Company-X is leading a series of digital transformation projects for clients in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Company-X co-founder and director David Hallett said the software specialist had discussed digital transformation with many clients in the year before the pandemic hit.
“Suddenly there’s been an impetus and they’ve seen an urgency,” Hallett said.
Clients had said to Company-X, “Now, you know that project we’ve been talking about? Can we start that yesterday?”
A health sector client asked Company-X to lead the development of a digital system that would replace a manual system deemed too risky for staff when social distancing guidelines were in place. “They said we need to digitise this and we need you to help us out so that was a project that kicked off,” Hallett said.
“Another was a legal practice who suddenly realised they needed to quickly modernise because they had no access to files or notes in their office because they were locked down. So let’s, please, make this program of work that we have been talking about happen now.”
Remote working has been part of Company-X culture since Hallett and Jeremy Hughes founded the Company- X in 2012.
Since then the directors, who both live outside of Hamilton city where Company-X is headquartered, have engaged in regular video conferences with clients and team members based around the world.
“I spent the first year or so working with a client from the United States,” said Hughes.
“So that gets you really immersed in remote working when you actually never get to join the team face to face.”
Hallett said the only difference the COVID-19 pandemic made to Company-X team of nearly 60 software specialists was that they had to go into the supermarket one person at a time.
“We did expect some of our projects to go on hold,” Hughes said. “But it didn’t happen. I think it’s because we really focus on partnering with our customers and they trust us to get involved in really critical projects that have to be delivered.
“If our customers say we have to deliver, we deliver.”
“We’re growing all the time, we’ve taken on new projects,” Hallett said.