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Article from the magazine L'actualité on Spiria (formerly Innobec) - Working with giants

September 23, 2014.

Photo: Stéphane Rouleau, CEO of Spiria (formerly Innobec), Patrick Bergeron, Vice-President and Yves Forget, Executive Vice-President - Photo: Mathieu Rivard

Stéphane Rouleau could boast, claiming that it is thanks to his leadership that Spiria achieves almost half of its turnover abroad, but no, he does not. "It's pure luck", candidly admits the 43-year-old CEO.

Most of the business development of this Montreal-based company, which designs software for desktop computers and mobile devices, takes place in Quebec. Nevertheless, it has found itself, first as a subcontractor and then as a consultant, developing applications for major clients. Including Autodesk, a multinational company known for its 2D and 3D creation software, and Acosta Sales & Marketing, an American sales and marketing company with more than 22,000 employees in North America.

It is the quality of the services rendered that explains the durability of their business relationship: Spiria has been working with these two giants for more than 10 years! It's very demanding to go looking for one customer, then another, then another again," underlines Stéphane Rouleau. We do it, but we prefer to work with our clients on a long-term basis. »

And these lasting ties are paying off. Recently, Acosta spared Spiria when it cut its budget for external consultants massively. "They told us that we were not consultants, but partners! "declares with pride the CEO of Spiria.

This relationship of trust has allowed the Montreal-based company to develop a mobile dashboard with which Acosta can follow its salespeople on the road in real time and chat with them. "During the test period, our solution allowed Acosta to eliminate management positions that had become superfluous. By the time the finished product was delivered, it had already recouped its investment! »

Aware that you can't rely on a few clients, Spiria recently bought a Gatineau company, Dium, to increase its chances of getting contracts in the Ottawa region. Stéphane Rouleau and his two partners are now considering two additional acquisitions, including one in the United States.

Another market that Spiria is exploring is the development of "machine-to-machine" software, which allows devices, such as those in a factory, to communicate with each other via the Web to optimize their performance.

"Our goal is to have a turnover of 20 million within four years," says the CEO. This time, it will take more than luck to get there!

See the original article published in the magazine L'actualité, September 19, 2014: https://lactualite.com/lactualite-affaires/innobec-travailler-avec-des-geants/