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by Magnus Kunhardt on May 11, 2026 1:32:42 PM
Chief Operating Officer Midoco Group
First something about you.
Who is Jörg?
I’m someone who has spent his entire professional life in travel—starting in 1988 in a local travel agency near Cologne. That was a very different time: everything was manual, processes were slow, and technology played a minor role. Over the years, I moved from the operational side into technology, and that shift defined my career. I’ve essentially experienced the evolution of the travel industry from analogue to highly digital—and had the chance to actively shape parts of that journey.
How did you get into travel?
It started with a classic apprenticeship. The turning point came when my boss asked me to train colleagues on how to use computers. At that time, this was not standard—it was new, unfamiliar, and for many people even questionable. That experience sparked my interest in technology.
Shortly after, in the early ’90s, I met a colleague and we started what you would now call a startup. We had the idea of building a centralized database for travel agencies and connecting them via TCP/IP—something that today is completely normal, but back then was seen as unrealistic. People asked: “Why would you not store data locally?” or “How can that ever be secure?” In hindsight, that “crazy idea” turned out to be exactly the right direction.
You are Chief Operating Officer for the Midoco Group. what does that role involve in practice?
The role covers several areas: customers, product, delivery, and parts of after-sales, as well as responsibility for our teams. In practice, that means ensuring that what we build actually works for customers and is delivered reliably.
It’s not a purely strategic role—it’s very operational. You are constantly balancing customer needs, product capabilities, and internal resources. At the same time, people management is a key part of it—creating an environment where teams can perform and collaborate effectively.
Can you share any examples of your day-to-day work?
A typical day includes aligning with product and delivery teams, discussing customer requirements, and supporting ongoing implementations. There is also a strong focus on people—ensuring teams are motivated and working well together.
Another recurring topic is translating customer challenges into product improvements. Many discussions revolve around how to adapt workflows or systems to better fit real operational needs. It’s a continuous loop between customers, product, and execution.
Can you give us an overview of the Midoco product portfolio?
We have three main products:
- Umbrella Profile: A profile management system that synchronizes customer data across multiple platforms—reservation systems, HR systems, and more. It’s a niche product, but we are a global market leader in this space.
- umbrella.net: A mid- and back-office system, mainly used in Switzerland.
- Midoco: Our core product—an ERP system for the travel industry, used by travel agencies, OTAs, and tour operators.
The idea behind Midoco was quite unique at the time. When we started development in 2005, we deliberately built the system without a specific customer forcing requirements. This gave us the freedom to design a flexible architecture based on workflows and rules. The result is a system that can adapt to very different business models—even requirements that were not known at the time of development.
Why is it so useful for travel agencies?
The main value lies in automation and handling complexity.
Umbrella Profiles solves the problem of fragmented systems by synchronizing customer data across multiple platforms. That reduces manual work, avoids inconsistencies, and ensures compliance with regulations like GDPR.
Midoco focuses on automating workflows. The original idea came from a real customer situation: a large call center with hundreds of agents where booking follow-ups were handled manually via email. This created enormous effort and inefficiency. We recognized this gap and built a system to automate these processes.
This focus on workflow automation has been part of Midoco from the beginning—long before topics like AI or hyperautomation became industry trends.
How do you see Midoco products evolving in the age of artificial intelligence?
AI is already changing how we develop software—especially in coding and bug fixing. It increases speed and efficiency significantly.
From a product perspective, AI is most useful where processes are not fully structured. For example, when dealing with changing supplier data or documents like PDFs, where manual interpretation is still required today.
At the same time, it’s important to differentiate: a fully automated, stable process does not need AI. So our approach is pragmatic—use AI where it adds value, especially in handling variability and unstructured data, and combine it with our existing automation capabilities.
Looking ahead, how would you describe the future of Midoco and the direction the group is heading in?
The clear direction is international growth. We are expanding beyond Europe, with new customers in regions like North America and Australia.
The ambition is to support travel companies globally, particularly in corporate travel. One of the main challenges in this expansion is dealing with local differences—especially tax regulations and legal requirements, which can vary significantly between countries.
Our flexibility as a system is a key advantage in addressing these challenges.
Finally, do you have any advice for travel agencies?
Do not rely on past success. The industry is evolving rapidly, with new technologies, suppliers, and competitive dynamics.
Travel agencies need to stay open to change—especially when it comes to adopting new systems and technologies like AI. One of the biggest barriers is habit: many organizations continue using legacy systems simply because they are familiar.
The key is to actively question existing processes and be willing to adapt.
Who should we introduce next?
Maybe Daria Dylewicz — She's Head of Support at Midoco Midoffice and has been working closely with customers for many years. She has direct insight into real customer challenges and daily operations, which often provides a more grounded perspective than purely strategic roles.