Forte News - June
Hello!
Finally, the pandemic situation has improved, and we’re extremely happy about it! More and more employees return to the office, meet for a coffee and a chat, or organize a barbecue on our sunny terrace. Life seems more optimistic now.
Business update
We’re already halfway through 2021 and continue our very positive development of Forte Digital. There are lots of great projects in the pipeline throughout the rest of the year.
Summer internship
The recruitment for our summer internship program has been completed. Five interns will join various projects, including an e-learning platform for the publishing house Gyldendal and an e-commerce platform for Farmasiet, one of Norway’s largest online pharmacies. Welcome and good luck everyone!
North Kitchen
Building a second team for North Kitchen is a work in progress. Our project for this Scandinavian startup includes developing a bespoke platform that connects a physical and digital kitchen and enabling various digital services. The solution will be based on our core technology stack React / .NET / Azure.
New contract
We have signed a contract with Material Mapper, a Norwegian startup on a mission to make more sustainable buildings. They’re developing an AI service that will give construction workers an overview of available recyclable building materials. It will be possible to search for demolitions of buildings based on different criteria and quantify which materials can be reused. You can read more in this interview with the founders (in Norwegian) - https://lnkd.in/eDSBGpB
Market recognition
It makes us very proud when the products and services we build for our customers are recognized in their market. The web platform we built for the office manufacturer Flokk ranked 7 in the TOP 100 European Furniture Brands Website Experience. Check it out here: https://www.cylindo.com/files/report/top-100-european-furniture-brands-website-experience-index-report-2021.pdf. Kudos to the project team!
Our own products
In addition to our core consultancy business, we keep working on our own products. We have established a team to further develop Banner Builder, our platform for marketers and ad agencies that streamlines creation and publishing of digital marketing assets. We’re also in the next stage of MVP testing (now with real customers) of our digital service that supports idea generation in large organizations. Together with our partner in Switzerland, we will now start the second phase of the project to enrich the platform with additional features.
People at Forte
We have grown since our last update in April. Five new people joined Forte Digital in May and June – two frontend developers, two full-stack developers and one designer. We have also started a cooperation with an experienced developer who will take care of the Forte product Banner Builder.
It’s fantastic that so many talented people trust us and have chosen us as their new employer.
Plus we are still recruiting! Check out the open positions and get in touch if you feel that Forte would be a good place for you.
Social stuff
Hybrid work
The improved pandemic situation means that we need to decide how we should continue to work from now on. Forte’s recommended solution is hybrid work. We understand that working from home is great for many of us, but we also see great value in getting to know one another and spending time together in the office. Not knowing the people we work with can lead to a lower level of trust. At the moment we’re busy rearranging the office so that people can sit in project teams. Our long-planned nap room will finally be organized too.
New charity action
We have started a new charity action: Góry Dobra (literally The Mountains of Good). It’s about hiking and measuring the elevation gains so that the sum equals the heights of the highest mountain peaks on each continent (the Seven Summits). For each mountain we conquer, Forte Digital will donate a predefined amount of money to charity. We have already ‘climbed’ to the top of Mount Everest and donated 3,325 PLN to Stowarzyszenie NIepełnosprawnych Dzieci I Młodzieży ‘ Arkadia’. We’ll keep hiking throughout June and July, so keep your fingers crossed for us!
Euro 2020
Of course, we are watching Euro 2020, including some matches together in the office. Some of our Polish and Norwegian colleagues take part in a game which is about predicting match results. It’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s full of surprises and there will be prizes for the winners.
Digital concert
Another great event in June was a digital concert given by our Norwegian colleague Amir and his band The Law of All. It was fantastic to listen to a live concert while enjoying a beer on the terrace. And their music is really good – check them out on Spotify!
Barbecue
I just have to mention the barbecue once more 😊 Many of us appreciate this hidden benefit we have at Forte
The future looks bright and we’ll share more exciting news with you soon.
Take care!