D. Maniatis – CEO Upstream: Innovation abounds in Greece

The CEO of Upstream talks to Capital.gr about the country’s capabilities in the technology sector and the prospects of the Greek company that currently addresses 1.2 billion consumers.

Interview with Costas Ketsietzis

“Greece has many examples of companies that started from scratch, managed to attract impressive levels of foreign investment and today can offer leading, globally, solutions and technologies,” says Dimitris Maniatis, CEO of Upstream, a company that started from our country and today operates in 45 markets around the world.

“Greece is not and cannot be only tourism”, Mr. Maniatis also underlines, adding that there are bases for innovation and technology to thrive both inside and outside the borders, helping the country to really change its capital. Maintaining the backbone of Upstream in Greece, he appears very optimistic about the future. “Overall, in the last two years we have recorded a growth of 25%. Today we face the usual challenges that a company faces when it relaunches its main product portfolio. The most productive and efficient period of the company is ahead of us,” he said.

– Tell us a few words about Upstream and the areas in which you operate. How many employees do you have and in which countries.

We are active in the field of mobile marketing, a space in which Upstream has been a pioneer and leader since its inception. Today, when much of our communication, activity and transactions are centered around the mobile phone, “chatting” with consumers through their mobile device has become more important than ever for any brand. For the most part, this communication is now digital and automated, presupposing the knowledge and utilization of the latest technologies, successful and accurate targeting, data management and protection against fraud. This is exactly where we are. The mobile marketing automation platform that we have developed and are constantly evolving today targets an expanded market of 1.2 billion consumers in some of the fastest growing markets in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Upstream research and development center is located in Athens, our 330 employees are located in 22 different countries.

– As a company that operates globally, what are the advantages, but also the challenges of being in Greece.

The opportunity to work in a company that is addressed globally and is based in one of the most beautiful countries in the world, is I believe one of the greatest privileges in a company like Upstream. Our openness to other markets has largely preserved us during the economic crisis of previous years in Greece, while our experience of working in parallel in many markets with virtual teams has found us more prepared to face the pandemic of people and our infrastructure ready for remote work and unhindered service to our customers. We helped the latter make leaps and bounds in their digital transformation, as physical stores and outlets were restricted during the lockdown.

– As a leader in the field of mobile marketing what are the market prospects, especially in the new era of 5G networks?

Mobile phones have now become the dominant medium through which we enter the Internet and mobile marketing occupies the largest share in the “pie” of digital marketing. Mobile phone allows us to reach the end consumer more directly and more targetedly, from digitally purely mobile channels, such as Viber or WhatsApp, to channels we may not yet be familiar with here, such as RCS or IVR , but also traditional mobile channels, such as SMS. SMS may sound outdated, but we are talking about a market whose value will reach $ 83 billion by 2024. The fermentations that are taking place are many and, for the time being at least , are not directly affected by the advent of 5G networks, which especially in the markets we address in the developing world are slower and there are no infrastructure fixed high-speed networks.

– The challenges in cybersecurity and especially in mobile devices are also increasing significantly. What services does the company offer in this field and how important it is for its development.

With the value of the mobile advertising market rising year by year, it is estimated that digital fraud is increasing at a similar rate. Having dedicated two years of research and development in the field of mobile fraud protection we have developed the Secure-D platform which is now fully integrated into Upstream’s marketing automation platform, Grow. This means that every digital campaign we run for our customers has authentic results, does not charge ads and fake clicks and does not inflate end-user accounts. Last year alone, our platform blocked 980 million malicious transactions, which could have cost about $ 1.3 billion. I firmly believe that safety valves need to be present in every digital service.

– What are the sizes of the company? What goals have you set for the next period?

With the technological solutions we provide, in many different markets, being more relevant than ever last year, we achieved 100% of our financial goals while we recorded a 13% increase in net income compared to 2019. At the same time, in flight and in the midst of turmoil , we reorganized, technologically upgraded our services and expanded to a large number of “vertical” markets, expanding our customer base, outside the field of telecommunications. In total, in the last two years we have recorded a growth of 25%. Today we face the usual challenges that a company faces when relaunching its main product portfolio. The most productive and productive period of the company is ahead of us.

– How do you assess the ecosystem of technology and innovation in Greece? How can it be further strengthened?

Greece has many examples of companies that started from scratch, managed to attract impressive levels of foreign investment and today can offer leading, globally, solutions and technologies. Innovation abounds in the country and entrepreneurship is intertwined with people’s DNA. Greece is not and cannot be just tourism. There are bases for innovation and technology to thrive both inside and outside the borders helping the country really change capital. Appropriate action is beginning to emerge, but investment is needed, relief from the rigidities of the past, tax incentives and, most importantly, access to human talent. Our ability to attract and retain capable, talented and skilled people will determine the competitiveness and sustainability of the mobility we see now.

– As a company you give special weight to the development of human resources, tell us the initiatives you are implementing during this period and if there is the appropriate talent in the country?

Investing in human resources is a timeless value of Upstream, which has rightly earned the reputation of a talent incubator. There are many people who, through Upstream, rose to high positions or even created their own, successful companies. Upstream’s management team itself is made up half of the people who have worked for it for more than a decade, who have gone through several positions within the company until they reach the positions they hold today.

In the meantime we are organizing Start at Upstream, a program for young software engineers, which aims to take students who have just graduated from university and integrate them directly into the job market, providing them with knowledge that is considered’s technology companies, but are not taught in schools. In general, we consider software engineers as the vanguard of the company and we have top professionals, who are the most suitable to support new graduates in their first steps in the industry.

The companies themselves need to take action to create the professionals they need. We have received more than 500 applications for Start at Upstream. If this effort is not made, and we simply “complain” that we do not find the right people, our graduates will inevitably be forced to seek their fortune abroad. We can shape the conditions to keep the talent here.