Ignit Group from Zagreb is Changing the Digital Future through IoT and AI

Admir Omeragić and Marcin Zakęś met while working at international technology companies such as Sony Mobile, Philips, and Kapsch, but despite their successful careers in prominent companies, they decided to make a turn. They chose entrepreneurship and took over Ignit Group to try their business luck in a field that is not as developed in Croatia. They agree that the step into entrepreneurship was actually a natural development of events. Namely, the companies they worked for had elements of entrepreneurship, so entering Ignit Group was not at all a surprising move for them. They say that with their company, they can offer the experience and knowledge they have gained to a much larger market because as a digital agency, they cover the entire product and service development cycle, from strategy creation, user experience through applications, cloud platforms, and the Internet of Things (IoT) to data and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

Majority Owners

They believe that IoT is a field that will grow significantly in the next five to ten years, which aligns with their expertise and experience working on large related projects. Although there are already a considerable number of companies in Croatia in their field, which makes the competition certainly strong, they believe that there are fewer companies specializing in the Internet of Things, which is their area of expertise. Omeragić is the CEO, and Zakęś is the technical director of the Zagreb company. Although they come from different backgrounds, their enthusiasm for new technologies and challenging challenges brought them together professionally. Omeragić worked in Sweden for about ten years after his education there and then moved to the Netherlands and later to Austria for work. Zakęś completed his studies in Poland and also finished his studies in Austria, where he got a job, and they started working together about eight years ago at Philips and have been closely collaborating since then.

– Ignit Group was founded in mid-2022 by three partners to provide digital services and develop technological solutions for the Internet of Things. After the first two years, due to business growth, they decided to seek new partners, so at Ignit, at the beginning of this year, the two of us officially entered the ownership structure with a 65 percent stake, taking over leadership, operations, and continuing the company’s growth. Our services include determining architecture strategy, product design, and shaping user experience aligned with business goals, as well as developing or integrating IoT platforms that connect various sensors and devices into a unified ecosystem. Through engineering and cloud architecture, we build scalable and secure solutions and develop high-availability systems that operate continuously. We develop mobile and web applications that combine top performance and user experience. And, of course, we design and implement data channels and AI/ML models – Omeragić listed, who, when looking ahead, sees further strengthening of capacities in artificial intelligence and data management.

Confidentiality Agreements

The company has been profitable from day one as it quickly acquired clients. It is significantly represented in the European market, primarily in the Benelux and DACH (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland), and somewhat less in the American market. It is also turning towards the Nordic market, expecting to do more business there soon. Given that the American market is particularly interesting to it, it is monitoring how current political and economic instabilities may affect decisions regarding increased entry into the U.S. Ignit Group is also a certified Amazon AWS partner.

– We are a young company. Every project has been important in some way and has left a mark in this early stage of development, but Philips should certainly be highlighted as an important reference. One of the more interesting projects is Philips Home Safety. In it, we developed all the architecture and digital environment for about ten different devices that connect to the internet, such as indoor and outdoor cameras, a camera doorbell, and window and door sensors. It was important due to the very sensitive nature of the products, namely home security and the complexity of the entire ecosystem. We developed it from start to finish and designed the architecture that supported users from several continents where the products were used. Otherwise, we have also developed and delivered very interesting proprietary solutions, but our work is done quietly and is mostly not publicly visible. We mostly work according to client requirements, so everything we develop ultimately becomes the intellectual property of the clients and is under confidentiality agreements. We have also started working on our own innovative projects recognized and co-financed by the European Union, so we expect their successful commercialization to bring an additional source of income – believes Omeragić.

Digital Twins

He assesses that the world of information technology, especially in the field of cloud and IoT, is undergoing rapid and significant changes. Artificial intelligence is no longer a story of the future, says Omeragić, but is becoming a crucial part of everyday business – companies use it to stand out in competitive markets by offering products and services or to significantly improve their processes and operations.

He also sees a strong trend in edge computing as data processing is increasingly moving closer to the source (device) with the growth of IoT, thus speeding up response times and better protecting privacy.

– This changes the way cloud architecture and IoT solutions are designed, with increasingly important regulations and digital accessibility. In addition to the General Data Protection Regulation, the new EU Data Act brings rules that change how data must be shared and transferred, especially regarding IoT devices and cloud services. Today’s solutions must ensure data sovereignty, easy transfer, be compliant from the start, and be simultaneously accessible to all users. Digital twins are certainly a technology that, as a virtual replica of a physical object or process, proves to be a true agent of change. It is visible in two directions: the physical digital twin helps optimize production and infrastructure, while the user digital twin provides a comprehensive view of customers, their behavior, preferences, and experiences. It is precisely the user digital twins that bring significant change as they enable companies to better understand users and provide them with personalized experiences and predictive support at every step – assesses Omeragić.

No Big Jumps

Given that they have secured projects with large clients from the beginning, they have been able to focus on seeking new talents, building teams, and quality delivery. Since there was no need to further seek new clients or build sales organizations, they immediately worked on projects that required their highest expertise and experience. The result is high revenues: in 2024, they were 6.82 million euros, which was a growth of 64.50 percent, and a significant jump was also recorded in 2023, when they grew from 870,000 euros to 4.15 million euros.

– As a young company, we did not have indirect costs in sales, marketing, administration, or management because we still manage to cover everything ourselves. This is one of the reasons that influenced the above-average share of last year’s net profit of 1.64 million euros, which was an increase of 62.31 percent. However, as the company grows, operations grow, and parts are filled that will present a more realistic picture, but also relieve us operationally. This year, we expect revenues at the same levels as last year, but with lower profits due to investments. Now the organization is stabilizing, and we are not aiming for bigger jumps. In addition to stabilization, we will set some business processes and tools necessary due to our size and thus create a solid foundation for the next developmental leap. However, inflation and strong wage growth in Croatia seriously burden our competitiveness. Since wages in the domestic market are rising faster than in target markets, countries with lower inflation and more moderate wage growth are becoming relatively more competitive. We mitigate this risk by investing in tools and processes that increase productivity to maintain our price and market position. Namely, a Dutch client will prefer to hire a local company if there is no greater price arbitrage, assuming equal quality. Therefore, we emphasize top delivery quality, expertise, and continuous productivity improvement – emphasizes Omeragić.

Research Project

He notes that almost every agency in Croatia is facing significant increases in costs and wages, which is why we will be increasingly less competitive in the future. He does not think that wage growth is undesirable; quite the opposite, but it seems to him that we are now in a specific situation because we have had extremely high inflation in the last two years, which has raised the cost of living, and wages have risen in almost all sectors. This, according to Omeragić’s opinion, does not follow the situation in the rest of Europe, which is stagnating or growing very little.

Despite the challenges so far, such as administrative procedures and paperwork, he has noticed positive changes in Croatia. In comparison to, for example, Austria, many processes function digitally, and communication with institutions is largely done via email, which significantly facilitates business operations. One of the obstacles he particularly notices is the frequent changes in laws, such as the abolition of benefits for those under thirty, which have been replaced by other measures. Nevertheless, he says these are expected changes that entrepreneurs must adapt to. Regardless of these challenges, he announces that Ignit Group is preparing a new scientific research competition. The project carries a number of technical and technological uncertainties as technology is developing rapidly, and artificial intelligence is one of the key factors of these changes. Omeragić sees an opportunity in applying edge AI functionalities in partner products, thus creating innovative solutions with high added value.

– Ignit Group is entering a period of exceptional opportunities. On the foundations of successfully realized projects, we have built a strong core team and gained the trust of clients, while simultaneously developing a sales organization and structure that will guide us towards sustainable growth. Our goal is clearly set to become a leader in the IoT field and attract top talents – emphasizes Omeragić.

Home is Home

The largest investment by Ignit Group to date relates to the development of dual-use products as part of an EU project they are conducting with partners. It is a dual-use system – for detecting critical injuries and monitoring vital parameters of professional service members, significantly increasing the level of safety and situational awareness. The project is still in the research and development phase, so Omeragić expects that a successful result will enable further market commercialization. And given that Ignit Group primarily works remotely, teams use offices in the Sky Office business building only occasionally, and the size of the space is optimized according to their needs. Salaries in this field are more than competitive, and the company currently employs about 60 people. Their number depends on the project phase, but the core consists of 25 very experienced professionals. Omeragić’s goal is to have a strong core team that ensures stable growth, prioritizing hiring in Croatia. Although they work exclusively for foreign clients, they primarily find employees in the domestic market because they want to build a strong team right there.