The world has changed a lot over the past twelve years. In 2007, the Motorola Razr was the world’s coolest phone – until Apple released the first iPhone that year. It was the year that saw Netflix start its digital streaming service, worrying that their customers would be willing to instantly access movies online rather than receiving DVDs in the post. Amazon released the first Kindle, encouraging us to ditch our paperbacks for an electronic library instead. It was also the first year that slim and lightweight LCD TVs outsold the old style cathode ray TV sets – the type you now only see abandoned at recycling centres.
It was 2007 that also saw the formation of Aspira, an Irish-owned technology and project management company. The company founders Pat Lucey and Colum Horgan (pictured above in 2007) were joined by four of their former software development colleagues from Motorola following its closure. The company was initially focussed on designing and developing software development products, and supplemented this activity by delivering some project consulting services, primarily to the energy sector.
In 2008, Aspira added project management training as a service offering, and doubled the team size. The following year saw the worst of the recession in Ireland, and saw many companies run aground. Luckily, being a small and agile company gave Aspira a competitive advantage and by 2010 it had beaten some prestigious competitors to deliver project management, business analysis, training and software development services.
2013 saw a change in focus – instead of being a product company, Aspira decided to switch focus to services. It retained all its staff but now focussed on delivering technology services to clients rather than developing new products. This change proved instrumental to accelerating growth in the company, with a second office opening in the Dublin Docklands region.
2015 saw the acquisition of an IT services company, expanding the range of services on offer and 2016 saw the grand opening of Aspira House – a new 10,000 sq foot headquarters in Cork. Growth continued and we were recognised by the Financial Times in 2017 and 2018 as one of “Europe’s Fastest Thousand Growing Companies”. 2018 brought the deployment of an IT technology team to the UAE. In 2019 a new mainland Europe office was opened in Amsterdam.
Having been through such a journey of change over the past twelve years, it is fitting that a lot of Aspira’s clients now rely on their expertise to delivery transformative projects, whether that is digital transformation or moving to Agile.
There are two groups of people that have been critical to the company’s success: The first is its staff. Aspira staff have proven to be loyal, hardworking, smart, innovative, flexible and reliable. They have taken on some huge challenges and have delivered every time. The second is their customers. Sometimes it takes courage for a customer to choose a smaller company to deliver its services. Aspira recognises that courage and seek to combine the maturity and reliability of the enterprise company, along with the energy and drive of an ambitious, growing company. It is a powerful combination.
In May 2019, we took some well-deserved time out to celebrate with staff and partners in recognition of the twelve years of successful operation. The company remains passionate about delivering change through technology, and on helping customers to manage their projects better.
Here’s to the next 12 years!
