Fivespark: ‘Accessible solutions are crucial in the complex IT landscape’

‘We take care of the entire management of IT and communication systems, ensuring that our customers don’t have to worry about a thing,’ summarises Kees van Bemmel (CTO and responsible for the software development branch). A little later, he explains that the first part of the name Fivespark stands for the company’s five main services: connectivity, IT management, hardware, software development and adoption.

Tessa Groen (CMO and responsible for the hardware division) talks about these main services. “Connectivity includes mobile and fixed telephony, internet lines and fibre optics. We do this together with our partners KPN and Vodafone. We also manage workstations, servers and even existing customised applications. Hardware covers a wide range of products. As a customer, you can easily order these and they are usually delivered the next day.”

Customised software

Software development is an important distinguishing feature for Fivespark. Van Bemmel: ‘We have noticed that many SMEs find it difficult to fully seal off their work with standard software. We carry out custom projects based on specific customer requests. But we have also built our own solutions.’ He mentions the most important one: Composable Data Hub. “Customers use this to keep their data flows healthy. This prevents one system from containing different customer data than another, which is very inefficient. There is a great need for this, especially among smaller organisations. They are increasingly opting for SaaS solutions because they are relatively inexpensive and very strong in one particular area. But data naturally flows throughout your entire organisation. With the Composable Data Hub, that data remains the same everywhere, in an automated way, without employees having to do a lot of repetitive work.”

That leaves one main service: adoption. Fivespark is very committed to this. Groen emphasises its importance: “Adoption is a core aspect of our service. Our philosophy is “Keep it simple”. We strive to make all the solutions we offer intuitive and accessible. This is essential in the complex IT landscape, because if technology is not user-friendly, people will not make optimal use of it. Adoption has everything to do with end-user satisfaction: the higher the satisfaction, the better the working atmosphere. This ensures that the technology is not only accepted but also embraced, which is crucial to our success.”

Demonstrating AI

AI can play a significant role in keeping things simple. Van Bemmel: ‘Many SMEs still have no idea what is possible with generative AI. Only when we show customers what it can do for them does it sink in. Then they realise how it can make things simpler.’ He gives an example. “Our service desk employs people who are very good at solving complex problems. They used to spend a lot of time on things they didn’t really want to deal with, such as categorising tickets. Our software developers got to work on this, with the help of artificial intelligence. The result is a solution that recognises whether tickets are high priority and assesses which employee is best suited to a particular type of problem. This frees people up from tedious work so they can do more challenging things.” Groen: ‘When we show this to customers, they immediately see the added value. They can then come up with ideas that apply to their own organisation. That’s exactly why we’re organising our annual “Not A Buzz” event at the end of June. Here, we’ll show what buzzwords such as AI can mean in concrete terms for organisations.’

Security is, of course, also a frequent topic of discussion. Van Bemmel: ‘Here too, it is important that we make it concrete for customers. For example, we use pen tests to show them where their vulnerabilities lie and how we can resolve them.’

VR glasses

‘Customers are also finding it increasingly important to dispose of their old hardware in a responsible manner,’ Groen notes. “We often get questions about this. We can arrange for hardware to be collected, after which we wipe the data in a certified manner and refurbish or recycle the product. The residual value can be donated to charity or used to purchase new devices. Companies that purchase new hardware can also opt for e-waste compensation with us. They pay a few pounds more at the time of purchase, which is used to reduce the waste pile of old devices, in this case in Africa.”

Van Bemmel sees another development. “There is an increasing market for VR (virtual reality, ed.), MR (mixed reality, ed.) and XR (extended reality, ed.). We recently became a partner of Meta for this purpose. It is often still wrongly linked to gaming, but there are many possible use cases. Think of specialist engineers who can watch remotely, so they no longer have to be physically present everywhere. But I also know stories of people who have to work on a drilling platform for long periods of time and who can talk to their partner or children through VR glasses, as if they were standing next to them.”

Smart choices

One example of how Fivespark makes life easier for customers is STEF Nederland, part of the STEF Group, which is the market leader in temperature-controlled logistics. Van Bemmel explains: “Our customer relied heavily on a customised application that was essential to their business operations, but at the same time challenging to manage and host. We have now taken over the hosting, perform the functional management and implement adjustments. More than that, we optimise the application in such a way that it not only functions, but also provides insight into their business processes. This enables the customer to make informed and smart decisions, which significantly simplifies their daily operations.”

Kees van Bemmel on Protinus: ‘We have been working with Protinus since 2017, including on hardware deals for large organisations. Protinus can respond quickly, as was recently the case when a company wanted a large number of smartwatches for its employees. They are also strong in tendering processes: they know all the rules and have a great deal of substantive knowledge.’

Tessa Groen (CMO) and Kees van Bemmel (CTO)