Exclusive Interview with Lukas Hertig
Part 1: Insights from an Experienced Software and SaaS Expert
Investor, entrepreneur, and corporate development specialist Lukas Hertig has joined forces with IceWarp to boost its growth activities. In this exclusive interview, he shares valuable insights on the future of collaboration tools, the Cloud, and AI automation.
Who Is Lukas Hertig?
Born in Switzerland, Lukas has spent the decades of his educational years and career surrounded by business information systems, marketing, financial modeling and analysis, and the vast IT field as a whole.
He currently stands as the Senior Partner and Founder of 23 Investments, where he applies his 20+ years of experience in IT, software, SaaS, and cloud sectors. And it’s his passion for scaling businesses and the hosting industry that brought him to IceWarp, where he is currently applying all his skills to help improve and grow the company.
Why Collab with IceWarp?
Given Lukas’ background, it’s quite obvious he only chooses to partner with companies and initiatives he sees great potential in. When asked why he chose IceWarp out of all the available options, he had this to say:
“I’ve been aware of IceWarp for many years, and they offer an amazing product. I believe any competitor is either quite far away from IceWarp or very old. IceWarp may be over 20 years old, but its software is not. They decided to redevelop everything from scratch a few years ago, especially in terms of scalability and feature selection. IceWarp has exactly what small and medium businesses need. These are some of the things that first drew my eye, and I’m excited to unlock its full potential and transform the company from a traditional software business into a scalable growth engine.”
Industry Challenges & How IceWarp is Facing Them
Lukas is an expert when it comes to the obstacles currently faced by online collaboration tools, ISPs, and MSPs on a global scale. That’s why we asked for his opinion on this issue, especially when considering IceWarp’s future in this space.
“One big issue I’ve seen for small and medium companies has to do with data sovereignty. Unless you pay hundreds of thousands per year in subscriptions to companies like Google and Microsoft, you have no say in where your data is hosted, say, only in Europe, for example. The result: Small and medium businesses don’t know where their data is.
That’s one issue on the end-customer side of things, but another for ISPs and MSPs today is pricing. Because the likes of Google and Microsoft include so many hidden fees and high up-front subscription costs, many end customers are looking for better options with other service providers. And many of these providers are offering shared web posting packages with free email. But this is just an email, oftentimes in pretty bad quality, without Conferencing, Chat, Documents, etc.
Not only does IceWarp provide these things, but it also directly addresses the overall issue by offering genuine 15-30% margins, complete control of customer relationships, and extensive customization options. It’s this level of differentiation that sets it apart.”
Four Key Trends in Cloud Hosting
When asked what trends are currently shaping the future of cloud hosting, Lukas broke the topic down into four key areas:
“First, regulatory fragmentation is accelerating globally. Companies are facing increasingly complex compliance requirements, including everything from the GDPR and CCPA to industry-specific frameworks.
Second, sovereign cloud initiatives are on the rise across much of the world. Nations have recognized the strategic importance of digital infrastructural independence.
Third, enterprises are growing disillusioned with SaaS lock-in and unpredictable costs. Organizations are seeking hybrid architectures that combine cloud agility with cost predictability and control.
And last but not least, of course, is artificial intelligence. AI integration is transforming collaboration from static document management all the way to dynamic workflow augmentation. The catch? Companies want AI capabilities without having to surrender their data to 3rd-party models.
With these four key trends in mind, I’m particularly pleased with IceWarp’s potential for expansion. The market is actively searching for alternatives to hyperscaler lock-in, and IceWarp is the precise solution to address these emerging requirements.”
Looking Forward
Many of the insights shared by Lukas Hertig during his interview focused on the future of collaboration tools and the ISP/MSP workspace, as well as how he plans to help IceWarp take advantage of rising trends and avoid potential pitfalls. And these same lessons apply to anyone operating within this industry.
In Part 2 of Lukas’ interview, we dive deeper into the advancements and changes presented by AI, discuss various marketing strategies, and what it takes to foster successful technology partnerships.
Don’t Miss Part 2 of the Exclusive Lukas Hertig Interview for More Can’t-Miss Insights!
