Frends, a rapidly growing company with more than 240 employees and offices in the Nordics, Germany, and Singapore, has announced the appointment of Robert Pijselman as Chairman of its newly formed Supervisory Board. With a year-over-year growth of 42%, Frends offers an iPaaS platform that enables businesses to seamlessly integrate applications, APIs, and workflows. The platform connects IT with business operations, bridges departments, and enhances communication with customers.
The new governance structure fully leverages Frends’ potential and accelerates its growth. This change follows the company’s spin-off from HiQ, a portfolio company of Triton based in Stockholm. Having transitioned from a consultancy firm to a full-fledged SaaS company, Frends now offers its services through partners and directly to corporations and governments.
I am honoured to take on this role at Frends during such a dynamic time. Frends has proven to have a strong position in the rapidly evolving world of iPaaS solutions. The increasing need for real-time, consolidated information within companies and public institutions makes companies like Frends more relevant than ever. I look forward to working with the management and Supervisory Board to drive further growth and international expansion.
Robert Pijselman
Pijselman brings extensive experience in leading successful, fast-growing companies. His strategic insight and leadership will be important in taking Frends' growth to the next level. Pijselman has previously contributed to the success of various companies in the technology and IT sectors, including Software Improvement Group, EVBox, BWise, PQR and Blue Cielo. In addition to Frends, he currently serves as chairman of the board at SIG, CLEVR, and Roamler, as well as a board member at Cheops.
Founded in Finland in 1988, Frends has rapidly evolved into a global force, helping over 6,000 customers across 16 countries revolutionize their digital ecosystems. The platform enables seamless connectivity between applications, APIs, and workflows, allowing companies to streamline their cloud infrastructure and unlock growth.
"Businesses across sectors are accelerating their digital transformation efforts. As companies shift more processes to the cloud, the need for seamless integration of diverse software systems becomes crucial. This global trend presents a vast opportunity for iPaaS providers, such as Frends, to offer our integration solutions to companies seeking to streamline their cloud ecosystems and scale their businesses. We are happy to have Robert Pijselman on board to ensure our continuous growth," says the CEO of Frends, Jukka Rautio.
iPaaS creates a central system to view, manage, and modify all data, infrastructure, and operations. This allows companies to easily adjust their products, share data, and provide solutions to their market.
As the new chairman of the supervisory board of Frends, Pijselman's role is to ensure that all stakeholders—management, employees, shareholders, and partners—are aligned and working toward the company's shared goals.
"Achieving international success requires much more than just entering new markets. It demands a meticulous approach and a deep understanding of the company's strengths and the specific needs of each market. It's an exciting challenge to help Frends scale internationally, and I look forward to being a part of that growth, bringing my experience to the tab," Pijselman says.
As Frends looks into the future, its mission is clear: to enable businesses worldwide to stay ahead in an increasingly interconnected world by providing agile, scalable, and cost-effective integration solutions.
"The story of Frends began when seven friends working for oil companies in Finland saw the need for automation with the introduction of uncrewed gas stations. They built an integration platform that automated tasks such as fuel level monitoring and cash collection, using dial-up modems to gather and process data – and it has all led us where we are now: the company is poised to redefine the global integration landscape," sums up Rautio.
Lin Valenti
CMO
lin.valenti@frends.com
Frends enterprise iPaaS is a European Enterprise Application Integration Platform as a Service that enables customers to integrate applications in the compliant cloud, hybrid, and on-premises. With Frends, you can develop, manage, and secure all API integrations and process automations within one powerful platform. Lean, low-code, and truly hybrid, Frends is here to support seamless deployments and connections to any system. With Frends, you can save time and money on internal development, build and leverage re-usable and re-sellable integration connectors for your customers.
Frends platform was established in Finland in 1988 and has grown rapidly in the Nordic region's domestic markets and internationally, with customers in over 16 countries.