A 30% growth for iQuest in the first half of 2011
September 2011
We registered a turnover of 7,9 million euro during the first half of 2011, representing a growth of 30% compared to the same period in 2010.
The growth is attributed to multiple factors, such as strategic partnerships and new clients in different industries such as telecommunications, energy & utilities, life sciences and the financial sector.
We estimate that we will surpass initial plans with a turnover of around 14 million euro by the end of 2011.
The first six months also meant the arrival of 78 new colleagues who joined our team. Our objective is to surpass 400 employees by the end of this year, with available positions oriented towards young graduates and experienced individuals alike, in specific fields such as Java, .NET, SharePoint, Web Development or Software Testing. Another goal we have set for ourselves this year is to open a new development centre in Romania.
Here are a few thoughts about this first semester from the iQuest CEO, Cornelius Brody:
At iQuest we are specialised in the development of complex turn-key systems: from development and testing to integration with the client’s already existing systems. We have delivered large systems during the first half of the year, with an emphasis on telecommunications, life sciences and the energy sector.
We have enjoyed observing two growing phenomena during the last few years: the first one is the fact that we are known for our innovations and the high quality of the software we deliver. It works so well in our favour that we are operating on Western European markets without the use of a sales force. We think this is impressive because these markets represent 95% of our business.
I have over 25 years of experience in this industry and I have never encountered another company of this size that has grown continuously without its own sales force.
Our sales take place through the extraordinary retention of existing clients and an increasing workload with them, as well as through their recommendations towards other Western European clients.
The second positive trend is our growing implication in projects involving cutting edge technologies, such as Cloud Computing. We are currently involved in a project which will probably become the largest one in Europe.
I would also like to mention our research team, which explores new fields and “produces” new, innovative solutions which can then be transformed into stand-alone products. A recent example is our Speak to me product, able to transform text written in Romanian into speech through high quality speech synthesis; the creation of this product involved the cooperation of an interdisciplinary team, with specialists in phonetics, linguistics and programming.
Each year marks a growth in requirements from existing and new clients, based on the quality I have described earlier. Everything that has happened this year has helped confirm this trend. We are currently experiencing an increased demand in the field of mobile applications, Business Intelligence/Data Warehousing and BPM (Business Process Management).