We’ve learned a lot and we know we can be useful
The yearly edition of the Bulgarian newspaper Capital K100 focuses on CEO stories, endorsements, and strategies within different industries. Telelink Business Services CEO Ivan Zhitiyanov shares insights about our latest growth plans in the UK and Germany. He talks more about the opportunities and challenges the company tackles in these dynamic markets and how we’re navigating them to drive long-term success. One of the highlights is our portfolio extension with cutting-edge Data and AI capabilities and its development.
The regional IT market and our expansion strategy
The regional market faces a supply-demand imbalance, created by a shortage of companies capable of successfully combining scale of knowledge and market scale. The dynamics are further influenced by significant EU investments in digitalization, currently reshaping market opportunities.
Our strategy focuses on solidifying our presence in the region, particularly in Croatia, Slovenia, and Romania, while targeting Western markets like Germany and the UK for growth. Establishing credibility and achieving a sustainable return on investment in these markets, remains challenging without acquiring a local company. Such acquisitions enable us to gain market share with functioning networks and an experienced workforce. This approach strengthens our position with suppliers and partners and helps us build a trusted brand.
Companies of Interest – what are we looking for
Our investment strategy prioritizes companies with a core business closely aligned with our own, as this facilitates seamless integration. SedamIT, the Croatian company we acquired, operates in compatibility with our business model, but on a different scale. It also offers some services we currently lack, but it’s a small percentage of the whole portfolio. We aim to enhance Sedam Its activities and expertise, fostering synergies that drive mutual success.
While our primary focus remains on companies with aligned core activities, we actively seek opportunities to acquire firms offering complementary knowledge and experience in innovative or adjacent fields. Currently, we are exploring a potential acquisition in Slovenia, where approximately 30% of the business lies outside our traditional expertise but presents compelling prospects.
Merge Models – alignment is the key
Navigating acquisitions is a new endeavor for us, but we are deeply committed to identifying the right companies and seamlessly integrating their portfolios into ours. We strive to create a unified organization across all markets. With SedamIT, we’ve set a two-year timeline for full integration, focusing initially on harmonizing tools (ERP, CRM, ITSM) and aligning accounting and legal practices. Six months in, we are 60% complete.
Our vision is for Eastern European subsidiaries to rank among the top five in their markets, excelling in implementation projects by leveraging group-wide expertise and resources. We aim to attract top talent with attractive opportunities. Support and managed services will remain centralized in Bulgaria, boosted by our own TBS Academy, which trains and integrates 15 IT infrastructure professionals quarterly, ensuring scalability and the ability to meet client demands effectively.
Western Market and its Challenges
Our interest in expanding into Western markets originates in our successful collaborations and references from clients in the region. We are well-equipped to deliver, leveraging our capacity and expertise and focus on niche services that are lower priorities for our target clients and less contested by competitors. Our primary goal is to offer management of IT infrastructure for small and medium-sized enterprises. Although we can provide comprehensive solutions in Data, AI, and Automation, we believe for now, that these are ineffective entry points. Instead, we offer nearshore services, guaranteeing quality, flexibility, attention to detail, and strong English proficiency—at a price similar or even better compared to providers such as those in India.
With a current team of 500, we anticipate doubling this capacity to 1 000 through acquisitions. This growth will establish us as a credible player in Western Europe, ready to deal with operational demands and deliver expertise at scale.
Our efforts in Data automation & AI
Our concept includes diverse growth aspects. Currently, we focus on identifying how we can best contribute to Eastern European markets. Unlike Western Europe, where data has been accumulated and digitized over centuries, Eastern Europe lacks a strong tradition in this area. Limited efforts by companies and governments to build robust datasets have slowed the adoption of advanced technologies. Additionally, challenges such as insufficient scale and skepticism about the benefits of these solutions further postpone the progress.
Implementing Data Automation & AI
Our approach begins with data research and pilot projects, progressing to alignment with internal processes to deliver efficient results. The objective is to establish a proven path to success – a proof of concept.
We also focus on AI implementation using large language models, tailoring solutions to customer needs through training on available data. A dedicated team is driving these efforts, bringing forward the value and sustainability of such innovations. By demonstrating the long-term benefits, we’d like to showcase the transformative potential of these technologies.
Read the full article: https://www.capital.bg/biznes/tehnologii_i_nauka/2024/10/07/4685460_nauchihme_mnogo_i_viarvame_che_mojem_da_budem_polezni/
