Technology is now moving at such a pace that it can be hard to keep up with, especially within a business context. Keeping on top of the many new technologies and tools that are being developed can be a full-time job in and of itself, never mind sorting through them to find the ones that are applicable to your business. Last year, TEKenable became the winners of the title of 2020’s Leading Low-Code Software Development Specialists – Ireland, providing secure custom software to enterprise customers enabling cost savings, operational efficiencies and more. Find out about the firm’s story as we take a closer look.

Having established itself in the business of customer software and business applications, TEKenable has become a firm of experts in delivering custom line of business applications using Low Code platforms. Since its foundation as a business, TEKenable has sought to provide secure custom software to enterprise clients, thereby enabling them to achieve cost-effectiveness, operational efficiency, and enhanced customer experiences. Armed with almost two decades of experience delivering bespoke software and high code solutions has meant that TEKenable has been at the top of its game for many years. However, recently, the firm has decided to change its strategy and instead offer something different to customers. Today, the firm is proud to provide faster project delivery, with more functionality per Euro, at a lower risk, requiring less effort by the firm and the client, using Low Code platforms and bespoke extensions.

Underpinning everything that the firm does is the key value of integrity and doing the right thing for the customer, even if that means it comes as a cost to TEKenable. Integrity has been the bedrock on which the firm has been built over many years, and doing the right thing may have been a short-term cost, but has always been a long-term benefit for all involved parties. The value of integrity is not the only thing to stand the firm apart from its competition. TEKenable has two key differentiators. Firstly, the firm adopts a “business first” approach, where it tackles the business problem or opportunity as business people, understanding the customer’s company and market context, constraints, and dynamics. Then, and only then, the firm applies its change management capability and its extensive technology toolkit to deliver a solution like no other.

The second differentiator is that TEKenable delivers its services using Low Code platforms such as Dynamics 365 and Power Platform. TEKenable is not limited by the capabilities of the platforms. Instead, once it reaches the platform’s edge, it simply continues on using its heritage of bespoke software to extend the platform’s capabilities for those specific requirements that cannot be satisfied otherwise. These differentiators empower TEKenable to bring the full range of Microsoft technologies and best-of-breed Low Code platforms. It is Gold Certified for Azure Cloud and Application Development, and very experienced in legacy systems integration.

Clients of all sizes and sectors can take advantage of the work carried out by TEKenable, though the firm primarily serves mid to large enterprises that often have an international dimension. These enterprises are often, though not exclusively, part of sectors including financial, healthcare, agriculture, food, and public. Due to the fact that the firm has been in business for such a long time, and has consistently delivered excellence throughout its duration, most of the business that TEKenable receives is by referral and recommendation. The firm also has a significant degree of inbound sales opportunities from LinkedIn and the TEKenable website, as well as recommendations from Microsoft channels.

TEKenable’s company culture is just as important to its success as anything that it offers as a business service. The firm is often described as having a family feeling, and is a place where the staff genuinely care about one another. Leadership and staff alike will regularly go out of their own way as individuals and as a company to help them in times of need. Whilst there is structure, hierarchy, and reporting lines, there is no hiding away from one another in closed offices that are out of sight. Rather, there is openness, communication, and welcome conversations that include staff from every area of TEKenable. The firm recognises that people have both strengths and weaknesses, with some of the staff realising how good this firm based on previous experiences.

At TEKenable, the firm hires people with strengths, and encourages them to use those strengths rather than expect superhumans that are great at every single thing they do. Recruiting into this team and this culture is important, for both the company and the potential employee as well. TEKenable uses two recruitment agencies; one for technical staff and a separate one for managerial and executive staff. The firm encourages its staff to meet people in networking and meet-up events, and to identify good people from these various events. Sometimes, although rarely in the company’s history, it will advertise online, though the quality of applications and responses is usually quite poor when compared with the tried and trusted method of agencies.

For many firms, the last year has presented a great many challenges. That has been no different for TEKenable, though there have also been others along the way that have served to strengthen the firm’s resolve. About four years ago, the firm took advice from an M&A expert in relation to an approach to acquire TEKenable. The firm was not interested in being acquired at the time, but the approach did raise some interesting questions. Inevitably, it resulted in the firm making some radical change to the business that has since totally transformed its delivery capability and financial performance. Demand for bespoke software delivered through writing thousands, or even millions, of lines of software has been declining. SaaS-based products have provided off-the-shelf options for many of the systems that might previously have been written from scratch, and Low Code platforms have really matured to become serious competition.

Looking ahead to the future, challenges are far from the minds of those at TEKenable. Instead, the firm is focused on the opportunities that 2021 will bring, and where the firm can go from here. It has just recently acquired Greenfinch Technologies, and so 2021 will see a big focus on the integration of Greenfinch and TEKenable, expanding on software as a medical device development, and bringing some Low Code products to the market. From a growth standpoint, the firm will look to continue growing its capabilities in the Low Code platform space, whilst also keeping an eye out for the next acquisition. For now, it is all about the success that has been achieved thus far, and ensuring that the firm continues to grow organically and exceptionally, achieving more success in the years to come.

TEKenable Ltd can be found at https://www.tekenable.ie/