2020 vs. 2021: Syneto CEO Vadim Comanescu on digital transformation, business trends and overcoming challenges

New year, new us! Well, not exactly. We at Syneto feel that our vision and mission are still relevant for 2021 and are keen on dedicating a new year to them. What are Syneto’s plans for 2021? What have learned from a troublesome year like 2020? Syneto CEO Vadim Comanescu has shared his thoughts with our marketing team. Read the full interview, below:

2020 has been an unusual year. The global health crisis has affected everyone at both an individual and organizational level. How did you perceive 2020?

Vadim Comanescu: Last year has been an interesting and challenging year. It has been challenging for us at several levels: as individuals, as a society, and as businesses. The year has disrupted our daily lives and has forced us to interact differently, but also to reevaluate our priorities. 

But challenge also brings opportunity. Evolution is not possible without change and this year has proven that. Running a business during 2020 hasn’t been easy, but it has been rewarding. We had the opportunity to grow and to adapt a lot this year, to overcome these new challenges. I am proud to say that my team at Syneto has been very responsive and proactive. Together we have managed to bring the company and our products to the next level. We have improved our products and have managed to be there to support our customers’ needs. It hasn’t been easy, but we are proud of our results. 

How do you feel 2020 has impacted the business world? And has the IT sector been particularly affected? 

V.C.: 2020 has accelerated a trend that we, at Syneto, have identified a long time ago: digital transformation. Even the companies that have been reluctant to embrace digital transformation have been forced to do this in order to survive. 

We have seen this with a lot of small and medium businesses. Many of them have started relying more on technology long before, but 2020 has just accelerated the adoption of technology as a core element within a business. 

The necessity of reevaluating work models, processes and interactions has highlighted how the right technology can make a difference – both to protect data and to ensure the efficiency of daily business operations. IT is no longer seen as a mere “tool”, but as a vital element for any business. 

How did Syneto as a company adapt to the new “reality” of 2020? How did it cater to employees’ and customers’ needs?

V.C.: As early as March 2020, we knew that it was important to correctly identify and then meet our customers’ needs: making remote work safe and efficient, successfully managing and protecting their data, minimizing the potential impact of cybersecurity threats, etc. We have therefore focused our efforts on consistently meeting all these needs. 

This year we have launched the Syneto cybersecurity division. This had been planned, but it happened at a very appropriate time. We have also developed the Syneto Remote Access Service (RAS), which allows IT managers to easily configure safe access for all remote workers to the corporate network. We have essentially adapted our solutions to serve the needs raised by the challenges of smart working.

Internally, we were very fast in adopting a smart work model for the safety of our team. I can’t claim that we were 100% ready for this step, but our belief in the power of technology and our team’s adaptability has made the process a lot easier. 

What do you think has changed forever? What 2020 trends do you believe are here to stay?

V.C.:  We have already known that cloud adoption is on the rise. But one of the most relevant conclusions of the year is that the hybrid cloud is here to stay. We have been strong advocates of the hybrid cloud model and this year has just proved that our vision was correct. More companies have adopted this model this year, as it offers many benefits. 

Smart working is also something that will not completely disappear soon. While we all miss working together in a shared space, we are aware that it is not safe to do that yet. Plus, what if this happens again? Or what if some other crisis emerges? In this case too, having the appropriate technology can make a difference between a company’s success and its failure. 

How is Syneto evolving? What are the company’s plans for 2021 and beyond?

V.C.: Following the lessons we have learned last year, we are keen on continuing our mission in 2021 and the future: simplify, accelerate, and protect IT operations. 

The Syneto ecosystem is focused on three main “pillars”: accelerating the journey to the hybrid cloud, improving data protection, and creating a “smart” work environment. All our products and services can be placed within one of those three pillars and are developed with our mission in mind. 

2021 will be the year in which we will take our mission further. I don’t think it is going to be easy, but I am confident that this year will bring many new opportunities.