A 15-Year Journey as a first mover in cloud and IT: how innovation continues to pave the Arxus’ way

In 2023, we celebrated our 15th anniversary. The filling of our birthday cake? Customer tailored technological innovation, a recipe we've been refining year after year since our inception. It's the reason why today our flag is planted more firmly than ever in the dynamic IT landscape. 'And we're only just getting started,' says our Managing Partner Erlend Schenkels. From humble beginnings to a story involving over 200 protagonists, here's a sketch of journey so far.

The rapidly changing characteristics and landscape of IT needs no introduction. Yet, for over 15 years, we at Arxus have been navigating this terrain. From adopting the public cloud to integrating Azure and our Microsoft-first approach: innovation has always been our guide.

"We've never stopped adapting to technological evolution and customer needs. As a result, we’re stronger and more prominent in the market than ever before," Erlend explains. "However, as a first mover, we're not naive. We only promote new technologies to clients when they’re sufficiently mature. For example, we began investing significantly in Azure only after an extensive testing period."

The Importance of long-term collaborations

Our ongoing investments have not only expanded our services portfolio but also led to the emergence and creation of other entities such as SecWise and Cloudfuel.

"Our joint venture with SecWise stems from the belief that security must be integrated into every new service or product launch, while the need for high-performance, functional applications for our clients resulted in the creation of Cloudfuel," Erlend clarifies. "Our partnership with Microsoft has only grown over the past 15 years, illustrated by our double Microsoft Partner of The Year status and exclusive Azure contracts."

"Furthermore, sustainable collaborations with clients are essential for our success, but we also invest in a long-term approach for our employees,' Erlend continues. 'Many people who were here 10 years ago, or even witnessed Arxus' first steps, are still with us today. That's something we can be proud of. Especially since it's always been a challenge to place the right person in the right role."

Continue to push boundaries

Despite these challenges, by 2023, we've grown into a group with over 200 characters. A growth we aim to continue over the next 15 years.

'We're able to scale up because we can integrate everyone's expertise into a new service,' Erlend emphasizes. 'Our focus on targeted solutions to create added value and our ability to adapt are the biggest keys to success. That's why we've been investing in AI for some time and were even part of Microsoft Copilot's early adopter program. For this, we initially provided some of our colleagues with the right training, and also hired a few extra heads with specific knowledge and know-how.'

Proud but not satisfied, at Arxus we aim to up our game over the next 15 years by literally and figuratively pushing our boundaries.

'While we've come far today, we're really just getting started, as the major shifts to the cloud are yet to come in many sectors,' Erlend points out. 'In the autumn of 2023, we opened a new branch in Kortrijk with ‘Arxus aan de Leie’, and we also have plans for the Dutch market in 2024. Furthermore, we definitely want to make strides in Wallonia and Luxembourg as well.'"