reputation. I see it approaching a critical juncture: it has grown large enough to play a sizeable role in the region, yet remains agile enough to rapidly innovate and adapt to the challenges of the extremely fast-moving, dynamic IT sector. What I found personally compelling was the opportunity to help the company make the next strategic step by executing the 2025–2030 strategy adopted this past spring, which seeks to overhaul all key business segments and turn the company from a strong local player into a trusted partner with a regional footprint.
What was your take on the company’s positioning? Where would you say Smartis stands today relative to the competition?
Smartis is well-established in niche market segments such as infrastructure services, cybersecurity, business process optimisation, digital twin models, and analytics. It also has long-standing relationships with major Slovenian corporations. Our goal has always been to be a reliable long-term partner to our clients, enabling them to fully focus on their core business. With a well-defined strategy, we can turn our strong points – agility, expertise and business partnerships – into a competitive edge that can fuel our expansion and growth.
What are your top three strategic objectives over the next five years?
I would say the first two are definitely consolidation and growth on the domestic market, reinforcing our position as a segment leader in Slovenia. The third objective would be regional expansion driven by in-house solutions and products – above all, digital twin models for commercial clients and the defence industry.
My ambition over the next five years is to turn Smartis into a distinguished regional centre of excellence for digital transformation on the strength of our products, services, and strong international partnerships. The unique added value that we bring to the table is our ability to connect global technologies with local know-how and the needs of our clients. As we expand, I want to preserve the culture of the company, the quality of our services and the motivation in the workplace.
What are some of the global trends in IT that will shape the next five years? How does Smartis plan to leverage them?
The key trends are AI and its practical applications in business processes, cybersecurity, digital sovereignty, and next-generation cloud platforms. Smartis intends to leverage them by offering solutions that combine them – such as securely integrating AI into business processes, or building hybrid cloud solutions in compliance with local legislation. We also plan to deepen cooperation with our global business partners such as IBM, Atlassian, and Darktrace, to name just a few, so we can offer our clients the best of both worlds: global innovation and local implementation.
I would argue Smartis is a bridge between global innovation and local ownership of outcomes.
Businesses are increasingly trying to come to grips with the issue of digital sovereignty. How can a partnership with Smartis help them with that?
Digital sovereignty means that businesses and states maintain control over their own data, infrastructure, and processes. That’s where Smartis can fill important gaps because we have an in-depth understanding of both local regulations and global technologies. We can help clients build solutions that ensure security, regulatory compliance, and controlled data use. I would argue we are a bridge between global innovation and local ownership of outcomes.
Smartis has built robust partnerships in Slovenia. How do you plan on translating that success to the regional and global space?
The first step has to be utilising established partnerships as a springboard to build that same trust abroad. Regional and global clients want to see projects that have resulted in tangible benefits. Our operations in Croatia, where we have been able to achieve strong name recognition through professionalism and expertise, is a good case in point. The second step is forging partnerships with local players in the region, combining our expertise with their deeper knowledge of the market. And the third step is developing proprietary products that we can market across Europe. This will allow Smartis to transform from a mere distributor into a strategic partner for all your digital transformation needs.
In Smartis, I see a company with a strong presence on the Slovenian and Croatian markets and tremendous potential based on its know-how, a stand-out team, and a stellar reputation.
What does your presence in Croatia mean for the company’s future expansion plans?
To us, Croatia is the natural launching pad for expansion, since we have a similar business environment and culture, yet the market is large enough that entering it was an important step in the right direction. Having a presence in Croatia is not an end goal in itself – rather, it’s a springboard for expansion into the wider region, into countries such as Serbia, as well as into Central European states further afield.
Partnerships with corporations such as IBM or Atlassian, among others, are of vital importance. What is your sense of how such partnerships might evolve in the future?
My stance is that partnership can no longer be one-sided – today, partnerships need to go both ways and generate added value for both parties. That means Smartis needs to demonstrate to its partners that we can implement their global technologies at the local and regional levels. At the same time, our partners get the opportunity to support our own innovations. I envision Smartis becoming a vital part of partner ecosystems in the region, allowing us to turn joint projects into success stories for our clients.
How important are Smartis’ in-house solutions for its future?
Innovative in-house products are absolutely crucial. They signal a shift in our market positioning – from having the know-how to implement solutions developed by our global partners to developing proprietary solutions that can elevate us to global partner/vendor status. That requires a fresh approach consisting of continuous product upkeep and upgrades, as well as building out our sales network. Our aim is to develop solutions such as SmartTwin (a digital twin model/interoperable energy efficiency platform) and SmartDPO (enterprise-level audit trail monitoring) in house, integrate them into global platforms, and market them to both domestic and international clients. In-house innovations are what makes us who we are and add value to the business.
After 16 years at IBM and six years at Oracle, Julij Božič decided to take on a fresh challenge – managing Smartis. To him, the company and its culture of expertise and innovation are a unique opportunity: to write the next chapter of a success story underpinned by growth and mutual trust.
Which Smartis services and products do you see as major growth drivers?
Core growth engines include cybersecurity, an area with explosive demand growth; infrastructure solutions for setting up and managing data centres; as well as tailor-made solutions and AI-augmented data analytics to optimise business processes. We also expect to see increased demand for our consulting services designed to help clients adopt and use tools from leading IT vendors such as Atlassian (think of Jira, for example) every step of the way, from formulating the strategy to final implementation.
Do Slovenians have the knowledge and skills to make it on the global stage?
Slovenian professionals are talented, highly skilled and innovative. However, the limited supply of experts, greatly outstripped by demand, continues to present a challenge. That’s why it is essential to invest in people, forge close ties and create an environment that’s welcoming to young professionals. The skills required are there, we just need to improve on aligning and combining them with international experience.
How do you plan on motivating young talent to join Smartis and stay for the long haul?
Today, young people are after more than just a paycheck – they want to be challenged, have the opportunity to grow and be given the space to be creative. At Smartis, we have built a culture that allows them to work on exciting projects, use cutting-edge technologies, and learn from senior colleagues. At the same time, they are given the space to contribute their own ideas and take ownership of their work. That is how we can best demonstrate that Smartis is a company that can support them at every stage of their careers.
What personal career achievement are you most proud of bringing to Smartis?
I’m proud of the teams and partnerships I’ve built to deliver tangible results – be it growing the business or bringing a client’s project to life. I’m a great believer in cooperation and mutual trust. That’s why I’ve always worked to maintain good relationships with business partners and employees.
What is your main motivator as an executive?
Creating something new – coming up with a vision and turning it into reality with my team. It brings me joy to watch people grow, have the company do well, and see our clients appreciate our work. To me, leadership is more than just crunching numbers; above all, it’s about creating a culture where people believe we can achieve more if we work together. The current iteration of this priniciple is OneSmartis.
My ambition over the next five years is to turn Smartis into a distinguished regional centre of excellence for digital transformation. The unique added value that we bring to the table is our ability to connect global technologies with local know-how and the needs of our clients.
