I would like to announce that ThoughtWorks Sweden is now in motion. We have business cards and an office. Everyone is returning from their long lovely Swedish summer vacations.

This means that ThoughtWorks Sweden is ready, and available for work. If you or your business have a project you need help with, don’t hesitate to contact me (at obini@thoughtworks.com) or Marcus Ahnve (at mahnve@thoughtworks.com).

We are located in Stockholm, but we are open for work anywhere in the Nordic regions.

So what kind of work are we most suited for? Our sweet spot is in delivery and technical advisory regarding Java, Ruby and JRuby. And if you’re interested in understanding how our Agile approach can change your company, we can do organizational transformation projects and also coaching and advisory.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch!

3 Comments | By Ola Bini | In: Uncategorized | tags: sweden, thoughtworks. | #

I few months back I blogged about the possibility that ThoughtWorks would come to Sweden. Well, this is now reality. I have the extreme honor to be a part of this initiative together with Marcus Ahnve (who blogged about it here). If you read that blog you will know that Marcus will head the Swedish operation. I am immensely happy about having him as my new colleague and also boss. =)

People might ask what my role in this new office will be. That’s a valid question. My main goal is to stay out of trouble – and trying my very best to not scare potential customers away. Marcus is extremely capable and will handle all challenges, which means that I’ll do my best to bask in the glory of opening an new office. I might also have a hand in any billable work we do, and help out with recruitment and possibly even (shudder) marketing.

Not sure if you catched the meaning in that last sentence, but let me spell two points out. We will be selling work in Sweden from day one. I will be one of the consultants sold and that means that if you have an Ruby or JRuby work you want to start up, this might be an excellent time to call your local ThoughtWorks office… =)

The recruitment point is simply this. We plan on accumulating the best people we can find – as we aim to do in every country we enter. If you feel like you could fit this bill, mail me and we can talk.

It’s important to note that this operation will initially be very low profile. Don’t expect center folds in DN’s Economy pages. We will work mostly with word-of-mouth. So if you hear of someone that might need our help, don’t hesitate to mention our name. And even though we are low profile, we will still have the resources of the whole company to draw on. A 1000 ThoughtWorkers. That feels rather good, and it should feel even better for any prospective clients.

One thing I have been a bit worried about is my commitment to JRuby, and other open source projects. I assure everyone I’ll do my best to live up to these commitments. Sleep be damned!

These are exciting times. I for one is looking forward to it very much. Me and Marcus will officially start on this from June this year. Get in touch if you have any questions. It’s my name separated with dots at gmail, or obini at the official thoughtworks domain.

4 Comments | By Ola Bini | In: Uncategorized | tags: sweden, thoughtworks. | #

I will be coming to Sweden on Sunday, and I will stay a full 4 weeks. So if anyone feels like grabbing a beer and talking about anything remotely geeky, I’m up for it. Ping me or leave a comment on this post. I’ll mostly be in Stockholm, but some time will be spent in Gothenburg too.

4 Comments | By Ola Bini | In: Uncategorized | tags: beer, sweden. | #

I am not sure how well it comes across in my blog posts, but joining ThoughtWorks have been the best move of my life. I can’t really describe what a wonderful place this is to be (for me at least). I sometimes try – in person, after a few beers – but I always end up not being able to capture the real feeling of working for a company that is more than a company.

I’m happy at being with ThoughtWorks. It’s as simple as that – I feel like I’ve found my home.

So imagine how happy I am to tell you that ThoughtWorks is exploring opportunities for an office in Sweden!

Now, I am one of the persons involved in this effort, and we have been talking about it for a while (actually, we started talking about it for real not long after I joined). But now it’s reality. The first trips to Sweden will be in January. ThoughtWorks will be sponsoring JFokus (which is shaping up to be a really good conference, by the way. I’m happy to have been presenting there the first year). We will have a few representatives at JFokus, of course. I will be there, for example. =)

Of course, exploring Sweden is not the same thing as saying that an office will actually happen. But we think there are good reasons to at least consider it. I personally think it would be a perfect fit, but I am a bit biased about it.

So what are we doing for exploration? Well, of course we have started to look into business opportunities and possible clients. We are looking at partnerships and collaboration. We are looking at potential recruits. But really, the most important thing at this stage is to talk to people, get a feeling for the lay of the land, get to know interesting folks that can give us advice and so on. And that is what our travels in January will be about.

So. Do you feel you might fit any of the categories of people above? We’d love to meet you and talk – very informally. So get in touch.

This is exciting times for us!

3 Comments | By Ola Bini | In: Uncategorized | tags: jfokus, sweden, thoughtworks. | #

I’m right now in Bergen, but I’m flying to Oslo later today – I’ll basically land and head directly to the javaBin meeting. Afterwards I’m up for beers or something, if someone wants to.

On Friday I’m heading for Sweden. For purely recreational purposes. I’ll be in Gothenburg, Malmö and Stockholm for a week or so, so if someone feels like saying hi, do tell. I always like good discussions about programming languages. And other things as well, in fact.

No Comments | By Ola Bini | In: Uncategorized | tags: javabin, plans, sweden. | #