INKISH.NEWS -

At drupa 2016 I accidentally bumped into Mathias Erlandsson from OMIKAI. You may ask who he is? You may ask, what is OMIKAI? You may ask, why should I read any further?

And you are right - most people outside Sweden don't know Mathias Erlandsson or OMIKAI. OMIKAI is though it may lead your thoughts to a Japanese name, a constructed name, and is not Japanese at all. In the film, CEO Mathias Erlandsson explains about the name so that I won't reveal here.

OMIKAI is an MIS system. MIS is a term that is used everywhere, but do you know what it stands for? MIS is short for Management Information System. Hmm. I take that this explanation didn't make any of us any wiser?

In our industry MIS systems are mostly an administrative system, and rather than being an ERP solution - which is short for an Enterprise Resource Planning solution, the ERP typically handles the bookkeeping and finances. MIS is mostly used for quotes, planning, and integration of workflow solutions, so orders and files are managed to secure efficiency.

There are hundreds if not thousands of MIS solutions in the market, so why do I find OMIKAI interesting?

There are a couple of reasons. First, the philosophy is to make a hosted only solution. All customers have the same version, so the adaption of software that many printing companies expect are eliminated. New features are developed and delivered to all customers. This obviously, enables OMIKAI only to maintain one codebase being more efficient and spending less time on customizing each customers solution. But it also allows the company to update/upgrade solutions to all customers quick and more painless than usual. This also reflects in a lower TCO.

This probably also applies to several other MIS/ERP suppliers.

I got to know Mathias Erlandsson and OMIKAI at an event in Sweden. Shortly after the first meeting, I realized that one of the significant investors in OMIKAI is Thomas Petersson. Thomas Petersson has been working with one of the leading ERP systems in Sweden, and when the company went public, he spends some of his money on startups - like OMIKAI.

We got a chance to ask him why - some years ago. As I recall (but you can see the interview here) Thomas Petersson said that the considerable enterprise solutions will have a challenging future. The smaller, niche-focused solutions are way more agile in the development, and in the understanding of customers needs. When investors like Thomas Petersson put his money into companies like OMIKAI, I believe it's since this company is onto something!

Long story short, Mathias Erlandsson and his team have captured some quite nice customers in Sweden, a few in Norway and Finland, but being SAAS based and with a competitive set of features the company have an appetite for more. At drupa 2016 Mathias Erlandsson wasn't exhibiting. Regardless I sat down with him and had a conversation. Trying to understand what drives him and OMIKAI, resonate with some of the things I see as challenges for INKISH as well - so of course, it's interesting to learn that his predictions from back in 2016 about exhibiting at drupa 2020 now are a fact.

Looking for new partners and customers is every startup's reason to invest in an exhibition like drupa.

You can find OMIKAI in Hall 7A Booth B31

The very first 'Conversations" on INKISH.TV was with CEO Mathias Erlandsson from OMIKAI.

In this film you can hear Thomas Petersson - investor and chairman of the board in OMIKAI explaining why investing in a niche-focused MIS-solution makes sense.

Jan 27, 2020

Author: Morten B. Reitoft