Glitni | Summary of the First Half of 2024

We have had a stable and harmonious first half of 2024 - all in all, Glitni is in a good place. Here is a quick summary of what we have accomplished. As honest as we can manage, in retro format.

Highlights

We accomplished a lot in the first half of 2024. Here are our highlights:

• We had few changes on the project front, and have time to work in new projects for the second half. Hourly rates need to go up.
• We got Nicholas and Lars as new employees, and now we are 9. We are ready to recruit more!
• Our efforts in visibility and marketing generated several incoming enquiries. By the way, we have launched a podcast.

Sales and projects - Solid client portfolio with continuing assignments

Sales and projects | Roles we have taken

At our clients, we have served as:

• data platform developers and architects
• data engineer
• data architect
• team lead for data engineers
• project manager for master data and data governance

Sales and projects | What we accomplished

• It has been stable on the project front this past half-year, as we have relatively long assignments. We have received extensions from existing clients, which means we can follow deliveries all the way through, and we have also been able to modify and expand the teams somewhat. There is good morale in our projects, meaning both our consultants and those we work for are satisfied. Over the next half-year, we will scale down or conclude some assignments, so we still need to work on sales. Fortunately, we have some time on our side.
• There has been a noticeable increase in enquiries where we have been approached about relevant assignments and roles. We have generally not had available consultants, but some of the dialogues we are working on for the second half could become really promising!
• We are working more strategically with the public sector. As part of Digital Expert Alliance, we have begun collaborating with other smaller companies to win framework agreements and dynamic purchasing schemes. We will still join other constellations where we see it is beneficial. Atea, Webstep and Glitni, for example, won the procurement of a new data platform at the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund with Snowflake - but it is uncertain how much consulting help will be needed.

Sales and projects | Where we can improve

• Hourly rates MUST go up. Both labour costs and other expenses have risen significantly over the past year. Our hourly rates are roughly at the same level as when we started Glitni. The market has admittedly been somewhat bumpy in 2023, but we have not been good enough at raising our rates in line with either inflation or the value we deliver. We believe we can contribute to smart long-term choices and good solutions where, in many cases, a 15%-30% premium on the hourly rate is easily justified by 10 times the impact compared to other consultants. It will be up to us to prove this going forward.
• We can still work more actively on sales than we currently do, even though the client portfolio is excellent. Sales requires constant effort, and should not depend on 1-2 individuals. There is still room for improvement.
• We need to start productising and conceptualising some of our services, which can both accelerate the sales cycle and enable us to price in know-how through more finished solutions. To be continued.

Recruitment - We are now 9 employees!

We are extremely focused on getting the right people on board. And then we also need to work on how we take care of each other along the way.

Recruitment | What we accomplished

• We did not start actively recruiting until well into the first half, because we felt the market situation was somewhat uncertain. But when we got going, recruitment went very well! The newcomers Nicholas de Flon and Lars Snekkerhaugen have both secured projects.
• Exciting profiles are reaching out to us, both people we know in one way or another and new acquaintances. It is very gratifying, and shows that we are becoming visible! We have several in the pipeline, so we will see how it turns out.
• We continue to use subcontractors actively. The architects Oyvind Remme and Tobias Flood worked with us on projects during the winter and spring, and we also had a joint project with Sprint Consulting. We are also subcontractors to others - and delivered together with Noria, Knowit, Norway Consulting and Atea throughout the half-year.

Recruitment | Where we can improve

• We could have been more proactive. Especially in data platform roles, there are few profiles out there, and we would benefit from mapping and getting to know more people. Then we can start active dialogues when the timing is right. The process needs to become more like how we work with sales.
• We need to work more on the pyramid and balance of roles and backgrounds. Some simple ratios show that our workforce consists of:
  • 8 men, 1 woman
  • 8 highly experienced, 1 with growing experience
  • 5 can take data platform developer roles, 7 can take data engineer roles and 2 prefer project manager/advisor roles (the same person can fill multiple roles)
• We can become clearer on criteria and evaluation for the roles in our interview process. We are strict, as we should be. All in all, we are good at finding the right people, but can become more structured. This becomes especially important when we are hiring profiles we do not have today. We also need to think even more about how we can create assignments and roles where we can retain people in different life situations for a long time.
• We should work even more with established partners to deliver end-to-end assignments, especially in advanced analytics (machine learning and such). More information on this is coming soon!

Internal life - Glitni is a social professional community

Internal life | What we accomplished

• We are a specialised professional community, with truly engaged people, who have managed to work together extensively on assignments. We invest in the professional environment, as shown by the fact that several of us are heading to Las Vegas in October - for Coalesce organised by dbt Labs.
• We have moved to a slightly better office at Spaces Tullinlokka, which has a somewhat more relaxed vibe and even a rooftop terrace! We have also set up a great lunch arrangement.
• We have better structure around HR processes in general through, among other things, the introduction of Huma and a revision of our salary model.
• We had a great social calendar, with a MarioKart tournament, festival attendance at OverOslo and a sunny summer wrap-up at Lille Herbern. Not least, we continue to have pleasant monthly breakfasts.

Internal life | Where we can improve

• We can leverage our collective competence in problem-solving and deliveries even better. Hopefully, some rotation on the project front next half-year will allow us to set up new constellations where more people can learn from each other and get to know each other even better.
• Attendance at our office at SPACES still varies, but it helps that we have grown. We are all in projects, and the meeting calendar is not always easily compatible with an office where we sit together. We need to keep communicating when we plan to be at the office, so that more people can join in.
• We can prepare professional development days more - when we do, the results are excellent. We need to work more together on our structural capital, and develop competence together around new concepts, architecture and technology. We now have a format that works - provided we take the time to prepare.

Visibility - We have launched a podcast

Visibility | What we accomplished

• We have co-organised Oslo dbt Meetup numbers 5 and 6 together with Anders Elton in March and June. At both Meetups, nearly 100 engaged participants attended. We are ready for more, both because it is fun, but also because this event puts us on the map.
• We have launched the podcast “Datautforskerne” (The Data Explorers). Not every small consulting company can boast that. In each episode, Magne and his guests discuss the trends, technologies and strategies driving data-driven organisations forward. The publication frequency will be approximately every two weeks. We have recorded 7 episodes so far, and launched 5. It also seems like quite a few people have listened to them, which is a nice bonus!
• Our marketing strategy is working well for us. We regularly receive enquiries by phone and email from potential clients who want to talk with us, and potential new employees who want to learn more about what we do.

Visibility | Where we can improve

• Working on visibility takes time, and we have had to prioritise more ruthlessly. We are not as active as before on LinkedIn and Glitni.no, but we can pick this up again now that the podcast “Datautforskerne” is up to cruising speed.
• We can get more people active on LinkedIn, Medium and other social media. But it needs to be driven by intrinsic motivation, so we will see if any of our new team members feel like it in due course.

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