PROFILE
Twickenham Stadium April 1st & 2nd, 2009
www.comms-dealer.com
Admiral gets Applegarth
There may be an economic crisis but a
As Allen sees it, the future belongs
to the reseller who can integrate
well planned merger strengthens your hand
voice and data, provide a total
at any time, says Paul Allen, Managing
service range from line rental to
mobile to broadband and can
Director of Admiral Voice and Data, whose
get inside a customer’s thought
acquisition of Applegarth Communications
processes to identify ‘pain points’,
and then make the pain go away.
has created the UK’s largest Aastra reseller.
“We’ve come a long way since
the group was formed in 1996. In
our first year our voice division had
a turnover of around £200,000 so
A
dmiral Voice and Data expansion, both organic and by
has known Applegarth acquisition, has been dramatic.
for years, said Allen: What gives us an edge now is our
“It built a great IT capability. Voice has its own
reputation for its commitment specific bases to cover and it’s
to first class customer support not such an easy transition for
and that matches our own ethos data companies to move into the
exactly. We have been active voice space as they might think.
in acquiring in the past but in We owe our strength to our ability
every case there has been a to manage projects in both areas
rigorously logical basis for our with a great degree of expertise.”
decision. We are not in the business
of accumulating companies. The best way for any business
We are building a carefully to keep track of the score is to
focused, intelligent collection.” add the black figures on the
bottom line. Allen is happy with
Admiral has a national reach but the sums. “We concentrate
from its Luton HQ and satellite on regular revenue flows keep
offices its customers tended to
Paul Allen
customers tied to us through
have a southern bias. “Now, first class maintenance and
we have a strong northern printing systems division which close on 7,000 group customers network services. If you focus on
presence and we are retaining turns over £16 million and supplies there are clearly opportunities identifying what customers really
the Applegarth team, whose skills top brands such as Canon, for effective cross selling. “We need rather than what you have
and experience, allied to our Hewlett Packard, Sharp and gain from being able to offer a available for sale, you’ll build
substantial resources, will give more Konica-Minolta. The group is also single point solution in new build relationships that deliver long
customers even better service with active in facilities management, projects,” says Allen. “Because term profitability for yourself and
faster response times,” says Allen. customised audio visual solutions, of our strong IT capabilities our loyalty building RoI for them.
premises security equipment total technology solutions come
In its enlarged form the company and access control systems.” with a promise of an RoI that “We win because we’re self
will gain from the merging of customers can identify easily as financed and can make decisions
Applegarth’s IT experience with its The group has created a structure an investment and not a cost.” without reference to anyone else.
own and Allen is confident that the that is particularly well adapted Our high quality customer base
business will develop significantly to delivering the cost-effective These solutions are based on includes many public bodies and
on a broader knowledge base. operation that the current telephone systems from Mitel, we’re also strong in the education
“Importantly, existing Applegarth economic climate demands. Avaya and Cisco as well as sector. Importantly, we protect
customers will have access to a A single back office function Aastra. Admiral also has its own our relationships with our suppliers
wide range of other products and delivers economies of scale to billing platform and has network as strongly as we do with our
services from within the Admiral all group companies and with partnerships with Daisy and Verizon. customers. The result is a strong
group. Admiral Voice and Data company that’s getting stronger
benefits hugely from being part even in today’s conditions.”
of a diversified group of nine
We are not in the business of
companies with total revenues
accumulating companies.
Whatever the politicians and
of around £30 million. We don’t bankers do, business isn’t going to
have all our eggs in one basket
We are building a carefully
stop. Sales may take more work to
and while we now have revenues
of around £7 million there’s a
focused, intelligent collection
win but Admiral Voice and Data is
well placed to ensure that it gets a
heavyweight photo copier and growing share.
�
Hugh Symons Communications
providing total support, not just handsets...
- The Mobile Solution
visit yourhsc.com
24 COMMS DEALER FEBRUARY 2009 www.comms-dealer.com
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56