2021/08/11

IBM iX Croatia – a story about people, passion, and growth

Since opening our first location in Varaždin, Croatia, in 2015, we have been able to grow in many ways over the past six years. Be it in terms of the local people, expertise, or excellent project deliveries.

IBM iX Croatia – How it all started

It all started with just a handful of employees in Varaždin. Back then we were only a small development department. However, in the meantime, we have successfully transformed ourselves into a Digital Excellence Hub. In 2019 we opened another modern office space in Zagreb and continued our internal growth strategy in a prime location. In the past six years, we managed to build up five different departments at IBM iX Croatia and expanded the team located in Varaždin and Zagreb many times over. Besides Java, .NET, and Frontend developers, we also hired Marketing, Content, IT, DevOps, Recruitment, Scrum, and Quality Assurance experts.

This has enabled us to realise amazing client projects and to set up agile teams working across sites. And the story continues, a few weeks ago, we kicked off our first ever Frontend Boot Camp. We are also continuing to provide internships for IT students. In collaboration with college professors, we propose and mentor topics for master thesis. Through programs like Work-Based Learning, we also get a chance to mentor student projects and help them organise and deliver.

For Vlatka, who has been working as HR manager at IBM iX for almost five years, the success and rapid growth are also linked to the relationships with local universities:

“Based on a great cooperation with top universities in Croatia, we have been able to recruit many young professionals and talented developers. A lot of our employees have been with us since the very beginning and are now leading cross-functional teams of amazing professionals. We have become a lovely team of people with different professional backgrounds, from Content- and HR Managers to Scrum Masters and Developers. We do not only learn with each other, but also from each other.”

Vlatka Hajduk

HR Manager, IBM iX Croatia

We owe our success to our excellent teams on site

Our Croatian success story could only be written thanks to a passionate team and agile mindset. Daniel has been part of this great team for five years now and looks back on his experiences and development so far at IBM iX:

“Wow, for me it’s been five years since I joined IBM iX, and to be honest, I never thought I would spend so much time in a single company this early in my career. However, at IBM iX I’ve been kept challenged, motivated, and most importantly empowered.

Since I joined IBM iX, we have successfully built up two amazing studios in Varaždin and Zagreb. We achieved an incredible growth rate of 750% only in Croatia. That´s the reason we are constantly looking for new talent and still have many great job openings. During these five years, we never stopped hiring, growing, and onboarding new talents.

I started as Java developer myself, but over time I took on additional roles and responsibilities, such as Solution Architect and Line Manager. Today, we continue to grow our team and offer many opportunities for our talents to develop in both technical and organisational leadership roles.

The enablers for our incredible growth are a great working culture, smart and motivated colleagues, our Academy, and targeted career development opportunities.”

Here’s to many more years together as one IBM iX team!

Find out more about our career opportunities and ways of working at IBM iX here.

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IBM iX Croatia – a story about people, passion, and growth

Since opening our first location in Varaždin, Croatia, in 2015, we have been able to grow in many ways over the past six years. Be it in terms of the local people, expertise, or excellent project deliveries.

IBM iX Croatia – How it all started

We owe our success to our excellent teams on site

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