13 March 2020. That was when Norway first shut down after the COVID-19 breakout and the day the idea of Aize was born. The world would change, industries would change, the way we work would change.
We wanted to create software that could assist traditional heavy-asset industries in adapting to the new normal and enable a transition to more sustainable operations. Since then, together with our partners and customers, we have started to change how heavy-asset industries operate.
These last few years have given all companies first-hand experience of how frustrating it can be to lose that physical connection with employees, processes and workflows. Now, imagine the complexity when it’s not only about aligning your team but connecting all workflows on an enormous facility like a wind farm, a hydrogen plant or an offshore oil platform.
Aize’s contribution is a shared workspace, a functional digital twin solution for all stakeholders building or operating complex facilities. As our marketers say: "Say goodbye to siloed and scattered information and hello to a single source of truth." It has never been more relevant.
So 2021 has been anything but a gap year for Aize. Now we are gearing up again.
We Will Land That Spacecraft
We are developing one core product with modules and functionality that will serve heavy-asset industries throughout their life cycle.
We kicked off the NOA Fulla digitalisation programme for real in 2021 to develop software that will enable an entirely digital project execution model. Digitalising the largest ongoing field development endeavour on the Norwegian Continental Shelf is viewed as a moon landing project by some. With our program partners – Aker BP, Aker Solutions and Cognite, we are ready to land that spacecraft in 2022.
Furthermore, we truly started our journey into renewables with the electron program gaining pace. With Aker Carbon Capture, Aker Clean Hydrogen and Aker Offshore Wind, we will further harden our product for significant efficiency gains in these emerging industries.
Our Partners Make Us Stronger
We believe that delivering on the promise of NOA Fulla will create the foundation for an end-to-end operational model for the future, where our partners see their digital twin evolve through the project phase and into operations.
This way of looking at the world is in tune with the increased interest and curiosity we already observe in the market for the operations side of our offering.
Our effort is rapidly transforming how our customers run complex projects and operations. At the same time, our partners are crucial to our development.
Aker is showing the world, again and again, the willingness to explore new ways of seeing things, not least exemplified by Aker Solutions’ drive towards transformation. The way all our partners engage with our progress, helping us make the right decisions as we advance, is invaluable. They all believe in the benefits of fresh thinking that will always be a part of Aize. Of seeing things differently. They acknowledge the opportunities that come with our work.
They understand how utilising our software will position them to succeed even more in a world turning increasingly towards automatisation and sustainability.
This year we will invest even more in developing and hardening our product, preparing for scale. We will continue adding and building functionality in close collaboration with key customers.
Aizers make me proud
Our mission is not possible without our partners and customers. But at the same time, our "Aizers" help these stakeholders see things differently to improve collaboration. And we’re becoming quite a group.
2021 was our first full year of operation, and the way this growing organisation keeps maturing and improving impresses me. During a year of lockdowns, we scaled by almost 80 people in 2021 to reach 150+, aiming to add 80 more by 2023.
We face the same challenges as every other business in the world, but since we were a «covid start-up» from the beginning, we made it an advantage. Still, it was a relief to meet more people this autumn. Many of us met for the first time, both in Aberdeen, Egersund, and Oslo. I know some of our Aizers have been working remotely since they started, and others are far away from their family while striving to make Aize successful.
That is why the way Aizers respond to these challenges makes me proud. We did a lot of culture-building this year, and I am glad we had a «cucumber» to connect us during the roughest of times*.
We take these challenges seriously. In 2022 we will invest heavily in this organisation and its growth.
My main priority is to make sure all our great people have the opportunity to evolve while they contribute to establishing Aize as a leading industrial SaaS company.
** Reach out to me or anyone at Aize to hear more about what that "cucumber" is about and how it feels to work here. We are hiring.*
