Economic Forum: Mr. Adami, what does your product cplace stand for?

Marvin Adami: cplace is 'the' solution kit for Next-Generation Project and Portfolio Management. The solution is applied, for example, for strategic projects, change mandates, or the management of changes in general. Each project is unique. One size does not fit all. Hence, standard solutions are of no help here. They work for individuals, but not anymore in a collective. Single solutions are not scalable, not audit-proof – simply not Enterprise-ready.

Economic Forum: Next-Generation is a strong claim. What exactly do you mean by that, and what approach is behind it?

Marvin Adami: When Dr. Rupert Stuffer founded our company in 2014, his aim was to completely rethink project and portfolio management with software. That's why 'Next-Generation.' He wanted to do something completely new. Our approach is based on an individual mix of methods that combines agile methods like Kanban or Scrum with classical methods. The world is spinning faster and the half-life of solutions is getting shorter. Our software thinks in short cycles and quickly adapts to current trends and market needs. Our solutions guarantee flexibility. They are jointly designed by IT and business experts. This significantly sets us apart from many providers. Collaboration and cooperation are thought of as limitless by us.

Economic Forum: Essentially, what are the key benefits of cplace?

Marvin Adami: The flexibility of our approach is a significant asset. Moreover, our system is manageable, allowing for individual advantages to be represented with a standard solution. We are fast, for example, we offer our cplace Design Sprint. In this, we spend five days in intensive workshops with clients and experts – which is also possible remotely – and afterwards, a tailored software solution is ready. Our solutions are also future-proof – we continuously develop them. To sum up: cplace stands for flexibility, speed, and adaptability.

Economic Forum: What are the current innovation topics in your company?

Marvin Adami: Currently, Artificial Intelligence is an important driver of new developments. Solutions like ChatGPT have additionally brought the topic into public focus. What's new about the interest is that it's now about efficiency. This is especially important for knowledge workers. Another significant field of innovation is Cross Company Planning. Collaboration in projects should not stop at the factory gates but should be thought of as cross-company. To this end, we are active in various labs or in exchange with clients whom we invite into our company. With the Automotive Cloud, for example, we have real use cases that bring together OEMs and suppliers. Within the framework of our collaboration approach, Shared Source has always been a topic for us for selected clients and partners. This means that we open our platform and work together with clients and partners on our software in a managed system.

Economic Forum: Which industries do you target with cplace?

Marvin Adami: In the pharmaceutical sector, the focus is on portfolio management, whereas in the automotive sector, it is more project management. Lately, we have been receiving increased inquiries from the food sector and retail. In the long term, mechanical and plant engineering will also be of interest. We also see potential in the Legal Tech sector.

Economic Forum: In which countries do you market your solution?

Marvin Adami: Currently, we are focused on the DACH region. But our clients are international. Of course, we follow them into their target countries. Our next big step will be into the USA. For this, we will raise additional growth capital.

Economic Forum: What is on your agenda for the last months of this year?

Marvin Adami: Like every year, we organized a large event at the beginning of October with over 1,000 participants. This includes both our clients as well as potential new clients and interested parties. This year, the cplace Day could take place in full size for the first time after Corona. We had exciting go-lives with us and have shown product developments in the areas of collaboration and connectivity. 

Economic Forum: Where do you see cplace in the long term in the market?

Marvin Adami: We want to be leaders in our field in the market. Our name should stand for an innovative provider that creates real added value.