In conversation with Ron Eland, Managing Partner at ICU IT Services

How did you end up in the IT world?

I worked for an engineering department with CAD-CAM (CATIA) and plotter systems. The backups had to be taken to the vault in the computer department every evening. To get there you had to pass through the airlock (a door system) of the computer department, all very secretive in those days. I found it such a mysterious world that I wanted to be part of it. They were busy there with the conversion and implementation from DOS/VSE to MVS. The available knowledge in the Netherlands was zero, so this offered opportunities. I've never regretted it.

What did you do before you started ICU IT Services?

I started living on my own relatively early, and of course there had to be bread on the table. I went to work at Hunter Douglas (aluminium building products), in a production department and in quality control. From there (after an accident) I ended up in the computer department via the engineering department. I joined ABN AMRO through an intermediary. And then... I started ICU.

How did you come up with the idea of starting ICU IT Services?

The wish to be an entrepreneur and share knowledge, but above all to set up a company myself. The financial side (investing, reserves and eventually returns) and the commercial side were a challenge that appealed to me. Do I have that commitment and discipline, and do I dare to take the (financial) risk? I wanted to test and carry out my own view of running a business. There's the personal confrontation with yourself (you really have to go through the dust a few times) and learning to do things better and more efficiently. Learning to look ahead, assess risks and anticipate them.

What were the biggest lessons in setting up an IT company?

Listen to people with experience and put your own spin on it. Above all, you have to enjoy what you do. It has to inspire you and give you energy. I mean: it has to be your thing, otherwise you won't keep it up.

Things you want, you have to go and get. Ask people whether they will help you or have work for you. Nobody comes to bring you work or money, really not. It certainly doesn't come by itself, you have to go and get it. Very hard sometimes...

Don't depend on others, stand on your own two feet. Always make sure you have something in reserve for leaner times. That is not always, or necessarily, financial. It can also be self-confidence. Keep seeing opportunities and seize them.

Have confidence, think carefully, weigh things up and make decisions. If a decision turns out not to be good, don't be stubborn or arrogant. Adjust your course and carry on. But do make decisions: nothing is as dangerous as making no decisions and having no course.

People (almost) always make things sound nicer or more interesting than they really are. Weigh their words, form your own opinion, and step in, or not. Not doing something (sometimes very wise) is just as good as doing it. Always ask yourself whether it serves your goal or your company. No? Then don't.

You will make mistakes, but that's fine. You learn from mistakes, and success makes you arrogant. Learn to make mistakes (I mean, make decisions). If it doesn't work, learn from it, get back up and carry on with your newly gained knowledge of the situation. Above all, don't sulk.

A few wonderful quotes and sources of inspiration I'd like to pass on:

They take a little of your time, but they are characterised by wonderful simplicity: don't make things unnecessarily complicated. After all, complexity is failed simplicity.

Admiral McRaven (discipline): https://bit.ly/3MrEe4g

Denzel Washington (getting out of your comfort zone): https://bit.ly/3PozUVf

What are you most proud of at ICU IT Services?

The calibre of the people who work for our company. It's motivating to hear from clients that this makes a difference. Also that we are financially independent and healthy. That gives a certain calm when operating in a market where cost price is an important argument.

Where do you see ICU IT Services in 10 years?

That's always a bit of guesswork, of course. Specialised, of a certain size but not too big and impersonal. I hope that a number of "old" values will be modern again. Do it together, for each other, and do what you enjoy. And of course a status apart in the market.

What do you expect the biggest future innovation in IT to be?

I think data is going to make the big difference. What can you do with it, and what do you (as a company) know about the market you operate in? How quickly can you draw conclusions to follow market movements, or preferably to dominate them? The (old) tech companies have of course been doing that for a while. But what you know about your market and your market position will be worth a great deal, tactically, strategically and financially. Innovative ways of processing data, quantum computing for example, will open up new possibilities. And innovation drives innovation...