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Zawya
12-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Mercans tech leaders share how they're transforming global payroll
From its regional headquarters in Dubai, Mercans is leading a fundamental shift in how global payroll is managed. Mercans is redefining global payroll from the ground up—leveraging AI, cloud-native technologies, and a stateless, unified architecture. As cross-border operations become more complex, Mercans is simplifying payroll for global enterprises through automation, compliance, and real-time capabilities. Headquartered regionally in Dubai, where its leadership frequently meets clients and drives innovation, Mercans is positioning itself at the intersection of global expansion and regional growth. In a recent leadership conversation, Eero Plato, Global Head of Engineering, and Andre Voolaid, Chief Technology Officer, offered a closer look at how the company is reshaping global payroll delivery with a future-proof technology stack. A Unified Platform Designed for a Global Workforce Operating in over 160 countries, Mercans' platform, HR Blizz, was built to standardize and accelerate payroll across borders. Unlike legacy systems that rely on fragmented country-specific tools, HR Blizz is architected on a single codebase that supports seamless integration with leading HCM platforms including SAP, Dayforce, and Workday. 'Rather than building 160 local solutions, we designed a platform that treats global payroll as one system—with localized rules applied as exceptions,' said Plato. 'It's a fundamental shift that allows for global consistency without sacrificing local compliance.' This approach eliminates the need for companies to stand up infrastructure in every market, accelerating their global expansion while maintaining compliance and control. The GCC and MENA: A Strategic Growth Engine Mercans' regional presence in Dubai, at the heart of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and broader MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, is playing a critical role in its global expansion. The MENA market is undergoing rapid digital transformation, with governments and enterprises seeking advanced payroll and workforce management solutions. 'The GCC is a high-growth region for us,' said Voolaid. 'From Dubai, we're able to serve both mature and emerging markets in the Middle East and North Africa with speed, flexibility, and regional expertise.' Dubai's innovation-friendly environment and proximity to global talent pools make it an ideal location for Mercans to operate its regional HQ and engage with clients across sectors—from oil and gas to banking and technology. AI and Automation Are Reshaping Payroll At the heart of Mercans' platform is a powerful layer of AI and machine learning. The company is moving beyond traditional digitization by enabling real-time payroll calculations. Now, when employee data is updated, payroll is automatically recalculated on the spot. 'This dramatically simplifies payroll processes,' said Voolaid. 'It reduces delays, eliminates batch processing, and allows for predictive analytics to improve workforce decisions.' AI also plays a growing role in automated anomaly detection and compliance checks—freeing up HR teams from manual validations and enhancing overall accuracy. Compliance and Data Protection at Scale Mercans combines advanced technology with local expertise to address the complex landscape of global payroll compliance. Its in-country experts continuously monitor and update tax and labor regulations in over 100 jurisdictions, while the platform enforces end-to-end encryption and role-based access controls. 'Compliance is the foundation of everything we do,' said Voolaid. 'We've built local knowledge directly into the system, ensuring that our clients remain compliant with changing laws without added effort.' Scaling Through Cloud Innovation and Engineering Talent To support its international growth, Mercans has transitioned its infrastructure to a Kubernetes-powered, cloud-native environment. This flexible architecture supports both public and private cloud deployments, enabling rapid scaling without compromising security or performance. The company's ability to attract top engineering talent is also key to its innovation. 'Engineers want to work on meaningful, technically challenging problems,' noted Plato. 'Our architecture and mission attract those who want to make an impact at scale.' Looking Forward With its bold vision, a unified global platform, and an innovation hub in Dubai, Mercans is setting new standards in global payroll delivery. As it continues expanding across North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, the company remains focused on helping businesses simplify, automate, and secure their payroll operations—one real-time calculation at a time. Bio - Mercans' Leadership Eero Plato Global Head of Engineering | Mercans Eero Plato leads the global engineering team at Mercans, where he's responsible for scaling the platforms that power compliant, automated payroll across 160+ countries. With a background spanning enterprise tech, systems resilience, and customer support, Eero brings a rare blend of technical depth and business empathy to his role. Whether he's building robust backend architecture or embedding compliance directly into the code, Eero ensures that every engineering decision delivers measurable impact for clients around the world. Driven by a passion for secure, scalable technology, and a leadership style grounded in clarity and collaboration, Eero is helping redefine what engineering excellence looks like in the global payroll space. Andre Voolaid Chief Technology Officer | Mercans With 10+ years at the helm of Mercans' tech evolution, Andre Voolaid is the architect behind the company's powerful native payroll engine and SaaS platforms. From small teams to global enterprises, Andre has helped shape scalable, AI-driven payroll technology used by organizations in 160+ countries. A founder at heart with hands-on experience in software engineering and product innovation, Andre brings together deep technical know-how and business vision to deliver solutions that are future-ready, secure, and human-centric. Based in Estonia, he's passionate about simplifying global complexity—one payroll at a time.
Associated Press
04-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Mercans Technology Leaders Share Insights on Global Payroll Advancements
Senior Leader of Mercans unveiled their strategy to transform global payroll through instant calculations and seamless integrations. Short-term goals include North American expansion, strengthened compliance, and enhanced data security. Mercans plans to develop cloud-native infrastructure with AI capabilities for competitive advantage in the market. London, England, United Kingdom, April 4, 2025 -- Mercans, a leading global payroll solutions provider, recently hosted a comprehensive interview with its top technology leaders, Andre Voolaid, chief technology officer, and Eero Plato, global head of engineering. The discussion highlighted Mercans' technological progress and strategic plan for the next five years, focusing on changing the payroll field with forward-thinking solutions. Mercans leads the payroll technology field, applying its knowledge to simplify complex processes for clients worldwide. The company builds its technology on three core principles: global coverage, seamless data processing flow, and effortless integration with major Human Capital Management (HCM) providers like SAP, Dayforce, and Workday. This method allows Mercans to deliver a global solution while addressing country-specific exceptions, distinguishing it in the industry. Strategic Vision and Technological Roadmap Over the next five years, Mercans will evolve from a payroll service provider to a comprehensive payroll technology platform. This transformation involves streamlining customer processes and creating user-friendly and efficient systems. A key technological goal is making payroll calculations instant, automating the process so that changes in employee data trigger immediate recalculations. Furthermore, Mercans integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to enhance automated payroll validations and anomaly detections. 'We focus on becoming a true payroll technology provider, not just a service-based company,' noted Eero Plato. 'Our plan includes providing payroll calculation capabilities to HCM providers, positioning us as a solution provider in the payroll sector.' Mercans plans to expand its market presence, particularly in the U.S. and North America, which remain underrepresented in its portfolio. Despite the complexity of these markets, the company anticipates substantial growth opportunities over the next five years. Currently, Mercans maintains a strong presence in Western Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Global Compliance and Infrastructure Development Handling diverse global regulations is a critical aspect of Mercans' operations. The company accomplishes this through local proficiency and a specialized compliance mechanism. Integrating compliance development into its software development process enables Mercans to maintain regulatory accuracy across over 100 countries. This method permits rapid adaptation to changing regulations, upholding compliance and security for clients worldwide. Andre Voolaid, chief technology officer, emphasized the importance of compliance in payroll services: 'Compliance forms the very basis of payroll. We handle these challenges by combining local competence with a dedicated compliance mechanism, keeping us up-to-date with evolving regulations.' Regarding technology infrastructure, Mercans has transformed substantially. Initially, the platform operated without cloud capabilities, but in 2021, it transitioned to a private cloud solution. The year 2023 saw Mercans evolve into a cloud-native platform using Kubernetes, enabling greater efficiency and scalability. This infrastructure allows Mercans to customize solutions for clients, offering both private cloud and public cloud options like AWS. Talent Management and Data Security Mercans has been concentrating on offering challenging and creative projects to attract and retain top engineering talent. The company is searching for skill sets and experience globally rather than focusing on specific regions. This technique, combined with flexible work arrangements and continuous policy reviews, helps maintain a connected workforce. While continuing to advance and expand, Mercans remains steadfast in protecting client data. The company follows all security standards, utilizing AI-based data anonymization processes and strict access controls. Mercans prioritizes data minimization, ensuring that only necessary data is captured and processed for payroll calculations. Eero Plato observed, 'Our goal is to streamline payroll processes for our clients while maintaining compliance and security. Through the application of the latest technologies and integration of AI and ML, we position ourselves to transform the payroll industry.' Visit the Mercans website to learn more about their advanced payroll solutions. About Mercans Mercans, a global leader in payroll technology solutions, has evolved from a managed services company to a comprehensive payroll technology provider over the past two decades. The company offers a unique single-codebase platform that supports delivery models like SaaS, managed services, and BPO across more than 160 countries. Mercans' focus on innovation, including AI and machine learning integration, positions it as a trusted partner for multinational corporations and fast-growing enterprises seeking efficient, compliant, and secure payroll solutions. Contact Info: Name: Vishwanathan Arunachalam Email: Send Email Organization: Mercans Release ID: 89156923
