Working together for an even more successful 2021
2020 was a very turbulent year, during which we all worked together to steer Thinkwise through the pandemic. Although we work from home and we can no longer physically visit our customers, we have grown closer to each other and both our low-code platform and our services have benefited from this. Although this crisis is still far from behind us, one thing is certain: we will start 2021 as a company that is more united and efficient than a year ago.
Robert van der Linden, co-founder of Thinkwise
Nobody could have predicted in 2019, that our head office would be largely empty in 2020. It was also quite strange to have to ask all our colleagues to suddenly start working almost entirely from home. Fortunately, we were able to adapt very quickly and this sudden transition, from one day to the next, went very smoothly. As a result, Thinkwise continued to run like a well-oiled machine, partly thanks to the flexibility of our people, but also because our business processes are perfectly designed to operate online via the web.
This also meant that many of our customers and partners were able to take important steps in optimizing and integrating their own systems and processes using our enterprise low-code platform. They also had to suddenly facilitate working from home and bring their business online. If anything positive has resulted from the corona pandemic, it must be the accelerated digital transformation that it has brought about. We already had many of the necessary tools, such as Microsoft Teams and other applications and dashboards for online collaboration. However, the current situation has forced us to put aside our traditional ways of working and quickly embrace online collaboration.
It has not only changed the reluctant attitude of some employees with regard to online collaboration, the physical distance of potential employees to the Thinkwise office now also appears not to be a problem anymore. After all, distance is no longer a limitation when everyone works together online and it has no negative effect on productivity. This insight not only gives us more competitive strength within the Netherlands, but also internationally. For example, we were forced to organize many more webinars instead of physical meetings and provide all our documentation and training online. And ultimately, this has also had a very positive effect on the attendance at these events and on the use of our community and online training resources.
In addition, many companies, including our customers and partners have seized the opportunity during this period to work on various IT projects, which they previously had no time for. Partly for the benefit they offer right now, but also to be in a good position to accelerate once this crisis is over. Some companies have seen tremendous growth in their business during recent times, but it must also be said that some companies are having a much harder time than others due to the nature of their business. The impact of Covid 19 on the revenue of travel organizations and the hotel and catering sector is much greater than on an online retailer or IT company. Instead of having to respond to the increased demand, they have to use this period primarily to keep their organization afloat with even more creativity and focus on innovation and optimization, so that hopefully they will be able to come back with a vengeance in the New Year.
That is what I am hoping for in 2021. I hope that 2021 will be a year in which we can leave this difficult period behind us and together with our employees, partners and customers continue to build on the future, and further develop and benefit from our low-code platform. And hopefully, at the end of next year, we will be able to look back with satisfaction and reap the benefits.
And even though the holidays this year may be somewhat different from what we are used to, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a wonderful start to the New Year.