All your data in one spot: DBI Analytics has developed its Cloud analysis platform ABIS and is currently supported by Media Lab Bayern. We asked the brains behind the startup our seven questions.
1. Who are you and what do you do? Please briefly introduce yourselves and your product!
David Patrick Chang: During my studies at the Munich University of Applied Sciences (MUAS), I founded DBI after a successful digital project with E.ON Solar in May, 2014. Some parts of the business model have changed since then. In summer 2016, I met my co-founder Daniel Janz at a meetup. Since then, we’ve been working together on developing the collaborative cloud analytics software ABIS.
As a software developer, Daniel Janz has the technical background, and I co-developed the business concept and data architecture. In fall 2017, Christopher Matt (Head of Design and Communication) joined us as our front-end developer and has been largely responsible for the design of our product ABIS. Since summer 2018, Maximilian Anzile has been supporting the DBI team in PR as an external partner with his social media agency.
Maximilian Anzile: ABIS gives companies an analytics construction kit for digitization. In the face of smart data and artificial intelligence, there’s an increasing demand for companies to get on top of data and information management. That is the only way German SMEs will be able to keep their competitive edge over the long term. With the cloud analytics platform ABIS, the team at ABIS supports SMEs in particular in building comprehensive data analysis structures.
2. But that’s already been done!
David Chang: In contrast to American providers like Domo, Microsoft Power BI or Google Data Studio, we offer a solution from Germany in addition to SAP’s Analytics Cloud. With the company Talkingdata, the Chinese have now also joined the race for AI and big data.
Unlike other providers, ABIS bundles internal team communication around data, which means it can be seamlessly integrated into existing processes. With ABIS, we also rely on decentralized and community-based data architecture, which means every user decides where their data should be stored. With ABIS, a company is much more flexible in how they can organize new digital solutions. Even complex processes can be analyzed in real time and managed over the long term with ABIS. ABIS is completely based on open source components and is meant to be established as a platform for analyzing and managing a company.
A larger investment is planned
3. What was your biggest challenge so far?
Daniel Janz: Our biggest challenge was getting a universally valid architecture for the software ready to launch. We managed to do so after nearly three years of development. There was a lot of hardship along the way because we’ve financed everything out of our own pockets so far. Fortunately, friends and family really supported us, even when it wasn’t always easy for them to understand what we were actually doing.
4. Now let’s get down to the nitty-gritty: How is business going?
David Chang: Since 2014, we’ve generated sales in the high six-figure range with consulting and services. Of course, most of it was put into developing our cloud platform ABIS.
In spring 2018, we got a partner company on board that works jointly with us on a social media reporting solution for agencies.
I was also able to win over the world’s biggest tech VC with ABIS in fall 2018 in New York. By the end of this year, we would like to continue to demonstrate what our product can do and then plan to take on a larger investment for growth.
We won a competition by Media Lab Bayern in January, 2019. The prize is going to help us start the market launch of ABIS.
“SMEs are in real need of innovative solutions”
5. What does Munich mean to you?
Christopher Matt: Munich is the city of poets and thinkers and is also a very attractive location for startups in the field of big data and artificial intelligence. A lot of technology companies that are active internationally have their European headquarters in Munich. Media Lab Bayern organized a beautiful office for us in the Werksviertel.
6. How will your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we be seeing you at an Epic Fail Night soon?
David Chang: The market for smart data and AI is still relatively new, and the potential for new solutions is far from exhausted. SMEs in particular are in real need of innovative solutions and concepts to rapidly advance digitization. We believe that with ABIS, we’ve created a solution for exactly those issues. Over the long term, we’re planning to make parts of our software open source so companies in all sectors can benefit from what we’ve already accomplished.
7. Steckerlfisch (fish grilled on a stick) or Schweinshaxe (knuckle of pork)?
Daniel Janz: A wheat beer naturally needs a knuckle of pork! That’s our team’s opinion.