People often ask me why I “restrict” myself to working within the software industry only.

As of today, January 1st 2015, I have been working in the software industry for 35 years. It is a huge, dynamic, innovative, growing and global industry. Give me just one good reason why I should weaken my focus and work outside this fascinating industry.

2014 was the best year ever for TBK Consult with outstanding financial results as well as new and important accomplishments in the market.

The year started with the project for the Turkish Government, which gave us a new platform for our future consulting activities. It also epitomizes the idea of TBK Consult where independent management consultants are working together across borders. Without Fikret Idil with his strong local network on the ground in Turkey we would not have been considered for such a project.

TBK Academy®, that we launched in 2013, proved its’ value in 2014. Without the TBK Academy® we would not have landed the project with the Turkish Government. The Academy generated substantial business in 2014 and brought many new clients to TBK Consult. We will continue to extend the number of software industry specific workshops and training offered through the TBK Academy® in 2015.

As a spin-off from the TBK Academy, we have developed a series of 1-day business development and social media workshops. These workshops have already been delivered in Denmark, Holland and UK with excellent ratings and feedback. The workshops are ready to scale globally through the TBK Consult network. Steen Helmer is the lead on this project.

TBK Publishing® also had a busy year publishing a new series of white papers on issues important to the software industry. People all over the world download our publications several times a day. Providing books, white papers, case studies, fact sheets and blog posts are a core component of the TBK Consult brand awareness creation effort. We are specialized management consultants and business developers and trust that the best way to demonstrate our capabilities is through the results we generate with our clients and the industry specific content that we freely share.

For the first time ever we have added an additional language to our website. There is now an Italian version targeting this large market. Gianmaria Odello, Nicola Angelina, Ezio Vicario and Stefano Zonin have joined forces to make this happen and will also share the workload of maintaining the content. Again an example of how working as a team can take us further than the “one man for himself” approach.

We have extended the TBK Consult network substantially in 2014. With Pamela Campagna in the USA we are now exploring ways to develop our activities in North America. Over the years we have assisted several North American companies with market entry in Europe, but have had to turn down inquiries for supporting traffic in the opposite direction due to lack of resources. In 2015 we are ready to help the software industry with market entry in North America (representing over 40% of the global demand for software).

I am especially pleased with the many cross-border business development contracts that we have won in 2014. Helping software companies crossing borders is the key service of TBK Consult and doing so in a network of independent management consultants proves the scalability potential of our business model. I am expecting a continued increase in the demand for cross-border business development services in 2015 and we are working hard in extending our network throughout the world. This is a tough job that requires identifying and interviewing many potential candidates, selecting those that have genuine “rain-making” skills. Interested candidates reading this post are welcome to contact our operations manager Emma Crabtree or study our recruitment website.

Another important win was the Software Product Management in-house training for ComTrade in Slovenia. This project came to us through our TBK Academy® promotions and opens up additional training opportunities as well as consulting services in Slovenia and the other Balkan countries.

With the accomplishments achieved in 2014 and the new partner structure in place for 2015, I am confident that we will see continuing growth in the years to come. The software industry is the fastest growing industry in the world offering steadily decreasing barriers of entry for newcomers. Getting the right ideas and turning them into products and services that customers really want is still important, but making it to global market leadership before the window of opportunity closes is equally important. Choosing TBK Consult to help with local and global expansion is a clever decision.

We call it “The Way to Grow.”

I wish you and your dearest all the best for the New Year.