We proudly present: Portal Systems AG
With immediate effect, PSC Portal Systems Consulting GmbH becomes Portal Systems AG. In the following interview, Frank von Orlikowski, now a member of the Board of Directors, explains the reasons for the conversion into an AG and the resulting changes for our customers, partners and employees:
Christian Mennrich: “First of all, congratulations on the successful conversion of Portal Systems into an AG and your new role as a member of the Board of Directors! A step like that doesn’t come out of the blue. What was at the root of this decision?”
Frank von Orlikowski: “Portal Systems has grown continuously over the past few years and has evolved further. In order to keep on this path in the future and to further advance our growth, we, as managing partners (André Hoseas and FvO, editor’s note), have considered the conversion into an AG to be a consistent, important and appropriate next step.”
Continuity in change
CM: “And what exactly will change for our customers and partners now?”
FvO: “Not much at all. Apart, of course, from a certain bureaucratic extra effort for changing the supplier company name. The quality of their contract and supplier management will then be evident to our customers (laughs). No, seriously: First and foremost, they will benefit from the fact that we have already created the necessary internal structures to actually live the AG form. This includes the clear definition of business units, the establishment of a reporting and controlling system and much more. People often talk about so-called growth pains in expanding organisations. However, these are only an expression of missing structures. In other words: the customer experiences continuity with us, even if we are constantly growing.”
CM: “Quite often the legal form of the AG is also chosen in order to raise additional capital. What role does this play in your considerations? And what message do you have for the – certainly numerous – interested parties who would now like to purchase Portal Systems shares?”
FvO: “In fact, there are already a number of requests in this direction. First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for this enormous interest. The confidence expressed in the further development of Portal Systems shows us that we are on the right track. However, there are no plans for an external round of financing for the near future. We raised our share capital to €400,000 beforehand, creating a solid financial equity base. We are therefore not at all dependent on investors either. At the moment, it is only planned to give our employees the opportunity to purchase company shares.”
Development and growth
CM: “You have already indicated it: Portal Systems has constantly evolved since the company was founded about 15 years ago. What did this development look like in detail?”
FvO: “Initially started as a consulting company, over the years things moved steadily in the direction of becoming an IT service provider and systems integrator. With Shareflex (formerly pscBAF) we have been marketing our own product for more than 5 years now. And very successfully, indeed.”
CM: “To what extent has Portal Systems’ business also changed as a result?”
FvO: “A large number of our customers are already using Shareflex and our solutions company-wide. This makes Shareflex a strategic component of the IT infrastructure. This is particularly the case, but not exclusively, with well-known, internationally operating companies.
When deciding to use Shareflex, it is no longer solely the product quality and the competence of the consultants that are decisive. The size of the company and its ability to achieve sustainable growth have also become extremely important selection criteria. Customers need future-proof solutions.”
CM: “And what measures has Portal Systems, apart from the founding of the AG, taken to meet these requirements?”
FvO: “Well, such a decision does not come out of the blue, of course! The change of legal form is only a visible sign that we have worked intensively in recent years to create structures for growth. In addition to the aforementioned increase in equity capital, the regular certification of our product development, the introduction of an internal QM system in accordance with ISO 9001 and the establishment and expansion of our partner sales, all serve the aspects of “growth” and “future security”. The conversion to the AG was therefore only consistent. Even if this does not change anything for our customers at first.”
The vision
CM: “Thank you very much for the open discussion, Frank! This all sounds very much like a healthy, solid basis for the future. However, if you now look a little further into the future, where do you think this path should lead? What is your vision for Portal Systems AG and Shareflex?”
FvO: “The shift towards cloud solutions creates a new market segment and, of course, offers many more opportunities for us, the potential of which cannot be estimated today. The feedback from our customers and partners is that with Shareflex, we are clearly laying the way technologically. We will continue on this path consistently and want to further expand our technological market leadership. With the goal of establishing ourselves as the market leader in SharePoint-based business applications, be it On-Prem or Office 365. In order to achieve this goal, I hope that we will continue to pursue the path we have taken so successfully – together with our customers, partners and employees.”