Looking back on 2019 and reflecting on how far Velocitii Digital has come, I realise what an amazing rollercoaster ride it’s been.
As well as plenty of learning, growing and (thankfully) succeeding, there’s been a fair few mistakes made along the way - but as we like to say in Tech, failure helps us to learn and to grow.
Some of you may remember that at the start of this year, Velocitii went by the (not so) memorable name of MD Commercial Solutions. In June, we made the decision to relaunch the business with a new name and brand identity that better reflects our focus on digital, data and technology. Velocitii Digital was born.
As we look forward to an even more eventful 2020, I want to share some of my highlights from our breakthrough year.
Our 2019 Highlights
1. Growing the team
One of the things I am most proud of this year has been the recruitment of our fantastic Velocitii team; a team of diverse thinkers from diverse backgrounds with a commitment and work ethic that I think sets the bar even higher for our industry.
In just over 12 months we’ve gone from one person (me) to 12 people. Every one of the team has been a valuable addition to our clients and to Velocitii by helping to shape our culture and our values, working with passion and dedication, and delivering outstanding work.
I’m also proud of the inclusive culture we’ve fostered among our small team. This was never just a box-ticking exercise for us, but something that really goes to the core of who we are; finding the right people for the job, focussing on talent rather than background, and offering opportunities to all.
I can truly say that I’ve loved the journey of recruiting every one of the team throughout the year. We have discarded the traditional approach of CVs and interviews and embraced a belief that, by getting to know someone as an individual, together you can shape a great role that will add value to our clients.
This year has also seen us bring on board our first senior, full-time employee, with Clare Blain joining us as Director of People; a milestone for any start-up. Despite being a Tech company, we want to keep people at the core of what we do and look forward to launching new people-related programmes in 2020. Clare will bring an immense amount of experience to this new role and our growing business.
We’re excited to have Clare joining us in January 2020, at which point she will share more info regarding her role, priorities and strategic plans.
2. Working with inspiring clients
Secondly, I want to make a special mention of our clients.
We’ve been very fortunate to forge close relationships with our clients this past year. Choosing who to work with is an investment by both parties in a long term relationship; building confidence through delivery, and taking the time to gain a deep understanding of the challenges that our clients are facing.
Thank you for giving us this opportunity - Velocitii continues to be proud to serve you!
3. Gaining the confidence to push boundaries
As we’ve gained momentum, we have also begun to push the boundaries of traditional programme management.
As a team, we’ve been developing our own unique approach that sits strongly at the crossroads of traditional waterfall and agile delivery. This has been necessary as most central government departments still work and think in a waterfall way, yet DDaT-related programmes and departmental Digital Directorates are rightly designing and running programmes according to agile principles. By recognising this, we’ve been able to see the opportunities for working in a different way.
I’m proud of how our PMO and Delivery specialists have designed and refined this approach. We believe it provides an enhanced service to our clients for what is still a very in-demand area of government programmes. Again, we will be sharing more on this in the new year.
4. Wrapping up our first major project
In early October we wrapped up our first major project as a company, supporting the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in moving away from their large, legacy SI services contract with a large IT provider.
This Exit programme was carried out on-time and within budget to deliver a successful outcome for the Department, and the lessons we learned during this project will be invaluable for us as a company. You can read more about the project in this blog post.
This was a major achievement for our client and the Exit programme team, which saved government and the taxpayer significant money, and created a platform by which the Department could create a new service model - something we are really proud of.
5. Making connections and expanding our knowledge
Another highlight has been the opportunity to travel around the country and Europe to broaden our knowledge of the issues and opportunities facing the public sector.
We’ve learnt a lot, and been inspired greatly, through meeting some of the public sector’s finest at events such as the GovTech 2019 Summit in Paris. It’s a great motivator to realise the sheer potential of technology for change, both here in the UK and around the world.
Looking Ahead to 2020
After a busy but rewarding Year One, we can’t wait to see what our second year will bring.
At Velocitii we constantly strive to do things differently, to innovate, to question, to challenge and, most importantly, to do things better. We’re already busy developing plans in new areas that we believe can add even more value to our clients - but more on that to come.
If you haven’t done so already, follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn where we’ll be sharing updates on our growth and progress.
Happy Holidays everyone and we'll see you in 2020.
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