True potential and growth are revealed in time. Nikola is one of the founders of Span and has been its CEO for almost 29 years. What was the company like at the very beginning and when did you realize that the company was on the right path?

We started very enthusiastically almost 30 years ago when there were only a few of us. We believed in things that others didn’t – which proved to be the right choice over time. In a time when having legally acquired software didn’t mean much to anyone in Croatia since the country was in the midst of war, we’ve decided to sell exactly that. During all these years we have repeatedly challenged our destiny with our business decisions.

We haven’t been afraid of challenges or risks because we’ve always believed they were an integral part of growth. Of course, we’ve made some wrong decisions, but it is important that the good ones prevailed in the end. In fact, we’ve been learning from our own mistakes all along – following our own instincts. Over time, we’ve also offered maintenance services to our customers, hired IT experts with various specializations, and slowly established ourselves on the market. We are very proud of our employees who have specific knowledge that is competitive on a global level, and that allows us to do top-quality work.

Span operates worldwide. We offer a wide variety of professional IT services – from designing and developing large-scale information systems to providing technical support for enterprise users and large corporate organizations. Today we do things that are important to our customers – we design IT systems and, metaphorically speaking, ensure that their „ecosystem “works. In the last 30 years or so we’ve evolved from a Croatian IT system integrator to a Group that today, together with more than 40 international partners, cooperates with over 1,200 clients, including leading regional and global corporations. I can say that we hold the experience of persistent and gradual growth, based on learning, training and business ethics and corporate social responsibility. Our journey is anything but an overnight success story and everything we’ve achieved resulted in the first IT IPO in Croatia, so I can say that we’ve managed to grow from a small store to the stock exchange.

Span has been listed on the Zagreb Stock Exchange – an opportunity that you have been working towards for almost 30 years. What were your thoughts when this goal was achieved and, most importantly, what plans have you set for yourself and Span for the future?

The listing on the Zagreb Stock Exchange last year was encouraged by our desire to provide Span with organic growth in existing markets, but also to enable faster continued expansion into foreign markets. I can say that we have achieved all set goals. Demand for our shares has significantly exceeded the offer, and with more than a thousand new Span shareholders – including institutional investors, many small investors, and our employees – we’ve achieved a balanced shareholder structure with which Span enters a new development phase. Reinforced by new shareholders and their trust, we got extra “wind in our sails”. Future is unquestionably digital, and we will continue to create exceptional IT solutions and conquer all challenges faced by our customers.

Moldova is the 9th country where Span has opened an office. Among these 9 countries there are "irrefutable" choices. Desire to be represented in the U.S. or Germany or neighboring Slovenia is understandable. But why were Ukraine and Azerbaijan chosen and by what criteria was it decided that Moldova would be the 9th country targeted for expansion?

Moldova is a country where the ICT sector accounts for more than 10 percent of the GDP and has one of the most promising economic sectors. This market can also boost a high degree of digitalization, so this environment, aimed at stimulating economic activity and investment, provides significant opportunities when it comes to offering unique services and solutions in the field of cloud and security technologies.

By opening another international office in Moldova, we have once again confirmed Span's strategic focus on Eastern European and Central Asian markets. As a long-standing Microsoft License Solution Provider, we have the knowledge and experience that we want to offer in new markets. At the same time, our local presence is extremely important because we believe that employees who know the market, culture and language are fundamental for achieving success.

Story of our business in Azerbaijan began in 2016, and the strongest impact we’ve had so far is in cyber security, software asset management, data analytics, cloud technology and support.

Span invests a lot of effort into individuals and their skills. Knowledge is what you bring to our market. Do you already have plans for how Span will be training the Moldovan team and what practices will you implement there?

Among the 550 Span Group employees, more than 300 are certified professionals who spend approximately more than 100 hours a year on training and development and hold, on average, four certificates. Our employees are highly motivated, primarily because we give them the opportunity to learn and acquire new knowledge. That makes us very happy and motivates us to invest in their education and continuous training. As Microsoft's technology partner, Span holds 16 gold and two silver out of 18 existing technology certificates.

In addition, we hold 9 advanced Microsoft specializations that validate Span’s ability to deliver specialized services and support in accordance with Microsoft’s highest technical standards. Span is the only company in the region that earned this esteemed achievement. Our employees are the ones who deserve the biggest credit as they have continuously upgraded their competencies and contributed to positioning Span as a leading expert in Microsoft technologies, and a leading regional Microsoft partner.

According to our plans we will be using all existing and available resources Span's headquarters and other country’s subsidiaries' best cases and lead-by-example scenarios to train the local Moldova team so that they can live up tp the expectations from both technological and internal culture perspectives.

What will you consider a success for Span's Moldovan office at the end of 2022?

Knowledge and experience of the Moldovan team, together with support provided by our Ukraine and Zagreb offices, will help us to leverage the potential of the Moldovan market and further expand our business in the Eastern European region. Main success indicator will be customers’ happiness and satisfaction with our services and the number of projects delivered to Moldovan customers.

Span and Microsoft have a very close relationship, but why is Span the leader in providing security, cloud, and licensing services? And how do you bring new value to the Moldovan IT playground (market)?

Span is the leading expert in Microsoft technologies and a leading regional Microsoft partner. Much of the credit goes to our employees who have continuously upgraded their competencies and contributed to such positioning.

Cloud technology makes any other technology easier to use, faster, and more accessible from the user's point of view, and this fact will be a key driver as more and more services are migrated to cloud platforms. In the coming period, cloud will remain a priority for all organizations that strive to achieve business continuity, cost efficiency and increased future scalability. Here at Span, we’ve been working with big clients on large cloud projects, following certain frameworks and practices. In addition to 8 Microsoft competencies in the field of cloud and numerous advanced specializations, Span has achieved Cloud Adoption Framework status, which means that users of our services have received confirmation that cloud projects and methodology used to create them have been tested and approved by Microsoft.

Digitalization has consequently increased the frequency of cyberattacks, which is why companies need to pay more attention to security of their IT systems. Span has positioned itself in this segment as a reliable partner that enables customers to focus on their core businesses, knowing that their company is protected from cyber threats. In addition to Microsoft security competencies, we also have 3 advanced specializations in the field of security: Identity and Access Management, Information Protection and Governance and Threat Protection.

How do you see the future of Span? Have you set a specific goal for the company moving forward?

In the years ahead, we plan to achieve organic growth in existing markets and further expand into international markets. We are confident that cloud and security will continue to be the main topics, so we’ll continue to develop our business in that direction. We’ll remain the synonym for expertise, dedication, and quality in creating best IT solutions for all our customers.

What is your personal secret as a leader who has been ensuring the steady growth of his company for 25 years?

Companies have three possible destinies – they can disappear, they can be sold, or you can try to get them back on their feet to be independent. Our desire was to get Span on its own feet so it wouldn’t depend on me or the current leadership – to be a company that would outlive its founders. We were just a couple of IT enthusiasts when we started “a small software shop in Zagreb” during the 90s, and thanks to the stubbornness, perseverance and by overcoming adversity we became a “little IT giant” with a much bigger impact than we ever dared to dream of.

Contact us: info@span.eu

Pavel Zingan