25 years of being Exact

The usual garage story

The foundation of Exact was, just like in case of many other similar firms in the field, the outcome of the turbulence in the early 80s when IBM came with the IBM PS II concept of a personal computer which was to replace the huge mainframe computing machines.

Exact’s beginnings were the same as those of many other companies. Back then, it was more of an enthusiasm-sustained venture run by its eager founders, students of Delft University, rather than a sophisticated organization. However, Exact experienced a rocket take-off and during the 90s they made it with their DOS and 16bit Windows among the major market players. Thanks to their innovative approach (for instance the then exclusive telephonic customer support) Exact gained a complete control of the Dutch market.

Expansion

At the beginning of the 90s it was clear the Dutch market did not have the capacity for a further extensive growth and subsequently the first milestones in the history of expansion to foreign markets were set and first acquisitions made. With their visionary insight the founders discovered the possibilities and potential in the former Comecon countries and thus in the 90s the first Exact’s branches were established also in Eastern Europe.

Restructuring

At the beginning of the new millennium Exact reached a point where it had to critically analyze its twenty years of market presence and bring up a new vision and strategy for the upcoming decades. Making a decision on the necessary changes was a real predicament because Exact was and still is a sound company which for its entire existence has generated profit above the average level usual in its business sector and was always run only with its own capital and had a high cash reserve available on its accounts.

The changes culminated with the departure of the company’s founders from the management in the summer of 2005. A new and very young management team with Raj Patel at the helm was appointed to lead the holding and immediately in 2005 the team took the necessary steps leading to the launch of a long-term project focusing on human resources and product strategy with outlook until the half of the next millennium.

Ordeal by fire

Once the company has stabilized after the changes, the global crisis set in. And now the rest of the story is yet to unfold. Nevertheless, Exacts enters an era of a “new growth” in full strength and with regrouped forces, stable products and an array of 2,500 highly motivated employees.

The latest chapter added is the corporate identity change of 16 November 2009 – a long-term project launched more than two years ago. It involves not only a change of the logo but general acknowledgment of our own Exact DNA which came into existence 25 years back because the new generations of employees are part of the DNA too. And it all comes together.