Information technology experts Paragon Bermuda have promoted Merrilyn Johnson to the new position of business development manager in a move to enhance client relationships.

Ms Johnson is now responsible for the business development process, sales initiatives, coaching and customer relationship management functions.

Ms Johnson said of her new position: "What my role entails is making sure that our consultant team and our developers are coached on their communications skills with clients, how to manage the accounts better, how to make sure that we are seeing our clients on a regular basis and addressing their needs."

Ms Johnson said the company has always had client relationship management and business development but "this role is more centralised around making sure that business development processes are the same with whoever is out there talking to our clients, that the client relationship management processes and our communications and technical consultants all report to one area so we can build and make our relationships stronger. The things that are the most important to Paragon is ensuring that the relationships we have with our clients are long term, and it is really important for us as a Bermudian company to ensure that our relationships with companies in Bermuda are very strong.

It is important that our clients understand that we have made a huge initiative in making sure that we have consultants with extensive financial services industry experience so that we can help bridge the business to the technology.

"We just don't like to throw a solution out, we like to make sure we address the businesses need. So part of my role is making sure that we understand what the business need is, that we communicate and listen to our clients so that we know how to address it in each area."

Ms Johnson said: "Business development and client relationship management is a key role in every organisation and it is important that people understand, the way that Paragon understands, that clients are the most important."

And she said it was important to address what the clients were asking for and to help clients become more competitive, cut costs, "anything to make sure they are more successful in the market," said Ms Johnson.

"The fact that Paragon has made some major initiatives in having a process which we call the Capacity Delivery Process, ensuring that when we do work in understanding our clients needs we follow a stepped process that we understand the needs first, business requirements and then mapping the system, design, development, make sure we test it, so that when the client gets the system it is what they actually asked for."

Ms Johnson has over ten years of industry experience and joined Paragon in September 2000 as a client account manager.

Prior to joining Paragon, Ms Johnson gained significant IT sales expertise working for several high profile organisations including Bermuda Computer Services, SHL SystemHouse (an EDS. company) and IBM Global Services. Ms Johnson is a graduate of the University of Lethbridge, Canada, with a bachelor of fine arts.

Ms Johnson is also involved within the business community through her participation as the Director of Membership for Women in International Trade, Bermuda.