A 2022 assessment of the scale of AI activity in UK businesses showed that as businesses grow, they are more likely to adopt AI; Although only 15% of small companies have adopted at least one AI technology, not only have 68% of large companies already done so – they are also 17% more likely to adopt multiple AI technologies.[1] The EU’s legislative efforts to oversee the deployment of artificial intelligence could therefore not be more pertinent. But despite the numerous regulations aiming to give SMEs an equal piece of the AI pie, many of the guidelines will remain elusive to…

Martin Fischer, Steffen Brehme, Mario Oswald and Lothar Kimmeringer founded Lobster in 2002. The next twenty years were dedicated to establishing the company as a lucrative mid-size software company. This called for the necessary technical know-how, a favourable economic environment and a sprinkling of good luck. To reflect on this journey, our CEO Martin Fischer sat down with us to share his experience as a founder. Martin, tell us – what did the early days at Lobster look like? Was there a proper business plan with funding secured or did you just put your faith in your vision and the…

No matter your business – introducing an API strategy can be hugely beneficial. In our recent blog post, we considered the economic advantages, such as the ability to introduce new scalable revenue streams, optimise customer retention and enhance company-wide, internal efficiencies. Whereas in our white paper, we presented the five phases of the API life cycle, proving just how quick and easy it is to build a digital ecosystem for your business. In this post, we’ll be taking a look at key considerations for any well-planned, successful API strategy. You may already be able to quickly create and publish individual…

Not long after moving into the new Lobster HQ building, we sent out a survey to decide how best to use one of the free rooms. “Would you rather have a gym or a space for childcare?” At the time, the overwhelming majority of Lobsteranians voted for the fitness room. Fair enough. But how do couples who don’t have access to corporate childcare make it work? And are the men of today more present in the home? We asked three young fathers at Lobster about their experiences and how they’ve adjusted to their new role. Andreas (35) Software Developer at…

Many companies can’t seem to shake the belief that IT is so abstract that non-IT employees could never understand it – a misconception that stands in the way of IT modernisation. Instead of fearing complexity and other IT fragmentation factors as insurmountable business challenges, fragmentation should be seen as the one controllable constant in a highly specialised corporate reality. Knowledge is power, so here is a breakdown of 7 insights for improved understanding: 1: FUNCTIONAL FRAGMENTATION Tech plays a multi-dimensional role, so the breadth of IT tasks is considerable – from providing and maintaining basic infrastructure to choosing the right…

Implementing an API strategy has become essential for all companies that want to remain competitive in today’s digital landscape. A well thought-out API strategy and API management not only opens up new, scalable revenue streams and increases customer loyalty, but also helps to streamline internal and cross-company processes. For every company, in every industry. Today, more and more companies are realizing that data as a raw material and commodity can make a decisive difference in global competition.    Therefore, Lobster allows you a smooth entry into the world of application programming interfaces and the API economy as a network of interface-supported…

It’s no secret that women are underrepresented in the world of IT. But what is the experience of real women ‘on the ground’? What does it feel like to be in the minority in a male-dominated environment? Or does being female in a sea of men, in fact, have its upsides? To get to the bottom of this, we had the privilege of hosting a round table with seven clued-in female colleagues at Lobster HQ. Their responses are poignant and enlightening. Roundtable participants: Suelyne Batista (Software Development, PRO), Ayleen Bocretsion (Head of Technical Consulting, PRO), Anne Cybok (Technical Consulting, LLC),…

In many EU countries, e-invoicing – the electronic issuing, sending and receiving of invoices – is not only mandatory between companies and public authorities (business-to-government, B2G), but is also becoming increasingly common in business relationships between companies (business-to-business, B2B) and end customers (business-to-customer, B2C). In December 2022, the EU Commission took this development into account and presented a new draft directive under the name “VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA)”.  THE EU COMMISSION’S NEW ViDA INITIATIVE.  In addition to the current e-invoicing directive 2014/55/EU, the European Commission presents the following starting points for modernizing the VAT system in the EU…

Christina Tabernig is a published author, specialising in business etiquette and manners. When she’s not writing, she runs korrekt!, a training institute offering courses and seminars on professionalism in the workplace. In light of her experience of working in Sales and Marketing for renowned IT companies, we sat down with her to discuss how to dress to impress for the office. As a software development company, Lobster works with employees that are generally more IT than lifestyle focussed. Unlike other more customer-facing sectors, our industry isn’t really known for having a particular business dress code. What’s your take on this? …

Mr Engelbrett, could you please introduce yourself?  I represent the fashion company hummel. We are mainly involved in sports fashion, and we have more brands than just hummel, for example, Newline and Halo. Next year we celebrate our 100 year anniversary, so we are a modern company, but with a long tradition regarding sports clothes.   As for myself, I started 5 months ago as Head of IT at hummel. My aim is to prepare our IT department for the growth journey that the company is on. We have the ambition to be one of the top 10 sports brands in…