2025 – worthy of a high-five; 2026 – more tricks to be added to the mix!

And now for my traditional review of the outgoing year, and a preview of the new one…

// To some of you who are new to these here blog-pages of mine, January 13 might seem a bit late for such a review/preview; let me briefly explain: the first week – sometimes longer (like this year) in Russia is a national holiday: everyone’s off work – this year till last Monday, January 12! So this means business is generally put on hold from the last few days of a year through to mid-January of the next!

All righty. Let’s start with 2025 business…

The main result of the year: despite the pressure of ongoing double-dyed geopolitics, we’re doing just fine.

Our global business is developing – with revenues growing in many places. Sure – not everywhere, and of course the situation’s not straightforward – but when was/is it ever easy?

So yes, everything’s fine. The company is stable and resilient, we’re steadily developing products and technologies, and our regional teams around the world are getting stronger. In the current environment this really is a major achievement, and it’s the result of all the hard – smart – work done by the whole team.

The second key result of the year: we’re no longer just a software company. We already had SD-WAN, which is just great, but now our newly released NGFW looks set to become a serious part of the business in the foreseeable future.

Official sales started off well, and now we’re thinking about export options…

The third main result of the year for me: our operating system having gone abroad – running on Centerm thin clients. This started out in 2023, continued through 2024, and in 2025 was actively developing. Oh yes.

For me personally, it was also a very busy year in terms of public activities. I took part in 35+ events, trade shows, lectures in schools/universities, as well as various official signings. Plus there were 20+ media interviews.

So, those are my business results – in the smallest of fluff-free nutshells.

Now on to 2025 travel…

I flew a lot – as usual – in 2025. Throughout the year I had 77 flight segments, spending approximately 327 (yes – I totted them up:) hours up in the air in total (not counting helicopters).

The most frequent carrier (predictably) was Aeroflot (16 flights), followed by Turkish Airlines (13), and LATAM Airlines (7).

Over the year I visited 15 countries – not counting repeats. There were quite a few trips around Russia (including tours of both Altai and Kamchatka), and also a lengthy Latin American one taking in Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. In all I visited 24+ cities, and spent the night in 52 hotels (tents, as always, don’t count).

I visited Georgia – the country – for the first time, clocking in as the 108^th country I’ve visited in the world:

Throughout last year I wrote plenty about my key travels of the year, so I’ll just briefly go over the main ones here. Last year several dreams came true for me – ones held since childhood…

I finally saw the Nazca Lines – the mysterious depictions built (or rather dug out) on the desert surface for who knows what reason, how, or why, and also by whom – most of which aren’t visible from the ground:

Overall it was an amazing trip to Peru and Bolivia – featuring trekking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, biking down Death Road, and a lot more.

I also finally visited Kamchatka for the first time in the fall. Although they say that September has the most stable weather there, it didn’t treat us as nicely as we’d have liked; still, it was wildly beautiful…

And then there was Rapa Nui, aka Easter Island – also a childhood dream. Seeing what Thor Heyerdahl saw – a mysterious island lost in the South Pacific thousands of kilometers from the nearest inhabited land with its unique moai statues. A super trip; an amazing place:

Now – expectations for 2026…

I’ll be brief since I’m rather superstitious: I’m afraid that if I say something it won’t come true.

I definitely want to see more interesting products based on our OS this year; for example, vehicles with it inside in real working conditions.

Er, but that’s all I’ll tell you today regarding expectations for the year. I actually have many, but I’m not going to voice them. Don’t want them jinxed )…

As for travel – the same story. I’ve big plans for taking to water, doing plenty of treks – and just as many cool stints behind the wheel. But I don’t want to share them just yet. Still – you know me: I’ll be writing lots about them and showing you plenty of pics of them sooner or later!…