We will not be exchanging gifts of tin, aluminium, or diamond jewellery with Atlassian (the relationship is far from exclusive!) but that has not stopped TechTime team in recognising an important milestone this year - 10 years as a member of the Atlassian Partner Program.
What are we celebrating?
TechTime Initiative Group, founded in 2005, are experts in a growing sector of the IT industry aimed at collaboration and productivity software. In 2009, based on the strength and popularity of the TechTime's software products listed on Atlassian Marketplace, TechTime has been invited to join the Partner Program of Atlassian, an Australian enterprise software company that develops products for content management, help desk management, planning projects, and software development – to better leverage the suite of Atlassian software products to deliver enterprise solutions, managed services, software development services and training to industry-leading companies around the world. By now, TechTime has achieved a Platinum Solution Partner status in the Solution Partner program and is the only company in New Zealand to deliver official Atlassian training (check out the courses available at www.techtime.co.nz/training ). To add to our achievements, TechTime is also recognised as a Top Vendor on the Atlassian Marketplace which is a testimony to the plethora of TechTime-developed apps available for integration with Atlassian software. TechTime's long history with Atlassian, in combination with their commitment to development, propel their desire for continuous improvement and innovation.
How are we celebrating?
This milestone had to be marked with a t-shirt!
After a barrage of ideas, many enthusiastic discussions, and tireless work from Irina Maksimova creating mockups we finally agreed on a design. The TechTime logo features on the front of the T-shirt with '1010' pattern representing the 10-year milestone (in binary) in one of our company colours. We kept the design on the back the same as our previous T-shirts, which was, of course, a deliberate decision and not at all influenced by the deadline for printing T-shirts before Atlassian Summit 2019.
These limited-run T-shirts were available at Atlassian Summit conference in April 2019, in Las Vegas, USA and will be available at Atlassian Open in September 2019, in Vienna, Austria.
Booth 302 at Atlassian Summit 2019
The team also enjoyed an afternoon of 10-pin bowling with some unexpected talent interspaced with dramatic displays and honest attempts. Team members threw gutter balls, spares, strikes, and one member managed to throw their shoulder out!
Our third milestone marker is all about charity ... almost. Kitten Inn, a local cat and kitten rescue organisation has an innovative fundraising method. They bring kittens into workplaces for a cuddle and play fest. (Most of) our team thinks this is a great way to give back while getting some in-office stress relief. Keep an eye on our blog for photos.
What makes TechTime worth celebrating?
TechTime, initially set up by the experienced industry partnership of Irina Mosina and Ed Letifov, is a deliberately small and yet cutting-edge presence operating locally, nationally and globally. The 12-strong team, containing developers, instructors, sales administrators, and technical support, have Atlassian accreditation, certifications, and experience in all aspects of Atlassian products. With their support, training and know-how, they help organisations unleash the full potential of their Atlassian investment.
At TechTime we are all about best practices mixed with hard work and unbridled enthusiasm. These are our biggest assets without a doubt, that and working with people who also share our vision. We operate with an open-door policy for input into what we do, for questions, and for feedback. We have always encouraged that! In many ways we lack a traditional company structure, but that is by design. We always look to foster the aspirations and initiatives of everyone in our team. It's about playing to your strengths and to achieve that we are very much hands-on. The size of our team both suits and encourages this, and we also make sure to have flexibility around the time and place where and how we work. This makes us a very family friendly workplace. We feel family is as important to us in our industry as it is to the wider community we live in. - Irina, CEO
TechTime has a tradition of working with interns and hiring graduates. This includes mentoring and working with students from Victoria University and Whitireia as they work on projects required for course credits, and involving interns in all aspects of product development starting from inception, ideation and design and all the way to delivery, feedback and conferences. TechTime is participating in Summer Of Tech and Biz 2019 to give more people the opportunity for business experience which cannot be gained in the confinements of the classroom and experience using tools like Jira, Bitbucket, and Confluence which they will encounter in their careers and for some, critical New Zealand-based work experience. It was as a result one of these programmes of a Victoria University IT project in 2016 that TechTime employed Lorenzo Babbage as developer, one of many who began their IT career in the TechTime team.
I've really enjoyed learning and collaborating with the team over the last three years. Since starting out doing a small project with TechTime through University, I've been able to work on a huge variety of challenges involving different obstacles and technologies. I've had the opportunity to help real solve problems that our customers have brought to us and then evolve those solutions in products that have users worldwide. - Lorenzo, Developer
The level of team collaboration between everyone in the team and willingness to take a chance on people makes TechTime worth celebrating.
Want to know more about TechTime and how they can help you? Contact the team today.