IT Landscape
Presto has become well-known within fire safety and over the years, the company has evolved and broadened its vision. The aim is to become leading in Europe, not only in fire safety but also in safety training and first aid. With a well-defined goal, Presto aspires to be the leading entity and the go-to partner when it comes to the mission of preserving lives.
Jonathan Varli leads the systems and development team at Presto Group, actively supporting the business with its digitalization needs. In his role, he has been engaged in constructing Presto's Group IT from scratch—an experience he describes as both intense and challenging but ultimately very rewarding.
With Frends iPaaS, we have found a partner that shortens development time, saves costs related to incidents, and enhances our efficiency in handling various challenges.
Jonathan Varli
Before Group IT, or an integration strategy, existed Presto relied on various IT vendors and their individual integrations.
“We relied heavily on integrations that our suppliers built due to the absence of an in-house IT department and experienced requirement specifiers. Unfortunately, these suppliers developed outdated solutions, which, in hindsight, caused problems and resulted in additional costs,” says Jonathan Varli.
Jonathan further describes Presto's inability to modify the integrations provided by the suppliers. These integrations were frequently outdated, resulting in incidents that required contacting the suppliers – a process that proved to be both costly and time-consuming.
“We realized early on that we couldn’t navigate our growth journey without an integration platform supporting our integration needs — and integrations we want to be able to adjust as needed,” says Jonathan Varli.
Presto AB prefers not to acquire an all-encompassing business system covering every area. Instead, the company explores best-of-breed systems and integrates them with each other. Best-of-breed refers to the leading applications, systems, or software in a specific niche or category. When choosing to build a technological framework using this approach, it can ultimately result in numerous systems supporting the business. Therefore, Group IT developed an integration strategy outlining requirement management, the integration development process, and the structure of existing integrations.
“We conducted in-depth research before choosing Frends, largely guided by the desire for a Nordic partner that could support us in our growth journey. What attracted us to Frends iPaaS was a combination of factors, ranging from the robust platform, the modern approach, the user-friendly interface, and their collaborative attitude,” says Jonathan Varli.
“Our current solution with Frends works very well. One of its standout features is the intuitive interface that allows us to manage our own integrations. It provides us with shorter development time, savings on incident-related costs, access to their excellent logs, and increased efficiency during upgrades,” says Jonathan.
Jonathan also mentions how Frends has automated several of Presto's various IT processes and helped the company take control of its own integrations, as well as quick solutions to problems that, in turn, have saved costs.
“I would claim that we have reduced the development cost by approximately 70%, which is an important factor for us," says Jonathan, and he adds:
“Additionally, using Frends’ platform has resulted in an enhanced collaboration between our business personnel and IT, facilitating a better understanding of BPMN processes and process maps. In essence, we are reducing time-to-market, shortening the journey from idea to solution.”
Presto AB provides businesses and organizations with comprehensive solutions aimed at minimizing the risk of fire and accidents. Their offerings cover a wide spectrum, including training, service, maintenance, and an extensive range of environmentally friendly safety products. Presto is currently in an expansive growth phase with the goal of becoming the leading European entity in assisting businesses and organizations in safeguarding their operations against fire and accidents—a goal they are on the verge of achieving. To succeed in this endeavor, a powerful and scalable integration platform is required – which Frends iPaaS provides.
“Frends' platform also demonstrates significant strength in combining infrastructure, including both on-premises and cloud solutions. The platform enables us to integrate and move data, as well as add applications and functionalities, all without the need for extensive development. This approach proves highly cost-effective for us, considering the potential quick accumulation of maintenance expenses associated with building integrations from scratch. Frends not only provides but also maintains integrations for us. Additionally, Frends will be responsible for exporting data from our systems into Power BI,” says Jonathan Varli.
With the help of Frends, Presto AB has been able to:
Results: