According to Boonstra, this is the “ultimate moment” to showcase CBEE Remarkable at Data Expo, where business leaders, data experts, and tech professionals come together. He sees how the market is shifting from experimentation to performance, from wishful thinking to value— —and how these themes will take center stage at the Jaarbeurs on September 9 and 10. Data Expo is also the ideal venue for CBEE Remarkable: “Market players meet there. As consultants, we play a connecting role in turning business ambitions into reality.”
Connector and coach
Boonstra says he has always been a connector. “Ten years ago, drawing on my background as a registered controller, I started CBEE. I began by providing services in accounting and controlling, with the idea of expanding into and collaborating with other disciplines.” From there, a few years later, he founded CBEE Remarkable with two partners, specializing in the implementation of Salesforce and Certinia. It’s a kind of incubator, says Boonstra: “We have a lot of talent on staff who came to us from universities and colleges. That’s why training and coaching are an important part of my work. I think that’s truly amazing.”
CBEE Remarkable now employs nearly twenty people; the company is headquartered in Groningen and also operates out of Utrecht. Boonstra: “Unlike many of our competitors, we didn’t start with CRM, but with business processes and the financial side of the business. From the start in 2019, we’ve believed in platform thinking. We became a partner of Salesforce, the largest CRM provider. It’s also complex software that allowed us to link marketing, sales, and operations to finance.” CBEE also partnered with ERP provider FinancialForce—now Certinia—which enables project management, resource planning, and financial processes to be housed within the same Salesforce platform.
From lead to cash
Boonstra describes CBEE Remarkable as an IT company and niche consultancy. “We digitize, automate, and connect business processes from lead to cash—that is, from finding the customer all the way through to booking the invoice. We do this for knowledge-based and service-oriented SMBs: companies whose core business revolves around projects, contracts, or memberships, including those in healthcare and life sciences.” Clients and prospects range in size from approximately 50 to 1,200 FTEs, says the co-founder: “That usually means we have direct contact with the board and often with the founders as well. We aim for long-term partnerships with short lines of communication, where we can make a big difference with a small team.”
Best practices
“To help companies implement software,” Boonstra continues, “you have to listen closely to clients from the very beginning. How do you do business? What challenges do you face? We make choices that align with the client’s business processes. We apply those to the software’s best practices, out of the box. We provide as little customization as possible and try to keep programming to a minimum. That saves time and makes maintenance easier.”
More silos due to AI
Boonstra sees how AI has increasingly become part of daily life and work, both for himself and for his clients. These new possibilities may conflict with the platform-based approach he so strongly believes in: “You can imagine that AI within organizations leads to more silos, just as Excel did in the past. With AI, you can generate output very quickly, but how do you ensure that you’re getting the right output?”
Data, context, and trust
It starts with the right input, according to Boonstra: figures and other data about customers, projects, and invoices shouldn’t be scattered across different departments, systems, and files, but should all be up-to-date and centrally available in one place. “Data is the core of what you can achieve with automation and AI.” According to this expert, two more things are needed for usable AI: context and trust. “AI must understand how your organization works, be aware of behind-the-scenes agreements, and know why certain matters are sensitive. That’s what makes the difference between a general answer and the right answer.” On trust: “You only let AI take the reins when you can truly rely on it—when it does what you expect and you trust the platform with your data. That’s why we chose Salesforce.”
Key Question
Boonstra observes that organizations are already making extensive use of AI and that “countless experts” have emerged to help them with this, sometimes without laying the proper foundation. “Data, context, and trust really need to be in place. Then AI doesn’t function as a toy, but as a colleague who takes work off your hands and adds value. If any one of those three things is missing, it remains nothing more than experiments that never really yield results. The key question we’re now answering for clients is: How can we make the most of these new opportunities?” The answer often lies in centralizing data, connecting systems and processes, and mapping out a data strategy. “This involves issues such as ownership, definitions, and change management.”
New truths
The question of how organizations can derive value from data and AI is central to Data Expo. “A fantastic theme,” says Boonstra, “that fits well with our company. We now know that you have to start small with projects. The market is now looking for new truths, which, incidentally, can vary by sector. For financial data, for example, 99 percent accuracy isn’t enough; in other segments, that might be different. I think it’s great that different worlds come together at Data Expo—from the business community, academia, and the government. They all have different priorities, but face similar challenges.”
CBEE Remarkable at Data Expo
Boonstra is looking forward to Data Expo, taking place on September 9 and 10 in Utrecht. Visitors will encounter CBEE Remarkable there in various ways: “Together with Gen25, another partner from the Salesforce network, my business partner Thomas Klopstra will give a presentation on onboarding AI colleagues. This helps organizations prevent AI projects from getting stuck in the pilot phase. Certinia is hosting a roundtable with CFOs and operations directors to discuss the challenges they face. A client will also be present, as well as my other business partner, Bart Blokzijl, representing us.”
“Visitors can, of course, find us at the booth, which we’re sharing with Salesforce and Certinia,” Boonstra continues. “All three of us have a presentation table to showcase what we can offer. Our names also appear on the many thousands of lanyards that visitors receive upon entry.” CBEE Remarkable is also featured on the Data Expo website: Boonstra writes a series of blog posts, for example, about reliable and smart AI.
Exposure, knowledge, and leads
When will Data Expo be considered a success for the platinum sponsor? “The value lies primarily in exposure—the opportunity to showcase ourselves,” says Boonstra. “Who we are, what we do, and for whom. And, of course, we’ll be exchanging knowledge with visitors and fellow exhibitors. Leads and prospects are the result of that. On top of that, we’re just going to have a blast. We’re fully focused on it internally and really looking forward to it. We’re all going to have a great time together, celebrating the strides our company is making.” Alongside Data Expo, CBEE Remarkable is running a recruitment campaign, Boonstra explains: “Be sure to stop by the Jaarbeurs.”
OGZ
Boonstra speaks highly of the collaboration with OGZ, the organizer of Data Expo. “They’re very on top of things—you can tell by their adherence to deadlines and, for example, their use of data automation. What we advise in sales and marketing, OGZ puts into practice every day.” Their stakeholder management is professional and well-organized, yet approachable, Boonstra continues: “They want the best for the expo and the sponsor; delivering quality is the goal. They provide us with tremendous support to make it a real success.”
CBEE Remarkable is a platinum sponsor of Data Expo, taking place on Wednesday, September 9, and Thursday, September 10, at Jaarbeurs Utrecht. The implementation partner, along with Salesforce and Certinia, can be found at booth number 124.
Boonstra’s business partner, Thomas Klopstra, will give a presentation on Thursday, September 10, alongside Sayed Nasibdar of Gen25. Title: Onboarding Your AI Colleague: From Pilot to Full-Fledged Team Member. The session will take place at 12:45 p.m. in Lecture Hall 6.