Interview with myview systems CEO Christoph Brandt

At a time of acquisitions, mergers, and end-of-life products, myview systems celebrated its 20th company anniversary in 2024. The success formula of the German PXM provider? Continuous innovation and uncompromising customer proximity.
The European PIM market is currently being reshuffled. Established vendors are being sold or are announcing the end of software products that originated in the on-premises era. At the same time, more and more young PIM providers are entering the scene with exciting SaaS solutions, often developed around highly specific use cases. Meanwhile, the need for PIM solutions is arising earlier and earlier in the development of companies — and, as a result, the PIM market continues to grow steadily. By 2031, it is expected to reach a total volume of €72.4 billion, corresponding to a compound annual growth rate of 20.12 percent (TGOA, The Analyst Atlas of Product Information Management, 2024).
For many companies that have so far relied on established vendors, the current changes in the market mean that they need to reassess their options and look for alternative solutions. At the same time, their requirements are changing: cloud-native is now a must, and ideally AI should also be on the label. Far more important, however, are topics such as data modeling and integration capabilities — the idea of PIM as an isolated worldview has long since become obsolete. Today, it is understood as a central element of end-to-end value creation. Its capabilities must always be viewed in the context of the actual business case, the overall architecture, and the data organization.
This contextual perspective allows only one conclusion: there is no single leading PIM provider. Which solution truly makes sense for a company depends on its specific requirements, its level of digital maturity, and its industry.
At TGOA, we postulated the concept of the polyphonic data model early on — and it is more relevant today than ever. More and more solution providers are relying on generic data modeling, which gives companies maximum freedom when designing and implementing their PIM solution. Moving away from rigid hierarchical structures enables, for the first time, a clear focus on relationships and thus the identification of contextual connections within the company, whose potential is manifold.
As compelling as the advantages of generic data models may be, their growing adoption also raises questions. If, in theory, anything is possible with such a system, how do the individual solutions still differ? On the one hand, despite similar approaches, there are sometimes major differences in data modeling capabilities among individual vendors. These differences can be decisive for companies with more complex requirements, specific use cases, and ambitious strategic goals. On the other hand, there are of course also many functional differences that need to be examined more closely when evaluating the individual systems.
In addition to technical and functional aspects, however, the implementation of system migration should be a particular focus. A PIM system with a generic data model is, at first, a greenfield environment. This freedom offers great potential, but it also means that certain competencies are required to translate individual requirements, use cases, and goals into a scalable data model. Since very few companies have such competencies available internally, system providers must offer the necessary implementation support — either through their own project teams or through an experienced partner network.

In this interview, we speak with Christoph Brandt, CEO of myview systems in Büren, Germany, about the advantages of generic data modeling and the need to understand customers’ specific requirements in detail and translate them into perfectly configured solutions.

20 YEARS OF MYVIEW SYSTEMS–IN CONVERSATION WITH CHRISTOPH BRANDT

Last year, myview systems celebrated its 20th anniversary. What are the key success factors for a software company to remain successful over such a long period of time?

Our success is built on three pillars: continuity, innovation, and customer focus. From the very beginning, we understood that software is not an end in itself, but a tool for solving real-world problems. That's why we've cultivated close, long-term relationships with our customers and continuously develop our products together with the people who use them. At the same time, we've never stopped challenging our systems—both technologically and conceptually. Innovation is part of our DNA.

Why do you place such a strong emphasis on research and development, and how does academic research influence your product development?

Research and development are the driving force behind our innovation. The PIM and PXM market is evolving rapidly, driven by AI, automation, and data-driven business models. We work closely with universities and research networks to identify emerging trends early, explore new approaches, test them, and translate them into market-ready solutions. The result is software that meets not only today's requirements, but tomorrow's as well.

In your view, the evolution toward data-driven leadership is leading to the ubiquity of data across all business domains, as the value of product data, for example, is no longer limited to individual business functions. What impact does this have on the underlying technologies, and how has myview systems responded to this evolution?

Today, data no longer belongs to isolated silos—it forms the foundation of enterprise-wide decision-making. Our answer is a consistently domain-oriented, API-first architecture. This means that data from different domains—products, assets, content, business rules, and more—is modeled consistently while remaining flexibly orchestrated in line with the principles of Composable PIM. This enables us to build systems that do more than simply integrate data—they actively turn data flows into measurable business value.

There are significant differences in data modeling capabilities among PIM and PXM vendors. What is your approach, and what exactly do you mean by a domain model?

Our approach is based on the consistent separation—and purposeful integration—of relevant business domains. A domain model describes not only the underlying data structure, but also the business logic and processes of a specific functional domain, such as product data, digital assets, content, bills of materials, configuration or usage parameters, and business rules.
In Digital Asset Management, for example, the domain model defines not only the metadata structure but also conversion and transformation logic. Likewise, classification structures such as the Global Lighting Data Format (GLDF) and other industry-specific standards can be modeled precisely and seamlessly connected to a company's own product data structure.
This allows organizations to model their data within a flexible, extensible framework and access it through domain-specific APIs—instead of being constrained by the rigid structures of traditional PIM systems.

What advantages does such a domain model offer companies?

It delivers three key benefits. First, flexibility: data models can be adapted quickly to changing market conditions, enabling organizations to respond more effectively in dynamic business environments. Second, scalability: companies can integrate new domains or business areas without having to redesign the entire system from scratch. Third, a domain model significantly increases business value. Data is no longer stored in isolation but, thanks to greater transparency and contextual clarity, becomes a value-generating asset that can be leveraged across the entire organization.

How has the PIM market evolved over the past two decades from your perspective?

PIM has evolved from a purely editorial data management solution into a strategic enabler for digital business models. Today, we're no longer talking about "maintaining product information" but about "creating digital experiences." As a core component of the enterprise architecture, PIM has become the centerpiece of PXM strategies and data-driven business leadership.

How has the role of product data and digital assets changed for your customers over the years, and why?

Today, product data and digital assets such as CAD files, images, and audio files are no longer just marketing materials or backend data—they have become a genuine competitive advantage. Throughout the digital customer journey, factors such as data quality, consistency, and the ability to personalize content have a direct impact on conversion rates and customer satisfaction.
But it's no longer just about product communication. Today, all business processes must be digital and seamlessly connected. That requires end-to-end digital process chains.
Our customers understand that they need to manage not only their data, but also the digital processes built on top of it. Data governance and process orchestration are no longer simply operational necessities—they have become critical success factors for staying competitive.

How have these changes affected companies' expectations of PXM?

Today's requirements are significantly more complex than they used to be. Companies expect a PXM system to be not only omnichannel-ready and highly automated, but also capable of real-time integration with other enterprise systems while enabling personalization based on consistent, high-quality data. Particularly in B2B, the ability to create personalized offerings based on a company's own data has become essential for improving conversion rates. In short, PXM must evolve from a backend tool into a true business enabler.

It is becoming increasingly important for companies to measure and continuously increase both the business value of their data and the return on their software investments. Which KPIs can a PXM system influence most directly, and what is required to improve them?

Key performance indicators include time-to-market, conversion rates, content quality scores, and efficiency gains in content production. In B2B in particular, companies should also focus on improving their insight rate—in other words, increasing the volume of business-relevant insights generated from their data.
For example, insights derived from projects configured through CPQ functionality can help predict which products are likely to see higher demand in the future. This is valuable not only for production and planning, but also has important implications for marketing and sales.
However, improving these KPIs requires more than software alone. Organizations also need clear governance structures and data-driven processes that establish responsibilities, ensure data quality, and define consistent standards.

Your software solutions have established a particularly strong position in the lighting industry. What unique challenges do manufacturers in this sector face, and how does it differ from the other industries you serve?

The lighting industry is exceptionally diverse. Manufacturers must manage extensive product variants, serve international markets with different regulatory requirements, and maintain highly complex technical specifications. Traditional PIM systems quickly reach their limits in this environment.
Our approach—combining tailored business rules and data models with powerful variant management—enables manufacturers to deliver product information that is globally consistent while remaining locally relevant.
This also includes support for industry standards such as the Global Lighting Data Format (GLDF), which we offer as a SaaS service that can even complement third-party PIM systems. In addition, our own PXM platform provides further industry-specific capabilities, including integration with widely used simulation and planning tools.

About Christoph Brandt

Dr.-Ing. Christoph Brandt has served as CEO of myview systems GmbH since 2004 and is responsible for the company's xom business unit. Prior to joining myview systems, he held various positions as a consultant, project manager, and key account manager in IT and multimedia projects.
He studied Industrial Engineering with a specialization in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at the Technical University of Darmstadt and earned his doctorate in Computer-Integrated Manufacturing at the Heinz Nixdorf Institute of Paderborn University.

About myview systems

For more than 20 years, myview systems has combined deep industry expertise with innovative solutions for Product Information Management (PIM), Digital Asset Management (DAM), and data services. In addition to xmedia, its end-to-end digitalization platform for Product Experience Management (PXM), myview systems offers innovative solutions such as xom, built on established industry standards.
The company's customer base includes more than 150 organizations, primarily mid-sized businesses and globally operating enterprises across a wide range of industries throughout the DACH region. Many of these organizations manage broad and/or highly complex portfolios of technically sophisticated products.