We’ve published our updated strategy for 2026. In this post, we’ll share the core of it: what stays the same, what changes, and what we will concentrate on next.

What stays the same: our values and mission

Our values remain the same – empathy, learning, responsibility, autonomy and transparency – because nothing in the environment suggested a need for drastic change, and VALA people wanted to keep them untouched. 

Also our mission stays the same: we still exist to help create software that works and work that is meaningful. 

What changes: our vision is more open and ambitious

We adjusted our vision to keep doors open outside Finland. The idea is simple: by not limiting ourselves mentally (or in wording), we make space for international opportunities when they make sense. 

So the new vision is simply to be the Greatest Quality Company.

This does not mean we are “moving abroad tomorrow”. It means we are leaving room for growth where the work, VALA people and our clients take us.

Our ambition is clear. In order to be the Greatest quality company, we need to be the best place for quality-minded people and the preferred partner for AI-powered quality services for our clients.

What we do

The headlines of what we do are familiar: quality management and planning, test automation, software testing, quality consulting, quality as a service, and trainings.

But what happens under the hood might actually change quite a lot. We are excited about using AI in testing, and testing AI- native solutions. A major focus area for us this year is experimenting, testing and finding out the use cases which are actually beneficial for our clients in 2026.

The four streams that guide our focus in 2026

Strategy is all about focus. Our four strategy streams, i.e. focus areas, are:

1. Culture and learning
2. AI and service development
3. Growth
4. VALA 2028

These streams are our “focus lanes”, if a new development project etc. comes up, it’s easy to ask whether it’s part of some of our streams. Of course we can still do other things too but this framework helps prioritising.

Why did we choose these streams? 

Culture and learning is easy, culture is always our focus area and thus deserves its place. And this year, with the AI revolution, learning is not anymore something nice but something absolutely essential. 

AI and service development was also quite obvious as AI simply is so important. Especially in our field.

For us the effect of AI is twofold:
1. AI powered development puts a huge pressure for testing and quality as more code is written and it is written partly by AI
2. The previous actually creates this second part. As more and more testing is needed, it too has to be done largely by using AI.

Growth as a focus area is an important guide for us. Last year we got back on the growth track and now we will take the next step. Growth is not only revenue growth; it also includes skills, people, and mindset.

We are serious about growth. In our size, growth is not always easy for the organization. In terms of our organization, ways of working and structures, we want to emphasize proactive actions. Thus, “VALA 2028” stream will focus on our structures, to enable our organization to scale towards 200 people. 

How we measure progress

Each of our strategy streams have their own objectives and if we reach them, everyone at VALA will receive 50€ extra to their ePassi.

Besides these, we have this tool called “Bonus goals”. We use this tool to bring strategy closer to everyday work, to communicate what is important and to boost the feeling that everyone can help. We have 15 goals listed and reaching 10 of these gives everyone another ePassi increase. Some examples of things/actions we want to increase with these goals: new certificates, satisfaction survey response rates, learning from each other, participation in consultant trainings, use of AI tools, AI projects with our clients, sales and recruitment leads, LinkedIn activity and receiving personal feedback.

What happens next

A strategy only matters when it becomes everyday work. Next, we’ll keep communicating about our focus areas and start executing our to do lists. Then throughout the year, we do our best to make progress visible, and turn the streams into concrete actions across the company.

Summary

In summary, our Strategy 2026 maintains our core values and mission while introducing a new, more ambitious and internationally open vision to become “the Greatest Quality Company”. The strategy is guided by four focus streams: Culture and learning, AI and service development, Growth, and VALA 2028. Progress will be measured through stream objectives and a list of Bonus goals, ensuring the strategy becomes concrete, everyday work.

If you want to discuss what AI powered quality looks like in practice, I’m always happy to talk.

-Marcus Mattila, CEO, VALA

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