English
Reporter: What was the situation of your company at the end of 2023?
Piotr Ciski: In 2023, Symfonia Group recorded a favorable evolution characterized by strategic advances and growth initiatives. By the end of the year, the team had expanded to more than 600 employees, contributing to business operations totaling approximately euro40 million. In addition, our Group acquired a majority investor, Accel KKR, specialized in the field of SMEs in the European market. We have thus taken the first step in the international expansion plan in Central and Eastern Europe, an important stage, which aligns with our development objective.
Reporter: I saw that you recently took over the Romanian company Softeh Plus. How did the acquisition process go and what facilitated this acquisition? What will happen to the employees of the Romanian company? Will there be a restructuring? Will the restructuring involve layoffs or not?
Piotr Ciski: Talks with Softeh Plus lasted around a year, finalizing the acquisition in the first months of the second quarter of 2023. Softeh Plus stood out as a healthy, stable company with a loyal customer base and potential of growth. Our interest in the healthtech sector, a rapidly growing industry in Europe, led us to Softeh Plus, a leader in Romania in top solutions for hospitals and pharmacies. The company's expertise also extends to the construction industry, where their advanced ERP system and dedicated solutions align with our know-how and provide market expansion opportunities. But most importantly, the acquisition process was seamless and the key enabler was the shared vision and cultural alignment between Symfonia Group and Softeh Plus. Operational activities will continue unchanged, and the Romanian company will keep its brand and headquarters. The focus will be on the development of ongoing projects, especially in the Health and Pharmacy sectors, with no restructuring or redundancies.
Reporter: What benefits will Symfonia Group's strategic investors get from the acquisition of this company?
Piotr Ciski: The acquisition is more than a geographical expansion, it enriches the Symfonia portfolio, positioning us as an ERP player with growth potential in the Central and Eastern European market. Collaboration with the Romanian team in innovative projects will bring significant advantages to our customers. Together with the strategic investors of the Symfonia Group - such as Accel KKR or MidEuropa, we have drawn the vision for the company's growth trajectory, and acquisitions are a way to achieve our goals.
Reporter: How many clients do you have in your portfolio and what services do you offer them?
Piotr Ciski: Symfonia is a leader in ERP and HCM software solutions for SMEs in Poland, with a diverse and loyal customer base of over 50,000 SMEs. Our client portfolio focuses on highly regulated areas, with accounting being a key specialism. Our expertise extends beyond simple service delivery - we pride ourselves on being a trusted advisor to our clients. This trust is based on a thorough understanding of regulations, laws and government policies in these areas.
Our influence extends to various sectors in Poland, including retail, automotive, construction and manufacturing. Due to our extensive presence, we have a unique perspective and specialized knowledge in these sectors.
• "We believe in a collaborative approach, where AI complements the human workforce"
Reporter: The market in the field of ERP and HCM software solutions for small and medium-sized companies is a dynamic, competitive one. What does your company bring new to this market and what are the facilities offered to SMEs, unlike your competitors?
Piotr Ciski: As mentioned, Symfonia Group differentiates itself from other companies by specializing in highly regulated industries, offering accounting expertise and maintaining a close relationship with clients. The focus on innovation, digital expertise and partnerships with renowned industry associations ensure that SMEs receive not only state-of-the-art solutions, but also personalized support that adapts to their unique requirements. Symfonia Group comes from the SME sector, therefore we know the needs and characteristics of this segment best. We take it upon ourselves to check the business environment, including legal requirements, and build a solution to help SMEs operate in this environment. We are a trusted advisor - we constantly support our customers, not only in the product area.
We also rely heavily on feedback from our customers. We regularly measure NPS and customer satisfaction scores and actively act on this feedback. One of our most recent initiatives is the creation of the "Customer lab" - a holistic and "end-to-end" working methodology of co-innovation and co-creation with customers, as well as using feedback them to improve already existing solutions.
Reporter: In recent years, the role of Artificial Intelligence has steadily increased, and there are fears from software engineers that AI will take over their duties. What role do you think Artificial Intelligence will play in the field in which you operate? Will it completely replace the human factor or not? Have you prepared a strategy for the future layoff of part of the staff or that contains other types of services in which those employees will work?
Piotr Ciski: Artificial intelligence is a key factor in our field, improving productivity and efficiency by automating certain tasks. We believe in a collaborative approach, where AI complements the human workforce. Our strategy involves upskilling employees to work alongside artificial intelligence, focusing on roles that require creativity, critical thinking and emotional intelligence, ensuring a balanced and harmonious integration of technology and human expertise. We also rely on internal exchange and the development of the skills of the team currently working within the Symfonia Group.
• "In the short term, we will aim to support Softeh in sales, marketing, user experience and in the development of its solutions"
Reporter: What assurances do you offer customers/users in terms of protection against cyber attacks? Have you faced such attacks and if so how did you respond to them?
Piotr Ciski: We prioritize the security of our customers' data. Regardless of the type of installation: on-premise or in the cloud - our solutions also include security procedures. Due to the automation of hacking attacks, constant monitoring of traffic and operations as well as regular backups are a must today.
The Symfonia Group has robust cyber security measures in place to protect against potential threats. Although we have not experienced any major cyber attacks, we are constantly investing in our security infrastructure, conducting regular audits and keeping abreast of evolving threats. In the event of a security incident, we have response protocols in place to quickly mitigate risks and ensure the security of our customers' information.
Reporter: What are the challenges you expect this year?
Piotr Ciski: First of all, being a dynamic market, we will have to constantly evaluate our company's position in order to remain agile, respond to unforeseen challenges and ensure sustainable growth in the competitive landscape. The technology market is developing extremely fast, so staying ahead requires remarkable agility - and this can be challenging. We constantly invest in research and development to modernize and reinvent our own portfolio - to meet the needs of the ever-changing market, especially the cloud market. What is interesting here is that although the cloud is seen by consultants like McKinsey as a huge game changer, comparable to the invention of the Internet in the 90s, many SMEs still do not understand the full potential of this technologiesand the tangible benefits it can have for their businesses. We are working hard to educate the market about the value of the cloud. In turn, we are driving our own transformation to operate internally as a next-generation, cloud-first company. Specifically, in the short term, we will aim to support Softeh in sales, marketing, user experience, and also in the development of its solutions. In the long term, we plan to identify large joint projects for customers in Poland, Romania and also other European Union countries. Our objective is to develop the Symfonia Group, so together with our investor we will continue to analyze the market in search of interesting players. Therefore, finding innovative companies in the market to complement our skills will be both a challenge and an opportunity this year.
Reporter: Thank you.
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