That was fast… Today it’s been one year since Zafire Limited announced its acquisition by Valsoft. In only a year, a huge investment in time, talent and systems has gone into taking Zafire to a whole new level for our employees, partners and customers.
In this article, we’ll look back over the last year and explore what has changed. Not to spoil it, but there’s a lot!
Our team
The Zafire team has decades of experience and expertise in software and the industries we serve. To add to this, one of the advantages of being part of a larger organisation like Valsoft, is the opportunity to infuse other expertise into that mix to complement the existing talent. There were three parts to our approach of ensuring we have the best team possible – bringing in new talent, recognising existing talent and focusing the right people in the right places.
New talent
Soon after the acquisition we brought in expertise from elsewhere in our portfolio of aviation software companies, as well as external hires. This allowed us to benefit from broader experience and take the best practices already learned within other Valsoft companies and apply them within Zafire. This was a mutual exchange too, with several of the process and operational decisions that made Zafire so successful, being adopted in other aviation software companies within the group. For example, Zafire’s Customer Support team have been using an industry-standard ITIL process for continuous product improvement, which is now in place within OASES.
Here are a few examples of some of the additions to the Zafire team:
Paul has many years of experience in aviation, with many years at SITA and as Managing Director at OASES.
Andrew has worked in aviation for many years in senior leadership positions at SITA and Cirium, among others.
Saidhar spent many years at Rusada and started his career as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer.
Charlie is experienced in the tech industry, having spent ten years at Apple and four years in video marketing for a successful SaaS startup in London.
Obi has over 25 years of experience in aviation, holding roles at British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and several others.
Jose spent several years heading up development at an aviation software company, as well as various roles leading software development teams.
These are just some examples of the new talent introduced at Zafire. Beyond this, other team members specialising in Project Management, Business Development, Customer Success and Operations have also joined the Zafire team.
Recognising existing talent
Bringing in new talent has been essential to Zafire’s success in the last year, but many experienced team members helped build the company for 23 years before its acquisition. In the last year, several team members have moved into new and expanded roles to recognise their contributions and accelerate the company’s growth. For example, our recently appointed Heads of Support and APAC have over 30 years of experience at Zafire between them.
Focus
One of the key strengths of the new Zafire team is their industry experience, so an important part of our evolution in the last year was restructuring the business to ensure the best people were focusing their efforts in the most effective ways. Historically, our software products were so well-received that we began to branch into different industries for which our solutions would be well suited. As we honed these software products to be even more specialised for the different industries we were serving, the products naturally diverged – becoming new products in their own right.
Of course, we and our customers were delighted that we were able to cater to their needs. However, it also meant our industry knowledge and expertise needed to diverge too. So, that was a big part of how we structured the business in 2023 and 2024. Now, Zafire Aviation Software Limited is dedicated to our FIRST suite of products, catering specifically to the aviation industry. Likewise, Zafire Limited is now focused on our SMART suite of products, which cater to service management, managed print services and more.
Creating these distinct organisational structures has allowed us to focus on creating the best experience for each of the industries we serve, by deploying the right talent to the right products, for the right sectors.
Global investment
We have team members across the world, enabling us to provide support when our customers need it. This year we’ve also been investing in expanding this reach, with a new office soon to be opening in Dubai. This will enable us to strengthen our offering in the region, offer follow-the-sun support and better serve our customers, wherever they are in the world.
Rebranding
Soon after the acquisition began, Charlie McFarlane, Head of Marketing and Engagement, began the process of rebranding the Zafire business. This effort, which is almost complete at the time of writing, marks a big departure from Zafire’s previous brand identity, which was developed over ten years ago.
The old
Zafire’s older branding used very high contrast colours and sharp, blocky forms. It certainly stood out from the crowd. As we moved into the future though, we wanted to make the brand less stark and more friendly.
The new
Zafire now reflects more organic forms, with a more varied colour palette. This new brand identity is more versatile and accessible. We’ve rounded off a lot of the sharp edges and we couldn’t be more pleased with how it’s turned out.
The unique logotype for Zafire was inspired by various motifs found within the industries we serve. Notably, the parallel lines, angles and spacing of the first two letters were inspired by runways at an airport. Other parts of the logo drew inspiration from other areas.
Importantly, we now focus much of the brand attention on both FIRST and SMART, mirroring the distinction we made structurally within the business and clarifying where our focus lies.
All brands must evolve as a company matures and this new look sets the tone for the future of Zafire in years to come. Zafire’s new branding is now present on most of our channels and we’re working on a new website which will reflect this new look, as well as improving useability and navigation.
Connection with our Customers
While we were working hard to improve our offering, branding and structure, we also wanted to enhance how we communicate and connect with our customers. That’s been a big focus this year and we’ve made great progress.
Customer Success
Early on following any acquisition, it’s essential that customers are part of the process, so soon after the acquisition, we brought in a strong team of Customer Success Managers. This team were (and are) dedicated to looking after our customers. This takes many forms but initially, our focus was communication and reassurance that their expectations would not just be met, but exceeded!
Project Management
Ongoing projects are a key part of our business and an important part of our efforts to balance implementing the latest technologies with customer requests and requirements. We established an expert Project Management Office for Zafire, introducing new team members with immense levels of project management experience. We also hired Rich Pell as a Project Manager, a member of the Zafire team with years of experience who left to pursue other opportunities. Now we have the strongest Project Management function we’ve ever had and we’re confident this will aid in our customers feeling informed and connected with the work we’re doing for them.
Zafire Academy
One of the biggest additions to our offering, designed to bolster communication and education is Zafire Academy.
We have always regularly attended exhibitions throughout the world to demonstrate our products’ unique advantages. These events have also always been been a great opportunity to connect with our customers. But, as they happen only once or twice a year, we wanted to find a way to connect with our customers every day. That’s why, at the end of 2023, we introduced Zafire Academy, a free-to-access platform for all our software users. Zafire Academy is packed full of features:
- Networking – Users from throughout the industry use Zafire Academy, so it’s a fantastic way to meet other industry professionals. Also, the Zafire team use it daily, so it’s a great way to interact with the Zafire team as well.
- Ask a question – The combined experience of all the users on Zafire Academy can also be a great resource for answers to questions. Users are encouraged to ask and answer questions, crowd-sourcing knowledge within our community. We also share FAQs on the platform to make it even easier to find answers without having to wait.
- Courses – There is also a library of comprehensive, self-paced training courses available, which cover our software, enabling customers to learn how to use the products on their terms.
- Events – We ran our first webinars late in 2023 to communicate with our customers and the Academy platform enables more of these webinars, going forward.
We’re always looking for new ways to make Zafire Academy more useful for our customers, which is why we also launched our AI chatbot, which is equipped with the answers to many customers questions. One of the best parts is that it can answer questions and offer up resources 24/7 and even in a variety of languages, making it easier than ever for customers to find the answers to their questions.
If you are a Zafire customer and haven’t taken advantage of your free access yet, fill in the form here for an invitation.
Systems
Much of our ability to connect with our customers more readily hinges on the systems we have in place. Our acquisition by Valsoft enabled us to deploy more advanced, industry-leading systems, processes and technologies. It’s still just as easy as ever to contact the team when our Customers need to, but these new systems massively reduce the need. Here are some examples:
- monday.com – We deployed monday.com across the business. Customers can check the status of their implementation or a project that’s underway, on their terms, without having to schedule a meeting with one of the team.
- Zafire Academy – The features in Zafire Academy enable customers to find many answers to questions themselves, allowing them to get back to work faster and up-skill themselves whenever it’s convenient.
Product Roadmap
One of our first hires after the acquisition of Zafire was Andrew O’Connor. Andrew, our Head of Product Management, has years of experience managing software products and working in the aviation industry in various capacities. Andrew got to work quickly on creating a framework around which to plan our upcoming product enhancements. This involved a big step-change in our overall strategy for product development, with a focus on providing a standardised product offering for all our customers, rather than bespoke software for each customer.
This change enabled us to commit to more regular updates that benefit all customers, as well improving compliance, security and more. Having a consistent product roadmap also meant that it was a lot easier to communicate with our customers, as every product update applies to everyone. As such, we have also created a live feed on Zafire Academy, so our customers can see, at their convenience, what we’re working on, and the likely release schedules for the product features and enhancements they care about.
To the future
It’s been a big year, and a lot has changed. We’ve hired and promoted team members, undergone a comprehensive rebrand, redefined our product roadmap, launched Zafire Academy, ran our first customer webinar, launched new systems for communication and deployed our team more strategically to support different sectors and industries.
…and we’re just getting started.
If you like what you’ve read and are interested in learning more, why not get in touch? We’d be happy to demonstrate our powerful software solutions for you.
