A proprietary remote desktop tool developed by AnyDesk Software GmbH is called AnyDesk. This software gives remote access to personal computers running the host application, which can be installed on different operating systems like Windows, Linux, and macOS. Moreover, AnyDesk allows users to have access from both mobiles and computers.
Recently, we had the honor of interviewing with Mr. Giovanni Castellini, Vice President, Marketing, AnyDesk. Given below is the complete unabridged interview.
1. What is the history of the company? Tell us about the founders and background.Â
AnyDesk was founded in Germany in 2014. Our founders Philipp Weiser, Andreas Mähler, and Olaf Liebe met while working for what is now our competition, TeamViewer.
They simply knew they could make an even better remote access solution. Together, they came up with the DeskRT codec, which allows for virtually latency-free collaboration whether you’re down the hall or on the other side of the world. Once they created that new technology, they put their heads together for some brainstorming around Andreas’s dining room table and created the AnyDesk brand and mission.
2. What is the inspiration behind your startup? What makes your product different from others?Â
It’s our philosophy to try and take in a more full-service approach and wider context when developing our solutions, an idea that comes from Philipp’s leadership. We want to offer benefits that are important to the user: simplicity, ultra-low latency and fast reaction times, security, and stability. And it’s that user-centric approach that sets AnyDesk apart.
Once you know what the user wants, it’s all about meeting those expectations, which we believe we’ve managed to do and the numbers back that up. Within five years, we’ve had more than 100 million users worldwide download our application. Even more important and gratifying, we have a 99 percent customer retention rate.
3. What are the market trends in the industry? Tell us more about the industry?
The global remote support software market is set to reach $1.3 billion by 2022, with smartphone use driving the growth. Smartphone users in India are expected to double to 829 million by 2022 from 404 million in 2017. By 2020, India should have about 650 million Internet users. That’s a huge remote IT support market, especially in terms of SMEs. This, in turn, means increasing demands on helpdesks and customer services where remote access helps slash costs.
4. What are the obstacles and challenges you faced while establishing your company? What did you learn from these challenges?
AnyDesk was entering an already developed market, one that was exceptionally competitive and dynamic. But because of how we designed our products and our customer-centric approach, we were able to provide a superior user experience that fostered a loyal user community. That in-turn led to viral recommendations and organic growth. Basically, we were able to go from zero to catching up to our biggest competitors in terms of awareness in just five years, which was a huge achievement. This confirmed our belief that building a better product and listening to customers is a sure-fire path to success.
5. How has your journey been? Tell us about your current team, customer base and revenues.
The response and reception we’ve received have been phenomenal. We recently announced the milestone of 100 million downloads worldwide. In addition to that impressive number, we’re adding over 5 million new users every month, and that number continues to grow. Our revenue has also grown along with our user base, more than doubling in each of the last three years.
We’re also exceptionally proud of the professional and globally diverse AnyDesk team. We currently have almost 60 employees with 14 languages spoken in our office every day. It’s quite a remarkable atmosphere and a dynamic international environment
6. What are the strengths of your company?
AnyDesk is the technology leader in remote desktop applications. We have excellent ratings and reviews from users. AnyDesk is a simple, secure, affordable, and user-friendly solution. It provides unparalleled response times and almost zero latency while utilizing banking-level security protocols and encryption. Our innovative technology has led us to be one of Germany’s 50 fastest-growing companies and a major disruptor on the remote access market worldwide.
7. What is the distribution of your initial funds? Do you have any plans to raise funds in the near future?
Last year, we received €6.5 million in Series A funding from EQT Ventures, which we used to maintain our steady growth by working on our software and expanding our team. There is a strong possibility of seeking more funds in the future.
8. What are your future plans and vision for the company?
Besides improving our software and developing new features and products, our goal is to grow our global customer base and improve market penetration around the world.