“Especially innovative IT companies like ameria need a good company culture and a permanent communication. Integrating Zyncro within our infrastructure helps us to improve the internal communication and thus helps us to become even more innovative” says Albrecht Metter, CEO ameria GmbH.

Zyncro solutions can also be easily integrated in leading Business-Management-Systems or tools like SAP ERP, SharePoint or Google Analytics. In addition to the offices in Spain and European countries, North- and South America as well as Asia, the experts for social business networks are currently opening an office in Germany. As official reseller of Zyncro ameria is actively supporting the distribution of the product in Germany.

To kick-off a long term partnership the companies presented their innovative products together on a shared stand at CeBIT. The fair was a success for both: Not only were many new contacts established but also their partnership strengthened.

For further information on Zyncro solutions for social networks please visit:http://www.zyncro.com/en/overview/solutions>

“Hi, I am Lena. Welcome to Hirsch & Ille!“ This is how Lena greets passersby and interested clients in Mannheim. Though, Lena is only a hologram in the shopping window, the success of the Virtual & Interactive Promoter (VIP) has already been proven. “Lena has become an important co-worker. She is always friendly, dedicated and on duty, even after closing time. Furthermore, she attracts new clients who come with great curiosity into the shop and ask about Lena and the technology behind her”, says Michael Hirsch, managing director of Hirsch + Ille Mannheim GmbH. The company sells TV and hi-fi products.

The VIP is only controlled by hand moves and gestures. “When Lena knocks on the window, it sounds so realistic that even sometimes passersby on the other side cross the street with huge interest. Another benefit: Even after the closing time clients can prospect and reserve products offered in the shop and pick them up the very next day”, tells Michael Hirsch.

This pilot project is a proprietary development of ameria GmbH, Heidelberg, that also provides the technical equipment for it. With help of a projector, a fully transparent foil, motion detection device and appropriate software the new digital co-worker appears so realistic.

“The VIP can be used at trade shows or exhibitions as well to attract attention and keep visitors. Thanks to the application control via gestures there is no fear of contact anymore caused by touchscreens or other haptic control devices”, says Albrecht Metter, managing director of ameria GmbH. Another field of application could be an entrance hall of a company: products or even the company story could already be presented in an interactive way in the reception area.

It is possible to experience and try out the pilot project live in the shop window of Hirsch and Ille, N 5, 11-13 in 68161 Mannheim till the end of March.

Here you learn more about the Virtual & Interactive Promoter>

or watch the video on the ameria youtube channel>

The ISO 9001 certification awards those companies that convince through a detailed quality management process reflected in every sub process of the company.

The ameria GmbH distinguishes itself through continuous improvement processes with sustainable outputs – standardised workflows, processes and policies help us to establish an internal quality assurance. Accomplishing the ISO norm shows clearly that client orientation and quality are of high importance throughout all our departments. The ameria quality management system has undergone the examination and evaluation of the Excc GmbH. The examining auditor came to a very clear conclusion: ameria exceeded the ISO 9001 requirements in all aspects.

“With the successful ISO 9001 certification in July 2012 another important step towards our sustainable process optimisation has been done!” confirms Christian Enßlen (ameria Operations Manager).  

The auditor seemed to be fascinated by the distinct customer focus of the ameria GmbH: Through developed processes in project controlling, customer feedback is obtained on a regular basis and used for the continuous improvement of services. For the company ‘quality’ means not only covering clients’ demands, but to constantly exceed clients’ expectations. Thus the ameria GmbH continuously increases client satisfaction.

In addition, the ISO certification ensures through yearly audits that processes, services and client orientation of the ameria GmbH will continue to be reviewed and improved in the future.

Conditions for qualifications in the Microsoft and Adobe Partner Programmes are demonstrated levels of customer satisfaction, reference projects and certified employees. Microsoft awards only those companies as competence partners, who distinguish themselves through a constantly outstanding performance and highest commitment in their area of expertise. The Gold Status is the highest status that can be reached in the Microsoft Partner Programme.

Through many years of experience with Microsoft the ameria GmbH managed to meet the high requirements of this certification. During the past year again many solutions based on the programming language .NET have been developed and implemented by ameria. From industrial simulations to innovative marketing campaigns with Xbox 360/Kinect, more and more clients count on the Microsoft expertise of the ameria GmbH.

The Microsoft Gold and the Adobe Silver partnerships underline the high quality of ameria services in the individual software development. Newest Technologies, expert know-how and efficient processes enable the ameria GmbH to offer its clients innovative high quality solutions fast and reliably.

“We are proud of the certifications from our competence partners Microsoft and Adobe”, Albrecht Metter (CEO of the ameria GmbH) points out. “This confirms our current course to constantly reinvest in new technologies, improving our processes as well as qualifications of our employees.”

ameria: German-Ukrainian Software Company Everything started over ten years ago, from the contact of the city Heidelberg to Simferopol in Crimea. Back then when two computer freaks from these cities  got to know each other while studying economics in Heidelberg, the decision to found  an own company was made very quickly. In 2001 Albrecht Metter from Heidelberg and Dimitri Belich from Ukraine established the company called Ameria, in Heidelberg as a GmbH, in Simferopol as the Ukrainian pendant of the GmbH called TOV. A 35 square meters digs in the historic city center served as the office in Heidelberg and also was the place where Albrecht Metter had to live. A typical start-up story that has just celebrated its ten years anniversary.  At the moment the company has 165 employees at both locations and the duties are clearly separated between Ukraine and Heidelberg. In Heidelberg these are 15 people of top- and project management while in Simferopol 150 IT developers and engineers are creating software by the order of the company in Heidelberg. Back then they started designing homepages for companies; nowadays they are developing software for the mobile end applications of the customers. On the one hand, ameria’s reason to establish the subsidiary company in Ukraine was 50 percent lower labor cost there, on the other hand, the shortage of IT specialists in Germany. “There you are considered to be “cool” when you´re good at mathematics, here in Germany you are labeled as a swot“, so the Albrecht Metter’s explanation.

The technology-, outsourcing- and consulting company in the IT-area is managed by the founders by Dimitry Belich and Albrecht Metter and celebrates in this month its 10-years Company anniversary. In 2011 the ameria GmbH employs in Germany and in Ukraine around 165 employees that work at national and international IT-Projects. With experience of 875.000 hours of successful project work ameria GmbH creates individual solutions that are used by more than million Users in 37 countries.

Middle class companies belong to its customer circle, but also operating group of companies like Realtech and Bosch. Individual systems oriented on the customers appear through the application of agile programming methods, Best Practices and standards combined with a wide branch and domains Know-how.

ameria builds the complete value creation process in the Software development. IT consulting and strategy, specialist concepts and requirement engineering, development and rollout belong to that as well as the operation of server- and Client-landscapes. The quality assurance and continuous improvement play an important role in all phases.

The global Sourcing- and Delivery-Model of ameria offers to its customers high quality standards and flexibility. Beside the contracts ameria offers innovative models of managed-, lean- and dedicated-Service in the area outsourcing though Nearshoring. The IT-specialists of ameria can strengthen the connection possibilities according to the demand of the customer.

Further information you can find on www.ameria.de.

The comprehensive business software is accessible via internet and covers all business processes making on-site installation unnecessary. Many visitors were listening when Metter outlined the reasons why ameria relies on cloud computing: "Each year our company growth has been steady in the double-digit range. That’s why we must be able to easily integrate new employees and maintain a broad overview. SAP Business ByDesign is ideal for this," said Metter. ameria has replaced several legacy systems and excel spreadsheets all at once. "Our team leaders and I travel a lot. With the new business solution we can access data from any place at any time and manage our projects more exactly," explained Metter. As he did a few weeks ago at the event of the German Society for Project Management (GPM), Metter also emphasized here: “Implementing a new ERP solution changes your company structures in order to make it even more profitable. SAP Business ByDesign helps anyone who wants to do so.”

„Our business growth has been tremendous in recent years. In order to proceed this way, we needed an integrated business software”, emphasized Metter. That’s why ameria GmbH implemented SAP Business ByDesign last year. Numerous guests took part at the event on 20th April in Mannheim, jointly hosted by the GPM and SAP partner Data One GmbH in order to gain insights about this innovative on-demand solution. SAP Business ByDesign is more than an ERP solution – it includes applications for a comprehensive customer relationship management, project management as well as numerous reporting tools. On-site implementation is unnecessary since the solution is easily accessible via internet.

"We have replaced our different systems and Excel spreadsheets and transferred the data into a single solution," described Metter. The implementation was completed in record time – only seven weeks from project initiation to the go-live phase. “Our IT manager was released for this work. That’s what made the quick implementation possible,” stressed Metter. First experience was positive: Projects can be carried out more efficiently and the management board is able to get quick survey of the latest key figures. Moreover, Metter highlights: "An ERP implementation is always accompanied by new rules and processes. This means that you have to communicate those clearly to your whole company.”

"Managed nearshoring efficiently connects teams in local companies and developers from neighboring countries", says Ensslen in front of a great audience. This lecture was part of the research project "GlobaliSE" – a panel study exploring the possibilities of distributed software development. Its results were presented in Karlsruhe.

Ensslen, a practice-oriented business man, perceives “the project manager as the intermediary for internationally distributed projects as well as hinge connecting various business units.” The key for success is a trusted communication, supported by approved project management tools.

In addition to Christian Ensslen, representatives from industry and science such as Rüdiger Marwein (21TORR Interactive GmbH), Prof. Armin Heinzl (University of Mannheim, Germany) and Hans-Jörg Happel (Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe computer science) also gave presentations on the subject from different perspectives.

For the third time already the Trend Congress took place in the rooms of the exhibition Karlsruhe on 7th and 8th April. Under the topic "Business-IT as a Service”, numerous experts, innovative IT vendors and CIOs of IT companies reported on current trends in information and communication technologies.

ameria GmbH is growing at a rapid pace – on average by up to 100 percent annually: new customers, new projects, new employees. “We can only maintain this tempo if we continue to work in the same structured way as before,” says CEO Albrecht Metter. To this end, the IT service provider has introduced an integrated ERP system to optimize its business processes: SAP Business ByDesign. The software is simply accessed via internet. It requires no costly servers and new users can be added at any time. Implementation was completed in the record time of just seven weeks. “With the SAP Business ByDesign on-demand solution we now always know precisely where we are,” Metter says.

A key criterion in selecting the software was that external service providers could also be integrated quickly and simply in project management. It is hosted in SAP’s modern computer centers from where its experts service, back up and upgrade the system. Metter: “It allows us to concentrate on our core competencies and projects.” Project manager Christian Ensslen is delighted: “It’s our all-singing all-dancing service package and has enabled us to build on our expertise in the ERP area. ameria is now on demand, too.”

Since the beta version went live in March 2010, ameria has not stopped developing the online ticket system powered exclusively by Java. Event organizers benefit from a complete and exclusive all-round service that enables them to design their admission tickets as they wish and market them via their own webshops. Tickets can simply be booked, paid for and printed out at home with the greatest of ease. What’s more, the printed barcodes speed up the admission process.

Under the headline “Gone too far,” the authors reveal how the global distribution of labor is reaching its limits and looking for alternatives. One of them is nearshoring – the outsourcing of business processes to nearby countries. It gives SMEs above all numerous advantages. As a practical example, the article showcases the cooperation between ameria and the startup Matchworx. One result of it was the fan site for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa: Fan2010.com.

Read the complete article here.>

“Two-thirds of all companies are desperately in need of qualified IT specialists – a demand that can no longer be satisfied in the long term by the numbers of graduates,” explained Albrecht Metter, founder and head of IT service provider ameria GmbH. This prevents small and mid-sized companies more than any in realizing innovations and continued growth. One solution is specialized programming teams from nearby countries. In this model, top IT professionals in neighboring countries work closely with German companies. Considered a model for success for many years already in the US and Mexico, it is now increasingly in the spotlight in Europe, too.

Heidelberg-based ameria GmbH supplies SMEs and large corporations with highly qualified IT specialists who work at affordable conditions in the nearby countries in Europe. The company already employs over 100 developers and designer in the Crimea. “Managed nearshoring brings the customer’s team and our developers together efficiently,” explained Metter. “Our project managers in Heidelberg act as the bridgehead to ensure smooth communication in every project phase.” Gaby Munz, head of agency 21TORR Interactive, backed up this statement in her presentation of her company’s cooperation with ameria from a customer perspective: “Following a training period of a few months, cooperation between our project team in Reutlingen and our ameria programmers in the Crimea went very smoothly. We are now able to manage our projects faster and with top quality. We would choose nearshoring again without hesitation.” Even short-notice customer decisions and tight schedules were no obstacle. “We can reinforce the programming team whenever we want - something that gives us a genuine competitive edge,” said Munz. The fact is that qualified programmers and designers are becoming increasingly difficult to find in Germany.

In addition to practical examples, Prof. Armin Heinzl of the University of Mannheim provided insights into the opportunities and risks of nearshoring: “It is a disaster that German companies are unable to find qualified IT talents. This is the fault of our education policy,” stressed the bwcon chairman. Distributed software development was one way of countering this shortage in skills, he said, adding: “What is important is that knowledge of outsourcing processes is raised in SMEs and that prejudices are systematically flushed out.” As part of a research project, he is currently developing a decision-making matrix to help companies determine which modules of a software architecture can be programmed in partnership with other teams. After all, not all parts of a project are suitable for passing to a foreign team. “We must industrialize software production, as the only way to ensure that long-term innovations are realized in the first place.” Although the cost advantages of nearshoring are evident, it is an argument that can be discounted, said Heinzl.

Before the event in the Print Media Lounge ended, the three speakers left guests with their conviction that even if companies are forced to invest a great deal of time in processes, distributed software development with international teams pays off in the long term.

Download this article in PDF format>

As a successful example, the finance magazine throws the spotlight on the teamwork between the ameria programmers in Simferopol and communication agency GSW Europe. To ensure effective cooperation, the distributed teams in Freiburg and Ukraine’s Silicon Valley use a project platform designed especially for the purpose augmented by Web conferences. Regular meetings in workshops and personal exchanges complete the flexible communication setup. In concrete terms this means that GSW customers can request changes during programming that are then implemented swiftly by the Crimean specialists.

Read the complete article here.>

To find out more about nearshoring in practice, please register by March 11, 2010 via the registration form. You can look forward to exciting insights into its practical applications. Use this opportunities to exchange with entrepreneurs and decision-makers.

Learn more now>

Professor Heinzl, your new research project – GlobaliSE – is all about distributed software development around the world. What lies at its heart?

Through Project GlobaliSE we aim to develop methods and tools with companies in Baden-Württemberg that promote the development of corporate software across national borders. Such practices were previously in the domain of large companies for the most part. But there are few alternatives if small and mid-sized software companies in this country are to retain their market position. At the first Indo-German software consortium two years ago, I said that demographic developments here in Germany, the continuing shortage of skilled labor in the IT industry, the differences in the cost of labor and the outstandingly qualified IT specialists in Eastern Europe and the Far East mean that the debate is no longer about whether “nearshoring” or “offshoring” serve their purpose. Rather, the most important aspects will be the form it all takes and which countries and providers will take it up.

Let’s say that a small company is currently working on a new program and decides to realize the project with programmers in nearby countries – for example, because the costs there are far lower. Where and how would it actually locate the right developers? What would it have to watch out for?

You could talk about just this point for hours. First, though, the company must be clear what tasks it wants to outsource. Where possible, the order should not include any core competencies, be easy to describe and not relate in any great measure to specific operating processes so that the service provider is able to perform the tasks. Otherwise, there is a danger that despite a fixed price tag, costs will escalate in instructing and overseeing the service provider. We refer to these as additional costs incurred beyond the actual contract, and that can quickly cancel out the differences in labor costs. Another important parameter is the adoption of a suitable strategy when entering the procurement market. These could include service contracts, joint ventures or setting up subsidiaries in the procurement markets themselves. When the processes and functions required by the corporate software are highly specific, we are increasingly seeing small and mid-sized software founding their own subsidiaries in Eastern Europe as a possible procurement strategy. In my experience, companies are well advised to work with a skilled consultant on their first nearshoring or offshoring projects. They can provide valuable services in clarifying questions of location, the service provider and the legal framework, or actively support the first projects. Another interesting option appears to be the inclusion of near- or offshoring companies whose (project) management is based in Germany and who have built up significant development capacities in other countries.

What consequences for work does outsourcing of part of software development have for a small IT company?

You first have to organize the cross-border distribution of work, something that often goes hand-in-hand with a more pronounced formalization of work steps. Second, you have to learn to plan and coordinate the development activities of outsiders. Finally, the intercultural abilities of the company’s own employees has to be developed since different cultural factors have to be considered in the procurement markets that may be decisive to a project’s success or failure.

Doesn’t outsourcing programming activities endanger jobs in this country? Or does it perhaps represent an opportunity for the IT sector in Germany because applications can now be as efficiently produced as other industrial goods?

Globalization of the economy means that the work will always be where it can be performed most efficiently and/or effectively with a view to sales markets. That is no different in the software sector than it is in the auto industry. Jobs may be affected, especially when a company is faced with strong competition. Conversely, for companies that back a differentiation strategy by offering solutions for highly specific business processes that are unavailable anywhere else, near- and/or offshoring may become an integral part of their growth strategy and thus open up opportunities. In our experience, successful small and mid-sized companies in Germany are increasingly traveling this route more than any.

Apart from that, the development of highly specific solutions is placing restraints on the industrialization of software development. Highly specific solutions cannot be developed “linearly” according to a phase model, but require intensive and dynamic interaction with the customer along the lines of agile development methods. In this respect, companies in Germany would be well advised to continue in their development of specific solutions since the capacity of providers in emerging countries to imitate them is limited.

In spite of the current state of the global economy, is the lack of IT specialists still a problem? The universities in the metropolises do, after all, look good...

The problem is still serious. Despite the crisis and outstanding cooperation between universities, companies in the region are establishing subsidiaries in Eastern Europe to access qualified professionals. This should be taken very seriously! The region is certainly in good shape considering its capacities. But what good are these capacities if the number of students in this discipline are on the decline? The affinity to “hard” subjects with a technical flavor continues to decline among young people, and is leading to negative consequences.

I believe that the metropolitan region would be well advised to initiate a publicity campaign aimed at young people (and their parents) that should clearly express that we have plenty to offer in the area of opportunities in corporate software and that the region’s universities and companies offer outstanding education options. High schools also play a key role in laying the groundwork for later demanding technical studies. Unfortunately, the G8 has led to a reduction or even the disappearance of meaningful IT curricula and classes in many schedules. I keep asking myself how this could happen in this country.

What significance will software development have for the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region in 2019?

I hope that its significance in 2019 will be nothing what it is in 2009. As things stand, something over 3% of employees in Baden-Württemberg generate 15% of its GDP. To improve this situation, we must quickly and permanently change the problems I mentioned above with regard to young people’s demand for further education. If we do not manage this, corporate software providers face a similar development as our once-successful CAD software providers. This must be avoided by all available means.

IT & Business puts the spotlight on business software for SMEs. At Stand 1B42 in Hall 1, visitors can find out more about the benefits of distributed software development and the use of managed nearshoring in practice. ameria will also be giving exclusive insights into its new web-to-print solutions. More than 280 exhibitors will present their solutions and services over these three days on the grounds of the Stuttgart trade show. A top-flight fringe program with specialist forums, special exhibitions, theme parks, guided tours and practice units complete the offering.

Be there! ameria is giving away ten free tickets for the fall IT event in Baden-Württemberg. Simply send an e-mail with your name and address to: info(at)ameria.de>

For more information see www.itandbusiness.de>

Heidelberg/Karlsruhe/Mannheim. Small and mid-sized software companies to remain a driver behind Baden-Württemberg’s success. With immediate effect, Heidelberg-based ameria GmbH will support the GlobaliSE international research project hosted by the IT Research Center (FZI), a joint venture of the universities of Karlsruhe (TH) and Mannheim. “ameria GmbH has concentrated know-how when it comes to distributed software development. We are delighted to have the company on board as a hands-on partner,” says project manager Ralf Trunko of the FZI.

The project by the corporate IT research network is being funded with around 1.4 million euros from the state of Baden‐Württemberg’s Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts over the next three years. The aim of GlobaliSE, which stands for Globalized Software Development, is to develop recommendations for action to help SMEs organize global distributed development of software to best effect. Software houses should be shown ways to play out their specific strengths even in the face of extreme competitive pressure.

The fact is the shortage of professionals on the home market is a growing challenge to the software industry. Even during economic downturns, IT professionals and programmers with special knowledge are expensive and difficult to find. Key strategic projects can often no longer be realized, or, if they can, only with delays or at high cost. As a result, more and more SMEs in the state are outsourcing their computing tasks to countries which have sufficient numbers of professionals available, for example, in Eastern Europe or the Far East. Another benefit is that the wages in these locations are far lower.

The distances, time zones and cultural proximity speak in favor of outsourcing to nearby countries in Europe, and is referred to as nearshoring. But which activities are best suited for outsourcing? What should SMEs look for when contemplating a nearshoring project? And how can outsourcing programming activities actually raise productivity in Baden-Württemberg? The research project will be exploring these questions in detail in the coming years.

In the process, the experts and project managers at ameria GmbH are giving the scientists insights into their own managed nearshoring model. In it, the project managers in Heidelberg supervise the developers at the company’s base in Simferopol on the Crimea. Customers can access capacities quickly and flexibly, book their own teams or augment their existing team with a specialist developer. CEO and founder Albrecht Metter knows from experience: “For many companies, nearshoring is the only way of countering the skills shortage and realizing projects quickly and with high quality. This in turn creates competitive advantages.” Prof. Armin Heinzl of the University of Mannheim already sees the positive of this type of cooperation: “Initial talks with the ameria manager were very fruitful. We will now be working on drawing up clear recommendations for companies so that we can provide them with better support in the efficient development of software.”

ameria GmbH is a pioneer in IT nearshoring and since 2001 has stood for top-quality software development at affordable prices. The company currently employs around 100 managers and developers in Heidelberg and its partner city Simferopol in the Crimea.

Under the headline “Software from the Crimea,” a practical example reveals the benefits of managed nearshoring. Bosch-Rexroth has developed and rolled out a complex sales program across Germany using nearshore capacities. This year the international version of the application should go live, too, and is also being developed together with the IT experts at ameria. Read more in issue 7/8 of IT-Director, now at newsstands. www.it-director.de>

Mannheim. “When the customer says ‘no’ the first time, that’s when the sell really begins. You cannot let up,” says Martin Boll, owner of Futura International Solutions, a software house specializing in retail applications. Boll was previously CEO of Steeb Anwendungssysteme GmbH and later head of SAP AG’s customer service, so he knows from long experience what he is talking about. More than 50 startup founders and young businesspeople from the Rhine-Neckar region listened attentively when they attended the Baden-Württemberg: connected (bwcon) business initiative and the MAFINEX Entrepreneur Startup Network Rhein-Neckar in the new building of the MAFINEX Technology Center in Mannheim at the invitation of the state. There three successful company heads gave their personal answers to the question of how to gain new customers as entrepreneurs? “Customer acquisition is the biggest hurdle for startups. We aim to make it easy for them to benefit from the knowledge of experienced entrepreneurs and at the same time to network among themselves,” says Dr. Andreas Findeis, Project Manager Coach & Connect at bwcon.

Networking bears fruit, as the example of Albrecht Metter demonstrates. Even during his studies in 2001, Metter, 30, had already begun to set up his own software company. His ameria GmbH supplies SMEs and large corporations with highly qualified IT specialists who work at affordable conditions in the nearby European countries, known as “nearshoring” in the jargon. The company currently employs around 100 managers and developers in Heidelberg and its partner city Simferopol in the Crimea. “We met our first customers at events like these,” says Metter. The final breakthrough came with a large order for an international consumer goods producer, and since then the company has grown annually by 60 and more percent. His advice to the audience: “You are ambassadors 24 hours a day for your own company. You can meet potential customers anywhere. So don’t stop communicating and talk with as many people as you can about your business – this is the most successful marketing method, especially at the start.

Jürgen Müller, owner of Viamedici Software GmbH in Ettlingen, supports his acquisition with attractive commissions for sales workers - and with software. “When we set up, we first acquired a program that we could use to administer our customer relations systematically,” he recalls. Viamedici produces an IT solution for cross-media publishing for use in producing large product catalogs more efficiently, for example. “Nothing’s easy to start. Once you have your first customers, always ask them to recommend you to others and in this way open doors. This was our recipe for success,” Müller says. Before the event in the MAFINEX50 atrium with a sociable finger food buffet, the three speakers were unanimous in giving the young entrepreneurs another piece of advice for the journey into business: “Regardless of how good the prospects for your business may be: never ever risk your liquidity.”

Download this article in PDF format.>