Start-up.ro, 2020: innovation every day, technology partners and the pandemic

Tremend at fifteen, June 2020: a profile built on the account of its two founders, Ioan Cocan and me. I was then co-founder and managing partner of Tremend. Our statements are joint. Topics: innovation as part of everyday work in IT, technology partnerships, the pandemic as a test of digitalisation, remote work and hiring.

§Innovation as part of everyday work

Ioan Cocan and I: when we started the business, demand for software development services was only beginning, and the technologies of the time were fundamentally different from those of 2020. In IT, “innovation is part of everyday life” („inovația face parte din cotidian”), hence Tremend’s fast adoption of emerging technologies and tools.

Examples: IoT solutions before the term became a buzzword, and programming for mobile devices before iOS and Android existed. The focus in 2020: cloud, artificial intelligence, machine learning, microservices, big data and blockchain.

Elsewhere. Ziarul Financiar, 2017, on what drove Tremend’s growth: “attention to the organisational culture and to the technical DNA of the people at Tremend, continuous development, a fast pace of adopting the newest tools and technologies, and clients with vision from 15 countries.” („atenţie la cultura organizaţională şi la ADN-ul tehnic al oamenilor din Tremend, dezvoltare continuă, un ritm accelerat de adopţie a celor mai noi tool-uri şi tehnologii şi clienţi cu viziune din 15 ţări”)

§A trusted technology partner

The strategy: build, with existing and target clients, local or international, the image of a trusted technology partner, and work with other technology firms for it. In 2019 Tremend signed partnerships with Microsoft, Salesforce and Mastercard, and in 2020 with CertSIGN. Through Microsoft it became an Azure services provider. With Mastercard it supported financial companies in implementing European and global regulations, such as Strong Customer Authentication under PSD2. With CertSIGN it integrated remote identification and qualified electronic signature into TORP, its digital onboarding platform. The European Union selected Tremend as technical partner and consortium leader for EPALE, the electronic platform for adult learning in Europe. Tremend in 2020: over 370 specialists, clients in 20 countries on four continents, over 700 projects, over 60 million people using its solutions.

§The pandemic as a stress test

Ioan Cocan and I: the pandemic was a “stress test” („test de rezistență”), after which companies without a strong digital presence saw the benefits of digital transformation. The trends: online sales staying high, banks and financial companies investing in cybersecurity and digital onboarding, clinics moving appointments and consultations online, recruitment interviews held remotely, and more sensors and devices that reduce physical contact, such as self-checkout in retail.

Within three months, starting from TORP, Tremend built a telemedicine solution, an application for employees’ safe return to work and a solution for onboarding new employees digitally.

§Remote work and growth plans

The plan for 2020: grow the automotive portfolio, expand in Germany and enlarge the Bucharest office. After the state of emergency was declared, everyone moved to working from home. Tremend kept hiring software engineers, business analysts and project managers. 2019 revenue: EUR 15.1 million, about 55% above 2018. Tremend joined the EBRD’s Blue Ribbon programme, the second Romanian company selected.

Ioan Cocan and I: the transition did not affect the work, because remote work was already part of the company’s culture. The priority was to build in financial services and to expand mainly in the US and in Western Europe.