13 years into ROITI’s history, an era is starting to end. Dataciders acquired us back in 2024, so the deal itself isn’t the news. With the mid-term target to present a united Dataciders SE front to the world, we have taken the first step towards a full rebranding by adding the Dataciders name in front of our original one and are now Dataciders ROITI.
To mark the occasion and to capture the bittersweetness of the situation, we even had a grieving party, which you can probably find photos of on our socials. And the key word here is bittersweet.
What didn’t change (which is most of it)
Before the bitter and the sweet, we need to mention the boring but important stuff. The people are the same. The ETRM expertise we spent 13 years building did not change, and neither did our habit of telling clients what we actually think, even if we were not asked to.
And the mission that used to be spelled out in our name, Return on IT Investment – it’s still the promise we make when we take on a project.
What’s new
The bitter parts, I guess, are these.
We started as a fully Bulgarian-owned company and now we’re part of a German group. That takes some getting used to. And we are moving towards some uncertainty about how our culture and processes will develop.
Why we said yes
There is a reasonable amount of sweet as well.
First, we now have a group to back up the more ambitious and exotic projects we wanted to pursue. I promise we will raise some eyebrows very soon. All I can say is that there’s a new dot on our map; some of you will need an atlas.
Second, we have a partner focused on the DACH market, giving us the flexibility and capacity to keep going after our own international work instead of narrowing down to the group’s focus.
Third, it’s a partner who is open to considering how the German side of the group can bring business to Bulgaria, and the other way around, how we can bring business to the group.
And we do have something to bring – a team that has delivered for clients well beyond Bulgaria and knows a lot about energy and commodity trading.
Friction is a good sign
There is friction, of course – language differences here and there, cultural differences, different customers that have taught us different habits – but we see friction as an essential part of evolution. As Dataciders ROITI, we have new challenges (as does the group as a whole, having invited in some stubborn Eastern Europeans who often have way too many strong opinions). But all of us, as individuals and as people who have built up the companies that have merged into Dataciders, have grown through some sort of friction.
It helps build individual and corporate character. And it is necessary for companies to really create a culture – without friction, it is too easy and untested.
What I’d wish for
First, a thank you to everyone who built ROITI into something worth throwing a farewell party for.
As for what I would wish for the group: appreciation of differences, time to deal with conflicts, and evolution towards a DACH leader with a strong international presence, starting with energy and commodity trading. Easy stuff.