Foto door Anjali Ram
This spring g-company exists for 12.5 years. No time for a party, but time to look back and forward in an interview with David Saris, founder and Managing Partner of g-company.
Hi David, congratulations with this copper anniversary! Tell us: how did it all start?
I had been working in IT for some years and had the desire to become an entrepreneur myself. Also, as an individual, I was already impressed by Google. When in February 2007 Google launched the professional versions of Gmail, Calendar and Docs for Business, I grabbed my chance to become Google’s very first partner in the Netherlands.
Did you start by yourself or did you involve others right away?
Already in the starting month I hired the first official employee: Olivier Bos. I had known Olivier for some time and his drive and expertise were a very welcome addition. After about a year the momentum really started and the team grew with people from all different backgrounds.
Having a team is one thing, but of course you also need customers to grow. Why do organizations choose g-company as their partner?
Customers’ satisfaction is always paramount. Satisfied customers attract more new customers and few customers have left us. What makes our work so much fun is that we may work with and for many different types of organizations. Not only different in size and sector, but there is also an enormous diversity of issues and solutions to sink our teeth into. We are versatile and skilled, which is reflected in the names that we can count among our customers. Randstad, Plukon, Kirkman Company and Raedelijn have been there (almost) from the start. Raedelijn is a customer from the very beginning. They are still a satisfied customer with us and Olivier is still their consultant. The funny thing is that some people at Raedelijn consider Olivier their colleague.
We could not have completed the past 12.5 years and build the next 12.5 without all our customers. Our gratitude is great!
You are now known as perhaps the largest Google Cloud partner in the Benelux, and you have an extensive portfolio of customers, from small to large, from profit to non-profit. What do you think were the success factors?
With every project, with every customer, our promise has not changed over time: we empower people and organizations with technology, so they can focus on what makes them unique.
As far as we are concerned, freedom of choice is essential: g-company has developed a series of solutions that can be implemented independently, at the desired pace and in the order that suits everyone’s journey towards a modern architecture.
And a very important success factor is of course the g-company team and the culture. We started from an entrepreneurial model and the entrepreneurial mentality within the team has always a key driver. Everyone thinks along, everyone learns along, everyone cooperates.
Like any organization, g-company has certainly had highs and lows. What do you see as the absolute highlight?
One of the most important highlights for me is the worldwide recognition that we have received from Google in the form of four awards in a row, as Google Cloud Partner of the Year. How proud I was – and am – of the g-company team to have achieved this together!
g-company helps organizations take the next step. Which next step(s) do you see for g-company in the near future?
Over the years we have learned that we can really add value to customers. We want to position this strength more, better, so that we can also help other organizations. We are very strongly represented in a number of industries, such as healthcare, non-profit, e-commerce and the public sector, and we will make smarter use of all the knowledge we have gained there. What we also see with existing customers is that there is still a lot to gain in terms of user adoption, knowledge about and application of the cloud solutions. We have all the equipment and expertise in-house for this and we are going to lift it – of course with the help of Google Cloud and Salesforce tools – to an even higher level.
