During the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it was nice to be able to carve out some time to just sit, relax, drink some coffee, and reflect on the past 12 months.
2016 began with a variety of challenges. Our first full year of operations under the name Brightfind was about to begin (after more than 25 years as Syscom Services). Our industry was rapidly changing, with almost every organization demanding better mobile experiences, more effective and engaging user experiences, and a broader set of strategic and analytics capabilities. These changes brought excitement (imagine what we can accomplish!), determination (we will be successful!), and some unknowns (are we focusing on the right things?).
Thanks to the combination of our incredible clients, our strong partnerships, and of course, the extremely talented Brightfind team, our excitement and determination has resulted in achievements and successes of which we are very proud. Check out just a few highlights from 2016:
- Brightfind launched more than 35 hard-working websites, including sites built on the Sitecore content management system (CMS), as well as the Episerver CMS, and Higher Logic platform.
- We hosted our first ever Brightfind World Usability Day. Close to 40 people signed-up to learn how to make their sites more usable and accessible.
- We earned 7 new certifications across UX, .Net Development, Front End development, Sitecore, and Episerver CMS.
- Brightfind won 14 website awards. 14!
- We hired several fantastically creative, energetic, and dedicated new team members.
If you stopped by headquarters, you may have noticed Brightfind employees are working closer than ever, including in the physical sense—desks have been moved to allow for easier collaboration and at almost any hour of the day you could encounter pop-up “swarms” (that’s a technical term for ad-hoc group collaboration) working to solve the toughest of problems. Teams are now more integrated to ensure everyone in the company has the resources and multi-skilled talent that they need to provide clients with the best possible results.
Some days the office was quieter than others. In 2016 alone Brightfinders attended 12 industry events, presenting at 10, and were often on the road (and in the sky) traveling to our clients’ conferences to collect UX data from constituents.
As we reflect on 2016 and embark on 2017, I’m once again filled with excitement and determination. Thanks to the incredible Brightfind team, the goals we set and the challenges we faced at the beginning of this year have been met. I’m confident we have the right people and processes in place to rock 2017. Just you wait!
Thank you for making this year a success. Happy New Year!
Sincerely,
Frank Klassen
CEO
