Dynatech, the shared competence center for Dyninno Group, the information technology group of companies founded in San Francisco, already employs 300 people. The company's turnover in 2020 was Euro 9.6 million, and further growth is planned this year.
It was Dyninno Group's founder and owner Alex Weinstein who had the idea to develop the competence center in Latvia. As explained by Dynatech HR Director Inna Solomatina, there were many reasons behind choosing Latvia, one of them being the abundance of knowledgeable people.
“Knowing that we need to create a strong IT team, our founder wanted to attract experts in the field, and Latvia is a great place to do that. When the idea to create the competence center was born, we already had many talented IT and marketing professionals working in Riga, therefore it seemed logical to build a team around them," she comments.
Another reason was Riga's geographical location as it is quick and easy to reach almost any place from here.
IT Superpower
Dynatech develops and maintains all of the systems used by Dyninno Group. A large share of its marketing specialists are also located in Riga. At the moment, the company's team in Riga consists of 300 employees.
“If we measure a country' s development level by the popularity of IT specialists, then Latvia is already highly developed. We are definitely one of the top countries when it comes to IT. Our IT industry is very strong, and everyone is looking for IT specialists. Hiring new talent for the IT team is a challenge for every HR specialist,” says Solomatina.
She has observed the relationship between the candidate and employer evolving over the last few years. In the past, the candidate was under pressure to find a job while the employer had the luxury of choosing the best fitting applicant. Now, however, it’s the employee who gets to choose their preferred workplace, while the employer needs to make an effort to convince the candidate that they are the best option.
Three Business Divisions
Dyninno Group was founded 17 years ago and it is already present in 14 countries, altogether employing over 3,500 people. The group has three major business divisions. The first and the oldest one is selling airline tickets, and their best known brand in this line of business is ASAP Tickets.
“ASAP Tickets is the 7th largest industry player in the US. We have contracts with more than 60 of the world’s biggest airlines. Predominantly we assist with planning and organizing complex air travel offering personal service in more than 20 different languages,” says Solomatina
The company sells around 50,000 flight tickets and travel packages each month. Their largest markets are Nigeria and the Philippines, with 25% and 20% shares of those domestic markets, respectively.
Travel was one of the industries impacted the most by the Covid-19 pandemic. ASAP Tickets also experienced this. “In our companies as well, there were some tough times. We had to solve complex issues daily. At a time when our competitors were laying off staff, we adjusted our business model and looked for opportunities in niche fields where we had not operated before. This way not only did we keep our staff and maintained their salaries, we also managed to discover new market opportunities,” highlights Solomatina.
Entertainment Is Also a Business
Another of Dyninno Group's lines of business is entertainment. “The idea is simple: we help people who wish to be cast in adverts or films and TV by introducing them to casting and film directors and agencies who are looking for talent. We work with brands like Nike, Zara, GAP, and Amazon Prime,” says Solomatina.
The latest line of business is financial technologies. “All three divisions seem different from each other, but they are related in terms of infrastructure and knowledge,” adds Solomatina.
Source: https://labsoflatvia.com/aktuali/pasaule-izmanto-latvija-raditas-sistemas.