While we usually discuss our clients and their collections, we are turning the spotlight on ourselves for a moment this June to celebrate DL Consulting’s (the company behind Veridian) twentieth year in business.
Founded by our director Stefan back in 2002, we began by customising Greenstone, the open source digital library software developed here in New Zealand. Stefan was one of the original designers and developers.
As libraries and cultural institutions began to respond to the increasing demand for accessible online content to retain their position as critical and important community resources, we saw a real need in the market for a piece of presentation software to suit digital newspaper collections.
From there, the business has grown to where it is today, with the name Veridian adopted in 2009. It refers to a shade of green, and was chosen as a nod to the Greenstone product from which our digital library software originally sprouted.
For Director Stefan, the company’s growth over the last two decades has happened fairly organically rather than being part of a ‘master plan.’
“As we’ve matured, we’ve found we like being a small, capable company and have shied away from growth for the sake of it. It’s allowed us to become the best in our little niche, building really strong working relationships with our clients, where we work closely to maintain and grow their collections.
“Some have been with us for the whole 20 years, some for 15 or more; so long as we keep doing a good job, the same customers keep coming back. We like to take a long-term view, which fits with the market we’re in.”
Stefan notes that in many ways, the DL Consulting team make-up has followed a similar pattern; six of the nine-strong team have been with the company for over 10 years, with an average tenure of 11 years. “Even the ‘new guys’ have been with us for three years now, and I’m sure our clients appreciate the continuity this gives their projects,” says Stefan.
“I’m proud that we’ve built a culture where everyone wants to stick around, and it means we all have extensive knowledge of both Veridian and how to create successful digital collections,” he adds.
“I think over the 20 years we’ve also grown into our identity as a New Zealand-based company working with significant institutions based around the world. It’s now a genuine advantage; we like to think we were ahead of the game in working remotely pre-Covid, although we do look forward to being able to visit some clients again.
“It’s also why communication has always been a big deal for us, and providing ongoing support for each of our clients’ collections.”
Planning for the next 20 years, continuity is a focus for Stefan.
“We want to move forward and keep working the way we are, keep improving and adding to that list of well-respected libraries and institutions we work with. It’s clearly been a winning formula so far.”
Thanks goes to all of our clients for putting your trust in the DL Consulting/Veridian team over the past two decades. Here’s to the next milestone!