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14 january 2022
Serghei Smigaliov. SPAN provides a new level of cloud solutions and IT services in Moldova

An interview with Serghei Smigaliov, Director of the SPAN’s representation office in Moldova.

#THE INTERVIEW

Hello, Serghei. I am eager to find out more about Span - a major player in IT services and cloud solutions - entering the Moldovan market.
However, I suggest we start by presenting your professional background. As far as I remember, you were managing the Microsoft Office in Moldova for over a decade, am I right?

Yes, you are right. I was managing the Microsoft Office in Moldova for 13 years, from 2006 to 2019, when I left the corporation.

And what did you do next?

Having left Microsoft I realized I could afford taking a break, evaluate the options and consider where I would like to invest my time and experience next. That’s how I arrived at Span.  

Span has opened its office only recently. Did your break last for two whole years?

Responsibility for taking decisions grows with one’s life experience. I wanted my next carrier step to be a progress or, even, a logical evolution of what I was doing before.

Well, you had to take a difficult decision, given your high standards. Ultimately, what could be higher than Microsoft?  Only the skies and the clouds…

That’s a great wordplay, taking into account that SPAN is responsible for “cloud solutions”. By the way, Microsoft and SPAN are globally strategic partners. As soon as SPAN took the decision to enter the Moldovan market, Microsoft was the one who recommended me for driving their business.

Tell us more about SPAN. This company is still new on the Moldovan market.

SPAN was founded in 1993 and has grown from a Croatia-based systems integrator to a global IT consultancy group serving more than 1,200 customers with 9 global offices on six continents and a wide offering of cloud, security, and support services. The company develops solutions for a rapidly evolving digital world, ranging from cloud consultancy and implementation to security and support services. Besides, SPAN is home to 550+ IT solution architects, consultants, support specialists, business analysts, and researchers. Currently, SPAN's services and solutions are used by the biggest and most successful global companies such as McDonald's, Starbucks and Nando's.

Moreover, SPAN is a globally trusted Microsoft partner with over 18 Microsoft competences, 16 gold and two silver. Microsoft and SPAN have built a strategic partnership to deliver transformative IT solutions to businesses everywhere. Furthermore, SPAN is the first and the only company in Croatia with 8 Microsoft advanced specializations. Microsoft advanced specializations are a reflection of continuous improvement and are the results of successful project implementation. Ultimately, SPAN is a Microsoft Licensing Solution Provider for EU, EFTA, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Azerbaijan. SPAN is expert on combining people, processes, and tools to manage, optimize and create business advantage for global customers.

How did you manage to adapt to the highly regulated environment of a big international company after a two years break?

You can’t even imagine how open and flexible an international company can be these days.

By the way, a similarly flexible approach was adopted by Microsoft. At the beginning of our collaboration, they told me: “You may work wherever you want, either in Thailand or on the Moon. If you achieve the desired results – we do not care from which location you do it”. It is crucial to mention that SPAN has an even more flexible organization. Considering that we did not start the recruiting process yet, I can easily manage without a permanent physical office.

Thus, we may officially state that a new player has entered the Moldovan IT market. Is it correct?

I would put it differently: SPAN is not only a new player, but a different one. We plan to bring a totally different level of IT services that are currently unavailable for local companies on the Moldovan market.

Besides that, at the same time we will continue servicing our worldwide customers based in Moldovan facilities. Right after the publication of the first press-release about SPAN opening its office in Moldova, I have received loads of CVs and requests from potential customers. Even though I have not yet started the recruiting process, I noticed a great deal of interest towards the company. 

Is there a strong demand for cloud solutions in Moldova?

You know, when I first started leading Microsoft in Moldova, many people were asking whom do I plan to sell legal software on 100% pirate market. The majority thought it was an utopic idea. Despite all the skepticism, our legal software business was largely accepted by the market. It has evolved dynamically, exceeding our highest expectations.

Regarding cloud solutions/services, we can confidently state that many customers in Moldova are proactively purchasing and using cloud services (many are already clients of SPAN).  For instance, every time someone anywhere in the world says: “McChiken and Cola, please” – this information is stored and processed in the cloud managed by SPAN.  And the McDonald’s in Chisinau is not an exception!

You seem to be strongly determined to expand SPAN’s services to our market…

Definitely. I believe that the companies on the market will very soon, inevitably, understand that the costs for purchasing and maintaining their own servers will significantly exceed the costs for paying a company that provides these cloud services without any disruptions.

SPAN manages cloud infrastructures of many regional and international companies that have reached the same conclusion. We target not only the big Public Sector and Enterprise markets but also medium-sized enterprises. Thus, I am very happy to receive as many CVs as possible. Our local SPAN team is envisaged to be quite a big one.

And my final question: when are you starting?

We have already started. We have already initiated discussions with first customers and taken part in open tenders. Now, that the winter holidays are over, we are ready to resume work and reach our goals for the Moldovan market.

In January, our International Business Development Director of SPAN – Mr. Željko Galić – is visiting Moldova  and I would definitely arrange an inteview with him. I assume it will be interesting to get some information «at first hand» as well as to discuss in detail our plans for Moldova and the potential of our IT Market the way it is seen from the perspective of Croatia and EU.

I wish you a good start in the New Year!  We warmly welcome SPAN on our market.

Thank you, Pavel. May we all have a good start.

Pavel Zingan

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