50 Innovative Companies to Watch 2019
The Silicon Review
“To ease people’s daily project business” is our motto in the technological development of Can Do.
The business models of many companies are subject to increasing competitive pressure due to the advancing digitalization of the market. They are struggling with changing customer demands for speed and quality in processing their requests, and they need good people to do so. At the same time, the shortage of skilled workers is once again becoming one of the most important topics in recruiting. To respond to this, companies can do two things: they buy the experts on the market, which is difficult on the one hand and really expensive on the other. Or, much better: they develop their own employees - on time, continuously and needs-optimized! For this, information from skill-based resource planning offers good orientation, as it reveals the current skills of a company and possible gaps in demand.
Founded in 2000, and located in Munich, Germany, Can Do helps midsized companies and groups across all industries plan their projects in the light of the availability and skills of their staff. Today, the app-based solution checks in parallel whether sufficient capacities are available and whether these employees have the required skills.
Can Do’s software learns from the estimates, decisions, and corrections of its users for questions relating to project selection, priorities and resources as well as skill and risk management. Then, the software
uses this information to produce analyses and recommendations for future plans. It’s a learning process between the user and the software that benefits both sides. That’s because it will eventually integrate the users’ expertise from successful plans and make it available to all staff. It provides recommendations for action based on templates that have been proven multiple times over, giving users tips to help them plan in a goal-oriented way. Even the time recording app “Can Do Hours” is now giving recommendations to people how to organize their daily work.
Can Do: The leader in project management
Can Do is the only system on the market able to work with imprecise data. That enables customers to define a deadline as “1st quarter” or work required as “100-200 person days”. The Can Do Watermodel® algorithm is a dynamic capacity comparison procedure that can simulate plans and check that they are really workable, assisting companies to deploy their staff better and avoid overworking them. Multiple algorithms and AI components have been implemented in the Can Do system that runs simulations of people’s future work-related behavior, enabling realistic and convenient resource planning. The system is an extremely high-performance, object-oriented, in-memory system. This enables the algorithms and AI functions to run in real time.
A case study showing the advantages of the Can Do’s solution
Arvato Systems
Arvato Systems (Bertelsmann) wanted to harmonize planning and management processes, which are based on meaningful information, generated by current and constantly updated data. This was why the company decided to look for a solution that could be integrated into operational activities while providing efficient project planning and resource management. Arvato Systems uses Can Do to run real-time capacity analyses and plans the utilization of employees.
“Can Do has the edge when it comes to resource management.”, says Axel Mattern, Director PMO,
Arvato Systems
The roadmap ahead
Can Do has listed its software on the AWS Marketplace by the end of February 2019. Companies of all sizes can now test and purchase the software for skill-based resource management and project planning worldwide. First reference customers of the Can Do Apps operated as Software as a Service (SaaS) on AWS are already benefitting from the provision of the Can Do portfolio on the AWS infrastructure that meets high-quality standards, and the computing power for complex, AI-based risk calculations.
Meet the thought leaders
Thomas Schlereth, Founder and Managing Director: Thomas Schlereth is the founder and Co-CEO of Can Do GmbH. As a qualified IT specialist, he has extensive experience in software planning and design as well as project management and consulting at top management level.
He has held various management positions, including as project management director at CAI Systemhaus GmbH and as a strategic consultant in the role of CEO at Columbus Consulting GmbH, which later became Columbus AG. Schlereth, who is a recognized expert in project and portfolio management, has published several specialized articles on project management, resource planning, and risk management and is a regular speaker at specialized events. As a member of the management team, Schlereth is responsible for the operational management of the Can Do GmbH development department and heads up the planning, design and ongoing development of Can Do’s multi-award winning software.
Jens Steinbicker, Managing Director: Jens Steinbicker holds degrees in precision engineering and industrial engineering. He has many years’ management experience in the IT and software industries.
He has held a number of management positions in the areas of sales, marketing, and business development at various companies including Siemens Business Services (SBS), Accenture, CGI (formerly Logica) and CAST. Steinbicker, who is a proven sales strategist, has also worked as managing director and board member within international management teams. His missions in previous positions included growing company business in the German-speaking countries as well as building strategic partner networks involving BCG, PwC, Capgemini, Fraunhofer, and others. As a member of the management team, Jens Steinbicker is responsible for defining and implementing corporate strategy at Can Do GmbH. He is also in charge of ensuring the company achieves its operational goals.
“Projects are playing an important part in corporate strategy. We help companies manage the associated tasks in the light of the available staff in a professional way with a modern ergonomic app-based interface for simple, intuitive usage, software implementation tailored to customer requirements and practical services to help users get the most value out of the solution.”