Oxagile Made a Presentation at CeBIT 2007

Although InterCity Express and Belavia Airlines have left the snowy Hanover far behind, we are still under great impressions made by the scale and content of CeBIT 2007.

No wonder, we were very careful about preparation and strategic planning – that was our first international trade show. Although Oxagile Software Outsourcing Company already has secure clients from France, Canada and the US, we are steadily growing and are eager to expand our business relations to more countries and domains.

In fact our main goal was to establish relationships with several potential clients. It is very important to actually see each other, and discuss general issues face to face before we get to contractual relations via email, phone, VoIP and live video conferences. When a positive impression is formed by both parties, information and communication technologies just become tools to shorten the distance between us. That coincides with our motto “High Touch Approach”, when we put interpersonal relations on top of technologies to reach maximum cooperation effect.

In the sea of positive impressions and business cards we could outline several software companies we are especially interested in. Although much depends on further work, we consider that the way towards mutually beneficial cooperation was successfully paved.

As it was our first time attending such a multinational event (77 countries!), we were of course excited to experience the atmosphere of CeBIT and the hustle of negotiations. The largest ICT trade show in the world, CeBIT is a perfect place to see the latest technologies in action, and to admire all kinds of creative work. Walking along 26 halls, we were amazed to see such a diversity of design, and attitudes to displaying information. As for our stand in Outsourcing Hall 8, it was not very large but the bright poster, the glittering ox – symbol of Oxagile, and skilled and motivated people made our presentation look quite stylish.

Besides, having spent 6 days in a row attracting potential clients and partners, appointing meetings, listening and speaking, we admired at the different ways people do business. Some quickly approached the stand, asked directly if we work Agile or have PHP specialists, exchanged business cards, and hurried away. Others started from distant topics and tasting Belarusian candies at our table got deeper into custom software development and QA processes with our project coordinators. This experience of intercultural communication is very valuable for our whole team, as it reaffirms that if one wants to do business with other cultures, he/she has to be adaptive and responsive.

A little sightseeing was also on our priority list, although we did not have much time for that due to the packed CeBIT schedule. Hanover is famous for its museums, theaters and especially Mash Lake (Maschsee). The visitor brochure is really thick, and you cannot attend all the places of interest if you just have several free evenings. Nevertheless, we admired curved streets and historic buildings intermingled with ultra modern business city center. We were late for the History Museum, but managed to attend a play at the drama theater (Hannover Schauspielhaus). The acting was great and we highly recommend this theater, provided that you understand German.

All in all, we consider that CeBIT is not only a profitable investment in one’s corporate future, but also a great opportunity to meet interesting people, share ideas and just enjoy work.

We thank everybody who we met at the show for sharing your time with us, and wish you success in your business!

Darya Borodavko
Sales manager
March 22, 2007