When did you start working for DATAGROUP and what is your position today?
I’ve been with DATAGROUP since 2014 and I work as an executive of DATAGROUP Mobile Solutions AG. We are the Group’s specialist for customized mobility solutions, supplying numerous top companies with business-critical applications. Additionally, I am one of the Managing Directors of ALMATO GmbH. This very successful company has been part of the Group since early 2018 and is specialized in Robotic Process Automation.
How many people do you manage today?
We are a team of just under 60 people in Mobility and roughly 50 at ALMATO.
How did you join DATAGROUP?
I was one of the founders of Excelsis Business Technology AG. In 2014, we sold the company to DATAGROUP. I stayed with the company after the integration because I like DATAGROUP very much.
What do you appreciate most about DATAGROUP?
I can contribute my entrepreneurial ideas here and implement them together with other ambitious people. We are all makers and benefit from flat hierarchies, but also work closely together with the Group Management Board, which is extremely rewarding.
Characterize yourself with three keywords / in one sentence.
I am attracted to complicated tasks.
What is a situation that still makes you sweat today?
There are two things in Germany right now which I can’t put up with: 1.) The quality of our mobile phone networks and 2.) The reliability of the public transportation companies. These are situations that regularly make me sweat.
Do you have a life motto?
No, I don’t have one. However, it would probably be a good idea to have one. Constant changes driven by technology have proven to be a recurring theme throughout my working life. This is super exciting but also challenging, of course, since the pace of technological developments is picking up.
What was the biggest challenge in your career?
The development of a start-up in Singapore. Culture, customers, product – all of which was completely new for me and extremely challenging.
What event in your career makes you particularly proud?
We have developed and launched the first mobile banking system throughout Europe. This was real pioneering work.
What is the one thing you cannot do without in your working life?
The cooperation in agile and interdisciplinary teams.
From today’s point of view: What advice do you wish you had received as a novice at DATAGROUP?
Things can happen quicker than you may think!
DATAGROUP in five years – Where is it taking us? Three keywords.
AI, AI, AI. We are intensely engaged in AI applications and their impact on business processes. The leaps in development in this sector are breathtaking.
What personal goals will you set for the future at DATAGROUP?
I am working hard on beating our sport’s commissioner Sebastian Darimont in a race sometime. He must have an extremely bad day then, but I will succeed.
What would you advise to someone in their early twenties, who is currently looking for a job and is interested in IT?
I would certainly advise him or her to attach importance on a broad education. It makes little sense to only focus on current products and technologies, whose half-life is steadily decreasing. It is much more important to also – and above all – have a look at the field of methods, for instance in software engineering or project methodology.
Thank you very much for this interview Mr. Sauter!
Studies in Business Informatics and Business Studies (Master of Arts), at DATAGROUP since 2014. Researcher, Software Developer and Director of application development, project management and Managing Director in Luxembourg, Switzerland, Singapore and Australia. Since 1999 founding, building and selling several IT companies. Finally with Excelsis to DATAGROUP.