04.05.2005    14:06

Where Experience Counts

	Our interview partner Mr. Günter Gerstmann, Managing Director of DV-RATIO NORDWEST GmbH in the German town of Düsseldorf

The German DV-RATIO Consulting Group, based in Munich, is one of the leading providers of professional advisory services in the IT sector. In order to facilitate a close working relationship with its renowned national and international customers, the company has established a network of branches across Germany. Our interview took place at the Düsseldorf branch DV-RATIO NORDWEST GmbH.

It all started in May 1980, when Mr. Kurt Hafer set up an engineering office in the Bavarian capital of Munich. His aim was to supply customers with outstanding consultancy services. The company soon experienced significant success and decided to open branches in Hamburg and Frankfurt. After further growth, the enterprise founded additional offices in Stuttgart (1986) and Düsseldorf (1988). Ten years later, DV-RATIO became a joint-stock company with the Munich-based headquarters as the group's holding company. In 2004, the youngest family member DV-RATIO Strategie & Management Consulting GmbH was founded. Today, DV-RATIO - which is certified in accordance with DIN ISO 9001 - achieves an annual turnover of 36 million Euros and employs 300 experienced and dedicated members of staff, 80% being active in the development of individual software solutions.

Our Competences

Unique consultancy and software generation services out of one hand:
the DV-RATIO competences cover the entirety of a project

"Our major strengths are the provision of reliable and extensive consultancy services and the realisation of complex IT projects", says our interview partner Mr. Günter Gerstmann, Managing Director of DV-RATIO NORDWEST in Düsseldorf. When the company initiates a project, the first step is to carry out intensive discussions with the individual customers, and this includes process analysis, the development of possible strategies and the suitable solution, to name but a few.

Following this phase, DV-RATIO's specialists start creating the individual software and system for the appropriate segments, such as EAI (Enterprise Application Integration), ERP (SAP), security, quality management (QM), business continuity planning, as examples. Additionally, the experts are in charge of the product's implementation and the subsequent introduction to the client and the personnel who will be using the applications.

Being perfectly familiar with the most up-to-date IT languages and environments, database systems, architectures, data communication networks, and operating systems, DV-RATIO puts special emphasis on sectors such as AMS (Application Management Services), WBD (Webbased Development) CRM (Customer Relationship Management), and BI (Business Intelligence). "Our services and software solutions give the client a significant increase in flexibility and efficiency, a reduction of the investment risk, and an enhancement of competitiveness, while at the same time improving the transfer of both know-how and resources", says Mr. Gerstmann.

The enterprise owes its outstanding position to the realisation of demanding software systems (grey circle) and puts special emphasis to services in sectors such as CRM (red circle)

DV-RATIO is uniquely positioned to meet the expectations of renowned customers from various sectors, among them trade and transport (17%), finance (20%), the manufacturing industry (24%), IT technology, (tele) communication, and multimedia (21%), and public administrations and energy suppliers (18%). The enterprise's list of references includes names such as Alcatel, Accenture, Lufthansa, Siemens, ARAG, West LB, Oce, the German Telekom, IBM, Vodafone, BMW, BayWa, etc. "We attach certain significance to our organisations decentralised structure, which gives our locations a certain amount of independence within our extensive network", explains our interview partner.

DV-RATIO is uniquely positioned to meet the expectations of renowned clients from various demanding industries

In order to advertise its services and products, the company makes use of several marketing measures such as a newsletter that is published three to four times a year and sent to 200 companies alone in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In addition to this, the company offers an informative homepage at www.dv-ratio.com, and participates in trade fairs such as Systems and organises several recruiting events. Mr. Gerstmann has clear views on the future direction of DV-RATIO: "When we realise that foreign markets are in need of our constant presence, we won't hesitate to establish branches abroad."

DV-RATIO NORDWEST GmbH
Leostrasse 31
40545 Düsseldorf
Germany

Bericht in der Economy Tribune