Unleashing Productivity
Andreas Obereder
CEO and Founder | ATOSS
Interview, Annual Report 2025
How AI Is Revolutionizing Workforce Management
The emergency room is full. Two nurses and one physician have called in sick at short notice. A ventilator bed in the ICU is unavailable—and the morning shift begins in 30 minutes. In 2018, that would have meant chaos. In 2028, it means asking ATOSS Workforce Intelligence: “Show me where we will face critical gaps over the next four hours—and adjust so that neither quality nor working time limits are compromised.” Seconds later, staff are reassigned across units. This AI tool pulls in employees with the appropriate qualifications, balances overtime, avoids risky double workloads—and transparently explains why each shift was
changed.
We spoke to Andreas Obereder, CEO and Founder of ATOSS, about why companies must fundamentally rethink workforce management—and how artificial intelligence is becoming a central lever for significant, measurable productivity gains.
Andreas, scenarios like the above illustrate the potential of intelligent planning. How far away are we from that?
At ATOSS, this reality began to take shape in 2025. Our world is clearly only at the very beginning of this journey and right now, we cannot fully imagine much of what will soon become a matter of course. But given the dynamic pace of technological progress, a scenario such as the above is likely to be no more than 12-24 months away.
It’s impressive what could soon become reality. But what does the situation look like today, and where does Europe stand in terms of productivity and potential?
You’ve been calling for a radical rethink for some time. The debate about working hours is currently omnipresent— and international comparisons show clearly how wide the gap has become. In China, employees work an average of more than 2,300 hours per year; in the United States, around 1,800. Western European countries range between around 1,300 and 1,600 hours, placing them at the lower end of the OECD comparison. Moreover, we are in the midst of a structural productivity crisis, reflected in the widely reported productivity gap of around 30% between the US and Europe, according to the International Monetary Fund. But the problem runs much deeper: high levels of regulation, sluggish digitalization, and demographic change are further dampening economic momentum.
International institutions such as the IMF expect that, in the medium term, only around 20% of Europe’s growth will come from productivity gains, with the rest driven by labor and capital. Given demographic constraints, expanding labor input is unrealistic, implying limited growth under current assumptions. At the same time, recent studies highlight the economic potential of new technologies. A study by the German Economic Institute estimates that AI could generate up to €440 billion in additional value creation for Germany by 2034. The majority of this potential is expected to come from productivity gains—for example through automated processes, better forecasting, and data-driven decisionmaking. This clearly illustrates the transformative potential of technology. AI and smarter workforce deployment can unlock substantial productivity gains. Data-driven planning, better forecasting and greater flexibility—including activating untapped labor potential—can raise output without extending working hours. The key is not more work, but smarter work. At the same time, geopolitical tensions and global crises are increasing volatility, straining supply chains and triggering sudden shifts in demand. All of this continues to constrain productivity growth. The situation is serious—and the pressure to act is steadily increasing. We have to substantially increase our productivity to safeguard prosperity, strengthen competitiveness and preserve our political room to maneuver over the long term. Without a significant increase in productivity, Europe risks losing even more ground in an increasingly competitive global economy.
What matters most is that innovation takes effect where value is created: in the planning and management of work itself.
Andreas Obereder | CEO, ATOSS
Can AI-powered workforce management really provide a decisive lever here? Do you have a concrete example?
We see this clearly across our customer base. One case illustrates the impact particularly well: a globally operating manufacturer of lighting and electronic systems for the automotive industry, employing 10,000 people, estimates that a single plant alone is losing around 11 million euros a year due to machine downtime caused by staff shortages. Besides AI-supported workforce scheduling, the precise allocation of the right qualifications to specific workplaces and machine types is of critical importance in this case. This is where AI creates enormous added value. The decisive factor is that innovation takes effect where value is actually created—in the planning and management of work itself. AI-powered workforce management is therefore one of the most effective levers to close productivity gaps.
Another example is a global food producer and market leader in its segment with around 25,000 employees worldwide. Recently, this company was confronted by a fivefold increase in its raw material prices and had to reduce its personnel costs by 25% within 18 months. In such a stress test, a company that can rely on an AI-powered workforce management solution providing reliable analyses and visualizing unused efficiency potentials is in a position to carry out an orderly withdrawal. And if market conditions shift again, the company can scale capacity back up just as quickly and with the same level of control. With the support of our workforce management solution, the company in question very safely navigated the turbulent market conditions.
That sounds like a powerful tool for managing uncertainty. How exactly does it work in practice?
Intelligent, AI-based workforce management cannot eliminate uncertainty, but it enables companies to manage it strategically by anticipating staffing requirements, running scenarios, and responding to change faster, more soundly and, above all, with greater agility. Volatility becomes measurable. When decision-makers have real-time insights into how demand, capacity, skills, absences, and service levels interact, they can act systematically rather than reflexively.
AI-driven workforce management creates a shared, reliable data foundation for HR, Operations and Finance. That is decisive: not three differing truths, but one integrated view of productivity, cost, and quality. This foundation enables faster, clearer, and more accountable decisions. You can see this as a seamless transition from administering work to orchestrating it across internal employees, freelancers, platform workers, part-time and shift systems. Companies attempting to manage this complexity without intelligent workforce management are effectively navigating a storm without reliable instruments.
What is the concrete impact on productivity?
Workforce management ensures that every hour worked is deployed effectively in a data- and fact-based, agile and optimized manner. A good example is an international logistics group with 150,000 employees that is using our solution to manage temporary staff in targeted fashion, reduce costs, and create transparency. By improving attendance tracking and analyzing productivity data, it was able to reduce the number of external temporary workers by around 1,000 without any loss of productivity. At the same time, the overall quality of the workforce pool improved, turnover among permanent employees declined, and operational efficiency increased. This illustrates how data-driven workforce management translates directly into bottom-line results.
And why can this not be achieved with so-called legacy systems?
Legacy systems are built in silos and designed for largely static environments. They are fragmented, not cloudenabled and based on data-poor architectures. Technologically, they were not designed to support modern AI capabilities. Requirements such as real-time planning, AI-supported forecasting, international scalability, and complex compliance management cannot be reliably future-proofed on such foundations. In short, these systems administer work, but do not orchestrate it.
Are many companies in Europe still relying on such systems?
Yes, unfortunately they are. According to current market analyses, more than 50% of companies are still operating legacy workforce systems. This is an alarmingly high number when you consider that these companies are simply not taking advantage of the enormous productivity gains made possible by AI-powered workforce management. Cloud adoption is still particularly low among large enterprises and in highly regulated or security-sensitive sectors. This is somewhat paradoxical if you consider the potential for greater protection against cyber crime offered by cloud solutions. For ATOSS this represents a significant replacement opportunity. Among our existing customers, cloud solutions are being widely adopted because of the numerous advantages they offer. More and more companies are realizing that they have no long-term chance of surviving in an internationally competitive environment without modern cloudbased platforms.
Do we need to radically rethink workforce management?
Absolutely. ATOSS has played a key role in establishing workforce management as an end-to-end discipline and thus set the benchmark the market is oriented to. Many companies are not even close to realizing this potential while we are already driving the next stage forward. Futurefit workplace management now integrates time tracking, workforce scheduling, and demand planning, as well as capacity and productivity management—and brings all of this together in a fully digital environment. Built on this comprehensive data foundation, our Workforce Intelligence provides C-level decision-makers with actionable insights at the push of a button. This enables companies to significantly increase productivity, reliably meet compliance requirements, and improve the employee experience through fair, transparent, and highly flexible scheduling, self-services, and active participation in shift planning.
Our next step goes much deeper. Modern, AI-powered workforce management is no longer an isolated system, but a central component of a people operating system—the platform through which companies holistically manage work, skills, and workforce risks. It is no longer just about working hours, but about skills, qualifications, demographic risks, and alternative deployment scenarios. Recent studies show that a large proportion of today’s skills will no longer be adequate in just a few years. The Adecco Group’s Global Workforce of the Future study, for example, classifies only 11% of employees as "future-ready". Without systematic workforce planning and targeted upskilling companies will not manage this transformation. By leveraging AI-powered workforce management, skill gaps can be identified early, quantified precisely, and strategically addressed. Companies that act now will secure a sustainable advantage in the competition for talent and productivity.
What feels disruptive today will become tomorrow’s foundation—the platform on which innovations will emerge that we can scarcely imagine today.
Andreas Obereder
CEO, ATOSS
So is planning moving toward recommendation and simulation?
Precisely—through AI-based scenario analysis and predictive risk management. Decisions can be increasingly based on automated data analytics. As a result, workforce management becomes a genuine C-level instrument directly influencing productivity, employee experience, and transformation in a completely new dimension. It will be steered via practical, forward-looking questions such as: How will absence rates develop—for example in Q3 2026? Were there systematic over- or under-forecasts in specific time periods? How frequently do shifts start outside defined tolerance thresholds? Which employees in a given area show an elevated risk of leaving? And much more. The outcome is a management cockpit that accelerates decision-making and substantially improves decision quality.
The Stone Age did not end because of a shortage of stones, but because humanity developed better tools.
Andreas Obereder | CEO, ATOSS
Many companies in Europe feel overwhelmed by the speed of technological change. What have been your observations?
Technological progress is accelerating at a pace and intensity we have not seen before. We are truly in the midst of a technological revolution. For businesses and individuals alike, this is the most immediate gamechanger worldwide—driven above all by cloud computing, AI, and quantum computing. Each technological breakthrough is no longer an end point, but the starting signal for the next wave of transformation.
History shows that fundamental eras do not end because resources are exhausted—they end because superior technologies emerge. The Stone Age did not end because of a shortage of stones, but because humanity developed better tools. What appears disruptive today will quickly become the new foundation on which innovations emerge that we can scarcely imagine today. Every development is upping the pace with which the rules of the game are shifting yet again.
That sounds impressive.
It is. 2025 marked the crossroads. AI systems are transitioning from hype to everyday productivity tools—in everyday life, in companies, in the public sector, healthcare and education. The pace of this development will dramatically increase in 2026. Quantum computing is one of the greatest enablers. I've been following this development very closely for many years. Pioneers such as PsiQuantum in Palo Alto are working at high speed to overcome the current limitations on AI with the help of quantum computers—and doing so very successfully. Experts anticipate that quantum systems could become viable for initial specialized use cases as early as 2027. What seems inconceivable today is a realistic future scenario.
How do you see this technological development in relation to Europe’s economic situation?
The technology is available—but Europe is not yet leveraging its full potential. Rapid technological evolution is the key to keeping up with economic, demographic, and geopolitical developments. We have to consistently apply the available technology now and stop merely administering complexity. This is our biggest chance to build a competitive lead—for Europe and individuals alike.
Let's talk about ATOSS’ success. 2025 marked the 20th consecutive record year. Are you proud?
Yes, of course we are. But it's also clear that record figures always reflect past performance. We are confident that 2026 can become our 21st consecutive record year. Our employees are outstanding experts in their respective fields, delivering excellence for our customers around the world every day. They deserve the credit for delivering 20 consecutive record years.
What is the secret of ATOSS' success?
ATOSS has always stayed close to the market and to our customers. We come from the operational reality of businesses, understand what everyday life is like in plants, stores, and service centers, and combine this operational understanding with a strategic perspective on technology, transformation, and what's on the agenda of top decisionmakers. We do not see ourselves as a traditional software provider, but as workforce management specialists with advisory DNA. We combine technology, data, and industry expertise to turn the strategic potential of workforce management into measurable results—from the initial concept through to clearly defined KPIs.
A key pillar of our strategy is our expanding partner network, including companies such as SAP, Deloitte, Accenture, Microsoft, and Capgemini. These partnerships enable us to seamlessly integrate workforce management into our customers’ system landscapes and generate added value across the entire value chain.
In which areas is demand growing most strongly?
Many sectors like manufacturing industry, healthcare, retailing, logistics, services have been historically strong and employ large and extremely complex workforces. It is here that modern workforce management offers enormous optimization potential. We are also seeing increasing demand for global, legally compliant workforce management solutions. Recently, a multinational corporation commissioned us to standardize the 46 different time management systems it had deployed worldwide. ATOSS Workforce Management enables such harmonization within a single, integrated platform. At the same time, structural drivers are gaining momentum: skilled labor shortages, demographic change, fluctuating demand, and recurring supply chain disruptions.
ATOSS is one of the few providers that covers the full spectrum from small businesses to multinational corporations. Demand remains high across all segments, including SMEs. Here, our ATOSS Time Control (ATC) solution is particularly strong. Companies such as the jewelry chain WEMPE, Giorgio Armani, VfL Bochum or Matratzen Concord are successfully using ATOSS Workforce Management to reduce their planning effort and strengthen employee involvement in scheduling.
We are particularly encouraged by the development of our newest platform, Crewmeister—our solution for small and micro businesses. In the past year, revenue grew by 28%, and we gained nearly 3,000 new customers. This demonstrates that professional workforce management is not limited to large enterprises—it is equally relevant for smaller organizations.
What final thought would you like to share with our readers?
We need to move beyond talking about digitalization and start putting it into practice in managing our most important asset: the workforce. Companies that continue planning with yesterday’s systems should not be surprised if productivity falls short of its potential. AI-powered workforce management is one of the fastest and most effective levers for simultaneously increasing productivity, strengthening employee satisfaction, and enhancing resilience. If Europe acts decisively, we have a realistic opportunity not only to maintain our competitiveness, but to build a sustainable advantage for the future.
At ATOSS, our ability to contribute meaningfully to this development is due to our employees—their dedication, expertise, and innovative spirit. They are the ones who turn our vision into concrete solutions for our customers. And that is exactly what our mission is – designing work in such a way that companies are more successful and people more satisfied.