"We are developing Microsoft hub in Athens"

Marios Stavropoulos talks about the next day after the acquisition of Softomotive by the technology giant with Microsoft Consulting firm.

Marios Stavropoulos, CEO of RPA of Microsoft and co-founder of Softomotive, spoke to "K" about the next day after the acquisition of the Greek Formative by Microsoft, presenting the plans of the technology giant, about a year and a half after the acquisition of his company. .

"The goal is for the existing team to evolve into a development hub," he said, noting that it is developing Power Automate RPA technology from Windows 11 from its offices in The Orbit, which is installed on Windows 11. "Our team is working on in a product that is potentially found in 1 billion computers in the world ", he notes, explaining that the technology RPA (robotic process automation) helps to automate monotonous and repetitive processes that save time and significantly reduce the operating costs of businesses.

The industry in which Microsoft operates - through the acquisition of Softomotive - and other major technology companies is, according to Gartner, the fastest growing industry in the enterprise software market, as 2020, a year marked by the pandemic, RPA software market rose 38.9% to $ 1.9 billion.

It's been a year and a half since Softomotive was acquired by Microsoft. What changes have taken place since then and what are the company's plans for your further development?

We are now part of Microsoft, this is the next day for us. With the acquisition, our first priority was to become part of Microsoft both as a product and as a team, which is neither easy nor self-evident. So our goal was to integrate into Microsoft's overall culture so that we could work effectively with the other teams we work with in Redmond, Seattle, where Microsoft is headquartered. What impressed and pleasantly surprised both our team and Microsoft was that the integration was completely seamless and easy. Our vision is fully in line with Microsoft's vision. Thus, there is now the intention for our existing team in Athens to evolve and develop into a development hub. 

We are currently working in this direction, which is why we are looking for staff. We offer very good jobs and give excellent opportunities to developers but also to computer engineers who want to face challenges that one finds only in a high-tech environment. The team that develops the Microsoft product is in Greece. In this group we are around 40 people and now we are in a process of accelerating recruitment. The team that develops the Microsoft product is in Greece. In this group we are around 40 people and now we are in a process of accelerating recruitment. The team that develops the Microsoft product is in Greece. In this group we are around 40 people and now we are in a process of accelerating recruitment.

From its first steps, Softomotive was active in the RPA (robotic process automation) industry.

What exactly is this technology and what are its benefits to users and businesses?

We are working on a product that is potentially found in 1 billion computers worldwide.

In large organizations and on a large scale RPA (Robotic Process Automation) is used to automate monotonous and repetitive processes, freeing employees and allowing them to engage in more creative and value-added tasks. For example, in one large company there was a department that dealt exclusively with informing employees about their access rights to its systems whenever an employee changed jobs, something that happened daily to a sufficient number of employees. This process was replaced by a RPA automation offering a reduction in department operating costs of up to 80%! At the individual user level, one can automate a large number of tasks performed during the day, such as, for example, fill in the details of a form or add items to an Excel file each time you receive an email with an order.