Certus: Annual Review and Technology Outlook

Certus was conceived as Blue Mountain’s technology investment division with a dual mission: investing in technology companies with proven business models and using technology as a value creation lever across the rest of the portfolio. One year after its consolidation as a differentiated division, it is time to take stock.

Our circular technology platform had an exceptional year with over 20% volume growth in device refurbishment, driven by demand in both B2C and B2B channels. We advanced significantly in our data investment thesis, evaluating over thirty opportunities and closing investments aligned with our vision of building a portfolio of proprietary data assets with multi-sector applications.

Perhaps the least visible but most impactful achievement has been technology capability transfer to the rest of Blue Mountain’s portfolio: business intelligence dashboards replacing manual Excel reports, demand prediction solutions in logistics companies, data-driven pricing tools in hospitality companies, and administrative process automation.

Key learnings: AI does not replace, it amplifies — the combination of AI tools with competent people works, not people replacement by machines. Data quality is everything — the biggest barrier to AI implementation is not technology but data quality. Technology talent is scarce — finding professionals who understand both technology and business is extraordinarily difficult.

2025 priorities: applied AI in demand prediction, document process automation, and dynamic pricing models; circular technology consolidation as the European market enters a scale-favouring phase; and new investment theses in middle-market cybersecurity and vertical SaaS.

The Technology Transformation Opportunity

The intersection of traditional business and technology represents one of the most compelling investment opportunities in the Spanish middle-market. While the narrative around technology investment is dominated by venture capital and startups, the reality is that the greatest value creation potential lies in applying technology to established businesses with proven economics.

The typical middle-market company in Spain has been operating for two or three decades. It has a loyal client base, experienced employees, and established market positions. What it often lacks is the technological infrastructure to compete effectively in the coming decade. This gap between established business fundamentals and technology capability is precisely where we see the opportunity.

Our approach is pragmatic rather than ideological. We do not pursue technology for its own sake. Every technology investment must demonstrate a clear return — reduced costs, improved margins, better decision-making, or enhanced competitive positioning. The projects that generate the most value are typically not the most technologically sophisticated but the most operationally relevant: replacing manual processes with automated ones, providing managers with real-time data instead of month-old reports, or enabling pricing decisions based on market analytics rather than intuition.

Implementation Realities

Implementing technology in traditional businesses requires patience and cultural sensitivity. The resistance to change is real — employees who have done their jobs successfully for years are understandably sceptical of systems that promise to do it differently. The key is involving people in the process, demonstrating quick wins that build confidence, and being honest about what technology can and cannot do.

Data quality remains the single biggest barrier. Companies that have operated with rudimentary information systems for decades cannot implement sophisticated analytics overnight. The preparatory work of cleaning, structuring, and standardising data is unglamorous but essential. We have learned to allocate adequate time and resources to this phase, even when it means delaying the implementation of more visible solutions.

The talent challenge is equally real. Finding professionals who understand both technology and business — who can translate between the language of algorithms and the language of the warehouse floor — is extraordinarily difficult. Building this capability internally, through targeted training and strategic hires, is a long-term investment that pays extraordinary dividends.