With over 15 years of experience, a rich background in finance, and a deep understanding of the tech sector, the current CFO of DE-CIX, Sebastian Seifert, has been instrumental in driving the financial success of the company.
Since joining DE-CIX in 2018, the company has nearly doubled its revenues and the number of companies within its group, with the last three business years delivering the most successful EBITs in its history.
"Working with companies as they scale up and develop new ideas is something I’ve always been very keen to do,” he notes.
This passion for growth is evident not just in DE-CIX's impressive performance but also in his broader career, where he has consistently taken a hands-on approach to creating efficient financial systems that adapt to the demands of expanding companies.
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On data-driven approaches
One of the most notable advancements in DE-CIX’s financial management is integrating modern financial technology tools.
By implementing an ERP system and Microsoft Power BI, the company has transformed how it handles data and reporting.
Since the introduction of our ERP system and business intelligence platform, we now have a vast data pool of well-structured information about the company,” he explains.
The integration of these tools has streamlined processes, improved transparency, and provided what Seifert claims is a “single source of truth” for stakeholders.
“We can immediately deliver the results of the budgeting process to stakeholders, easily compare years, and drill down on specific topics,” he continues.
This ability to quickly access and analyse real-time data has led to more informed and accurate decision-making at all levels of the business, Seifert states.
On tapping AI
The finance department at DE-CIX has embraced automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline operations further, the CFO reveals.
A key example is the use of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology, which automates the matching of invoice data with purchase orders or product receipts. This not only saves time but reduces errors.
“We’ve also had automatic recognition of bank account statements to match them to open or paid invoices,” he says.
These AI-driven systems allow the finance team to focus on more strategic tasks rather than manual data entry.
While DE-CIX has not yet fully implemented Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Seifert acknowledges its potential:
He states: “We’re not currently using RPA because we don’t tend to have a large volume of repetitive tasks to manage. However, the technology certainly has great potential.”
Ensuring cybersecurity in finance
Like in any company, cybersecurity is a critical concern for CFOs, especially when sensitive financial data is at stake.
Meanwhile, at DE-CIX, financial data is protected through strict access policies and secure systems.
“First and foremost, we have our own policies. For example, our payroll data is tightly managed in terms of who has access rights,” he explains.
By using two-factor authentication and access rights management in both their ERP and Power BI systems, DE-CIX ensures that only authorised employees can access sensitive information.
Seifert also reveals the importance of segregating certain types of data, particularly when sharing it with external advisors.
“We also have separate storage for payroll data and use highly secure systems for sharing it with our external advisor,” he adds.
These layers of protection are critical in maintaining the security and integrity of the company’s financial data, he states.
On data analytics as a strategic tool
According to Seifert, data analytics has become a central pillar of DE-CIX’s financial strategy, allowing the company to make more informed decisions.
The CFO explains how it uses data analytics to drive discussions on budgeting and resource allocation: “We analyse large volumes of data to establish and implement KPIs, which serve as the foundation for many board-level discussions.”
This approach allows the company to set measurable goals and track progress in real-time, ensuring that decisions are based on concrete data rather than assumptions.
The ability to drill down into financial data has also improved the company’s overall financial performance.
“In the past, it was more of an educated guess,” he notes, contrasting their current data-driven approach to the more intuition-based decision-making methods of the past.
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