In a constantly evolving software market, Chicago-based software consultancy Made in Tandem delivers solutions that drive businesses forward. Offering a range of services, including custom software, cloud, data strategy services and team augmentation, Tandem aims to create curated, meaningful digital experiences that make an impact.
“Our approach has always been to take the small, nimble scalpel approach to solving problems, as opposed to the swarm approach,” CEO JC Grubbs said. “The software shouldn't do everything, but it should make the things easier that it can make easier, and it should empower people to do more with their job.”
Since 2011, Tandem has transformed its approach to better serve clients. Grubbs said the goal has been to serve as a “holistic software partner” that can help transform early-stage concepts into finalized products while providing support every step of the way. As the technological landscape has rapidly changed, Grubbs said his philosophy has been to “stay just ahead of the top of the curve on any technology hype cycle.” While still incorporating emerging technologies, Tandem is able to focus completely on its clients’ business metrics and use actionable data to drive technical decisions, rather than the hottest new tool on the market.
“The role of the engineer has really morphed. It's no longer the system administrator in a basement, looking at a green screen terminal. It's a strategic operational customer delivery kind of role.” Grubbs said. “I think as this process has happened, engineers have become more and more embedded in strategic decision making within tech-enabled organizations, and we've grown alongside of that.”
As the company has grown, they have always kept roots at TeamWorking by TechNexus since day one. Over the past fifteen years, the company has used the TeamWorking hub for event venues, collaboration space and everything in between. Grubbs emphasized the power of the shared working environment, describing the space as “home.”
“I would love nothing more than for my team to just get the opportunity to bump up against a bunch of other people throughout their day. I think that water cooler learning is super invaluable, and it's really hard to reproduce in a remote environment,” Grubbs said. “[At TeamWorking,] I run into people that I know, people that I don't know. I have lunch with people that I would never have met before, not even about business. These are just people in an adjacent space to me who have good ideas. Their experience just kind of rubs off on you.”