As this strange, challenging, and eventful year is coming to an end, it feels somewhat extraordinary to look back at everything that we went through at BairesDev. 2020 was far from a normal year and I feel amazed reflecting on what went on during the last 12 months – moments of resilience, dedication, adaptability, learning, and teamwork.
2020 was marked by business disruptions brought by the COVID-19, from the interruption of global supply chains and the increasing workforce remotization due to worldwide lockdowns to the rapid and dynamic changes in customer demands and the mounting pressure to digitize old operational standards.
But even in spite of those disruptions, BairesDev thrived and achieved many new milestones, all while strengthening our core commitment: powering the digital acceleration processes of businesses everywhere with high-quality technology solutions. 2020 certainly called for companies across industries to adjust to the so-called new normal and we’re more than proud to have been there to help them do just that.
That’s why I’d like to recap some of BairesDev’s standout moments and accomplishments from this unusual year while also sharing some personal thoughts with you.
The Year of Smart Working
Ever since BairesDev was born, I supported what we like to call the “smart working” approach, so much so that we turned it into our essential work method and ingrained it into our DNA. Smart working is a combination of distributed teams and remote work with agile methodologies and has been crucial to BairesDev growth, mainly because it provides us with the flexibility we need to adjust to the ever-changing landscape of the business world while guaranteeing we build high-performance teams with the best Software Engineers.
While we were always certain about the value of our smart working approach, 2020 truly tested it to the maximum. I feel extremely happy to see that all those years developing remote working methods and collaborating with the Top 1% of IT professionals across the Americas ensured we already had the necessary experience and know-how to weather a storm as strong as this year’s pandemic.
It’s not that we didn’t have our share of issues. As everyone else, BairesDev had to deal with unforeseen challenges and disruptions. But our long experience working with diverse remote teams of more than 1,500 professionals spread throughout the world combined with our strategic approach to work allowed us to quickly adjust to the new scenarios and keep business as usual. We’re already seeing that from 2021 and beyond, more and more companies will also embrace the smart working approach BairesDev has used since its foundation to become more resilient and flexible, traits that all companies will need moving forward.
Steady Growth, Despite it All
Given that our work approach fit perfectly with the new landscape, we were able to keep our business as usual during the crisis. That doesn’t mean we didn’t have to change some things. We also had to develop new business strategies and adjust our priorities to face the new normal. We adopted a new way of planning our objectives and set more realistic goals that contemplated the various implications of the COVID-19.
Doing so led BairesDev to cushion the blow and allowed us to see different paths and scenarios to meet our newly defined goals. The new strategy really paid off, as we were able to overcome a global slowing down during Q2 and keep our growth steady throughout the rest of the year, thanks to the expansion of our client portfolio.
After that initial adjustment, BairesDev became a valuable ally for businesses across many industries as we helped them bolster their digital acceleration efforts and increasingly digitize their infrastructures.
BairesDev, Always Among the Best
The work and accomplishments of BairesDev during 2020 didn’t go unnoticed. Our remarkable growth rates resulted in prestigious recognitions and awards, including being among America’s fastest-growing companies for both INC 5000 list and The Financial Times. BairesDev was also named Grand Trophy Winner in the 2020 CEO World Awards and recognized as one of the best B2B companies in Latin America by Clutch.
Other recognitions we got during 2020 include being ranked in the Top 10 of the 2020’s Fast 100 by the San Francisco Business Times, named as a Most Awarded Company in the Best in Biz Awards 2020, given 3 different awards at the 18th Annual American Business Awards, and listed among Clutch’s Top 5 Web Development Companies in the world and GoodFirms’ . Additionally, I was named “Executive of the Year” at the 2020 BIG Awards for Business.
And while I feel deeply honored that BairesDev was acknowledged in such a way by all those organizations, there are a couple of awards that bring me extra joy.
The first was getting the Best Company for Diversity in 2020 by Comparably, which places BairesDev among the Top 5% of diverse companies in the US. Coupled with the Best Company for Compensation award, this recognition is a living testament of our commitment to making the best possible workplace for all our collaborators, regardless of who they are or where they come from. I’m a firm believer that embracing diversity is the key to unlocking new capabilities and innovation levels, so I’m thrilled to see that our teams feel that way, too.
And then there was the gold award in the 13th Annual 2020 Women in Business and the Professions World Awards earned by our Chief R&D Officer, Rocio Belfiore. Having won gold in both the Excellence in Industry Woman of the Year in Information Technology Services and Female Executive of the Year categories proves what a superb talent Rocio actually is but also comes to show that talent doesn’t know about genders, race, religion, age, or sexual orientation.
A Bright Look into the Future
As challenging as this year has been, I know that what lies ahead will have its fair share of obstacles. The business world will still have to deal with the ramifications of pandemic and finally start living in that “new normal” we’ve been hearing about all year long. That means handling a continued workforce remotization, keeping up with the highly dynamic changes in customer demands, increasing the digitization of entire workflows, and adjusting business models to the new landscape.
But I know that the BairesDev team is more than ready to tackle them head on. 2020 has proven that we don’t just claim we work with the Top 1% of IT talent out of marketing purposes. Our professionals are truly the best around, agile enough to adapt to new dynamics and demands while also experienced enough to add value to any project they work for.
Given that 2021 will see the popularization of digital acceleration processes as a business imperative across the board, counting with an expert and highly skilled team as the one we got in BairesDev will be of paramount importance. I’m deeply thankful for having them by my side, as I know that the future looks brighter with the BairesDev collaborators supporting our initiatives.
Finally, I want to thank our customers and partners for their continued support throughout the year. Our relationship with them allowed us to build connections of mutual benefit that didn’t just result in sophisticated digital products and innovative solutions but also on social responsibility initiatives that expand opportunities for people underrepresented in the technology industry.
In fact, given the smashing success of our previous donation campaigns, we decided to expand Giveback Program, our donations initiative, and invite 80% more clients to participate. Through Giveback Program, BairesDev and our clients collaborate with non-profit organizations that drive change through technology while helping talent grow. We do so by donating part of our revenue on behalf of our clients to a nonprofit of their choice. Thus, our clients and BairesDev have contributed to organizations as varied as Girls in Tech, Child’s Play, and Feeding America, among others.
Seeing it like this, I can safely say that 2020 was a rollercoaster of a year that certainly pushed us forward and forced us to become a better version of ourselves. Hopefully, 2021 will provide calmer waters for us to navigate through and give us the opportunity to apply the lessons learned during the past taxing 12 months. Here’s to a brighter future!
