23. July 2025

35 years of YMS: invisible systems form the digital backbone of the country

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The key to success is long-term trust – from customers, partners and employees.
Not every software flashes and sends notifications. Some monitor how the color of trees changes, how corrosion develops on underground pipes, or how moisture decreases in the soil. Seemingly silently – but in constant operation – it evaluates signals from forests, fields, cities, and highways. Instead of loud “marketing”, it chooses stability, which you only notice when it is missing.
Representatives of the management of YMS, Executive Director Róbert Franček (R.F.), Chairman of the Supervisory Board Mikuláš Szapu (M.S.) and Director of Research and Innovation Projects, Radovan Sunega (R.S.), talk about how “invisible software” for public services, the landscape and infrastructure is born.
A keyword that describes you?
R.F.: Maps. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with all possible data sources. We can deliver them at an excellent quality-price ratio. We have so much know-how in 35 years that we can build anything for the client from a robust enterprise GIS to an interactive map window in any system with a lot of useful functions. Whoever tries working with our map will never go back. It’s as if they have gained sight, with which they can see things they didn’t think were visible before.
M.S.: YMS develops software systems similar to infrastructure – if it works, we don’t notice it, but if it disappears, we feel it immediately. We monitor the safety of pipelines and roads, forestry, field fertility, manage agricultural supervision, national accreditation, geology and more. Areas with a long-term impact on society. The “magic” is that managers don’t actually deal with the system as such. They work faster and more skillfully with the information they need. The rest runs in the background and they can rely on it.
How does your status as a research laboratory relate to this?
R.S.: We need to innovate, that is, find and test new technologies. Identify how to make our clients’ work even easier. Interpret data even more clearly. Automate as many tasks as possible. Expand the horizons of managers so that they can make decisions based on data and at the same time do not feel overwhelmed. We are a bridge between software science and the practice of the industries we serve. As part of research and development, we test what works and then pass on the best to our clients.
What areas are you researching?
R.S.: We have dozens of research activities. I would mention the ongoing FOCAL project, funded by the Horizon Europe call. It has a vision of making the consequences of climate change visible. From a difficult-to-grasp global perspective to the local level. Where we can actually see them and respond to them. With renowned partners from all over Europe, we are working on an application with artificial intelligence and climate models for foresters and urban planners. In practice, this means that intelligent climate models will help us better estimate what awaits us in specific regions and how to prepare for it.
Complex data, such as climate data, only make sense when applied locally. Where is the line between big data and the “small” decisions of individuals?
R.S.: Big data is like a map of the whole world. But we need to know what is happening in our village, in the forest, in the field. When we can extract from big data what a specific manager, farmer, or mayor can do differently, it makes sense. Projects like FOCAL bring knowledge to local actors that was once only for scientists. That’s when “big data” becomes a “small” change with a potentially big effect. Specifically, FOCAL is about the fact that when we translate climate data into understandable language and give it to foresters and urban planners in the field, they have a chance to make real changes.
Your ySpace system downloads satellite images, what do clients use them for?
R.S.: Our software “translates” data from satellites into management language. For example, it will show foresters an estimate of the viability of tree species in changing conditions, a prediction of the occurrence of pests such as wood-destroying insects, or a mapping of stress factors. For farmers, it will show them a prediction of harvest, dry and problematic areas. That’s just a fraction of what we can see. Each client wants to monitor different parameters and different phenomena. Those that will give them “eyes” even where they would definitely not have them without a satellite.
M.S.: ySpace is also the result of software research and development within the framework of a partnership with the European Space Agency, which we have had for many years. It was also awarded by the Minister of Economy of the Slovak Republic in 2022 as the Innovative Act of the Year.
Does it make sense to educate the public about what you do, or are YMS systems supposed to operate quietly?
R.F.: Technology can be quietly invisible, but its impacts must be felt. And people must understand the connection. The system monitors the health of the forest so they can take the family on a trip there, or so they can buy firewood. It monitors the drought in the field so that the grain harvest for bread is good. It monitors the safety of the road that children walk on. It ensures that a transit gas pipeline does not explode somewhere. And so on. Then the technology is accepted as a part of life and people begin to trust it.
If you had to turn your 35-year history into an algorithm, what would it look like?
M.S.: The inputs would be customer needs – public sector, forestry, infrastructure. Added to this would be technological trends, legislation and user feedback. The logic would be based on gradual development based on trust, long-term cooperation and a balance between stability and innovation. Our “algorithm” would learn from history, adapt to changes and optimize for new challenges. The output would be stable but flexible software solutions, quiet and reliable.
What do you offer IT specialists and programmers that they can’t find at other software companies?
R.F.: An environment that has the atmosphere of a family business. We choose people not only based on their competence, but also on their human compatibility. That is why we have the largest team of “blue” and “green” personalities in the company. They are experts, but at the same time they care about good relationships. A new person will be surprised by the quality of long-term friendships with us. In addition, we have interesting clients, we use the most modern technologies, we constantly keep up with the times, and even the most experienced software architect or programmer will not get bored and will progress. We have a history and a perspective for the future. It is an attractive combination.
YMS has women in development, testing, and analysis. What qualities do you think they bring to the IT world, which is still perceived as “male”?
R.F.: A combination of precision, empathy and a strong sense of context. As elsewhere in life, it’s about balance, complementing opposites. A combined masculine and feminine world is always an added value, IT is no exception.
You also work with universities and involve young people. How are their questions or ideas useful?
R.S.: Young people are not afraid to question the “established”. Their advantage is that they do not know the boundaries – which is a huge strength in innovation. They ask “why should it be like this?”, while seniors sometimes think in the confines of functionality. Both perspectives are necessary. Like women and men, stability and innovation, the combination of junior fearlessness and senior experience is irreplaceable.
You started with “technology islands” and today you are creating complex ecosystems. Where are you heading and where do you see the limits of integration?
R.F.: Our systems communicate with other suppliers’ systems, central registries, map data or data warehouses. There is literally an unlimited amount of data there. From remote sensing, drones, satellites in all possible forms. Technologically, almost anything can be connected today. The question is what makes sense for the user and for society. If data is redundant, duplicated, untrustworthy or misinterpreted, it loses its value. Integration must be well thought out, otherwise chaos will arise.
You’ve probably experienced a lot of technological advancements over the past three and a half decades. What surprised you the most?
R.F.: Today, software can no longer “just” work as it used to. It has to be safe, intuitive, elegant. The more technology advances, the more people are interested in simplicity, clarity, and trustworthiness. What has certainly surprised everyone the most is the speed of development of artificial intelligence. It is a phenomenon that completely changes the rules of the game. In software development, it is perhaps a greater revolution than the advent of the Internet.
M.S.: We started with data on CDs, installed on isolated PCs and local servers. Perhaps the most dramatic change was brought by data centers, the cloud, the amount of data and the growth of user expectations. The experience of new applications also raised expectations for corporate software. Managers suddenly wanted to experience the same ease at work, and with large corporate systems it took a while to achieve a comparable experience.
How has the client changed – their requirements, expectations and ability to cooperate?
R.F.: Radically. In the past, clients treated technology as a black box. “Do it, we don’t understand it.” Today, they are our partners. They know what they want, they follow trends, and they expect the system to be functional, intuitive, beautiful, and customizable. I am glad that they are now fully aware that their system is only as good as the data they “feed” it with. That is why they are paying more attention to what data they use and where it comes from. And they appreciate that here too, we are a partner who can not only deliver data to them, but also find, verify, clean, connect, evaluate, and interpret it correctly.
After 35 years in the IT solutions market – what do you think is the main reason you have not only survived, but are growing?
M.S.: The key is long-term trust – of customers, partners and employees. From the beginning, we have strived for solutions with lasting value, not just “projects”. Thanks to this, we have a stable core of products. We are constantly enriching this with new technologies, functionalities, data and user-oriented ergonomic design.
R.F.: New legislative, ecological and technological requirements are constantly emerging in forestry, infrastructure and public administration. Long-distance running is our dominant superpower. Although it is no longer sexy in today’s fast-paced world, we have in-depth and long-term knowledge that allows us to respond quickly to changing needs. We know what works and we are constantly improving it.
Where is the biggest difference in the adoption of innovations between the Slovak and European markets? What do foreign partners think about Slovakia?
R.S.: It’s a paradox – we have top people, but sometimes we don’t dare to innovate ourselves. Europe often sees us as technologically savvy but less confident. But when we show results – for example in the field of geodata or predictive systems – the respect is immediate.
If you were to digitize your know-how into a gene that is passed down from generation to generation of IT professionals – what would be its “DNA code”?
R.F.: “Don’t ask how it works, but why it should work this way.” At the core of every system we build is the question of meaning – not just functionality. And it is this ability to ask the right questions, not to settle for the first solution. always think about the user, that should be in our DNA. That is our digital legacy.