Crister Fritzson

Hello CEO: Crister Fritzson, Net Insight

Hello CEO vitecherupp
The dramatic spread of the coronavirus pandemic around the world has had and continues to have a major impact on society, business and the individual. But it has not all been doom and gloom; in the midst of all the misery, the corona crisis has demonstrated the strength of digitalization and our member companies have from day one joined forces and stood ready to facilitate all parts of society.

Our 1,350 members range from small start-ups with few employees to large multinationals with thousands of employees around the world. Under the banner "Hello CEO", we gather their views on the past year, their thoughts on the future, but also lessons and experiences from a time unlike any other. Now it's the turn of Crister Fritzson, CEO of Net Insight.

How would you sum up the past year?

2020 was a test for us as a company. By quickly adapting to a more digitalized everyday life with online seminars and conferences, live demos for customers via Teams and much more, we managed to maintain customer deliveries and keep product development at a level that exceeded my expectations. Our entire development department started working remotely. Here, however, we saw that starting up projects or solving more complex problems took longer in the beginning, but thanks to an already well-established way of working, we maintained, and in some cases increased, efficiency.

- In fact, COVID-19 has accelerated trends and growth areas in media transportation and remote production of live events, which are some of our core areas. Net Insight works with all major sporting events in the world, the UEFA Champions League, the Alpine World Cup in Cortina and the European Women's Handball Championship in Denmark, but also with Vasaloppet and the Swedish Hockey League, SHL to name a few. We also supply our solutions to the European Broadcasting Union, which is responsible for the Eurovision Song Contest. The demand to watch streamed live events has increased dramatically during the pandemic, giving us good confidence in the future amidst all the uncertainty.

- Our entire industry has also been quick to adapt as live content production has increasingly shifted to a remote approach. The former fully-staffed mobile studio buses based at the arena or ski slope are now being replaced by on-site cameras that send unedited video streams directly to the studio - which can essentially be in the technician's living room.

- In times of uncertainty, it's easy to get caught in a holding pattern. At Net Insight, we have done the opposite. We believe in investing our way out of the crisis, both in skills development and R&D. We have invested heavily in strengthening the organization, adopted a powerful new strategy, divested and acquired companies, and recruited new employees. As we saw customers starting to upgrade their networks again and the market situation looked brighter, we were able to end our short-term layoffs, an important and positive signal.

What lessons have you learned and what will you take away?

- We have learned many different things! Like that nothing is impossible. Even though we knew it before, we've gotten proof that we really live and breathe teleworking, which is one of our offerings. Our acquisition in early 2020 of a company on the West Coast of the United States is a good example. We have come a long way in jointly integrating our products, even though we have only met in person once, and that was at the beginning of the acquisition process just before Covid arrived. Of course, there are challenges in not seeing each other in real life, but daily Teams calls, good team spirit and a big pinch of grit go a long way.

Looking ahead, how do you see the immediate future?

- Although it has been a challenging year, I am optimistic about the future. I am proud of the way we have handled the crisis, supported and cared for each other while maintaining a clear focus on the business.

- With our new license-based pricing model, we help our customers lower the threshold when investing in new video and media transport technologies. Instead of buying equipment, we offer them the option to pay for ongoing updates. This means lower risk and lower cost for the customer, while providing us with a more stable revenue stream, increasing our profitability and putting us in a stronger position when the market picks up again.

- Net Insight has always been good at changing and shaping the business based on new conditions. And I have every confidence that we will continue to do so. That's why I'm positive about the coming year, with optimism and growth as our guiding principles.

Have you seen any tangible benefits from your membership of IT&Telecom during the crisis?

- When the pandemic began, we had just started the process of signing collective agreements. We had to put all our employees on short-term leave and immediately received fast, professional and invaluable help from IT&Telekomföretagen. During this time we made great use of the webinars, manuals and articles that were readily available on your website.

- As we have operations in Sweden, Europe, North America and Asia, we always need to keep up to date with the regulations that apply in the different parts of the world, everything from work environment issues to local rules related to Covid. Here we have received many good tips and advice from your and other experts in the field.

- As developments in the tech sector are progressing rapidly and we often share the same challenges, it is positive to be able to collaborate with others in the industry. Jointly pursuing issues with IT&Telecom companies also increases the chances of us becoming even more competitive.