12 months ago, during the second wave of the pandemic, many companies were looking to consolidate their positions. The leadership of Knightec and Daresay, however, had a shared vision for growth. The need to digitalize was now a necessity for virtually every organization, and Knightec and Daresay were ideally placed to support and indeed drive this transformation.
Their combined core offerings of design–thinking, digital / tech expertise, and the customer-centric development of solutions meant they could deliver greater value to existing clients and attract a broader customer base. The merger was finalized in January 2021.
“The last year has been an exciting journey, we’ve grown in parallel and as one – both in terms of sales and employees – which has given us the perfect platform to achieve our five-year strategic goals,” says Knightec CEO, Dimitris Gioulekas. “2022 for example will see us expand our operations internationally as we become a force within Europe in close collaboration with our clients.”
Unlike many mergers, the companies have grown together organically in the last year. Focus has been put on combining and utilizing the skills of the two companies to create real customer value through improved solutions and service offerings.
“Sharing ideas and resources across projects has taken precedence over merging IT and administrative systems and processes,” continues Dimitris. “We’re building for the future and that’s dependent on great people. We’re guiding our clients in the ever-changing world of technology, helping them with the key strategic decisions that will shape their businesses. As their partner, we must deliver. We must uphold our position as the leading strategic consulting firm within product and service development and remain relevant over the long-term. And this is why the collaboration with Daresay is so important and why it’s been given the time to flourish. Too many times mergers are forced and inevitably fail. We, on the other hand, continue to expand and now have around 800 employees.”
Nurturing the companies’ closely shared cultures – working towards a sustainable society and promoting innovation and collaboration in a caring environment – has also been prioritized. This is particularly important in a growing organization when most employees are currently working remotely and many consultants are integral and sometimes full-time members of clients’ teams.
“It’s not always easy to mix cultures when companies come together like this, but we are a great fit culturally and professionally – we complement each other in the best ways possible,” says Head of Daresay, Anna Lindstrand. “We have people who want to make a difference, that work on the forefront of technology and can drive change at the crossroads between digital and human interactions. We can develop strings of code and develop strategic plans that take industries to the cloud, transition products into services or make mechanics smarter and data-driven. We are a mix of people from different walks of life, but with similar values and shared aspirations for our clients’ businesses.”
The coming together of Daresay and Knightec is just the beginning of a journey that will see the companies grow closer but more importantly deliver new and exciting solutions that have a positive impact on clients’ businesses, end users and society as a whole.
As Dimitris likes to say about the Daresay joining the Knightec family “We brought two ideally matched companies together, suddenly 1+1=3.”
Find out how Knightec and Daresay can help your organization embrace the future of tech, successfully manage the transformation journey, and develop ground-breaking solutions that wow your users. Get in contact here.