5 questions with Oliver Schröder

What does digital transformation entail for you and your customers?

For our customers, there are two aspects to consider: the technical and the organisational. If organisations want their business to be data-driven, they must be able to collect, merge, cleanse and analyse the data accordingly. We support our customers in this process and are therefore at the very heart of what a shift to data-driven business means.

Furthermore, digital transformation often requires fundamental changes to business processes. Putting data at the core of your business goes far beyond technology and the IT department; it affects virtually all areas - from marketing to sales and production. These change processes present a real challenge, which is why we work with a network of reliable partners such as parsionate to support our clients in implementing their strategies. Thus, both aspects of the digitisation process can be effectively taken into account.

Where are we in terms of digital transformation in Germany?

Digital transformation has been underway in Germany for a long time. Many organisations have recognised the value of their data and are already using it strategically and profitably. German enterprises are among the best in the world in this respect and even pioneers when it comes to data protection and data-oriented compliance.

However, despite these successes, there is still much to be done. Digital transformation impacts virtually every aspect and area of your business and many opportunities to generate added value often remain untapped, even if they have already been identified.

Also, Germany has no large digital companies such as those that have emerged in the USA over the past 20 years. Unfortunately, there are no German Googles, Facebooks and the like so far, even if the know-how is definitely there.

What are the most important prerequisites for digitalisation?

One of the most important prerequisites is the desire to actively drive digital transformation, as well as the willingness to adapt the business, and with it perhaps also the corporate culture, to the changing circumstances. With a data-driven approach, it may even be necessary, in some cases, to completely realign the business - this is something managers and stakeholders should be prepared to do. This could mean, for example, that a manufacturing company would no longer focus solely on its own products, but on data-based optimisation, maintenance and support.

Why do people choose to implement a data strategy with Informatica?

Three factors set us apart from our competitors: experience, quality and platform independence.

First and foremost, we offer solutions that are internationally regarded as excellent. Don’t just take our word for it. In this year’s report, Gartner has positioned, for the 13th consecutive year, Informatica as a leader in its Magic Quadrant for Data Integration Tools.

What sets us apart is, above all, our platform independence. Our solutions are open and can be integrated into all infrastructures. This is precisely what our customers need. They use systems from different vendors and expect seamless integration.

We have been in business for more than 20 years and have the relevant experience - this enables us to provide our customers with the best possible advice on all aspects of data management. Businesses truly appreciate this fact, especially because we always anticipate issues that will arise in the future and offer appropriate solutions. To this end, we work closely with partners such as parsionate, who support our customers in implementing their strategy. Our success speaks for itself: 98 per cent of our customers renew their contracts with us - this is the highest rate in the industry.

What are the most important goals and visions of your customers?

Our customers want to have complete control over their data at all times and to be able to use it flexibly. It is not just a matter of collecting data, but of using it effectively. Our customers expect to be able to easily analyse data and develop new applications and solutions to provide long-term added value and to exploit opportunities and meet future challenges. Informatica supports them in their efforts and provides them with a reliable technological basis.