Introduction CEO's report

Patrik Boman interview

Mr Boman, you're a new CEO at Cybercom with a hectic year behind you. For example, the company went from 400 to 1,850 employees. How would you describe 2007?

A fantastic, exciting year for me and the entire company. We took this company from being a medium-sized Swedish consultancy to one of the leading Nordic consultancies.

Considering your market and its trends, what's happening there?

We've seen various trends. One is heavy demand within IT and technological development in general. And two: there's heavy demand for global service deliveries. The Nordics' large consulting purchasers place many projects outside Sweden. To participate on this market and compete for large projects and assignments, we need delivery capacity in Asia, eastern Europe, and India - plus a few other places.

What key changes in the operation would you like to highlight?

The biggest changes are really about building a totally new company, for which we developed a new vision, new strategies, and new objectives. We work much better and more consistently in teams among the companies, countries, and offices.

What does the new Cybercom look like today?

We have 27 companies in 11 countries. We have a strong presence in Finland and Sweden, and Cybercom is one of the largest consultancies in the Nordics. We have an office in China, which is one of the larger growth markets in the world. And we have operations in the Middle East, Africa, and in several locations in eastern Europe.

What did acquisitions in 2007 contribute to the operation?

Delivery capacity improved, our skills base is larger, and we're able to make greater commitments and take on much larger projects in general. The acquisitions have greatly enhanced our market visibility, improved our position, and strengthened our trademark.

The largest acquisition last year was auSystems operations in Denmark, Poland, and Sweden. How did integration go?

I'm very satisfied with how auSystems was integrated into the company. We began in June of last year and were finished in late autumn - after implementing joint localisation of the larger operations in Stockholm, Malmö, and Linköping. We made cultural analyses to look, for example, at the industrial fit of customers, values, and staff issues.

Do the operations function together?

The operations meshed very well. There was no overlap among customer bases. And in a purely operational and cultural sense, there was uniformity in working methods, engineering skills, CRM, and HR management - so it worked incredibly well.

What lessons learned apply to the next integration?

We will definitely integrate more quickly and efficiently. We learned a lot in a large integration. The next integration will be Plenware - which we recently bought - and that one will go even more smoothly.

Regarding last year's objectives, did you achieve them?

Absolutely. During 2007, we doubled sales and profit. We widened our margins and reported 12% organic growth. We made a large acquisition and implemented a successful integration. We strengthened our market position. And we generated greater national and international market recognition.

How would you summarise the year?

We created lasting value for our customers, employees, and shareholders.

Going forward, what is the outlook for Cybercom?

I think it's good. Strong underlying demand characterises the market. We'll see more internationalisation, extensive international growth, and continued expansion.