# Where do I find that now? – How enterprise search becomes a survival factor in business succession Press release of 5 November 2024: How enterprise search gives new owners fast access to invoices, contracts and emails after taking over a company. *Vienna, 5 November 2024* Long-established structures, a solid customer base, reliable business partners – there are many reasons to prefer taking over an existing company to founding a new one. **(Vienna, 5 November 2024)** Long-established structures, a solid customer base, reliable business partners – there are many reasons to prefer taking over an existing company to founding a new one. But a takeover also brings new challenges: quickly gaining an overview of all documents and information can turn out to be unexpectedly complex. ## Complex data structures as a problem in business succession When Thomas Kern* took over the medium-sized company from his father, he thought the biggest challenges would lie in adapting to the market and developing products further. But it soon became clear that everyday business held many unexpected questions – and that searching for answers cost more time and nerves than he would have liked. A long-standing customer got in touch about a warranty case from five years earlier, another needed a copy of an invoice. But it had gone missing in a jumble of digital folders and scattered systems. “Where do I find that now?” – that was the question that soon became Thomas’s unwelcome companion. Not only the warranty case, but also numerous requests from employees and legal requirements called for fast and reliable access to past business data. Without a clear structure and means of access, Thomas risked overlooking legal requirements and jeopardising valuable customer relationships. ## Enterprise search as a rescue in the flood of data For entrepreneurs like Kern who take over an existing company, a reliable search solution can be essential. Such an enterprise search solution enables fast access to all relevant documents and the knowledge gathered in the company – from invoices and contracts to emails. This means warranty cases or accounting questions can be dealt with immediately, and no information is lost in correspondence with business partners, customers or authorities. This is particularly crucial in the early days of a takeover, in order to get to grips with the existing processes. After all, companies that have grown over decades usually have complex filing systems and internal structures that need to be understood quickly in order to work efficiently. “Especially in the first months after a takeover, it is often the small, unexpected enquiries that give new owners a headache,” explains Christoph Wendl, CEO of a leading company in the field of enterprise search. “A reliable search solution helps the new owners save time and concentrate on their core tasks.” ## Ensuring continuity in business development A smooth transition is the goal of every successful business succession. Fast access to historical data and ongoing projects ensures a seamless transition in all management tasks. Important information is not lost, and the new managers can build on existing data. An enterprise search solution offers not only easier access to documents, but also valuable insights into existing business processes. A better understanding of internal procedures makes it easier to take targeted decisions. This is particularly important in order to optimise or realign existing processes. ## Responding quickly to legal requirements In addition to the operational benefits, an enterprise search solution also fulfils key legal functions. Statutory retention obligations in Austria, for example, require invoices and accounting records to be available for at least seven years, in some cases even ten years. The ability to retrieve such documents quickly and precisely is indispensable in order to meet legal requirements and to run the business with legal certainty. For Kern, this meant he had to deal not only with customer enquiries but also with any GDPR requests. In B2C companies in particular, customers can request information about their stored data at any time, and new owners have to make sure that this data is available. A modern enterprise search solution makes it possible to retrieve and provide all relevant data, including data from old archives, efficiently and in compliance with the GDPR. ## A solid start in the new role For many new entrepreneurs, the question arises as to which investments are essential for a successful business succession. An enterprise search solution gives them the certainty of being able to access all important documents and information at any time – and thus to successfully master the transition into their new responsibility. “With a well-thought-out search solution, new company heads lay a stable foundation for future business success. They not only save valuable time, but also strengthen customers’ confidence in their competence and fulfil their legal obligations without difficulty,” Wendl continues. ## A solution for business succession In the end, Thomas Kern found a solution that made his work considerably easier: the enterprise search solution searchit. Thanks to its powerful search functions, he was able to access all relevant documents at any time – a decisive advantage that gave him the security and freedom he needed to concentrate fully on driving the company’s development forward. **Name changed by the publisher* More information on enterprise search with searchit: [www.searchit-enterprise-search.com](https://www.searchit-enterprise-search.com) ## About searchit The international company Iphos IT Solutions is redefining “enterprise search engines” for businesses. Since the launch of searchit, the Viennese company has established itself as a sustainable innovator in the industry. With numerous AI functions, such as AI-supported image search, searchit is setting new standards in the industry. The in-house AI Lab works on highly innovative AI applications in search through the processing and generation of images and texts. Ing. Christoph Wendl, together with Lyubomir Ivanov, leads the company, founded in 1998, as Chief Executive Officers (CEO); the company meets the current challenges of IT with innovative solutions. ## Media contact - Ing. Christoph Wendl, Managing Director, Iphos IT Solutions GmbH - Khekgasse 35, 1230 Vienna, Austria - Phone: +43 1 869 84 00 - Email: [info@searchit.cc](mailto:info@searchit.cc) - [Release as PDF (German)](https://searchit-agent.ai/pr/wo-finde-ich-das-jetzt-wie-enterprise-search-zum-ueberlebensfaktor-bei-der/20241105-enterprise-search-in-der-unternehmensnachfolge.pdf) --- - searchit AI Agent: This version is generated from the page's language files (scripts/gen-unternehmen.py). The page itself is authoritative.