At the second Business Circle event on 1 October 2014, Comtrade announced a new method of cooperation designed to yield improved results add value for both partners.

In Munich, partners, employees and clients met for a discussion entitled: “OPEN INNOVATION – Potential through Partnership”. On the basis of its cooperation with Skrill, one of the largest online payments companies in the world, Comtrade presented the successful method of Open Innovation to attendees.

The evolution and design of innovation processes, along with the integration of external partners, is especially important in this development. Open Innovation requires a deep understanding of not only technology but also work processes, social aspects and business environments.

SUCCESSFUL COOPERATION

The partnership with Skrill was presented as an example of best practice throughout the event. Skrill, which acquired Payolution and paysafecard in recent years, is one of the world’s largest providers of payment processing services.

“We work in a rapidly changing and highly innovative industry. The projects we undertake have to be implemented with accuracy and speed and with the help of Comtrade, we can speed up our innovation process,”

explained George Goodyer, VP of IT Solutions Delivery at Skrill.

To be able to continue to provide innovative solutions in this market, Skrill and Comtrade have set targets related to product marketing, business analysis and architecture. Every stage of the project has been followed by project progress tests and immediate quality control for continuous improvement. The collaborative planning and execution of individual stages allowed for rapid success and identified any potential problems.

“When we decided to make use of external support, we looked at multiple outsourcing companies. We determined that the dynamic nature of our industry segment doesn’t allow for the continued use of a traditional outsourcing approach – therefore, we chose to work with Comtrade,”

explained Ivan Petrov, Head of Development Sofia, Skrill.

Projects are dynamic; their scope changes constantly, and the level of creativity and innovation plays a special role at every stage of development. This structure requires a move from a hierarchal model towards open cooperation. Now, the partner company is not simply told to deliver a solution; instead, both teams innovate together.

“Skrill is a very successful company in a highly competitive market. In this rapidly-changing industry, the speed of innovation development is critical. We are proud that Skrill chose to work with us and that we could support them on the basis of Open Innovation,”

said Marko Javornik, Director of International Services Western Europe, Comtrade.

About Comtrade

Comtrade is an international IT corporation operating in the fields of IT Solutions, Software Engineering services, System Integration and IT Distribution. Through 16 companies in 11 countries in Europe and North America, Comtrade provide its customers with value-added, cost-saving and profitable business solutions. With over 1,000 software engineers and over 20 years of experience Comtrade offers industry-leading expertise in data storage management, embedded systems, network systems management, gaming solutions, telecommunication solutions, e-solutions and customized application development.