Qulix Systems 2011. The Bottom Line

Now that winter festivities, Christmas and New Year holidays are over somewhat unwinter-like weather brings back the period of heightened business activity. It is time to close the books of the past year and take the next step forward by putting together plans for the future and taking on new tasks.

Today we are going to review the results of the year 2011 together with the company executives.

2011 For The Mobile Solutions Department: Second To None

The past year has brought about many changes to the Mobile Solutions Department. Is that right?

Dmitry Yankovich [Head of Mobile Solutions Department]: Yes, it is. First of all, I would mention new team members who are nice, interesting and economically beneficial to work with, then of course, new projects and new knowledge. For example, we set about mastering Windows Phone 7 immediately after its release. Besides it stands to mention that last year we finally launched the English and Russian versions of our own website which now runs parallel to the corporate website.

Is the team satisfied with the results achieved over the course of the year? 

D.Ya.: Yes. Moreover, at the moment our department has the best profitability index in the company. But this doesn’t mean that we are going to stop at what’s been accomplished.

2011 For The Microsoft Technologies Department: Stable Growth Secured

Which of the accomplishments made last year can be documented in the Microsoft Technologies Department brag book?

Alexander Sliborsky [Head of Microsoft Technologies Department]: One of our greatest accomplishments is the crowd of new happy people – from juniors to new senior developers, from long-time customers to absolutely new ones. We’ve grown so large that we don’t fit into the office any more, so now we are going to move into a new better office.

Did new people appear due to an increased number of projects?

A.S.: That’s true. There are numerous new projects embracing both business and entertainment spheres, as well as quite a number of projects based on pre-released or freshly released technologies. We are willing to learn and we are good at exploring new ways.

One of our recent joint projects was presented at a major conference in the US, and the ppvemail.com web site became one of the marketing breakthroughs of the year.

How will your team remember the year 2011?

A.S.: Frankly speaking, I wouldn’t say that the year was spectacular in terms of significant growth or entrance to absolutely new markets. It so happened that the department had brought together those who truly feel part of the team. So we just focused on the people and relished the work and leisure time together. In August when all was said and done we threw a cool outdoor party and had lots of fun.

2011 For The Java Solutions Department: Continuing Progress

Was 2011 the year of new people and new projects for the Java team?

Sergey Pupkevich [Head of Java Solutions Department]: Absolutely. The Java department grew by 25%. A lot of new members (from junior developers to a project manager) joined the team. We increased the number of implemented projects for the long-time customers and established new partnerships with a few companies including Auriga, AT Consulting, I-Teco. Last year 8 new projects were added to our project list, 4 of them had been successfully completed before the year was out, the remaining projects are currently in progress. The good news is that our customers from last year choose to stay with us for their second, third and following projects.

How about new technological breakthroughs? Were there any?

S.P.: The past year at the Java department was marked by gaining expertise in the growing in popularity Alfresco ECM. 2 more projects based on this platform were completed last year – one of them has already been put in full-time operation. Other Alfresco based projects are in development at the moment.

What particular events of 2011 will retain in the memory of your team members?

S.P.: Members of our department participated in a conference featuring electronic archives development where they shared their own experience of Alfresco based electronic archives development and rollout.

The Quality Assurance Department: To Test With No End In Sight!

What was the year 2011 like for the QA team?

Alexander Zhendinsky [Head of Quality Assurance Department ]: One might say, the year for the testing department was just blowing . To begin with, over the past year our department doubled in size. Our team welcomed well-trained newcomers with glowing eyes. It is thanks to their effort too that we were able to complete 2.5 times more independent testing projects and maintain a high quality of our rapidly growing app development business.

Which of the accomplishments made last year can be documented in the Quality Assurance Department brag book?

A.Zh.: There are multiple accomplishments to celebrate… We reinforced our position in the test automation market, created and are now successfully expanding a testing centre for a large internet company, smoothly completed a range of projects for long-time and newly acquired partners. Still, the greatest accomplishment is our team. It is the people working in our department who make it possible to look to the future with optimism and take on the most challenging tasks.

Look! A Freshman! Design And Usability Department: A Little Can Go A Long Way

Dmitry Lazovsky [Head of Design and Usability Department]: Last year was actually the year when our department was born. In spring 2011 we finally attained a status of the independent business unit within the company. However, despite our young age we already have something to brag about. The achievements of the past year include dozens of won tenders, mobile user interface development, usability interface design, and development of an in-house CMS which is now used as a server framework for iPhone apps.

It’s All About The People You Hire!

Last year saw many new people become part of the Qulix team. Now the company counts 170 employees. Was it difficult to find experienced specialists with the required qualification skills?

Natalia Burets [Head of Human Resources Management]: Indeed, the company grew almost by half in 2011. We have 55 new employees. There is no department without a newcomer. Almost every manager has plans for expansion, so the HR department expanded too.

As for the difficulties of finding experienced specialists, let it remain a secret of the HR department. I’ll only mention that those who won the job contest and endured a probation period now show really good results at work. In our opinion encyclopaedic knowledge is not that important. What really counts is human potential: desire to grow, glowing eyes, persistence and commitment. After all, the internal mentoring and adaptation system is well developed and helps engage specialists of different level of training in the work process.

It is a common belief that people are the most important and valuable resource of a company, so their development, motivation and retention must always come first. One might say that last year the company saw human resources management in a whole new light. How exactly was it expressed?

N.B.: We have the best people! The best in all respects. A while ago I had to go through some paperwork and I noticed that almost a third part of our employees had been with the company for 5-7 years and the majority of them had worked for Qulix for at least 3 years. That means a lot. Of course you would want to motivate such people! This is precisely the reason why we began to think about a new motivation programme. The programme is fully functional, yet we continue to monitor employees’ needs and don’t rest on our laurels.

Qulix Management Team: A Year In View

Alexander Arabey [Head of Business Development]: Over the passed year Qulix has sustained rapid growth, taken up wild ideas and initiated ambitious projects. In April the company acted as a partner of the second application developers’ conference Application Developer Days and in summer we joined Oracle’s partnership programme at the gold level. Besides, in 2011 our company got actively engaged in the development of remote banking solutions laying particular emphasis on mobile clients for a variety of platforms (iOS, Android, BlackBerry OS etc.). At the moment a number of projects for several major banks are already in progress. We are justifiably proud of our results. Still there is definitely room for improvement.

Alexey Makarov [CEO]: My colleagues have already offered their detailed comments, so let figures speak for me. In 2011 our company concluded 87 contracts and completed 62 projects. The bottom line: 120 projects for 46 customers.

Keep it up, Qulix!