To get straight to the point: what's the core business of Thoughtline?
We make customised software accessible to SMEs and departments. We believe that the benefits of customised solutions need not be reserved for the Coolblues and Amazons of this world. We are now 13 years old and have branches in America and India. Thanks to a well-oiled international team, we can build really incredible things with extensive functionality at competitive rates. These can be CRM or ERP systems, but also links and extensions to existing tools. We have developed a method derived from the Scrum methodology. The 'product owners' in Tilburg have a business and technical background that enables them to translate the discussions with the customer into technology. This technology is divided into sprints, blocks of time in which we build the technology.
You often see companies using different tools that they like to work with but that do not communicate with each other or lack functionality. We make sure that these systems communicate with each other in the right way and build additional functionalities.
What is your dot on the horizon?
We want to help SME organisations and departments to work smarter and more efficiently. You can do many wonderful things with data and the possibilities can only increase. This is how we help organisations manage based on (real time) factual figures instead of gut feelings.
Motivated by ambition? Idealism? Or passion?
Out of passion and idealism. Our entire team of 200 employees has a passion for IT, automation and software. We always look for customised solutions which we also make as accessible as possible. For example, someone recently came to us who wants to process his daily mail automatically. If it were possible. And yes, it is possible. We look for a suitable solution to every problem and when we find it, it always gives us a rush. 'Wow, this is actually possible!' you think. We always go about our work with this ambition.
In what way are you connected to MindLabs?
MindLabs does a lot in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Something you can only put into effect when you have data. We make sure that data ends up in a system or database. So that you can then start working with AI. We're actually taking care of the basics of digitalisation so that the power of AI can be properly harnessed.
What do you consider to be the holy grail in working with MindLabs?
We believe it's important that we truly make a contribution, in our case knowledge. We also consider this approach to be important as a starting point: first look at what you can contribute rather than what you can get out of it. This is not the case with all collaborations, but with MindLabs I feel that everyone is on the same page.
And what do you gain from it in the meantime?
Mainly contacts with great companies and smart students. We also like to keep abreast of everything that's happening in the market. It ensures that we stay ahead. In the field of Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence, for example.
