In this episode of IT Leadership Insights Michał Grela talks with Ross Morrell about Future Processing – the company behind this online programme.
Discover what surprised Ross in our company and whether he would recommend us as a software development partner.
Our Guests:
Ross Morrell has spent 40 years in IT sales up to director level for global corporations delivering IT and BPO services. His client base was predominantly large banks and insurance companies, but his last role included managing very large public sector outsourcing contracts. Although Ross is based in the UK he has, at different times, been based in and responsible for activities in Europe, the Middle East and North America. So, his experiences span many different market requirements. Following life with large corporates Ross has aligned with several associates to offer advice and practical support to IT companies who are targeting the mainly SME sector.
Michał Grela is Future Processing’s Relationship Manager, working within the marketing department to establish and nurture relationships with prospective customers and expand the company’s network of contacts. He strongly believes that business is about people and that, at the end of the day, it’s all about Human-to-Human rather than Business-to-Business.
The transcript of the episode
Michał Grela (MG): Hello, and welcome to the next episode of IT Leadership Insights by Future Processing. My name is Michał Grela and today my guest is Ross Morrell, the Director of T@rget Services, a business consultancy from the UK. Ross, thank you very much for joining us. You have been a guest of IT Leadership Insights previously, but for those of you who have not seen our previous episodes, Ross, could you please be so kind and tell us who you are?
Ross Morrell (RM): Yeah, as you said, I’m the Director, currently, of T@rget Services in association with a number of my colleagues. We provide advisory services mostly to SME organizations. But previous to that I had forty years, almost, of experience in the IT industry. I worked for a number of large IT service providers like UNISIS, Steria Sopra, HP and lately ATOS, where I was Director of the UK Financial Services. Most of my experience has been in IT services through outsourcing. I’ve worked with and supplied to a number of large clients mainly banks and insurance companies like HSBC, Barclays, Nationale-Nederlanden and ING and NS&I. So that’s really the experience I bring.
MG: Wow. That’s a very impressive portfolio. I appreciate that. Thank you for this introduction. So this episode is going to be a little bit different to all other episodes of IT Leadership Insights because today we’re going to talk about us, about Future Processing the company behind the series. You have known Future Processing for a while now, haven’t you?
RM: Yeah I have. I first got involved with Future Processing in the middle of 2014, and it was a recommendation really. I was working at the time with a colleague who used to be a client of yours, actually, in a company called Steamship. We were talking about outsources and he told me that he really enjoyed the experience with you, that you’d been extremely attentive, you’d listened to him. You delivered, you know, code through technical excellence. And I think he said something along the lines of ‘I work with them because I trust them.’ And with a recommendation like that —
MG: That’s a good recommendation.
RM: How could I resist?
MG: So as a person who has worked with Future Processing but, well, sees the company from the outside, how would you describe this company?
RM: Well, almost in the words that he used. You know I think that if you look at the client testaments that you have on your website, and I’ve met many of your clients, I think it’s fair to say that they all attest to the same level of qualities that I’ve mentioned. But there’s a few elements of Future Processing that I’ve experienced personally that I find interesting. I find you quite quirky and sociable. Which I, you know, I think is hugely important. Because working in projects, you know, getting the team dynamics right, is actually, in my opinion, extremely key. So apart from the fact that I found you extremely professional, and it’s quite obvious that you’re application developers of the highest quality, I found that there’s a certain sociability about working with you that frankly, I think, keeps everybody highly motivated and gets results done. I think also, having worked with a lot of large organizations I find the energy that’s generated around here really refreshing if I’m being honest. So, yeah, I just think you’re a great company to work with.
MG: Was there anything that surprised you when you first met us?
RM: Well I’d been in Poland before, but actually, I was quite surprised when I first arrived at the campus. It’s just such a fabulous facility. I don’t know what I was expecting, it’s not a criticism. But when I walked in and I saw the aluminum slide and things like that, I thought, ‘this is a company I can work with.’ So yeah, I found, what else did I find? I think your attention to people I found really refreshing. I mean I’ve known a lot of companies that work very hard to motivated their employees. But I haven’t met anyone that had a Chief of Fun or an Officer of Fun, or focused on things like happy teams, which I found really very much about the people.
MG: That’s crucial.
RM: And I think those sorts of things really separate and differentiate you from other companies that I’ve known certainly.
MG: Do you think Future Processing is worth recommending as a software developer partner?
RM: Oh unquestionably. I mean, I’ve said it already, the testament of the clients that you have in itself should be enough to convince people. But if I was looking to recommend an application development partner, you can do all the sophisticated, weighted comparisons that you want, but in the end, for me, it comes down to softer issues like what sort of mood am I in when I leave the room having worked with them? You know, do the inspire me? Do I trust them? Have I got confidence in them? And to be quite honest, I’ve always found that Future Processing passes all of those tests. So I would have no hesitation in recommending you.
MG: Thank you. And do you think Poland is, generally, a good place for software development?
RM: Well, I mean, it goes without question. I mean, I was looking at some, I was writing a report actually for a client of mine about the opportunity in Poland. And I was quite amazed at some of the facts which I hadn’t probably understood before. I mean I know for a fact that Poland is number 1 as the preferred option for outsourcing in Europe, which, you know, gives great credit to your people. I know you’ve got a very stable economy, you’re close to a lot of the capital cities in Europe, what’s not to like?
MG: Perfect. Thank you very much for this chat. It was very interesting to get to know your perspective. And thank you, our viewers, for watching this episode of IT Leadership Insights by Future Processing. If you have found it useful, please do not hesitate to share it and if you would like to have a topic covered in one of the future episodes, please do not hesitate to drop us a line. Thank you for watching IT Leadership Insights by Future Processing.