Celebrating 20 Years of Expertise and Excellence

I’m proud to share that Soliant Consulting is celebrating 20 years of helping clients gain efficiency and growth through their business applications. When we started Soliant in August 2004, we were mostly focused on becoming the best FileMaker Partner out there — several of our original team members (and original clients!) are still with us and keep this mission in the forefront of our minds.

I wish I could say that back then, we had a compelling vision of what we’d become. Soliant began as a spin-off from a previous company, The Moyer Group, so on day 1, we had about 20 employees, offices in Chicago and San Mateo, and about $2M in annual revenue – not bad for a fresh startup! I had a 1-year old son at home, we were in the middle of writing a FileMaker book and training program, and we had a hectic two-month scramble to get all our business operations set up so that we could have our debut at the annual FileMaker Developers Conference that August. That whole year is a coffee-fueled blur to me now, but we had a great team and enough naïve optimism to push through it all.

Then, the real work began. Early on, we didn’t have much structure or process. We didn’t even have any project managers!  With help from mentors, books, and plenty of trial and error, we steadily evolved and grew.  We hired great people, tried to foster a culture of excellence and curiosity, and learned from our successes and mistakes.

Along the way, we also launched three more technology practices focused on cloud native web applications, Salesforce consulting and training, and AWS hosting and consulting.  And despite all of this and having a 70+ person team now, I still consider us a work-in-progress and am excited for what the future holds.

Annual Offsite

Early on, we established the annual tradition of an all-company offsite. The entire team meets in one central location and reflects on the year we’ve had, plans for the year ahead, and collaborates on new ideas. We also have an awards ceremony to emphasize how we value our team’s contributions to the company, as well as a talent show to showcase our other skills and interests.

Perennial Partnerships

As we’ve grown, we’ve become partners with our core technology platforms. Soliant is a Claris Platinum Partner, a Salesforce Consulting Partner, and an AWS Advanced Partner. We strive for excellence in all we do, and these partnership levels reflect that effort and expertise. We work closely with our partners to help our clients accomplish more with their platform solutions and drive growth for their organizations with all the technology makes possible.

Serving with Gratitude

Of course, we couldn’t have made it these 20 years without our incredible client base, many of which who have worked with us for a decade or longer. We work with most of these clients as members of their extended team, focused on a common goal. Many have become good friends.

Tenured Team Members

Our long-term employees have had a hand in driving a culture of integrity, innovation, and diligence. In fact, their curiosity and penchant for ingenuity have been catalysts for most of our new practices and product offerings. Carafe, Soliant.cloud, and FMBlaze come to mind.

Our average tenure at Soliant is 8.8 years. We are fortunate to have such an incredible team committed to the vision of our company and in it for the long haul. Our leaders hire carefully with the aim of a long-term relationship in mind. And our team members frequently remind us of their dedication and worth by delivering truly exceptional client services.

Employee Ownership

Five years ago, we embarked on a new stage in our evolution: we became an employee-owned organization, and our team members now have a vested interest in their own success. As CEO, I’ve seen this shift in ownership lead to more innovation in the way we do things and a self-driven leadership within the business.

As a result of this industrious culture paired with team-focused leadership, I’m proud that we’ve earned the recognition as a Best & Brightest Company to Work For® in the nation for six years in a row.

Looking Forward

I’m excited for the next 20 years of Soliant. We’ll complete the transition to 100% employee ownership, we’ll explore new service and product offerings, and we’ll grow to deliver even more innovative solutions to our flourishing client base.

Thank you to all who have made the first 20 years at Soliant an incredible adventure – our clients, partners, and team members. Your support has made these two decades a thriving, healthy success. I encourage you to stay updated on all that’s to come. We share new insights, expertise, and client stories every month in our newsletter and on LinkedIn. Follow us there to become a part of our story!