Our CTO Đorđe Milić won the Best Maximo MRO Spare Part Management award at MaximoWorld 2024, showcasing our commitment to excellence and innovation in AI-driven asset management.
We interviewed Tamara Mihić, our Human Resources Manager, to get an insider’s view of our hiring process. Tamara shared her insights on the interview process, offered valuable tips for prospective employees, and discussed the challenges she encounters in her daily work.
We spoke with Nataša, a Business Analyst, and Branislav, a Software Developer who work together on the project across a number of departments of our long-time client, an oil company. We were eager to learn about the projects they are working on and the status of their collaboration.
Patience, persistence, and hard work are the way to success. This year, we are celebrating our 20th birthday, and we are a hundred percent sure that this is what has led to a stable company that helps a number of industries make their jobs easier and more efficient.
A journey of thousand miles is behind us. We wouldn’t be speaking frankly if we would say that the journey was an easy one. However, we have conquered everything as a team. This is exactly what we want to focus on here – on everything that has led us to the moment when we can proudly say that during all these years, we have been developing our own products.
It all started back in 2000 when we got the call to join a project commissioned by Greco Austria, one of the largest insurance brokers. Even back in 2000, the word about great developers from Novi Sad was being passed around.
This was basically our first client, even though the company was founded two years later. Part-time work from home could no longer support the increasing volume of work and more demanding projects, so we decided that it would be most efficient that we work as a team in the same office space, so the company was formally established in 2002.
There is truth in the famous saying “every beginning is difficult”. And even though it might not be difficult, you still don’t know where you are headed and what you want to achieve, but it’s still challenging. In the first two years, Prozone gained its first clients. They were valuable in creating a portfolio that helped further development.
A clear proof that our start was more than stable is the fact that in 2004, we had already created our first product eDocumentus. eDocumentus is software for managing business processes. Namely, we were aware of the fact that great systems have to manage huge amounts of data daily, so we created a software solution that makes the “life cycle of documents” much easier and faster – from its creation to organization and distribution.
Prozone became more and more popular in the business world. In 2006, we added a huge client to the existing number of references – Elektrodistribucija Beograd (Electric Power Distribution Belgrade). It was our ticket for all other major clients in the state and business sector – Elektrovojvodina, City of Novi Sad, DDOR, Poslovni prostor, etc.
But the path of a company is never linear. After establishing the Prozone team in Novi Sad, in 2010, Greco Austria ended their cooperation with our company due to restructuring.
This Austrian insurance broker was Prozone’s biggest client, bringing in 60 percent of total revenue. 2010 was a tough year, a moment when most businesses would crumble. However, we have managed to overcome this great challenge and we continued our mission.
The years before us have brought a lot of interesting projects. In the middle of 2013, we received an interesting business proposal. A company from Kuwait for which we have worked as subcontractors recommended that we open a joint venture, with the explanation that, unlike other companies they have cooperated with, we actually had great solutions.
Given that we had already been working with them and that they were familiar with our work, in 2014, we founded Prozone ME.
Today, our business is directed in two different directions that tend to overlap. One of these is the above-mentioned eDocumentus, which has modules that adjust to the client’s needs. The other one is IBM’s product, IBM Maximo – a software for enterprise asset management that we have implemented successfully for over ten years. With IBM Maximo, companies can track and manage the whole life cycle of assets, and companies, including communication, manufacturing, hardware, objects, software, transport, etc.
Kenneth Blanchard, an American business counselor, and motivational speaker said this quote. Everything that we have achieved would not have been possible without our team.
Prozone currently has 48 employees. Most of them are Java developers, followed by business analysts. Of course, there are also our colleagues from finance, marketing, HR, and management.
We are proud to say that Prozone truly gives an opportunity to young people who have just graduated college. We introduce them to our business, educate them, and give an opportunity to climb the career ladder.
“What kept me at Prozone was the feeling of belonging and fair treatment of employees. This was clear the first time that we had stopped cooperation with one of our biggest clients, but all employees were still retained, even though our workload had been drastically reduced”, says one of our long-term employees.
We are certain that the positive team spirit will keep us close in the years to come. We shall continue doing the same as we have, and continue contributing to all of our client’s success. For 20 years more!
