An interview with Frank Rotthoff, MD of Multitone Germany
Frank Rotthoffis the Managing Director of Multitone Electronics in Germany. With a passion for technology, sales and working with people, Frank’s career path has led him from the semiconductor and electronic components industry to a leadership position with Multitone. Appointed in 2008 to head up Multitone’s European operations, this article explores his key role in transforming the business and perspective on the future of critical communications.
Building on a legacy: modernising Multitone’s German business
Prior to joining Multitone you enjoyed a successful career in high-tech manufacturing. What drew you to this new role?
Frank: Multitone is a renowned company with a long history and an excellent reputation in the market, which impressed me a lot. During our initial discussion, I learned about a new, patented technology for a personal security system – EkoTek. I found it very exciting; it’s an extremely interesting system solution that we can successfully deploy in various vertical markets and has many areas of application. This ultimately tipped the scales in favour of taking over the management and overall leadership responsibility for a comprehensive modernisation of the German company. The rest is history… Today, Multitone Elektronik International GmbH is highly successful and a market leader in solutions such as EkoTek.
Over these past 17 years at Multitone Germany, what are your personal highlights to date?
Frank: That would indeed fill an entire book! In recent years, we have successfully adapted our strategy and product portfolio to current market requirements. In Germany, EkoTek has been expanded to become EkoFamilyand can be found in leading companies in industry, the healthcare market (including some of Europe’s largest health clinics) and in many public offices across Germany. A recent project is one the largest in the history of Multitone Germany.
…and any thoughts as to the future with Multitone?
Frank: I look forward to some exciting times to come… In addition to our existing reliable, proven and popular product portfolio, we have in development several new and highly innovative solutions. These solutions will be extremely flexible for use in government agencies and public institutions, enabling them to ensure a high level of security for their employees. My goal and that of the entire team is to establish these forward-looking technologies as the de facto standard on the market. This is a win-win situation for organisations, their employees and us as a solution provider.
Multitone in Germany: A market leader in critical communications with a local focus
Let’s now focus on the current German critical communications market. What are the key differences compared to other European markets, particularly in terms of regulatory environment, competition, and customer expectations?
Frank: Time-critical communication, especially in connection with workplace safety, has become enormously important. Safety in the workplace is a fundamental basic need and has the highest priority in times of skilled labour shortages and demographic change. The areas of application are highly diversified. They range from classic safety measures for lone workers in industry to laboratory environments, the healthcare and nursing sectors, and municipal areas of the public sector with public access. Technically, various DIN (German ISO) standards and EU directives specify the highest requirements to ensure user protection and functionality. Customers are looking for solutions that are as flexible, small, lightweight and unobtrusive as possible, while offering maximum reliability, requiring low investment and being quick to implement. In other words: a versatile, multi-purpose and comprehensive system. There’s a competitive environment in this market, too.
However, despite this competitiveness after a careful review of the options, the base technology, ongoing advice & support as well as the total cost of ownership (TCO) – customers will find that the number of reputable and reliable providers shrinks considerably. Multitone is usually the name that comes up as the solution.
What are the most significant trends impacting the critical communications industry, specifically in Germany?
Frank: Public safety will be the dominant issue in the future. As a result of the terrible incidents of recent months and years, there is a heightened sense of urgency amongst the public. You can see this evidenced in urban areas, public authorities, educational institutions, and especially in the healthcare sector, including outpatient and emergency services. In addition, the care industry is growing disproportionately due to an ageing society. For all these areas, time-critical communication and alerts are of fundamental importance for aiding law enforcement and protecting emergency and care personnel. Multitone has developed a comprehensive portfolio of solutions for such applications. In addition, we are constantly looking at the latest technologies for further and new developments with the same premise: making solutions smaller, faster and even more reliable.
Which industry verticals in Germany represent the greatest growth opportunities for Multitone, and why? Are there any niche markets where Multitone in Germany has a unique advantage – and can you give examples please?
Frank: Multitone has a strong market position in Germany with over 8,000 satisfied customers. Our clients particularly appreciate the reliability and durability of our solutions, our regular unveiling of innovative new developments and especially our outstanding service – both technical and commercial.
Furthermore, Multitone is a market leader in the field of personal safety systems for public authorities and mental health facilities. Our patented EkoTek system is highly flexible and requires no costly cabling. In addition to assistance and alarm calls, it transmits the precise location of the person calling for help. This allows emergency services to reach the exact location in a matter of seconds, preventing a worse outcome.
We have implemented our solutions in some of Europe’s largest university hospitals, including Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich and Hannover Medical School; public authorities like the district of Harburg; the automotive industry, for example Volkswagen, and major retailers such as IKEA. All value and use our solutions to protect their employees.
Securing the future of critical communications
What challenges does the German telecommunications industry face over the next five years, and how is Multitone addressing them with system integration, IoT, and cutting-edge technologies? How are emerging technologies like AI, 6G, and evolving cybersecurity threats influencing Multitone’s development and strategy?
Frank: The trend is clearly moving towards cloud applications and software as a service (SaaS). Traditional telephony via DECT or on-premises telephone systems are being replaced by IP-based telephony.
The German market is usually somewhat more conservative in this regard and needs more time than, for example, the Anglophone countries such as the UK and US to adopt new technologies. Multitone is developing new solutions, naturally with AI support, which meet the above-mentioned technological requirements of the future. This already includes cloud solutions and SaaS.
Cybersecurity is one of the greatest challenges of our time. This affects us as well as the users of our solutions. We take measures against cyberattacks with the utmost sensitivity and continuously adapt them to ensure the best possible protection; the same is of course valid for our GDPR measures.
How does Multitone Germany maintain strong relationships with its existing customer base – and what strategies are employed to acquire new customers?
Frank: We are in constant contact with our customers through service agreements and regional sales. Satisfaction with our solutions and support is our top priority, and our customers greatly appreciate this. In addition, our solutions have an excellent reputation in the market. Users often recommend them within their networks and vertical market segments. I am also very pleased that we have outstanding and experienced colleagues in both our internal and external sales teams, who achieve a very high rate of new customer acquisition using the target group strategy we have developed.
Final question: How can Multitone position itself in the critical communications market over the coming years, and which new markets will be a priority for the company?
Frank: We perform outstanding market– and technology-oriented development work. This enables our solutions to identify and meet market needs at an early stage. Together with our sales expertise, we achieve a synergy which will continue to consolidate our longstanding market leadership in the field of personal security and time-critical messaging now and in the future.
Thank you Frank for your thoughts and perspectives.
