It is increasingly complex to understand technological changes. In the business world, many companies have to surround themselves with consulting firms or specialists in order to keep up not only with new trends, but also with the functions that technology can perform. It is not an easy task and with the arrival of artificial intelligence it becomes even more complicated. Reinvention is a key part of this process, both for companies in need and for consultants. The world of the internet is no longer about making web pages and, therefore, demands more. Interficie was born in 2001 with a very different project from what they have 25 years later, but with the same intention: to transform companies. Today, it is no longer simply a development company, they define themselves as a "technological partner capable of accompanying an organization from the definition of the problem to its implementation".
Interficie bases its new business model on three axes: training, consulting and technology. In this way, they become a key reference when it comes to helping companies correctly integrate technology, but they also accompany them in all previous processes and in subsequent maintenance. "We help companies and institutions turn technology into business," says Txus Portomeñe, CEO of the company, to The New Barcelona Post. More than two decades of work and about fifty employees bring Interficie to the top of consultancies, with three business branches dedicated exclusively to one of each pillar of the company. Alfabetia helps organizations understand and adopt technology. Soolvers helps decide what makes sense to do, prioritize and govern. Interficie has the ability to execute it: software, integrations, AI, ecommerce, platforms and applications.
The Catalan company does not seek easy short-term profitability, as they focus on creating trusting relationships with their clients. The reality is that they try to introduce themselves into companies, become key in the next steps, and provide them with all the necessary tools so that they can continue working with more cutting-edge technology and specific knowledge of their needs. "We are not so interested in doing a specific project as in understanding the client's business and evolving their technological platform with them," says Portomeñe. In fact, he himself adds that they have some companies that have been working together for 7 to 8 years. "When you know the business, systems, and objectives of a company well, that's when you can really add much more value."
That's why they don't want just any client or at any price. They are looking for companies that want to transform and enter the world of technology head-on, but above all with a head. "That they are looking for a partner with whom to think and execute. Not someone who has all the answers, but who explains the problem well," Portomeñe emphasizes. In other words, they present themselves as a company that wants to help businesses with a technological problem of any kind. They do not work with any private software platform and always try to use free software licenses, because for the CEO of the company: "Money must be used for functionality." In addition, since they have execution capacity, they can create any solution according to the specific needs of clients.
One step further with AI
Artificial intelligence advances much faster than human thought and, therefore, there are still many companies that do not know how to integrate it. It is no secret that everyone usually uses AI for simple daily research tasks, but when it comes to transferring this knowledge to the company, it becomes complicated. As Interficie reminds us, a real adoption of AI needs business objectives, a good database, integration with the company's systems, governance, security, and control. If any of these pieces fail, it is very easy to end up doing pilots that work in a demo, but that do not provide real value. Portomeñe expresses in this newspaper that this integration without a clear objective that some companies do can be dangerous and ineffective.
"You don't need your company's AI to tell you how to make a potato omelet," Txus Portomeñe, CEO of Interficie
Interficie creates personalized spaces for companies, from where they can create a reliable database and revisit them with the help of AI at any time. This way, there is much more control over what is necessary: "You don't need your company's AI to tell you how to make a potato omelet," exemplifies the company's CEO. However, the integration of AI also has other uses; for example, Interficie has shown that in ecommerce, companies with platforms that bill millions of euros need a technology approach that helps them simplify, as every improvement in performance, conversion, or integration has a direct impact on business. In addition, they also help all those companies that don't know where to start. In these cases, they can start with training and identification of use cases, move to a consulting phase, and end up implementing projects that truly have a return: "We can do everything," states Portomeñe.
From Barcelona to the world
Interficie has been in the market for 25 years and has always reinvented itself to remain faithful to the needs of its clients. The company advocates a relatively boutique company, which for them means not competing in volume, but in the ability to solve complex technological projects. It is evident, however, that the company sees great opportunities in the business adoption of AI, in the transformation of processes, in the connection of AI with corporate data, and in the construction of new products and services. In this way, its growth aims to focus on combining training, consulting, and engineering, since as technology continues to advance and solutions become more complicated, a company capable of everything is needed.
Regarding its location, they are very clear that they are staying in Barcelona. "It has a very interesting combination of technological talent, traditional companies, start-ups, universities, and institutions. We have the opportunity to convert all this capacity into much more tangible business innovation projects," they specify from Interficie. However, they also recognize that although the Catalan capital is their home, from here they work "for large corporations and projects that operate at a national and international scale."
In short, Interficie is one of those Catalan companies that has known how to reinvent itself and maintain its added value. Currently, they help other companies to approach this technology that sometimes seems so distant. With around fifty clients and the whole world to conquer, this company stands as the perfect companion for companies and maintains as its main objective to show them that "technology must serve companies and not the other way around," concludes Portomeñe.