Ulrich Jänicke from Aconso on the HR software market

Ulrich Jänicke, CEO and co-founder of Aconso (spelling: aconso), has experienced and shaped technological developments in the HR software market for many years. In the interview, he looks back on 25 years of digitalization history, explains why medium-sized companies are still lagging behind, and says where AI is pushing the boundaries of what is possible (and sensible). Jänicke speaks shortly after a groundbreaking transaction: Aconso and the German HR software provider Centric announced their merger on April 2, 2026.

Human Resources Management: You have experienced the HR software industry first hand since the turn of the millennium. What was the biggest technical problem facing HR departments at the time and how did the industry respond to it?
Ulrich Jänicke: The biggest technical problem back then was switching from paper to the PC. In the context of the new economy hype, the first real wave of digitalization also began in HR. Billing was finally digital. After that came document archiving and recruiting. However, most systems were still on-premises in-house, with correspondingly high in-house costs.

In the early 2000s, cloud computing was still science fiction for most companies, and data protection debates revolved around the filing cabinet. In your opinion, when did the fundamental paradigm shift from the local system to networked HR IT?
The real change began around 2010, when the first innovative companies were ready to outsource HR software. ASP or SaaS systems were used for this; Back then, the topic of cloud was not as established in this area as it is today. At the same time, there were major concerns about data protection. The IT industry had to learn how to present security and reliability in a comprehensible way for customers. Only then has the acceptance of networked HR IT really grown.

If you had to divide the past 25 years into phases: Which technological turning points have really changed HR software, and which supposed revolutions were ultimately just hype?
The three crucial phases for me were on-premises, cloud and today AI. These are the technological developments that have truly transformed HR software. On-premises meant running the business in-house, but with the corresponding effort and high internal costs. With the cloud, systems became more flexible, more available and significantly easier for companies to operate. AI is changing HR software on a different level because it is no longer just about processes and infrastructure, but increasingly also about content, decisions and speed. But there were also topics that were ultimately just hype. Blockchain had no direct impact on HR, for example.

The corona pandemic practically forced HR digitalization within weeks. What has changed permanently?
The pandemic has fundamentally changed the world of work. Home office has since become the norm in many areas. As a result, HR systems had to be available regardless of location while meeting high security standards. Above all, processes had to become completely digital, because paper-based shipping is not possible in a spatially distributed work environment. In this context, the digital signature has finally begun its triumphal march.

AI is on everyone’s lips these days. But earlier technologies – workflow automation, mobile, big data – were also celebrated as game changers. What makes the current wave of AI different from these previous waves in terms of technology and its actual impact on HR?
AI is not the first hype we have seen in the past 25 years. But after every big wave, reality always comes back, and that will also be the case with AI. The difference, however, is that earlier developments primarily supported processes and made them more efficient, while AI now intervenes significantly more in the creation, selection and evaluation. That’s why there will be significant changes here, even if it’s still difficult to estimate exactly what they will be. The central questions are: What happens when job advertisements created with AI meet AI-generated applications and the AI ​​is then supposed to find out which are the right candidates? Here we have to be careful that the human factor retains the decisive role, after all it is called human resources. The issue of bias in particular shows that such systems do not automatically make neutral or fair decisions. If the underlying data is biased, AI will adopt those patterns, and that can put applicants at a disadvantage.

The backlog of digitalization in medium-sized businesses is still enormous today. Why does technical progress in the HR sector fail so stubbornly? Is this a cultural, an organizational or a technical problem?
Above all, it is the fear of change and of being overwhelmed, because technically many things would not be a problem today. Medium-sized companies in particular generally cannot afford their own specialists for such topics and therefore work with generalists. This is exactly where the backlog arises: there is a lack of specialist resources and the necessary technical capacities often cannot be built up internally. Large corporations have it much easier here because they can rely on their own IT resources and specialized teams.

In 25 years of HR technology, there have certainly been developments that have proven to be wrong, promises that the technology has not been able to keep. Looking back, what would you say was the biggest misunderstanding between HR and IT?
In my opinion, it is the topic of skill management that has not yet been thoroughly thought through. Although it has been talked about for around 30 years, even larger companies still often don’t know exactly what skills and abilities their employees actually have. There is still a lot of catching up to do, especially at this interface between HR, technology and strategic personnel planning.

If I wanted to set up an HR department today: What can I do without technologically and what not?
Anyone who is rebuilding HR today should first clarify what can be efficiently standardized and what must consciously remain with people. Above all, I would leave out the requirement to do everything myself in-house. Payroll can be handled very well through service providers, more efficiently and cost-effectively. All recurring tasks, especially rule-based processes, can be largely automated using suitable tools and further accelerated using AI. This is exactly where a large part of the technological toolbox lies today. Interpersonal tasks such as recruitment, personnel development and hiring, on the other hand, should consciously remain in human hands. Technological support makes sense here, but the responsibility should always lie with people.

Sven Frost is responsible for HR tech, which includes the areas of digitalization, HR software, time and access, SAP and outsourcing. He also writes about recruiting and employer branding. He continues to be responsible for the editorial planning of various special human resources publications.