This article presents the road through which "Kutia" has passed, from its inception to the present day, working with costumers from various European countries. The beginnings of "Kutia" in 2013 in the ICT sector in Kosovo were not easy, considering the fact that there were already companies operating and already established over the years in this sector.
The IT sector in Kosovo at that time was more focused on local projects, while projects for external clients were realized to a lesser extent.
If we take into consideration the time of our start up as a company to date, this sector has undergone tremendous changes. The number of businesses that provide ICT services has increased and with this, the number of programmers has increased as well. Moreover, the readiness of young people to become part of the industry has grown. By changing the mentality of young entrepreneurs in general, including myself, developmental approach has also changed. Now, projects for international clients are our target and this has contributed to the growth of quality, final products, and the rapid growth of the industry.
Currently, "Kutia" provides services to long-term clients and partners in Europe as well as in several states in the US. These collaborations help us to learn new things every day and this definitely affects the quality of life and the passion for the profession.
Participation in international conferences, business delegations, and online platform communication help us find new clients. Any investment we have made so far in these kinds of activities has proved to be a positive one.
The first contact with businesses abroad is the presentation of the working environment in Kosovo, including industry specifics, success stories of large companies working with Kosovo companies, and the opportunity to provide services from here.
As in every beginning of the creation of new relations, the process of building trust on both sides is very important in order to proceed.
After the initial conversations with the client and the discussion of the requests, the other team members who contribute with ideas for the realization of the project join the discussion.
Knowing that not all online meetings may be suitable for everyone, we have traveled several times to European countries to meet our customers. At these meetings, the requirements were closely discussed and at the same time a personal relation which also affects the working relation was created.
In "Kutia" at the beginning of each project, we define the people who will work on the project, communication channels, management tools, and what is of great importance; the designation of contact people on both sides - us and the client.
Our way of working does not differ from the companies we cooperate with, as we use the framework standard such as Scrum, and tools such as Jira, Asana, Trello, and Slack. However, we are open to exchange methods in collaboration with the client, depending on which one suits the client the most. Thus, transparency is 100%, knowing very clearly what we are doing and how it is progressing because the meetings are held on a weekly basis.
We have partners in the EU and USA, with whom we have been cooperating for more than 3 years, owing to the commitment and accuracy of the work completion. I think that what makes us different from other companies in Europe is the flexibility and service delivery in the fastest time, especially in special circumstances.
We are delighted that from Pristina we offer web development services, web applications, databases and mobile applications for institutions and respected clients in their countries.
In the next two years, we will also focus on developing products that will solve various problems in certain industries.
I invite Tech industry companies to visit Kosovo during the KosICT conference where they will be able to get acquainted with ambitious, loving people, and above all hardworking people.
Arianit Fazliu
Chief Executive Officer at KUTIA
arianitfazliu@kutia.net