Your IT Service Company‘s Goal Should Be Productivity and

BUSINESS Your IT Service Company‘s Goal Should Be Productivity and Simplicity AUSYS was established in September 1997. Soon it will recognize twenty-five years of service in the field of information technologies, focusing on system integration and IT outsourcing. Petr Šebesta, the company‘s CEO, adds, “I dare to say that we are able to resolve any problem in this field for our clients. And this is not the only thing. We help companies to survive in an extremely dynamic market. In short: our mission is to increase the productivity of the companies through IT.” How much has the importance of information technologies in company processes changed over the twenty-five years of your company’s existence? There was not a big change from the physical point of view. Twenty-five years ago, you still had a screen on your desk, a keyboard in front of you, a mouse next to it and an operating system in your computer. But radical changes happened in the economy of its operation. Back in the day, the person‘s salary was three thousand Czech crowns and the computer cost a hundred thousand. Today, the employee‘s salary is fifty thousand Czech Crowns and the computer costs twenty thousand. This means one thing: the PC has become a completely common tool; no desk in the office can be without it. And because of that it is seen, unfortunately, as “administrative costs” that have to be minimized. Previously, the field of information technologies was seen from the scientific point of view. Today, a company‘s management sees IT as an essential part of company processes, but does not understand its importance in the sense of profits--as it is understood with trade, for example. Our company considers information technology to be the means that participate in the production of value as well as machinery, material or people. And the importance of IT in company processes should correspond with that. Unfortunately, it is normal for many managers to pay a million for a company car, but not for a quality information system. Can you describe what services you offer your clients and why professional support is important in IT processes? We try to help them with the productive deployment of IT and the organization of related work more than “just” with the resolution of technical problems during operation. A bigger part of our work is the solution of organizational issues related to the deployment and economy of IT operations. We want to be seen by our client more as partners for company development than just a technical service for computers. Only such a form of professional support will bring companies an increase in productivity through IT. Do you think it will be possible to run a company without the substantial use of information technology? Such companies have mostly already disappeared from the market--ten years ago. Some of them “somehow” survived even with “half-working” IT, but they use mostly stolen products. They didn‘t pay for any software or 32 ǀ POSITIV 4/2020 services, everything is cracked, and therefore also outdated. They still work somehow, but just barely. Those who pay for all these items need to focus on productivity to survive. If not, they will fall into the area where they won‘t be able to pay the licenses for SW and related services, so they will have to use tools intended for home users or school kids. This is why it is necessary to demand a productivity increase from IT. And for that it is not enough that the IT just works. Most importantly, its optimal connection to other company processes must work well. Productivity increase is therefore the reason why companies should strive for the largest interconnection between their company processes and IT possible? Yes. In the past, everyone focused on one task. They did it and when they got it done, they rested for a while and then continued. Today, a generation has grown up which is capable of solving multiple tasks in parallel. They can transfer from one to another and adapt very quickly. Much