Kostas Fiakas, INFORM: “We invest in new technologies, reaffirming our commitment to provide pioneering solutions for the security and information”

Interview with Kostas Fiakas, Group Chief Strategy Officer at INFORM, member of AUSTRIACARD Holdings

What are the next period strategic plans considering latest aquisitions?

With a long and successful track record in the applied technology sector, specializing in data security and information management, AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS AG remains committed to its strategic plan for continuous growth. Contemporary businesses are looking for trustworthy partners who can effectively respond to the complex challenges they are facing; this is a mission AUSTRIACARD takes on and sees through. With the acquisition of Research and Data Analytics specialists LSTech, the Greek multi-national strengthens its technical resources and is now able to offer its clients even more advanced solutions that improve the security of their businesses with the use of AI applications.

With the acquisition of LSTech, AUSTRIACARD continues to invest in new technologies, reaffirming its management sectors commitment to provide pioneering solutions for the security and information.

LSTech has, to date, led an exceptionally successful course in the field of Research and Data Analytics and specializes in the development of innovative applications that allow large public and private organizations to make full use of their data. It is precisely this specialization in areas and technologies that focus on artificial intelligence, such as Machine Learning, Deep Neural Networks, Generative AI, Big Data Engineering and What-if Analysis & Simulation among many others, that make LSTech the ideal addition to the AUSTRIACARD organization.

How is AI helping in the development of new products and artificial intelligence services?

Soon, AUSTRIACARD will be able to provide a new generation of solutions to its clients that incorporates artificial intelligence technologies and services. With the introduction of LSTech to its business organization, the company will be in a position to offer:

• Secure/safe data ownership. The company’s expertise in printing security is now transferred to the digital world with the application of digital techniques, such as digital watermarking, which effectively protect a company’s data from unauthorized reproduction, copying or reselling.
• Export of knowledge via closed data. Thanks to the EU’s new legislation, Data Governance Act and Data Act, European companies can, for the first time now, make the most of the wealth of their data and participate in the new data economy which is currently being formed worldwide. In this way the demand for personal data protection and security can be combined with the need to supply artificial intelligence with data which are currently not available on the Web.
• Microloans and credit assessment. Artificial intelligence can automate slow “manual” processes used by financial institutions in the credit assessment of clients prior to approving funding, such as housing loans. By automatically analysing the credit capacity of clients, artificial intelligence can support micro-lending applications for the purchase of lower cost consumer goods, for example electronic devices or home appliances, whereas time-consuming, classic analysis methods are not financially sustainable.

• Collaborative fraud detection. The more data a mechanical learning algorithm has access to in fraud detection, the higher its accuracy and efficiency are. Banks, telecommunication providers, retailers and other businesses can join forces through Collaborative Learning in order to better fight fraud without the need for access to sensitive personal data. This means that an attack pattern or a new fraud technique detected by a bank, a credit card organization or a retail store, can benefit other companies who will be able to prevent such fraud before it is even attempted.

Unwavering focus on value added by technology

The merger with LSTech is one more step in AUSTRIACARD’s growth path as a global applied technology company whose absolute priority is to provide value-added solutions to its clients. Contemporary society is in the throes of a technological evolution fever. It is a situation that requires the correct interpretation of the tech environment, along with mature but daring choices with regard to cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence. The result of combining AUSTRIACARDS’ accumulated know-how with LSTech’s specialization in innovation is the immediate availability of leading, functional solutions with immediate results for the businesses that choose to trust them.

AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS AG leverages over 130 years of experience in information management, printing, and communications to deliver secure and transparent experiences for its customers. They offer a comprehensive suite of products and services, including payment solutions, identification solutions, smart cards, card personalization, digitization solutions, and secure data management. ACAG employs a global workforce of 2,700 people and is publicly traded on both the Athens and Vienna Stock Exchanges under the symbol ACAG.