Personalities

The new Aricoma will be stronger. Also for larger businesses west of the Czech Republic

29. 6. 2023

 

It was already planned five years ago, when the Aricoma brand first appeared on the Czech market: although the individual parts of the largest Czech IT holding operated under their own names, it was clear that they would become even more connected up over time. And that time is now. Instead of Autocont, AEC, Komix, CES EA and other such brands, customers will now only be seeing Aricoma. "Rebranding is the outcome of a process to enable us to really act as one company. We want the market to see us as a single strong brand," says Milan Sameš, CEO of Aricoma.

I offer great business adventure. Even so, it is hard to find people

5. 4. 2023

 

When, early this year, a British commission definitively confirmed that the KKCG Group would be allowed to take over the operator of the British National Lottery – a traditional company in what is traditionally an extremely conservative country – this was also definitive confirmation, as it were, that Czech business had managed to break out of its stereotype as a developing economy from the East and could now rank alongside the best players on the European and global scene.

They see us differently in Brussels now

5. 4. 2023

 

In mid-2021, the Aricoma, at that time still under the banner of its subsidiary AUTOCONT, announced that it had succeeded in a tender for the European Commission and would be supplying technology and consulting services for data centres in more than fifty European institutions - including, for example, the European Parliament, Europol, Frontex, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Commission itself. This would all run to tens of millions of euros over the course of four years. The figures themselves tell an extraordinary tale, but the story behind them is even more interesting. Expect lockdown, closed borders, chip shortage, mistrust of the Czechs, goings-on behind the scenes in Brussels, and also a simple desire to give things a try. This is all described very openly by Jaromír Babinec, Aricoma director for mergers, acquisitions and strategy.

Milan Sameš on deglobalisation: Doing business in Europe makes sense for European companies again

16. 2. 2023

 

This is not, nor will it be an easy time, but those who are well placed and confident in their product should not find it too difficult. Milan Sameš, the head of the largest IT holding in Central Europe, looks to the new year and beyond with this hope. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian attack on Ukraine, he sees a partial shift away from globalising tendencies and hopes that Aricoma will benefit from this. In what sense, exactly? 

Digital transformation will not come from companies or technology. It has to be driven by citizens

It might not even occur to you these days, but the Covid pandemic has helped make a number of technological solutions a common part of our lives. Online video calls, the ability to collectively manage files remotely, plus lots of other specific tools for various fields. Yet the one place that progress does not seem to have reached is Czech state administration. There is far more talk about digital transformation than there is action. How come? This is precisely what Milan Sameš, CEO of Aricoma, the largest IT player on the Czech market and central Europe region, ponders in this interview. According to him, digital transformation is merely a consequence. First of all, we need to see some major legislative changes and a shift in how we think.