2020 will be remembered as a year of uncertainty, rapid changes and adapting to new conditions. The pandemic forced all organizations to transform their ways of working. Many of them also had to reshape their whole business logic, products and services. Although Midagon was also impacted by the crisis, overall we had a very strong year. We were glad to see the determination with which our customers started and continued their transformation programs, despite the pandemic. For many of them, the uncertain market outlook made these programs even more necessary for ensuring future success and competitiveness. In some projects, the exceptional conditions surprisingly also gave the teams an extra boost. This resulted in better interpersonal cohesion between the team members, which played an important role in the successful result. This was the case, for example, in a series of global ERP go-lives realized for one of our customers in the fall. Several other types of programs that had not been fully executed remotely before, were also carried out with success. These included ICT transformations, M&A integrations and carve-outs, country legal mergers, as well as supporting our clients in ICT and data due diligence. Due to the significant growth of demand for M&A services, Midagon has become one of the largest M&A implementation consultancies in Finland.
For Midagon, after the initial shock and drop in demand during March and April, the year turned out well. Although our growth was impacted by the general market situation, we closed the year on a positive note: nearly 40% revenue growth, a 25% broader customer base and 16 new consultants hired. I am very proud of this despite having had to pause recruitment during Q2 and Q3. In June we introduced a new type of industrial digital advisory service to the market. The response has been positive. During the second half of the year, we also took some important steps forward in developing our internal organization to meet the requirements of our growth targets. I look forward to starting to see the results of this work in 2021. Attracting and keeping the best talent is one of the cornerstones of our success. During the past few years, we’ve built Finland’s biggest and most experienced team of senior ERP strategists, program managers and architects, complemented by finance and supply chain management subject matter experts. With 18 ongoing ERP projects, we have a truly unique visibility and knowledge of the Finnish ERP and ICT market.
This year, I’m sure what all of us most hope for, is to be able to meet with friends, relatives, colleagues, customers and partners face to face again. For Midagon, the outlook is positive, as it seems the market is quickly recovering to its early 2020 level. In 2021, we expect the demand for our core services to stay high and that ERP renewals and the cloudification of ICT assets will continue to keep us especially busy. There has been considerable discussion about the struggle for talent, especially in the ICT services market. Recruitment will continue to play an important role in how we are be able to respond to the growing demand. It’s going to be a busy and interesting year as we return towards normal life. At Midagon, we are excited to see what it will bring for us.
