askblue, a Portuguese technology and business consulting company, recorded growth in turnover, set at €16.5 million, in the last year, representing an increase of 22% compared to 2020.
“askblue has a successful path of sustained growth. We have been strengthening our capabilities, but also the delivery of quality work in different and broader markets, in Portugal, the US, and the Middle East,” says Pedro Nicolau, CEO of askblue.
Growth in the international markets, which represented 8% of turnover, reached 30%. This result was achieved in three years of internationalization. The increase in the global operating margin was also boosted by this market.
In the Operations sector, the company secured an important application maintenance contract with one of the largest insurance groups in Portugal. In addition to the continued presence in North America, activity in the Middle East has seen great growth, with projects in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
One of the projects implemented in the Middle East was a marketplace. The platform allows the certification of consulting companies and provides them with various services, ranging from pre-created workflows for recruitment, auditing services, accounting services, project evaluation, and real estate asset valuation, among others. The marketplace has a payment gateway, assuring the entire process and security of customer payments, both individual and companies.
Also in the Middle East, a technological solution was designed and implemented for a government agency to assure the management of environmental assets, such as gardens, parks, and forests. The application allows assets’ geolocation, identification of available services, events, and projects underway at the site, as well as the identification of the main fauna and flora. As a relevant initiative, it was part of the national sustainability strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
This year, Askblue’s turnover is expected to reach 20 million euros, representing a 21% annual increase. The international markets will continue to grow at a higher rate.
“We hope to continue to develop new international markets and enter new regions, in a solid way and with greater specialization of our offer. Our goal is to assure the delivery of quality projects, increasingly critical and complete for our customers, who carry out digital transformation initiatives essential to their business,” says Pedro Nicolau.
The Nordic countries, the UK, and Germany are some of the new markets to be promoted.
New management team
For the new growth challenges, askblue’s management team was reinforced with four new elements: Paulo Nunes, recently promoted to partner, is now part of the Executive Board; João Queirós is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), leading the internal areas of organizational support (Financial and Administrative, Organizational Development, and IT Support); Ana Sofia Pardalejo is responsible for People Management; Carlos Costa Cruz leads corporate marketing and partnerships.
In 2022, askblue plans to be 500 employees’ team. Currently, the company has about 30 job vacancies.
“Growing in business means increasing the number and qualifications of our staff. As we invest more to find new opportunities, we are also available to hire and development of our employees. We do not renounce this perspective of continuous improvement, in all areas, especially in human resources,” says Pedro Nicolau.
Although 2022 is surrounded by uncertainties, the CEO of askblue is confident in a growth in the area of innovation and digital transformation, with the company’s efforts to strengthen the research methodology, design thinking, nearshore model and without deep knowledge of the sectors of activity (banking, insurance, services, industry, and utilities, among others).