Interview with Simona Kogovšek, CEO of the Mikrocop Group
First, I have to say that Mr Koritnik was the one who called me that very morning—right after I informed my business partners at Abanka that I was leaving—and offered me the opportunity to lead Mikrocop. Conversations and agreements followed, and for me it was an entirely new challenge.
I joined Mikrocop 15 years ago, on Friday, 1 October 2010. The day before my arrival, Mr Koritnik ended up in the emergency room, so one of my very first tasks was to address employees at the annual picnic in Vodice. In the days that followed, I took over leadership the way I approach any new challenge: take responsibility, get to know the team, make a solid plan, trust your closest collaborators—and keep your head above water.
The biggest challenge was taking over the company without a proper handover. Although I had experience from the banking world, back then I still didn’t truly know how to read financial statements. Within two months I already had a fairly clear picture and began planning the optimisations and changes we needed—the effects of the financial crisis were being felt at Mikrocop as well. At the time, I didn’t yet realise just how crucial it is in such periods to have loyal customers, recurring revenue, and reliable payers.
We had an excellent sales team that was in constant contact with customers, but they, too, were looking for ways to optimise and change. Mikrocop adapted quickly—these were the years when we strengthened electronic archiving in Arhiviraj.si, gradually phased out microfilming, and expanded scanning services, the so-called “late scan”. Internally, we therefore carried out a major reskilling project for colleagues in services.
In addition, we began developing controlling and a reporting system. Accurate, timely data enabled thoughtful decision-making—what to keep, what to change, and what to discontinue. By the end of 2013, we were ready again for new development challenges.
A key turning point was the decision to develop the new InDocEDGE platform, which combines three strong components: RMS, BPM and DMS. With solutions like Arhiviraj.si and Brezpapirja.si, we could no longer compete effectively on the market.
Alongside this, we set a clear vision and mission: we digitalise business operations with the ambition to become the leading IT development company in the Adriatic region. Five-year and annual strategies followed that vision and mission.
But first and foremost, we have always pursued goals such as customer satisfaction, service quality, and the expertise of our team. That is why we continuously invest in new knowledge, enable colleagues to grow and transition into new areas of work, obtain ISO certifications, and meet all regulatory requirements of our customers. In a way, this naturally shaped our focus on working primarily with clients from heavily regulated industries, where managing large volumes of documentation is critical.
Fifteen years ago, 60% of our colleagues worked in services and 20% in IT—today it’s the other way around. Back then, most of our revenue came from complementary services and physical storage, whereas today more than 65% of revenue comes from IT services and solutions. It is also certainly harder today to find highly qualified new colleagues—hybrid work has its benefits, but also its downsides.
Cloud services are completely normal today, but interestingly, at Mikrocop we were already operating in a private cloud fifteen years ago with Arhiviraj.si—we just didn’t know that’s what it was called at the time.
Externally, our organisational culture hasn’t changed dramatically, but it has grown even stronger—we remain committed to compliance, security, professionalism, and an orientation toward digitalisation and change.
Internally, however, the culture has shifted quite a bit, especially after the pandemic period. It is being reshaped by new generations of colleagues, as well as by the environment and the demands of our customers and partners. Although we work from home a lot, the pace of work today is faster and more demanding, which often also means more stress. Customers expect best practices, while also wanting us to adapt to them—this all influences our working environment, too.
Our organisational culture remains open: we encourage dialogue, suggestions, knowledge-sharing, and in doing so we raise colleagues’ competencies. Mentorship, teamwork, brainstorming and shared decision-making are strongly present. Almost every month we have some form of team-building or social gathering, and in business we have a huge number of alignment meetings.
Right now, we are in a phase of rewriting what kind of culture we want to live going forward—one that enables a healthy balance between professional and private life, and brings satisfaction on both sides.
What makes me happiest is that we truly are a real team. My leadership approach is based on clear direction, while decisions are made based on proposals. The strength of our team lies precisely in its diversity—each individual complements me and the rest of the team in the areas where they are strongest. We are a solid chain that knows how to address challenges and find solutions; we discuss them openly, make decisions together, and stand behind them.
The greatest gift is when a responsible person at a client tells us—or even writes—how satisfied they are with our work and what we did well. In fact, there’s hardly a month when I don’t receive some kind of praise—and I am genuinely proud of that. Expertise is our added value.
I’m also extremely happy that we enable colleagues to gain new knowledge and competencies beyond their core area. Over the past ten years, we have reskilled more than 20% of our colleagues—this year alone, five. Many started at Mikrocop in complementary services and today make important contributions in IT, sales or general operations. There are also many who started as students and are now the backbone of our team. In short, I’m glad that we have a culture of development and competence-building, and that we enable colleagues to change and progress in their careers.
Mikrocop will become the largest IT services and development company for business digitalisation in the South-East Europe region. That is our vision and mission—and we firmly believe in it.
I see the key goals primarily in working with our new majority owner and finding synergies among related companies—both in delivery and in creating new sales opportunities.
Our goal is to keep getting better, with a strong focus on a top-tier user experience for our customers and partners. The direction for the future is clear: globalisation, specialisation, and connecting services.
Without you, we wouldn’t be celebrating today. Every single colleague and every partner is part of the path we’ve walked. We are grateful for everything we have achieved together—and we look forward to continuing to build the future together.