Meet Hélène
Hello, my name is Hélène AUGU. I have been working at Coexya for six years and I am Deputy Director of the GIS Business Unit.
What does the GIS Business Unit do, and in what way is its work unique within Coexya ?
The GIS (Geographic Information System) Business Unit works for companies, major clients, local authorities and government departments. It designs, implements and integrates GIS into its clients’ information systems for various business applications with geographical components: asset management, land registry, urban planning, network management, works management, defence and civil security, geomarketing, transport, crisis management, digital twins, the environment, and more.
The GIS Business Unit integrates the spatial dimension into information systems. This geospatial expertise is cross-functional and requires a strong command of reference systems, cartography, geospatial data models and the urbanisation of information systems with a geospatial component.
The GIS Business Unit is unique within Coexya because it is :
- The only Business Unit specialising in the geospatial aspect of information systems
- A long-established technical centre with over 30 years’ experience, recognised nationally
- A comprehensive centre of expertise (project managers, business analysts, geomatics specialists, developers, GIS architects), spread across several sites (Lyon, Paris, Rennes), working for France’s largest clients using an industrialised software development process
- The vast majority of our projects are on a fixed-price basis
- Operates in the defence sector with a security-cleared site
- A driving force for innovation
Can you briefly explain your role within this BU and what makes it unique ?
I contribute to the smooth operational, personnel and contractual running of the GIS BU. I am involved in the strategic and operational steering of the BU, its management and organisation, project management and leadership, and relations with our clients and partners.
Based in Paris, I am responsible for the Paris GIS team, day-to-day management alongside my colleague Marc Lemaire, Project Director, project managers, project assignments, the induction of new staff, team coordination, the well-being of team members, their projects, the BU…
In your view, what are the current challenges facing GIS ?
Ever since I’ve been working in geomatics, it has always been difficult to position GIS and geomatics professionals within an organisation, on the business side, as that is where data is produced and updated, and on the IT side… This remains an issue today in an increasingly computerised and technical world.
The challenges I identify are:
- That organisations have high-quality, reliable, shared and pooled, interoperable and ideally sovereign geographic data and repositories
- Integrated into increasingly complex information systems and interconnected with other information systems such as CMMS, safety and response tools, BIM, EDM…
- In modern, secure, monitored infrastructures that are, as far as possible, as energy-efficient as possible. We need to be in the cloud, with CI/CD, AI…
Can you tell us more about your team ? How is it organised, and what kind of people are in it ?
The GIS Business Unit is a multidisciplinary team spread across three sites. Our teams work closely together on a variety of projects covering diverse topics. Our consultants may work on a project in the field of energy networks for a period, and later on a project relating to water resource management or the planning of public spaces. We are specialists in geoinformatics.
The team combines expertise in geomatics, application development, architecture, business analysis and project management. This diversity enables us to cover the entire GIS lifecycle: consultancy, design, integration, data and maintenance. It is a cross-functional, multi-site business unit, unique within Coexya.
The roles within the GIS BU include project directors, project managers, business analysts/product owners, business analysis consultants, geomatics specialists, and front-end, back-end or full-stack developers. The teams are organised by project or as service centres.
We work at the heart of the information systems of major companies, local authorities and government departments, in fields as varied as urban planning, networks, transport, civil protection and the environment. It’s a unique environment in which to progress rapidly, work with modern architectures and see the tangible impact of your work.
Joining our Business Unit means joining a passionate, demanding and deeply caring team, within which you can build your career. If you want to develop in a challenging yet supportive environment, you’ve come to the right place !