05/29/2020

NorCom Information Technology GmbH & Co. KGaA (ISIN DE000A12UP37, General Standard) made a stable start into 2020 with a total output of EUR 3.5 million (Q1 2019: EUR 3.4 million). EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was positive at EUR 0.1 million (Q1 2019: EUR 0.2 million).

In the automotive industry in particular, in which NorCom serves central customers, the corona crisis was noticeable very early on and in the automotive market, which has been characterized by uncertainty for months, has resulted in partial complete stops when placing orders. But NorCom's solid base of long-standing customers ensured reliable sales in the first quarter.

“With our existing orders, we found ourselves in calm waters in the first quarter - with the prospect of significant new orders. At the end of the first quarter, the economy reached the Corona crisis, which suspended all plans and strategies and presented companies with completely new challenges for an indefinite period of time, "says Viggo Nordbakk, Managing Director of NorCom, commenting on the business situation. “From today's perspective, the first quarter can be assessed positively - slight increases in sales compared to the previous year and still good results are a satisfactory balance sheet in the current situation. In the second quarter, the effects of the Corona savings plans will be more evident in the figures. However, along with the public authorities, we count clients among our customers who enable steady business even in times of crisis. "

Diversification in all business areas

In order to position itself for the future and more independently of individual industries, NorCom expanded its product portfolio in the first quarter to include new topics and applications:

"In the first quarter, we began to work out a comprehensive diversification strategy and implement it in all of our business areas," explains Nordbakk. “We want to open up new markets by modifying or sharpening our existing products. For example, we “solve” individual function blocks from DaSense and EAGLE in order to offer customers a lean solution for their specific application. For this purpose, among other things, we create industry-independent, topic-related industrial solutions for the optimization of business processes in the new Solutions division. We apply this approach to all of our business areas. "

Diversification in the area of ​​consulting / services

In the Consulting / Services area , NorCom has expanded its core team of consultants with expertise in document processing. With this new offer, NorCom specifically meets the needs of its customers in harnessing the potential of new deep learning and natural language processing methods for mapping document-based business processes, such as contract management, aftersales and legal hold.

The NorCom Academy was also launched, in which NorCom organizes a tried and tested range of training courses on the practical application of Big Data & AI technologies under one roof. Thanks to virtual classroom technology, all training courses can be carried out in full as webinars - and thus offer an attractive opportunity for further training, especially in the current situation.

Diversification in the area of ​​products

The big data analytics software DaSense supports the new ASAM ODS 6.1.0 standard, which bridges the gap between open data services (ODS) and modern big data analysis. The ASAM Connector & Analytics Kit is available as an independent product; existing DaSense installations already integrate this function.

The big data platform EAGLE is used for cross-team collaboration and AI-based knowledge management. In the first quarter, on the one hand, the expansion to the “legal area” was pushed forward: NorCom was able to win two law firms as partners for the development of EAGLE4Legal. In the first stage, functions for the subject areas of litigation and due diligence are implemented. The software is to be used in law firms as well as in the legal departments of large corporations.

A new version of EAGLE was also developed with EAGLE 2.0, which enables a lean entry into enterprise file management without migration as well as the secure management of any number of files and authorizations on file servers.

New business area Solutions

In the new business area Solutions , NorCom offers self-contained industrial solutions for specific applications based on DaSense. NorCom currently offers a solution for Industrial IoT, which can be used, for example, to analyze machine data for the optimization of production processes or to evaluate usage data for the alignment of marketing strategies. This makes DaSense interesting for a wide range of industrial applications.

Partnerships

NorCom was also able to expand its partner portfolio and has joined the Amazon Web Services Partner Network. The Amazon Partner Network is a global partnership program that technology and consulting companies can use to create solutions and services for customers. With its DaSense and EAGLE solutions, NorCom can now optimally serve customers who prefer Amazon as a technical solution.

Outlook

NorCom's customers are in particular public institutions and automobile manufacturers.

The automotive sector has been severely affected by the crisis, business there is currently difficult and further developments are still uncertain. NorCom will nevertheless continue to be present with customers and look for opportunities for further cooperation.

The public sector is currently still stable. In this area, NorCom is focusing on expanding existing projects and winning new ones.

With the greatly expanded product portfolio and intensive sales activities, NorCom intends to open up new opportunities in other industries.