Digitalization and cloud computing have shifted the focus into improving customer experience and value creation for both external and internal stakeholders

Andreas F.J. Obereder | CEO and Founder, ATOSS

How should companies address this situation? 

Well, volatility is nothing new – it just reached unprecedented levels in 2020. Prior to that, the speed of change across the global economy was already significantly increasing. Even then it was clear that there was a need for increased flexibility – for companies to adapt on the fly to a new framework. And develop the ability to respond to unpredictable changes at short notice. According to a KfW business survey, around one-third of SMEs were already using more flexible working hours and locations in April 2020. Among companies that had already experienced disruptions in business operations due to staff absences, the figure was even more than half. Over 70 percent of mid-size companies with more than 50 staff have expanded their use of remote work from home in the last ten months. The results of a McKinsey executive survey also confirm that this pays off. The study reveals that the companies navigating the current crisis the best are those embracing advanced technologies and becoming more innovative and willing to experiment.

How would you rate the progress the economy has made in terms of digitalization in 2020?

In a recent European survey, more than two-thirds of executives said the pandemic is a driver of digital transformation at their companies. This is especially true for areas in which digitalization was being pushed even before the crisis. 2020 was a year of reckoning for many of us in a variety of ways. 
Even the best-laid plans CIOs had made for migrating their organizations to the Cloud had to be massively accelerated. 

Why have cloud solutions become even more of a focus?

The Cloud has proven over the past decade that it is more than just a technology. It's a key enabler of business innovation. In many cases, it has only been possible to react to the external pace of change experienced in 2020 thanks to cloud solutions. Their use allows companies to not only significantly optimize and expand their IT capabilities but also scale at the speed the business demands. This makes both predictable and unpredictable fluctuations easier to manage. Companies that adopted cloud-based solutions early on were significantly better equipped to meet the needs of their customers and staff while maintaining revenue growth. This is directly reflected in the earnings figures from successful organizations. Our core message from last year's annual report was: "Now is the time to prepare." And even though none of us would have wanted the recent turn of events, it has proven to be accurate in retrospect.

Is the topic of cloud computing going to continue to gain in significance? 

Definitely. Digitalization and cloud computing have shifted the focus onto improving customer experience and value creation for both external and internal stakeholders. But Germany still has a lot of catching up to do here. Eurostat estimates that the proportion of companies that rely on cloud computing services in our country is just 22 percent. In Scandinavia, Great Britain and the Netherlands, it's already well over half. This is also reflected in our own figures. Cloud solutions comprise only about 40 percent of our business in Germany. Whereas abroad, we now sell cloud solutions almost exclusively. Regardless of the increase in the use of cloud solutions in 2020, German and European companies still have a long way to go. We therefore anticipate continuing growth in this area over the coming years.

How does digital workforce management help address the economic impact of the pandemic?

Our solutions create the basis upon which legally compliant documentation of remote working hours, as well as audit-standard record keeping of short-time work or subsidy documents can be maintained. At the same time, they make resource management easier through long-term working hours accounts, vacation management, and capacity planning. ATOSS customers were able to react in an ad hoc, precise, and highly efficient manner. This has kept them competitive, financially secure, and ultimately saved jobs. We have received huge amounts of positive feedback from our customers during this time. And a lot of them represent system-critical organizations like hospitals, logistics providers, and suppliers. 

Which sectors get the most out of your solutions? 

These days, I'd say the relevance spans all industries. However, especially positive results have been leveraged in the personnelintensive sectors most impacted by fluctuating demand. Take the retail industry. Here companies like EDEKA, ALDI SÜD, Douglas, and Fressnapf have trusted our solutions for a very long time. And, of course, the healthcare sector. Here we have customers like Helios, University Medical Centre Mainz, Saarbrücken and Leverkusen hospitals or the Swiss telemedicine provider Medgate.  We are also creating significant value in logistics, manufacturing, the service sector, and the public sector. I'm talking about customers such as DB Schenker, WISAG, thyssenkrupp Packaging Steel, HUK-COBURG and the City of Munich. 

These all sound like major players. What's the situation like for medium-sized and smaller companies? 

It's just as important. A lack of skilled workers, new laws and regulations such as GDPR or the ECJ ruling on the mandatory recording of working hours – these challenges all point to making investments in digital working time management. Whether you're a company with two to 200,000 staff, ATOSS has a solution for you. Our cloud software Crewmeister is ideal for small enterprises, startups, and trade businesses employing up to about 30 members of staff. It can be launched in the Cloud in 60 seconds and configured within 15 minutes, allowing companies to hit the ground running. You can record working hours, manage vacations, and deploy staff – quick and easily. Last year alone, we won well over 1,600 customers in the small business segment. And we also have more than 3,000 customers in the classic SME segment, you might be interested to know.

Let's talk about compliance – is this topic strategically relevant for companies?

There is no doubt that this is an important topic for companies and fiscal units. New laws and penalties are a constant which in turn make workforce management more complex on both a national and international level. There's no getting away from the fact that a legally compliant system is businesscritical in averting adverse legal consequences. For us, of course, it's the necessary basis upon which we can develop the kinds of conversations with our customers that we want to be having – like those around demand-driven workforce management. 

Mr. Obereder, 2020 was the 15th consecutive record year for ATOSS. Once again, your company has been recognized as a leading mid-size company by renowned publications such as the Handelsblatt and WirtschaftsWoche. ATOSS seriously has its act together…

Thank you! In my opinion, a stable political environment is critical for sustainable growth. While a lot of critique may be justified, I think we all have good reason to be grateful for our democratic system's stability and ability to act. What is more, at ATOSS, we generally let our decisions be guided by a sustainable, value-driven approach. In doing this, our team is delivering on our mission to have a lasting impact on the working worlds and all its stakeholders. This mission has no expiration date. It is valid indefinitely and acts as a reality check: Is what we are doing today creating added value for tomorrow? This is more important to us than short-term monetary gain. And it differentiates us. But of course, it's not just about strategy. It takes effective execution by our staff to pull it off. I've been really impressed by the resilience shown across all areas of our company in the face of adversity over the past year. 

The results speak for themselves.

They do indeed! Despite the most challenging of circumstances, we succeeded in topping 2019 which had been outstanding. The result is an overall growth of 21 percent, with the cloud segment growing by 66 percent, while maintaining a very solid EBIT margin of 30 percent. This is also reflected in the company's value and its surging share price. All of our staff and business partners can be seriously proud of that.