Cinode’s Country Manager Michael Ljungqvist interviewed Eficode’s CEO Ilari Nurmi in relation to Eficode’s acquisition of Riada in Sweden.

Eficode is the leading DevOps company in Europe, promoting DevOps operations and agile methods. The company is building a future for software development in eight countries based on the expertise of its 400 employees.

Skills and customers in focus in the acquisition of Atlassian house Riada

Eficode has had an organic growth strategy with regard to its international development. The company is, however, monitoring the market for companies with a similar culture and level of expertise with the aim of acquisition. 

“We know Riada as the leading Atlassian house in Sweden. An acquisition attracted us because Riada has super skilled staff and a fine Atlassian-focused customer portfolio of more than 200 companies. We are confident that this acquisition will be beneficial for the customers, as well as the employees, of both companies”, says Ilari Nurmi.

Riada has been named Atlassian Global Partner four times, most recently in 2020 in the Services category. Eficode has also won several times in the DevOps category, and this year the were awarded with the global Atlassian partner of the Year 2020: in DevOps and in Services.

“The idea is that, in the future, we will be able to provide better services than ever to our customers. We are extremely happy that we are bringing our strength together with Riada”.

The Atlassian ecosystem and market are growing.

According to Eficode, Atlassian’s market will continue to grow, and with the new Atlassian products, new business opportunities will open up for the partnering companies in the ecosystem.

“Atlassian’s market will continue its strong growth. The new Atlassian products, in particular, require significant investments and new skills, which we at Eficode have focused on for years. The smaller operators within the Atlassian ecosystem may not have the opportunity to make these new investments”, Nurmi says.

“Thanks to the Riada acquisition, Eficode’s position as the leading North-European Atlassian consultancy is stronger than ever, and we believe this acquisition will help us grow.”

Extensive technical skills are not enough.

During the conversation, Nurmi emphasized that solid technical competence is not enough for today’s customers.

“Customers need help with improving software development, which in practice means introducing the DevOps practices to their daily routine. This involves plenty of technical expertise, change management, and coaching in terms of company culture. These practices play a central role today”, Nurmi points out.

A significant change in the company culture has been essential in these transition projects.

“For example, we have noticed that many German companies operating in the traditional fields have woken up to realize how critical software is for their competitive ability. It is necessary to think about developing the software development culture to enable modern practices and faster reactions.”

2020 – an exceptional year in consultancy.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on the state of the consultancy business in general, and has come to affect many operators in the field; customers have canceled projects, but there has been significant acceleration in digital projects.

“Eficode’s extensive customer portfolio has protected us from the pandemic impact, although we did experience some hardships and foggy outlooks at the time”, Nurmi recalls.

“It is fantastic that operators in our field are doing so well despite the pandemic. Because of the pandemic, many customers have been ‘forced’ to invest in digital advances, which has helped the consulting industry stay positive.”

Read about the acquisition in Eficode’s press release at: https://www.eficode.com/press-releases/eficode-acquires-riada