“All these objectives would be unattainable without the right people, so engaging the best talent is key for Anook and its greatest lever” – Javier Blanco, Managing Director of Anook
When we talk about Anook we must talk about its origin. Anook arose from the information management needs of Grupo Villar Mir during its national and international consolidation in the 90s. For 32 years, Anook has developed a comprehensive management ERP for companies in the construction and industry sector within the Villar Mir Group, being co-participants in the success of these companies as a competitive advantage of the companies it leads.
During these years Anook was exclusively dedicated to support companies within Grupo Villar Mir, but now Anook opens its doors to the world thanks to TSS/CSI, its new business family.
That is why today’s blog post is dedicated to interview the Managing Director of Anook, Javier Blanco de Torres who joined the company in May 2022 after the acquisition of Anook by CSI / TSS, an international group known for being the 8th in the ranking of software companies in the world.
Javier has extensive experience as CEO of several technology companies in various sectors. He is a professional who is mainly committed to professional and human development and the talent of the teams he works with as a competitive advantage of the companies he leads.
Could you briefly describe the history and achievements of your company in the IT sector?
We were born more than 30 years ago as the technology company of the Villar Mir Group in charge of offering technology services to all the companies of the group. The first services we started to offer, in outsourcing mode, were an ERP for the construction sector (mainly to provide global service to OHLA), and another for the industrial sector (mainly to provide global service to Ferroglobe and Fertiberia).
From the beginning, we have been very sensitive to certifications (privacy, security, cloud services, business continuity, SOX…).
“Today we are serving more than 10,000 users in more than 40 countries with our ERPs, with the highest certifications in the market”
What has the acquisition of Anook meant for TSS?
TSS is a company that operates in the software verticals by acquiring software companies with the intention of keeping them in perpetuity. These companies have solid experience, a portfolio of loyal customers and an established team.
“This acquisition has underlined TSS’s firm commitment to the Iberian market”
TSS landed in Spain 4 years ago with its first acquisition. The purchase of Anook, being the largest one in Spain to date, represents the backing of the company in the country, providing it with resources and ambitious growth plans.
What does TSS bring to Anook?
TSS, unlike other competitors, manages the acquired companies in a decentralized manner, i.e. it allows them to maintain their teams, their autonomy in decision-making and their processes.
So… what does it really bring?
The group is made up of more than 800 companies around the world and brings together a set of best practices recommended and transmitted to all the management teams of each company, practices that have proven to be efficient and effective.
“The application of these best practices, together with the connection with the management teams of other companies in the group, their advice and experience, allow us to achieve growth and results of great depth in this initial phase in which we find ourselves.”
Subsequently, having technological and financial support provides us with long-term sustainability and allows us to improve the relationship we have with our customers, bringing them more value every day, thus becoming a true strategic partner.
What are the challenges?
There are two fundamental challenges at this stage of the company. Firstly, we have gone from being a company with captive clients, the companies of the Villar Mir Group, to becoming an open company that has the obligation, like all companies in free competition, to provide the best service to our clients, adding value and competing with other large companies.
“We must become a company focused on the customer and their user experience.”
Secondly, and as a consequence of the above, we are facing a profound cultural change that will make us leave our comfort zone every day. In this sense, the HR area, led by Elena Sopeña, takes on special relevance.
What are your company’s strategic objectives for the coming years?
I could summarize them in three main strategic lines:
First and foremost, sustainable and profitable growth. We will achieve this by strengthening the relationship with our current customers by creating forums of understanding to collaboratively develop our roadmap, always meeting their needs. We do not want them to be just a current customer, but one that we accompany throughout their business journey. In addition, as an open company, we will listen to the market and attract new customers in the verticals we work in.
Secondly, to provide the company with the scalability to face this sustainable growth over time. A disorderly growth would lead the company to entropy with the consequent erosion in the level of service and the erosion of the client portfolio. Something that would be unacceptable to complete our company vision.
“Ultimately, all of these goals would be unattainable without the right people, which is why engaging the best talent is key for Anook and its biggest lever.”
What are the current challenges facing your industry and how do you plan to address them?
The technology sector is a sector in continuous evolution. Today chatGPT is on the front pages and every day we will learn new acronyms and trends. Some will stay and others will disappear.
“A huge challenge is to try to elucidate which of these technologies, not only can be applicable and can provide value for your customer, but also endure over time making investments in them viable.”
On the other hand, the high demand for technological profiles makes software development companies experience a high salary inflation, but above all a high turnover of teams. We can not speak of the great resignation in Spain unlike other countries such as the United States, but we can speak of the great turnover. Keeping talent motivated by sharing the company’s culture becomes a fundamental factor to strengthen the quality of service and achieve the company’s sustainability.
What areas are you investing in to drive your growth and provide an enhanced product and service offering?
As we have already mentioned, our vision is to put the customer at the center. In this sense, growth cannot be disconnected from their needs. The areas to work on are those that generate the greatest satisfaction and return for the customer. It is not just a matter of making a product that works, but we must develop a product that works in the best possible way for the user, or, in other words, that the user perceives that the product really helps him in his day-to-day life in an efficient and profitable way.
“Therefore, working on the user experience by improving flows, the look & feel and even reprogramming processes, becomes one of our major lines of investment to which we will allocate a large part of our budget.”
On the other hand, any complex tool must be used correctly to reach its full potential. It is difficult to achieve this goal without proper training. We will develop a new training platform, the Anook online academy, with which we will transform the way we communicate with our customers by providing them with a new tool to facilitate their day-to-day work.
Finally, traditional ERPs have been more forensic in their uses, but now, thanks to data iteration, we can make them predictive, providing valuable information that will increase our clients’ profitability.
What makes you really different?
Undoubtedly, our origin and now, the union to TSS.
Because of our origin we developed a solid vertical oriented product that allows us to serve multiple scenarios, companies, countries, currencies, legislations, etc… and that has been tested and improved during the last 30 years in leading companies in their sector thanks in part to the use of our tool in the management and access of their information.
“By becoming part of TSS we have access to the most current technologies used in the 5 continents in different software vertical companies, this allows us to transfer that knowledge to our products and customers.”
Finally, would you like to tell us anything you would like to leave out?
I would like to close by pointing out that companies are not soulless entities, they are made by each and every one of its members. Anook is a solid company with history, but above all, with a future. And that future is inseparable from its team, a great team of good people.
A hidden treasure comes to light.
/in CORPORATE“Now we can show the world our best kept secret”.
Our name, Anook, is derived from the English word “nook”. “Nook” means a hiding place. A corner that offers security. A secret place where we can hide a great treasure. A treasure that we have reserved for the Villar Mir Group for 32 years. Anook, an exclusive and successful ERP software that now comes to light.
Anook is now part of the CSI/TSS group, the 8th largest software company in the world. Thanks to this we can show the world our best kept secret. Do you want to know what it is?
Interview with Javier Blanco, Managing Director of Anook.
/in CORPORATE, INTERVIEW“All these objectives would be unattainable without the right people, so engaging the best talent is key for Anook and its greatest lever” – Javier Blanco, Managing Director of Anook
When we talk about Anook we must talk about its origin. Anook arose from the information management needs of Grupo Villar Mir during its national and international consolidation in the 90s. For 32 years, Anook has developed a comprehensive management ERP for companies in the construction and industry sector within the Villar Mir Group, being co-participants in the success of these companies as a competitive advantage of the companies it leads.
That is why today’s blog post is dedicated to interview the Managing Director of Anook, Javier Blanco de Torres who joined the company in May 2022 after the acquisition of Anook by CSI / TSS, an international group known for being the 8th in the ranking of software companies in the world.
Could you briefly describe the history and achievements of your company in the IT sector?
We were born more than 30 years ago as the technology company of the Villar Mir Group in charge of offering technology services to all the companies of the group. The first services we started to offer, in outsourcing mode, were an ERP for the construction sector (mainly to provide global service to OHLA), and another for the industrial sector (mainly to provide global service to Ferroglobe and Fertiberia).
From the beginning, we have been very sensitive to certifications (privacy, security, cloud services, business continuity, SOX…).
What has the acquisition of Anook meant for TSS?
TSS is a company that operates in the software verticals by acquiring software companies with the intention of keeping them in perpetuity. These companies have solid experience, a portfolio of loyal customers and an established team.
TSS landed in Spain 4 years ago with its first acquisition. The purchase of Anook, being the largest one in Spain to date, represents the backing of the company in the country, providing it with resources and ambitious growth plans.
What does TSS bring to Anook?
TSS, unlike other competitors, manages the acquired companies in a decentralized manner, i.e. it allows them to maintain their teams, their autonomy in decision-making and their processes.
So… what does it really bring?
The group is made up of more than 800 companies around the world and brings together a set of best practices recommended and transmitted to all the management teams of each company, practices that have proven to be efficient and effective.
Subsequently, having technological and financial support provides us with long-term sustainability and allows us to improve the relationship we have with our customers, bringing them more value every day, thus becoming a true strategic partner.
What are the challenges?
There are two fundamental challenges at this stage of the company. Firstly, we have gone from being a company with captive clients, the companies of the Villar Mir Group, to becoming an open company that has the obligation, like all companies in free competition, to provide the best service to our clients, adding value and competing with other large companies.
Secondly, and as a consequence of the above, we are facing a profound cultural change that will make us leave our comfort zone every day. In this sense, the HR area, led by Elena Sopeña, takes on special relevance.
What are your company’s strategic objectives for the coming years?
I could summarize them in three main strategic lines:
First and foremost, sustainable and profitable growth. We will achieve this by strengthening the relationship with our current customers by creating forums of understanding to collaboratively develop our roadmap, always meeting their needs. We do not want them to be just a current customer, but one that we accompany throughout their business journey. In addition, as an open company, we will listen to the market and attract new customers in the verticals we work in.
Secondly, to provide the company with the scalability to face this sustainable growth over time. A disorderly growth would lead the company to entropy with the consequent erosion in the level of service and the erosion of the client portfolio. Something that would be unacceptable to complete our company vision.
What are the current challenges facing your industry and how do you plan to address them?
The technology sector is a sector in continuous evolution. Today chatGPT is on the front pages and every day we will learn new acronyms and trends. Some will stay and others will disappear.
On the other hand, the high demand for technological profiles makes software development companies experience a high salary inflation, but above all a high turnover of teams. We can not speak of the great resignation in Spain unlike other countries such as the United States, but we can speak of the great turnover. Keeping talent motivated by sharing the company’s culture becomes a fundamental factor to strengthen the quality of service and achieve the company’s sustainability.
What areas are you investing in to drive your growth and provide an enhanced product and service offering?
As we have already mentioned, our vision is to put the customer at the center. In this sense, growth cannot be disconnected from their needs. The areas to work on are those that generate the greatest satisfaction and return for the customer. It is not just a matter of making a product that works, but we must develop a product that works in the best possible way for the user, or, in other words, that the user perceives that the product really helps him in his day-to-day life in an efficient and profitable way.
On the other hand, any complex tool must be used correctly to reach its full potential. It is difficult to achieve this goal without proper training. We will develop a new training platform, the Anook online academy, with which we will transform the way we communicate with our customers by providing them with a new tool to facilitate their day-to-day work.
Finally, traditional ERPs have been more forensic in their uses, but now, thanks to data iteration, we can make them predictive, providing valuable information that will increase our clients’ profitability.
Undoubtedly, our origin and now, the union to TSS.
Because of our origin we developed a solid vertical oriented product that allows us to serve multiple scenarios, companies, countries, currencies, legislations, etc… and that has been tested and improved during the last 30 years in leading companies in their sector thanks in part to the use of our tool in the management and access of their information.
Finally, would you like to tell us anything you would like to leave out?
I would like to close by pointing out that companies are not soulless entities, they are made by each and every one of its members. Anook is a solid company with history, but above all, with a future. And that future is inseparable from its team, a great team of good people.
Building the future: 5 steps to successful business management
/in CONSTRUCTION, CORPORATE“Fundamental tips to ensure the success of any construction company”.
Managing a construction company is a complex task and requires a great deal of skills and knowledge. To ensure the success of the company, it is important that a number of actions are taken to ensure effective management. Firstly, it is essential to establish clear and achievable objectives, together with a realistic budget. Having a quality control system, an adequate safety system and adequate human resources management and finally knowing how to properly manage projects. All this is not an easy task, that is why from ANOOK we want to offer you five fundamental tips to guarantee the success of any construction company.
1. Reduces construction costs without compromising quality.
There are several ways to reduce construction costs without compromising quality. First, it is important to plan ahead to ensure that materials are purchased at the best price. This means comparing prices among different suppliers and looking for special offers.
Similarly, making the best use of materials will also reduce costs. This means avoiding wasting materials, making sure they are used properly for each project. In addition, it is important to hire the best professionals for the job, look for professionals with specific experience and expertise for each project. This will help save time and money by avoiding costly mistakes.
This will also help save money in the long run by avoiding the need to replace materials too often.
2. Improve the quality of construction materials.
To improve the quality of building materials, there are several measures that can be taken:
First, it is important to select quality materials. This means choosing materials that meet the quality standards set by the industry. This includes materials that are resistant to weathering, corrosion and pressure, among other things.
Second, it is important to ensure that materials are quality tested prior to use. This means testing for strength, durability and weather resistance to ensure that the materials meet quality standards. This is a key point for successful management – it’s fine to want to cut costs on materials, but it’s important that they maintain quality standards so that, in the long run, they don’t cause more expense than they should.
Finally, it is important to ensure that the materials are installed correctly. In the previous point we mentioned the importance of well-qualified professionals, the correct installation of materials is a fundamental pillar for any construction company, since a poorly executed work can lead to considerable losses, both economic and social.
3. Ensure the safety of workers in each project.
This includes information on the proper use of personal protective equipment, such as hard hats, goggles, gloves and safety boots. Workers need to be well informed about each item being used and be clear about the risks, so that they can avoid them.
To this end, having a leader who properly manages workers is indispensable and, in turn, workers should immediately report any incidents or dangerous situations they may observe to their supervisors. This will help prevent work-related injuries.
Finally, workers should be aware of changes in occupational safety legislation and comply with established requirements. This will help ensure that workers are protected. That is why training and educating the worker must be a fundamental and essential action. Well-qualified workers are the cornerstone of any successful company
4. Make the best use of available resources.
Construction is an industry that requires a large amount of resources to carry out its projects.
A key issue is planning. Builders must carefully plan their projects to ensure that resources are used as efficiently as possible; they must consider all factors that can affect the use of resources, such as time, budget, location and materials. This will enable them to identify areas where resources can be saved and maximize their use.
5. Manage efficiently, have a good ERP.
Construction management is a complex task that requires a great deal of resources, effort and knowledge. To improve the efficiency of any company’s management, it is important to establish good communication between everyone involved in the project. This means establishing a clear line of communication between owners, contractors, architects, engineers and other professionals involved. This will help ensure that everyone is aware of the progress of the project and that all issues are addressed in a timely manner. Good communication is the foundation of every relationship.
In addition to communication, it is important to establish good planning.
Thanks to a good ERP, improvements are obtained in the execution of projects, positively impacting production. In ANOOK we have different plans to meet the management needs of any company, do not hesitate to click and take a look at our solutions. ANOOK can help you improve the efficiency of construction management and ensure that the project is completed successfully.
CONSTELLATION SOFTWARE INC. and TOPICUS.COM INC. Announce 2022 Financial Results
/in CORPORATE“TOPICUS.COM INC’s past 2022 financial results announced.”
TOPICUS.COM INC. has announced, in a joint press release with Costellation Software Inc. the financial results of Topicus.com Inc. for the four months and year ended 2022. In their press release they have disclosed headlines and data for the four-month period and year ended 2022.
2022 headlines:
ESPACIO IT is now ANOOK
/in CORPORATEDear Customers, Users, Suppliers and Collaborators.
We hereby inform you that, as of next Monday, February 27th, Espacio Information Technology S.A., “ESPACIO IT”, will be renamed Anook Management Software S.A., “ANOOK”.
In April 2022 we officially joined the CSI / TSS Group, becoming a business unit of a large international group of software companies, valued for being the 8th in the ranking of software companies in the world. Since the agreement was formalized, we have defined a new strategy, aligned to the interests of our parent company, maintaining our essence, while incorporating:
DO YOU WANT TO SEE THE PRESENTATION PARTY OF THE ANOOK BRAND?
/in CORPORATE“A different experience, for an unforgettable moment”.
ESPACIO IT is now ANOOK. For this reason, we recently held an event to present the new brand. After many hours of work and effort, our hidden treasure finally comes to light. After having developed, for many years, a comprehensive management software exclusively for companies in the construction sector and industry of the Villar Mir Group, and being co-participants in the success of these companies, it is time to go a step further, it is time to share our most precious treasure with the world.
We would like to thank all the attendees of our opening party for all the support and affection received, the laughs and the good time we had. From now on it’s time to discover and shine, it’s time for ANOOK, THE GOLDEN SOFTWARE, don’t miss the other testimonials and the good atmosphere we created at our party.
https://youtu.be/6nLFqXirhwQ