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How Exact future-proofs its growth journey
CEO Paul Ramakers: "It's all about being of continuous value to your customers"
As an entrepreneur, you know that you don't set up a company for the short term. With passion and entrepreneurship, you strive for success, now and in the future. This also applies to Delft-based software developer Exact, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. Chief Executive Officer Paul Ramakers, who has been with the company for three decades and this year is celebrating his fifth year as CEO, proudly says: "Here's to the next 40 years." But how do you reach that milestone at a time when change is happening at breakneck speed, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Gen Z are having a significant impact on society? In this interview, Paul explains how Exact future-proofs its growth journey, for its customers and its own organisation.
Innovation is the key to success
Being and remaining successful is not something that can be taken for granted. When we ask Paul about Exact's secret, he is clear: "You need to be able to respond to changes in the market to be of continuous value to your customers. In our case, when it comes to business software, innovation is the key to success. Technological developments follow each other in rapid succession, as do the wishes of our customers. And they are our main focus. Over the years, we have expanded our portfolio from accounting software to ERP (think inventory management and project management) and in 2025, we are no longer focusing solely on entrepreneurs and their accountants. With the launch of the Exact Online Premium editions, finance professionals in growing SMEs have become an important new target group for us. After all, our conversations with customers revealed that larger SMEs needed more flexibility and richer functionalities in their software. The Premium editions support more sophisticated business processes and can be better tailored to individual requirements. This is one example of how we want to contribute to future-proof growth for our customers."
GenAI is helping thousands of entrepreneurs save valuable time every day
Speaking of innovation, Exact has been using AI in its software since 2017. "We have applied – and have been at the forefront of – AI and GenAI in our software for a long time. And we want to add value for our customers with this too. I think you can identify with this, and I hear this a lot from entrepreneurs around me... Working more efficiently is truly the biggest challenge for SMEs and accountants, especially with the ongoing tight labour market and the growing need to boost productivity for profitability. To help them, we recently launched Exact Assistant, our own GenAI tool in Exact Online. You can think of this tool as a PA, a personal assistant who is available to you 24/7. Exact Assistant helps you use our software, but can also proactively send notifications about your accounting and help you prepare for customer visits. And it works! We see that thousands of entrepreneurs save valuable time every day thanks to the help of their new PA. And this is just the beginning. We are expecting to add various functionalities to Exact Assistant in the near future."
Collaboration is crucial and incredibly valuable
Being of continuous value to customers is, of course, quite a challenge. When asked whether Exact can achieve this alone, Paul is clear: "Certainly not. Collaborations are crucial and also incredibly valuable to us. I'm talking about collaborations within the organisation, between teams and departments, but also about collaborations with accountants, who know better than anyone how to connect innovation and entrepreneurs. Our partners, such as implementation specialists, who are in direct contact with the market, also play an essential role. We collaborate domestically and internationally. Germany, for example, is an important growth market for us. We see plenty of opportunities there as many companies still need to move to the cloud. We can help with this, but we are doing so together with our partners. After all, they have that local knowledge to add real value."
Paying attention to each other and to the world around us
Reaching your goals is one thing, but how you reach them as a company is just as important. Exact has a clear vision on this. "Sustainability and responsibility are our focus areas", Paul says. "Both internally and externally. For example, we actively promote the training and development of our colleagues, because as I said, innovation is the key to our success. Of course, that means you also have to keep investing in yourself. As a company, we also have a responsibility to make a positive impact on our environment. We do this with our responsible business programme, which is built on several pillars that we also report on: the reduction of CO2 emissions, but also things like cybersecurity and data privacy. What I personally find very valuable is the time we set aside for Giving Back, which are volunteering activities people can choose to participate in. All colleagues get three working days a year to do this and together they do some great things. In short: as a company, we pay attention to each other and the world around us."
Not everything changes
Now back to the question of how your company can reach its next milestone and remain valuable to its customers for the next four decades. Paul concludes: "Essentially, it's about innovating and keeping up with developments in the market. And yet some things at Exact haven't changed in all these years. Like our core values, which describe what we stand for as a company. Guiding principles such as "always keep learning", "show ownership" and "take responsibility". They are part of our DNA and perhaps that is our secret. And I am incredibly proud to have been part of that for 30 years."
