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Ahead in the clouds, but still grounded World-class companies from across the region


This article is the second in a series looking at leading-edge companies identified by BDO


Poole-based Blue Chip Data Systems is leading edge because it maintains traditional customer values in a sector that is creating the business world of the future.


Traditional customer-admired qualities such as reliability, mutual respect, value-for-money, product knowledge, flexibility, and quality service beyond the contractual small-print, are culture keystones at Blue Chip.


”Too many companies concentrate on gaining contracts and achieving SLAs. Our partnership approach means that the relationships we have with our customers are founded on trust and integrity, as well as the delivery of results,” explains Anthony Green, Blue Chip’s sales and marketing director.


Equally, Blue Chip has accepted a simple truth of 21st century commerce: ’Businesses that stand still, fall back’. This is particularly true in Blue Chip’s dynamic technology sector: ”To ensure we keep abreast of the latest technological advances, we constantly review our product and service offerings to guarantee that our customers are provided with the latest recommendations and solutions that best meet their requirements.”


That’s why, while being at the forefront of Cloud technology, Blue Chip is still happy to train clients in optimum use of basic PC software packages.


That phrase ’optimum use’ is an important descriptor of Blue Chip. The company aims to provide the most effective solution for all of its client’s individual needs. ”We don’t have any pre- defined customer solutions,” explained Green.


That work falls into two camps: • Support services from a fully-managed contract to adhoc consultancy when required to cover in-house IT absences or provide specialist value-added work. • Or, longer-term transformational projects to improve corporate efficiency ”where we often discover round-peg technology, that needs square peg solutions.”


These 24/7 resource-based services come with the reassurance of Blue Chip’s 20-year industry-proven ability that it can and will fix any problems that may occur.


Not only does Blue Chip strive to understand its customers’ businesses, but it aims to act as a business adviser – working with its customers, not for them.


”We may be leading edge on revolutionary technologies like virtualisation and cloud, but we have a stringent reviewing and testing process


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – OCTOBER 2011


for taking on new products. We also install the technology in our own environment to monitor performance and ensure it meets our standards. We have to have complete confidence in everything that we sell or supply to our customers.”


Blue Chip recently invested £0.5 million developing a ’Cloud’ solution centre to provide a back-up data service for its customers, who understand the logic and efficiencies of cloud technologies, yet are still uncertain about switching wholeheartedly to the fast-developing cloud phenomenon.


So, will cloud be the future? ”Yes – in the same way that virtualisation is the future for the majority of businesses. However, not all people will want to move their IT into a public cloud. Instead, a private cloud, managed within the business with IT services consumed like electricity or water, may well be a good way for many businesses to improve their IT efficiency and reduce costs.


”It will take about five years for vendors to get their current software applications cloud-ready. About 20% of applications are nearly there, but in five years we’ll have about 70% or more available. We anticipate our customerbase will change from 90% traditional to 60-70% cloud-linked in four to five years,” predicted Green.


Meanwhile, Blue Chip will be happy to operate in this hybrid phase of traditional software and future web-linked applications, providing differing solutions for its various customers.


”For a company of our size, we are unique in the cocktail of high-level assistance that we can provide.”


How else does Blue Chip prevent its leading edge from becoming blunt? In 2006 it set up its own Blue Chip training division for in-house technicians. Nowadays, customers are part of the Blue Chip Training Solutions programme too.


Leading Edge


Anthony Green discusses a project with Katy Light from his sales team


The secret of Blue Chip’s culture of customer- focused service and hard work is that it has grown, but continues to evolve within its industry. The company is quick to learn and accepts the challenge of change.


During its formative 1990s decade, it built PCs and did adhoc corporate IT client work. The ’millennium moment’ that altered Blue Chip was in 2000 when it ”welded the door shut to the product showroom” and concentrated on corporate IT requirements. Even then Blue Chip was a leader, being first out of the blocks with Siemens unified communications and network/telephony provision.


A new business development division in 2004/5 boosted organic growth and Blue Chip’ s Dorset operations were replicated in Hampshire, Bedfordshire and Yorkshire.


Since then the 180-strong company has grown successfully – 10%-plus year-on year – and Green predicts it will more than double its turnover and reach £40m by 2015.


• Blue Chip is No 150 in our Solent 250 listing of top private companies. See the full list online: www.businessmag.co.uk


The BDO business adviser’s view by partner Paul Anthony


Blue Chip has shown its leading edge qualities consistently over the past two decades.


The company has been at the forefront of technology from hardware, to virtualisation and now cloud-based solutions.


But, it is clear that technology is not enough on its own, and Blue Chip has embraced the need to work in partnership with customers – identifying their specific needs and tailoring solutions, rather than ”box shifting” off-the-shelf products.


In this fast moving sector, we are, of course, seeing a lot of investment in developing new technologies. However, not all technology businesses are performing well in the current economic climate. Blue Chip is a good example of a small number of companies that are getting it right and achieving growth despite market conditions.


’’ www.businessmag.co.uk


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