Economic challenges, technological advancements, and organizational transformation made 2025 a dynamic year for Fluenta. We spoke with Ákos Szabó, the company's CEO, about the lessons learned over the past year, the role of artificial intelligence, and his vision for the future of the procurement profession.
At the beginning of 2025, we were still feeling the effects of previous setbacks. The economic situation was quite fluctuating, and our performance reflected this trend. We experienced a positive period around April and May, when the number of requests for proposals increased, resulting in a brief upward trend. However, the overall economic situation did not improve, and we found ourselves in a similar position to where we started the year.
This trend is evident across nearly all companies in the IT industry. For many, 2024 was marked by a significant decline. While 2025 has brought more stability - however, the crisis in the IT sector is far from over.
When asked how well our expectations were met, I would say we had hoped for better outcomes.
Companies are increasingly focused on saving money and planning their procurement processes more carefully.
They are being more thoughtful about what they purchase, how much they buy, and their overall spending. Organizations are taking procurement more seriously and seeking opportunities to conduct these processes more efficiently and cost-effectively.
In comparison to 2023 and 2024, there has been a notable increase in the number of companies dedicating time and effort to planning. This trend is evident in the rising number of requests for proposals (RFPs), the complexity of deals, and the level of planning exhibited by clients. The presence of proper planning in a request for proposal often leads to business opportunities - without it, the business potential diminishes. This shift is contributing to the current stagnation, as companies are tightening their budgets, with even those that have significant financial resources opting to hold back on spending.
The only notable activity has come from companies that had already established investment plans and are determined to execute them regardless of the circumstances. This trend has also been reflected in our performance over the year.
The economy seems to be fragmenting, and the downturn in Hungary's industrial sector likely has a negative impact on all market players.
Another key trend in the software market and among service providers is the proliferation of AI integration and advertising. Almost every software provider is now incorporating AI into their services, although many of these AI solutions are merely bolt-ons that offer limited point solutions based on basic analysis. Only a handful of companies have successfully transitioned into the 'work-performing software' model.
Artificial intelligence, particularly the current large language models (LLMs), has triggered a revolution across various industries. At the current state, I would say that the coding capabilities of these latest models have already surpassed those of humans - they simply write better code.
In this evolving landscape, traditional paradigms have shifted. While this change is particularly evident in the IT sector, it extends beyond that as well. Previously, the ability to write was of utmost importance - now, it has been largely replaced by the need for strong reading skills. Individuals who lack adequate reading comprehension may find themselves at a significant disadvantage, as these LLM models can handle writing tasks fairly well. Those who possess better reading skills are more likely to understand the responses accurately. They can ask follow-up questions, perhaps phrasing them differently or providing more detail, which results in more precise outputs.
The hallucination problem that many discussed two years ago does not manifest in the same way within programming. For those who learn to effectively use AI, this issue can be minimized significantly.
"I have a sentence that summarizes my thoughts: Artificial intelligence and robotics will take away everyone’s current job - this concept can sound deliberately alarming. The reality is less severe.
What it actually means is that we need to learn continuously because current jobs and tasks are definitely going to change. The idea that these technologies will eliminate jobs isn't entirely accurate - however, those who fail to adapt will likely struggle in this evolving landscape.
“In my opinion, we are quite far behind. In many areas, we are still operating under 'stone age' conditions, which prevents us from being as efficient as we should be."
"More of a challenge. Simply because we at Fluenta are moving in a direction that means a higher level of automation.
If I look only at automation, then it's an opportunity. But if I look at both automation and AI, then it's more of a challenge.
It's a challenge because we have to start from deeper here. And also because there's a relatively simple-looking but important formula at work here – AI can most easily, efficiently, and cheaply automate what is repetitive.
In Hungary, efficiency is relatively low in this area, and moreover, the people doing this work receive low salaries. The same problem appears in the West at a much higher cost level – there, the replacement, automation, and introduction of AI represent greater financial motivation for companies, as they can save more with it. Thus, the change will happen sooner, which could mean a potential relative lag for us."
"If I look far ahead, then practically all business processes that are repetitive and frequent – and most procurement processes are like this – will operate with AI. In the industry, it is called a Dark Factory.
This means that in the manufacturing area, machines, robots, and automatisms do everything, and it's called 'dark factory' because, understandably, it doesn't need electricity since there are no people who need lighting. Of course, something breaks from time to time, but this is detected and handled from outside, from behind monitors.
In the procurement area, where there's a lot of automation, this is clearly the direction. This will take quite a few years, but it's visible that more and more people are thinking about this.
We've passed the peak of the AI hype, where many were looking for what it would be good for. Now it's becoming increasingly clear what it can be used well for – we also feel this in clients' communication. We ourselves communicate a lot about this within the organization as well.
In fact, besides AI, it would be very important to talk about automation and hyperautomation as well. It's just that AI has reached such a high hype that everyone was interested in this, and this conversation has been somewhat pushed into the background.
AI agents have a very important role in automation, but contrary to popular belief, this is not simply AI. This means combining several technologies, and this will lead us to eventually – I wouldn't say a timeframe – be able to reach a Dark Factory-like solution in procurement as well.
This happens step by step. If we look at an Industry 4.0 area, it's also visible that different technologies work together, side by side, integrated. This will probably be the path of development on the procurement side as well. A very good example of this is the BMW factory in Debrecen, where they raised automation and the role of IT to a very high level. This can also be a benchmark in Hungary from a procurement perspective."
"Those positions where they mostly perform operational, administrative tasks will disappear. Initially, they will be supported by AI, then completely taken over.
However, those who, with proper learning and adaptation, can use artificial intelligence well will be able to focus much more on strategy and improving the supply chain.
Today, it's really not companies competing with each other anymore, but supply chains, and companies are competing to get into the bloodstream.
Procurement professionals will likely be able to work better on how to more successfully integrate into these supply chains – this will be one of the real big challenges for them."
"The year 2025 was relatively fluctuating for the company. Unfortunately, we cannot report significant growth - rather, a balanced operation.
Perhaps the biggest this year was when I announced to my colleagues– we will be an AI company. This meant that we started massively introducing artificial intelligence and its use in our daily work.
Initially, we defined what it means to be an AI company. Every employee has two artificial intelligence tools - we continuously educate and teach how to use them, and we share best practices. Basically, everyone got an assistant in the form of AI. Initially, the reception was mixed. Some immediately embraced and loved it, and there were those for whom it didn't work so well at first. But today we can say that it's quite clear that everyone uses it, and this has significantly boosted our internal efficiency. This is visible in the many internal projects, the number of leads, and the volume of sales. I think our internal efficiency has caught up to an international level in all areas.
I often say that our competition is with Californian companies, not Hungarian ones. I don't know if we've reached this level – I think not yet. But according to colleagues, our operation is now light-years away from the operation of other Hungarian companies."
"With interest.
We visited and continue to visit many clients to present the Fluenta One concept to them. Reactions have varied: some find it hard to believe that it's possible, while others recognize its potential and have expressed an immediate need for a solution like this.
This is normal – when a big change happens, it maps the Gartner Hype curve.
In industries with higher levels of automation, there tends to be greater openness and interest. Many companies that are leaders in digital technology view automation not just as a beneficial addition but as an essential requirement for their operations. In these segments, we find open ears.
On the other side are those companies where automation is not at all or less relevant. They have less openness to the new platform."
"International expansion is among our 2026 goals."
"During 2024, it was quite clear that the economy would not move upward in 2025. As I mentioned, 2025 was more variable - we did not expand significantly. We had to stand our ground in this economic situation.
In 2025, the organization developed and transformed significantly.
Perhaps one of this year's biggest challenges was to properly launch our sales and marketing activities. Previous attempts had not been particularly effective, but it's essential for growth."
"Good endurance, perseverance, and continuous learning.
Also, constant planning and strategy creation.
A CEO must dedicate a significant portion of their time to planning for the future, considering what their company will look like in 1, 3, 5, 10, or even 20 years. Companies and entrepreneurs who focus solely on immediate tasks will struggle and ultimately fail. It is essential to prioritize strategy over manual tasks.
I've always worked in a way that I had one-year, two-year, three-year, five-year, ten-year, and twenty-year plans. I spend a significant part of my time on strategy creation."
"The headcount was roughly the same throughout 2025, with occasional fluctuation – sometimes we had more people, and at times fewer.
How flexible were they? I would say better than average. Occasionally, some team members looked at me oddly, but I am quite persistent. When I wanted to implement a change within the team, I was able to succeed.
I'll give you an example: when Revolut came in, many said they would 'never...' – we went to lunch, and by the time we came out of the restaurant, everyone had an account.
We must move forward, change, and develop – and my team knows and understands this too."
"Teamwork – this is one of the most important.
Since it’s impossible for everyone to know everything equally, effective communication and collaboration among colleagues are essential.
We also prioritize team building and the development of strong interpersonal relationships within the organization."
"Development and expansion."
"My personal goals are closely linked to Fluenta's future. Right now, my main focus is ensuring we can grow in 2026."
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