2022 in the rearview mirror
Well, wasn’t 2022… interesting? Phasing out of a pandemic, only to plunge into further uncertainty.
Here are a few takeaways from another year on this rollercoaster ride.
✅ 2022: Back to pragmatism
In a way, despite the economic clusterf### of a year, we were somewhat vindicated by the market finding again some sense of pragmatism in their analytics projects. Exit the experimental stuff, and back to delivering the goods (and within budget, thank you very much).
A challenging climate calls for the reassuring classics in analytics, such as
Improved customer segmentation, so you don’t waste your marketing budgets on unattainable prospects.
Retention quick wins, because “keep” remains the new “get”.
Squeeze every bit of speed, quality, or costs from operational processes, from document automation to manufacturing processes.
Reduce financial risk, fight fraud, and improve liquidity.
Ensure smooth HR processes from selection to well-being
Deploy all the above on cost-efficient, yet future-proof infrastructures
If this sounds familiar, it is because it is.
Technology changes but the core needs of organisations remain the same. Technology is there to serve humans and organizations, not the other way around.
We worked on more “cutting edge” projects than last year, but it is mostly because what used to be called “cutting edge” is now readily available. Data science projects are becoming increasingly about leveraging existing infrastructures and libraries. It is a huge enabler for many projects, therefore a maturity stage we can all rejoice about.
🐪 Agilytic is a camel, not a gazelle.
Despite the challenging context, Agilytic increased their turnover by 15% in the past year. The team is nearing 25 people. It is good. Not “gazelle-level” good. But I don’t care. We have growth ambitions of course, but we will never sacrifice growth at the expense of quality.
Besides, our success is not relative to others. Success is not defined by a growth ranking. It’s defined by the value of what we deliver.
And about that…
📥 Inbound
One of our worst-kept secrets is our commercial mantra: “have a genuine desire to help”. It has never been about pushing unnecessary consultants in places they were not needed. It has always been about taking the time to find ways to be helpful.
If we stay true to that principle, and with patience, something amazing happens: people start to trust you. And we start getting inbound business.
This is thanks to our relentless effort to deliver quality work everywhere we go.
But we don’t take the reputation we built for granted. It is a continuous effort, for which I am extremely grateful to the whole Agilytic team, constantly improving our collective capabilities.
🔭 Looking ahead
While looking in the rearview mirror is useful, staying focused on the road ahead is still essential to reach our destination.
Here are themes that come to mind about 2023.
🌐 Macro context
2022 was weird. Just when we thought we had gotten out of the worst of a pandemic, we got served an extra dose of geopolitical fear, uncertainty, and doubt. In our industry, COVID was an inconvenience. A recession can become a real problem.
It’s another tumultuous period that we could have done without, but it’s one we will get out of stronger because we will stay true to ourselves, and focus on the results above the tech. It is a decision we made over six years ago: not to focus on a specific tech (hello “hashtag AI”) and instead speak the language of the decision makers.
In entrepreneurship they advise you to fall in love with the problem you are trying to solve, not with the solution. We will keep doing this on every project.
💸 Margins squeeze means growing with care
Combine inflation, exacerbated pressure from clients, and an inhospitable fiscal climate, and you have a great recipe for profit evaporation.
We try to manage Agilytic in a very prudent way. Some would say too prudent. That’s fine. Agilytic is a camel after all.
I don’t think the current situation calls for “cost cutting”. The future of our discipline has a lot of growth potential, and it would be unwise to retreat now.
But we are going to be much more “cost conscious”. Make every investment count. Focus on the added value. Do fewer things, but with an exacerbated level of care.
💡 Reinventing ourselves
2022 is also the year when we reached the limit to our past Organizational structure.
How fascinating is it that, to grow further, we must un-learn a lot of the things that got us this far?
We are well underway in reshaping an Agilytic that is fit for further growth, thanks to a bigger, more experienced senior team and a promising cohort of new colleagues.
🎢 Enjoy the ride
I have said many times that the Agilytic rollercoaster ride is the best job I ever had. But it has also been the most demanding and the most stressful. It does not have to be like that.
The evolving Agilytic structure will provide the foundations to grow further without having to overwhelm anyone with too much stuff to do. It is sometimes easier than done, but it is more than ever within our reach.
And it will become a reality, thanks (again) to the intelligence, the dedication, and the resourcefulness of the team.
Agilytic is not the best job I ever had because of the #startuplife, or even the intellectual challenges many of our projects bring. It is because I get to spend my days next to this group of people.
I hope you’ll get to meet them soon.
Bring on 2023.
