Latest news with #Centida
Entrepreneur
2 days ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Breaking the Cycle of Early Business Failure: Centida BI & Analytics on the Power of Data-Driven Planning
When organizations lack the tools to adjust plans based on shifting market realities, it doesn't matter if due to new regulations, inflation spikes, or geopolitical developments, they're planning blind You're reading Entrepreneur United Kingdom, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Numerous new businesses open doors with ambition, vision, and optimism every year. Unfortunately, approximately 20% fail within the first year. Similarly, about 50% don't survive beyond five years. Cash flow issues, poor marketing, or misreading customer needs are some of the usual reasons behind this trend. However, the underlying cause can run deeper. The failure can stem from decision-making, which, in today's fast-moving environment, is impossible without data. Centida BI & Analytics, known for management consulting and strategic technology implementation, has observed why the business mortality rate is so high. Founded and led by seasoned experts, it has built a unique, integrated approach that combines business expertise and cutting-edge analytics. CEO and Managing Director Christian Barte has leveraged his over two decades in executive finance and management roles across international enterprises to inform Centida's approach. He has vast experience in unlocking business performance, from building profitability analytics systems at global telecoms to leading finance transformation initiatives at multinational corporations. With a strong educational foundation spanning business schools in Germany, France, and the United States, Barte brings a global perspective to local business challenges. His formal training in artificial intelligence (AI) and data visualization further equips him to guide clients through today's AI-powered business environment. Alongside Barte is CTO and Managing Partner Ilya Fedorkov. His background in digital transformation and data science positions him at the forefront of business intelligence (BI) innovation. His hands-on expertise in performance management, financial controlling, and enterprise-wide data strategy ensures that Centida's technical solutions are truly transformative. This leadership has enabled Centida to learn about trends in the business environment, including the reasons companies fail. The company recognizes that many of the failures revolve around the inability to utilize data effectively. One can argue that technology evolves by the week. Hence, businesses clinging to static planning models or outdated tools are at a disadvantage. Rigid annual budgets, manual forecasting, and intuition-based decision-making leave organizations vulnerable to disruption, especially when competitors are leveraging real-time data and AI-enhanced insights. Economic volatility heightens the stakes. Modern businesses must plan accordingly with supply chain upheavals and unpredictable customer payment behaviors in mind. "When organizations lack the tools to adjust plans based on shifting market realities, it doesn't matter if due to new regulations, inflation spikes, or geopolitical developments, they're planning blind," says Fedorkov. Centida also points to overengineering products or services without clearly understanding market demand as another issue. "A technically brilliant product will still fail if it doesn't meet a real customer need," Barte states. Companies usually falter in their go-to-market strategy because they don't truly understand their customer, their pricing flexibility, or the most effective sales channels. "Even businesses with enough funding might struggle to generate cash flow if there's no clarity, especially if they underestimate working capital needs or overestimate the speed of returns," Barte adds. Centida notes that these issues aren't exclusive to startups. Mid-sized and enterprise-level companies can face similar risks, especially when leadership changes or market stagnation sets in. Barte shares an example: "There's a trend in accounts receivable delays, where larger buyers now push payment terms from 30 to 180 days. For suppliers who don't account for this liquidity gap in their planning, the consequences can be fatal." What's the solution? Centida asserts that it begins with recognizing that data isn't just a support tool. It's the core of modern business strategy. Data analytics enables organizations to move from reactive to proactive planning. It eliminates guesswork, clarifies direction, and provides early warnings when performance veers off course. When properly applied, data aligns operations with strategic goals, provides realistic scenario planning, and ensures business decisions are made on facts. "You need to adapt if you want to survive in this landscape. And data is the key to adaptability," Fedorkov remarks. Centida operationalizes this philosophy, distinguishing itself by the way it works with clients. If other firms deliver cookie-cutter dashboards or plug-and-play solutions, Centida engages deeply with the business itself. It doesn't only translate business needs into information technology (IT) requirements. The firm speaks both languages fluently. This eliminates the information gaps that typically emerge in large-scale implementations. "Our approach of combining the strategic vision of consultants with the technical know-how of systems architects means we design solutions that reflect what's actually needed," Barte says. This comprehensive approach is why Centida is seen as a partner of choice for organizations struggling with uncertainty. Indeed, most businesses fail not because they lack ambition but because they lack insight. Centida BI & Analytics empowers organizations with the intelligence, structure, and agility they need to thrive in a fast-changing world. The Centida founders further share insightful advice for business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. Fedorkov emphasizes that the foundation of a resilient business lies in uniting data and decision-making under the same roof. "Get rid of silos and ensure that your business teams take ownership of data-driven processes, not just IT," he says. "It's important to develop a solid understanding of the data you rely on." The most successful cases he's seen are when business people actively shape and guide the digital solutions they use, not delegate them. True resilience emerges when data and business expertise are intertwined, owned, and steered from within the organization. Meanwhile, Barte's advice centers around radical customer focus. He urges entrepreneurs to invest substantial time, then double it, into understanding who their customers truly are. "Knowing your product isn't enough," he states. "Knowing how to reach the right people through the right channels, partners, and tools is essential." Beyond that, he stresses the importance of building an adaptable model that guides one's business strategy and helps track its real-time performance. He adds: "If your efforts drift off course, that model should show exactly where and why, so you can recalibrate fast and keep moving forward."
Int'l Business Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
Centida BI & Analytics Celebrates Over a Decade of Transforming Financial Intelligence and Strategic Decision-Making
Centida BI & Analytics, a Germany-based business intelligence (BI) and analytics consultancy, commemorates over 10 years of delivering measurable value to organizations through its management consulting, advanced data engineering, and strategic technology implementation. Founded in 2014, it has evolved from a small, agile team addressing financial inefficiencies into a globally recognized firm empowering teams with innovative decision-making tools and real-time insights. "This milestone just shows how committed we are to solving complex problems for our clients," says Christian Barte, CEO and Managing Director of Centida. "We've never been interested in offering flashy dashboards or one-off workshops. From day one, we've been combining our team's expertise with robust technical execution. That's why we still stand here today." Centida is known for addressing intricate challenges in financial planning, reporting, and forecasting. It goes beyond conventional BI services, and instead of offering superficial analytics or basic visualization tools, it builds data models, end-to-end planning and reporting architectures, and long-term operational ecosystems tailored to its clientele's needs. Clients consistently choose Centida for its ability to provide strategic insight and technical implementation. These two elements are usually siloed across traditional consulting and information technology (IT) firms. With an international team of professionals who bring backgrounds in finance, IT, mathematics, and C-level experience, Centida's consultants speak the same language as their clients. "Many of our team members are former CFOs or senior finance leaders. They're more than qualified to understand the real-world demands of corporate finance while delivering agile, technology-driven solutions," Barte remarks. Centida's unique approach stems from its inception. The idea for the company was born when Barte and Ilya Fedorkov, CTO and Managing Partner, experienced firsthand the frustration of accessing accurate, timely business data as then-senior leaders in a large telecommunications and IT corporation. Even simple cost management insights required time-consuming processes. By the time reports were generated, they were already outdated. "We knew we needed a faster, more adaptive information system. So we created a model where business intelligence could be agile, reliable, and responsive," Fedorkov remarks. The founders initially built an internal agile data lab, which quickly gained traction for its effectiveness. It evolved into a separate entity, and Centida was born. Barte and Fedorkov had a vision to build and run the technical solutions that would diagnose and solve strategic challenges, bridging a gap in the industry between advisory and delivery. Centida has grown over the years. From classical BI implementations, the company expanded into strategic planning, budgeting, and forecasting. More recently, Centida has applied its capabilities to broader business functions including human resources, marketing, sales, and production. The firm's upward trajectory has been steady. It has achieved consistent revenue growth and has extended its market reach well beyond Europe, now serving clients across North America and Africa. It has also transitioned from being an integrator of planning and reporting solutions to becoming a full-service, end-to-end partner, guiding clients from advisory and implementation to lifecycle management of their analytics platforms. As Centida BI & Analytics celebrates its milestone, it remains grounded in integrity and a commitment to client success, the values that shaped its early days. It looks forward to seeing the firm doubling in size in a few years and intensifying its focus on applied AI in planning and reporting. "Our goal is to lead the charge in practical, user-focused AI applications for financial decision-making," Barte shares. "We want to create AI tools that deliver real-world value. That means complex workflows, identifying savings, and unlocking growth potential for our clients. That's where the future is, and that's where we'll be."
