Looking Back, Looked Ahead
A message from Kevin Clark, EDGE President and CEO
To say 2010 had its challenges is really an understatement. For EDGE and our consultants, the beginning of 2010 was not looking bright. At the beginning of year, a number of our consultants were not working, but wanted to. Our clients were not hiring and, in many cases, reducing their own internal full-time staff levels.
By the end of 2010, we are happy to say, the tide had turned and we finished the year placing significantly more consultants compared to January 2010. Our clients were beginning to see new projects on the horizon and IT staffing was on the increase industry wide, for both full-time and consultant resources.
Highlights of 2010
The recession forced us to re-evaluate everything we do. During that process, we were able to implement internal efficiencies, open an additional avenue for business, and introduce new systems to improve communication with our consultants.
Two accomplishments stand out:
Expanding service offerings to include support of Vendor Management Solutions (VMS). More and more of our larger clients are using VMS. In order to continue to serve these clients, we invested in internal processes to provide this service, including adding recruiting staff to support that specific need. The investment has paid off. We are now serving as a Tier 1 provider to several large East Coast banks with VMS.
Update of our online presence, including addition of social media. EDGE identified a need to increase our ability to communicate and exchange information with clients, consultants, and potential business partners. We undertook a website redesign to incorporate more interactive elements, including a blog, Facebook page, and Twitter feed.
What’s Ahead in 2011
I am really looking forward to what lies ahead for us 2011. I see many promising signs for growth and expansion.
We worked through 2010 to position ourselves to come out of the recession poised for growth. I think we did an excellent job of that and have already started seeing positive results. 2011 looks bright, and we are already talking to clients who are planning for mergers and acquisitions, upgrades, and replacements of core deposit and loan systems.
For the upcoming year, we have a couple of major focus areas to support our growth plan:
Expansion of our client base. I am pleased to say that during the recession we were able to maintain relationships with our established client base. Going into the new year, our sales team is working several initiatives to expand our service offerings with our current client base and reach into new clients, as well.
Expansion of social media presence. We want to have ongoing dialogue with our consultants and clients. We see social media as playing a major part in that. Our blog is updated weekly, with news about what is happening in the industry and in our arena of the business. We also encourage you to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. You will see more use of our social media presence in the coming year and we encourage you to meet us there and share your thoughts, observations, and feedback.
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