Success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of hard work, determination, belief, and financial discipline. It also depends on how you handle your clients and their happiness, particularly when you start a new business. One such company, which has kept clients and their happiness at the very forefront, is GIS People.
At the beginning of 2010, Igor Stjepanovic identified the market need for a specialist end-to-end geospatial solutions provider. Thus he founded GIS People. Fast forward 7 and a half years, GIS People has grown into an award-winning technology company that delivers world-class innovative software solutions to enterprise customers. And while the beginnings were humble – servicing only local clients – the firm’s focus today has transformed into developing outstanding software with global market potential.
Stretching out the Boundaries of GIS technology
Software development and creating innovative software products that solve business and processing problems are the company’s focal services. At the epicenter of its current focus are two successful platforms that implement GIS technology to solve business problems. Among them, GIS People’s flagship product, Gruntify is changing the way that organizations manage their data collection, workflows and conduct data analysis, while Open Declare is real-time web platform used for reporting of political donations, gifts, and other financial transactions. Due to high international demand for both products, GIS People is witnessing and consequently seizing the opportunity to stretch out the boundaries of GIS technology and services, and deliver unique and world-class solutions to clients worldwide.
Happiness of Clients is the Key
Since the inception, the happiness of its clients has been the key to GIS People’s success. The company has always focused on repeat business, and its employees truly recognize and embrace this. Being customer-centric gives GIS People, a great advantage over its competition in the GIS field, who tend to be more technology focused. The firm’s strong financial discipline has been another important ingredient to its survival during early days. The company was boot strapped since its formation and relying on organic growth to fund its expansion.
A Leading Location Intelligence Expert
Igor, the founder of GIS People, is considered one of Australia’s leading location intelligence experts. Following multiple stints in private companies and government departments in a variety of roles, he emerged as a ‘go-to GIS person’ for many of his past clients. Igor took the opportunity to create a company, and as the demand for his services grew (which validated Igor’s business idea), he soon realized that he himself is the bottleneck – as he could only work with one client at a time. To make the most of the available opportunities and to service growing number of high-profile clients, GIS People was conceived with the ultimate goal of turbo charging organizations with data-driven decision-making where location is key.
Completely Customer-Centric Approach
The word ‘people’ in the name complements the work that a firm does, and shows why it takes customer satisfaction seriously. “But while we are good listeners and always delivering what our clients demand, we also pride ourselves on our ability to create some of the most innovative and user-friendly software solutions anywhere in the world. So when it comes down to tackling our competition, we are ready for it all! But we never allow getting too far ahead of ourselves; staying agile, nimble and focused is critical, as is understanding market trends and customer needs. Often, we have built a product before our competitors have even realized that there was an opportunity, to begin with!” Igor says on why they prioritize customers above anything else, and how GIS People tackles to the emerging competition.
Driving and Advancing Productivity
The spatial industry is only starting to grow! What we see right now is still only scratching the surface of what’s to come. For about 40 years, the spatial industry has been limited to dark rooms in basements of large organizations and government departments. However, today GIS People is positioned front and center in corporate board rooms, as the company is driving and advancing productivity in Facility Management, Government, Emergency Response and much more.
“The opportunity to improve the geospatial industry as a whole and deliver benefits thereof to our clients is something that’s been well worth the rough journey from startup to scale up. Moving away from being a niche industry, to an industry that is charging ahead and underpinning some of the most exciting developments in the world, from drones to satellites, to robots to self-driving cars is something that gets us out of bed each and every morning!” he adds.
Igor Advice for the Budding Entrepreneurs
The world today changes so fast, thus being able to think on your feet and keeping strong awareness of your competitors is incredibly important. But at least equally important is your belief in your idea, belief in yourself, and belief that you can change the world for the better. Your knowledge and expertise are almost a given; but it is your passions, persistence, and perseverance that will get you further. You should also surround yourself with a great team because working solo and trying to do way too much as one person will wear you down.
Future Prospect
No one can really guess what the world of GIS is going to do next, but we can be sure that GIS People is going to be part of it! The advancements in geospatial technology in the last few years have been nothing short of amazing, moving away from physical maps to advanced mapping systems that people carry in their pockets. Pair this with powerful emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Augmented Reality, Indoor Mapping and it becomes very clear that the world of opportunities is available to those willing to take some risks in the future. “We are working on some very exciting improvements in our products which will soon make them better, faster, and more affordable. And we know our customers will love what we have in-store for them!” Igor concludes.
