The Secret Ingredient of Business Development

Over the past 20 years in IT business ELEKS has developed a “secret” ingredient that is deeply rooted in its values and has helped greatly both the company and its customers.  So let me share this secret ingredient with you.

We had learned that it is simply not enough to set a goal and just go for it. In order to maximize success we needed a vehicle that would be more reliable and independent of certain risks that exist in the software development industry. We have been applying it to everything since – the creation of software, workflow processes within the company as well as relationships with our customers. This key ingredient is – ecological systemic approach.

What is this system? It’s a group of elements or activities that interact with each other. One of the founding fathers of General Systems Theory biologist Von Bertalanffy defined system as "elements in standing relationship". An ecological system is self-sustained, searches for the optimum of its elements and does no harm to itself. Understanding this, we form long-standing relationships with our customers. By doing business with them, we are building individual ecosystems case by case. Each customer is different and deserves a personal touch. If we view software development process from a systemic point of view, we can see that individual approach needs an ecological way of doing business. Using business analysis, we determine customers’ needs and the best possible solution that is waste-free – we do not waste their time and money.

The systems we employ throughout our business are ecological in nature – be it our company’s structure, software development process or how we treat our employees. The ecological attitude towards our workers is geared at providing an opportunity to achieve results, have a possibility to grow professionally, be creative and productive without micromanaging them.

While developing software we are using full cycle process, including very scrupulous QA. Our expertise in this area has led us to building our own unique set of tools. Example: making one of the best in its kind UX tools - STATR. It is a first-class intelligence program that gathers usage analytics about mobile and desktop software products. This hosted in the Amazon cloud feedback mechanism lets a product owner decide what features are not used, what needs to be improved and added.

The feedback and communication in general in our ecological systemic approach are essential to our clients’ and our own success. It is easy for us to communicate with our international clients as over 70% of our employees speak English. Taking into account the importance of communications and the possibilities of international markets, we have developed “one stop shop” internationalization and localization services.

As a Business Development Manager when working with new potential clients, I am not just trying to sell my company’s products or services. I am looking for opportunities to fulfill some of our prospects’ business needs by applying various ecological systemic principles, discovered by the Gunter Pauli (member of the Club of Rome), author of The Blue Economy concept, such as:

·         Sustainable business maximizes use of available material and energy.

·         In Nature the constant is change. Innovations take place in every moment.

·         Sustainable business evolves with respect not only for local resources, but also for culture and tradition.

·        Nature responds to basic needs and then evolves from sufficiency to abundance.

·       In Nature negatives are converted into positives. Problems are opportunities

These principles help us find solutions that are optimal and individual for each client thus making a 
long-lasting difference.
written by Ihor Nakonechnyy