COMPANY PROFILE Whizz kid sets the pace
Andrew Gilbert, Managing Director of Node4, has more than lived up to his reputation as a whizz kid entrepreneur. He established the company in 2004 at the age of 23 and now heads up an £11 million turnover organisation with much greater potential.
Andrew Gilbert B
efore setting up Node4 Gilbert operated as the Technical Director
for an IT solutions provider, focusing on wireless Internet access to rural areas along with hosted solutions. He observed that for many organisations the barriers to using and benefiting from the best technologies were cost and the ability to support the technology. “The vision was born to provide a range of
hosted services, foreseeing that there was a rising trend in all industry sectors which was being fuelled by fast-paced technological developments,” said Gilbert.
Node4 first delivered services such as hosted IP telephony and Quality of Service networks. By 2007, the company saw sales rise to £1.5 million from just £300,000 in its first year. At this point, Gilbert decided to
move into cloud computing, a decision that transformed the business’ value to £11 million by 2010. He added: “Organisations are looking to increase efficiencies and cut costs and by outsourcing both core and non-core business functions this is now possible, especially through the advances in technology and security. Cloud computing has been a significant driver and with its coming of age has placed Node4 on the crest of a growing wave.”
Rapid growth
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In its formative years Node4 experienced a growth of 150 per cent per year, and even in the tough economic climate today has maintained a growth rate of 60 per cent year-on-year for the last three years. The company offers connectivity, communication and data centre services including colocation (business continuity and disaster recovery), managed hosting through dedicated servers and virtualised environments, connectivity, SIP trunking and hosted telephony services. “The current portfolio of services has matured over the years as the business developed and increased its understanding of not just the types services customers wanted, but the way in which they were delivered,” commented Gilbert.
The rate of expansion for Node4 has been impressive following the launch of its data centre sites. The company’s strategy to own geographically dispersed sites in order to minimise problems caused by downtime expectancies is notable. “The strategy to invest in multiple sites is a departure from the prevailing view to invest in fewer larger sites, and not always on-shore,” said Gilbert. “I believe that for business continuity reasons the interests of customers are best served through access to a number of regional data centres.”
Gilbert’s strategy to be the UK’s largest ‘data centres on the door step’ supplier has been advanced by the selection of sites situated close to large conurbations such as Northampton, Derby and Wakefield. These sites have become a powerful draw for businesses that rate proximity as a key priority when looking to outsource their hosting requirements. “We intend to expand the data centre network at other sites across the UK,” said Gilbert. “Already there are plans for another two. These are scheduled for commission in 2012. Also, the business continues to develop key product areas including SIP trunking and connectivity.”
Much of the new business comes from referrals and Node 4 is also gaining momentum in the ISP sector. Transforming IT costs from a capital expenditure to a manageable operating cost is the way forward, says Gilbert. “Colocation and connectivity can be costly for companies to set up, manage and operate parallel to their core business. Outsourcing these services with certified professionals is more cost- effective and convenient,” Gilbert added.
VITAL STATS • Ranked 45th in the Times Tech 100
• Won first place for fastest growing Midlands technology company in the Deloitte Fast50 and 39th in the UK
• Won the Cisco Innovation Award of the Year for the UK and Ireland in 2007
• Scooped a Unified Communications Product of the Year Award in 2007
• Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and a Cisco Premier Certified Partner
• Achieved ISO9001 and ISO/IEC27001 certification
• In 2009/2010 financial year, Node4 won £8.5 million worth of contract wins
• Gilbert was named Finalist for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2011
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30 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2011
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