Please provide your feedback on how Goodfirms has contributed to increasing your visibility among potential clients.
We couldn’t have utilized the best from Goodfirms, but we believe there’s a lot of potential.
Please introduce your company and describe your role within the organization.
Axon Active Vietnam is a Swiss-owned leading software development company in Vietnam. I’m the CEO and the founder of the company.
What inspired the founding of your company, and what is the story behind its inception?
In 2008, our Axon Group was successful as a digital transformation provider in Switzerland. However, we quickly faced a scaling issue: we struggled to recruit enough developers to build our digital products and services. To address this, I explored various IT labor markets and successfully established our first development team in Ho Chi Minh City that same year. The available talents, the open-minded culture, and the advantageous framework conditions convinced me to establish a software development company in Vietnam and offer development services to clients from all over the world.
What are the core values and principles that drive your company's culture, and how do you ensure alignment with these values across your team?
‘Reliability’, ‘Transparency’, ‘Honestly’, and ‘Passion’ are core values of our company. And our philosophy is: “We do what we say, we say what we do”.
- We see RELIABILITY as a foundation for all successful relation
- With TRANSPARENCY, we build trust and work together efficiently
- HONESTY helps us form a long-term relationship
- With PASSION, we can raise the quality and make us happy
As a Swiss-owned company with a Swiss management team and work ethics, quality and reliability are parts of our team's DNA.
Can you highlight some of the key achievements or milestones your company has accomplished since its inception?
- 2008: 1st software development team established in HCMC, Vietnam
- 2011: 2nd branch opened in Da Nang City, Vietnam
- 2015: opened office in San Francisco, US
- 2016: reached 300+ employees
- 2017: 3rd branch opened in Can Tho City, Vietnam
- 2018: reached 500+ employees
- 2022: expanded onshore services in Switzerland
- 2024: reached 600+ employees
- The Certificate of Excellent Enterprise in Development and Integration by the Vietnamese government, in 2020
- The Certificate of Merit "Outstanding Contributions To The Growth Of ICT Industry", for six consecutive years from 2015 to 2023, by the Chairman of the People's Committee of Da Nang City.
- Founder and organizer of the DevDay event from 2015 to 2024, one of the current biggest IT events in Vietnam
- Recognized as one of The Best Places to Work in IT by ComputerWorld in 2022 and 2023
Could you explain your company's business model? Do you primarily operate with an in-house team or utilize third-party vendors/outsourcing?
Imagine you have plenty of ideas on how to make your business fit for the digitalized world. But how do you turn them into reality? And where do you get the necessary know-how and resources? Here Axon Active can help you with diverse solutions. We offer everything you need to create your next successful product:
- Expand your software development capacity with our customized development teams.
- Support your business department with our onsite dedicated Product Owners, or Business Analysts.
- Maintain your cloud infrastructure with our ICT and DevOps service.
- Stabilize your technical basement with our Architecture and Security consulting.
- And many more...
How does your company differentiate itself from competitors in the industry?
In today's digital age, the demand for skilled software engineers has surged globally. This brings both opportunities and challenges. As the number of service suppliers increases, the marketplace becomes more fragmented. Customers have more choices but also face a higher risk of selecting the wrong partners, which can lead to project failures.
At Axon Active, our mission is more than software development – we are committed to building long-term business relationships based on transparency and honesty. Our motto “We do what we say, we say what we do” applies to all aspects of our business, resulting in a 15-year track record as a trusted software development company.
How would you describe the dynamics within your team, and how do you foster collaboration and teamwork to achieve common goals?
We were early adopters of Agile/Scrum methodologies since the 2000s. Our very first teams were already Scrum teams from the start, and now all our teams follow Scrum or Agile methods. Thanks to Scrum, it helps create a very collaborative and open environment where everyone works towards the same goals.
We encourage teamwork through regular Scrum meetings like daily stand-ups, sprint planning, and retrospectives. These meetings help us communicate often, solve problems quickly, and stay on track. We also promote an open culture where everyone feels comfortable sharing ideas and feedback. This makes our team work better together and helps us achieve our goals efficiently.
What measures do you take to support the professional development and growth of your employees? Do you offer training programs or opportunities for skill enhancement?
Yes, of course. We offer regular English classes, licenses to access online English courses, and Udemy business accounts. Over 1200 courses were attended this year alone. Our colleagues are also encouraged to obtain certificates that are useful for their work.
Could you share a notable success story or case study that exemplifies the impact your company has had on a client's business?
In 2017, we began our cooperation with ‘Die Mobiliar’, one of the most famous insurance companies in Switzerland. We started with a dedicated team of eight software engineers, and as of 2024, we have 140 software engineers working across 24 dedicated teams. We have now become one of their top major suppliers.
What industries do you primarily cater to, and do you have a significant percentage of repeat clients? If so, what is the ratio of repeat clients?
Our services cater to a wide range of industries, including fintech, healthcare, logistics, and more. Generally, we do not specialize in any single industry but are open to meeting all our clients' needs.
All our clients are long-term, with customer retention periods ranging from 03 to 15 years as of 2024.
What initiatives does your company undertake to foster innovation and stay at the forefront of industry trends? Do you invest in research and development projects?
In a small R&D department, we work with the very latest technical innovations that are currently moving the tech scene. This ranges from augmented reality to IoT, blockchain, and AI today.
But as the nature of our business model, this kind of investment is highly dependent on our customers’ needs.
We invest a lot in education for students through Junior/Fresher on-job training and non-it programs. See https://www.edu.axonactive.com
Please share some of the most sought-after services that clients approach your company for.
The Dedicated Software Development Team is the most sought-after service which contributes more than 80% of our annual revenue. Besides, we also offer the following services:
- Project Management and Consulting
- ICT and DevOps for Cloud Computing
- Coaching and Training service
- Dedicated PO or BA as a service
- Architecture and Security Consulting
- Supervised Proof of Concept as a service
- Axin Tool-Box™
How do you build and maintain strong relationships with your clients, and what mechanisms do you have in place for gathering and acting upon client feedback?
We implement a super lean organizational structure where our clients can have direct and prompt access to our top management, including C-level executives, whenever needed. Regular steering meetings are conducted with most of our clients to address any issues or concerns that may arise during our partnership.
How has your company adapted to changes and challenges in the business landscape, and what strategies have you employed to ensure resilience and sustainability?
We focus on two key areas: the well-being of our employees and the security of our infrastructure. Talent is the most valuable asset of our company. To attract and retain the best talent, we create a top working environment with a modern office, interesting jobs, and comprehensive benefits that support health, family, and personal growth.
At the same time, we strengthen our cybersecurity through infrastructure and knowledge investment. We have been ISO/IEC 27001 certified since 2018. Regular security audits and training help us stay ahead of cyber threats.
What payment structure do you typically follow when billing clients? Is it Pay per Feature, Fixed Cost, or Pay per Milestone (phases, months, versions, etc.)?
For software development services, we typically charge a fixed monthly fee per engineer.
Do you accept projects that meet your basic budget requirements? If yes, what is the minimum budget requirement? If no, what is the minimum budget you have worked with in the past?
We do not quote for single projects; our engagements focus on long-term collaboration, with a minimum commitment of 6 to 12 months.
What technological capabilities does your company possess, and are there any ongoing or planned investments in technology infrastructure or tools to enhance your services?
We have experienced a broad range of technological skills that allow us to meet most requirements using common tech stacks. Moreover, Vietnam currently has about 560,000 engineers in the IT sector and 60,000 students enrolling in Computer Science and IT-related fields each year. We can quickly and efficiently connect you with top talent.
Where do you envision your company in the next 10 years? What are your long-term goals and aspirations for growth and development?
We see the demand for software development services growing steadily. Our approach to offering software development services will be more demanding and we believe this will not change fundamentally in the upcoming years.
We are satisfied with linear growth, which allows us to transfer our corporate culture and values to new employees and continue providing outstanding services to our customers in the future
