This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
20 southern tech 100


ST100 – Business insight Company: Taylor Made Computer Solutions


Origin: 1994, founded by Nigel Taylor (company owner with wife Alison) Southern Tech 100 position: 77 Specialism: IT managed services provider (MSP) Main business focus: B2B, London and south-east UK businesses Turnover: Approx £10 million Employees: 100 Location: HQ – Cams Hall Estate, Fareham, Hampshire


Tim Walker


Taylor Made Computer Solutions provides managed IT services to over 200 customers, predominantly SMEs


Taylor Made: proud of its proven professionalism


Good cashflow and workflow may be key to the operations of any successful company but a healthy flow of professional pride in a job well done is arguably just as important, writes John Burbedge.


Taylor Made Computer Solutions, celebrating its 20th year in business, seems to have established a very constructive flow of professional pride – a culture of corporate high level performance, balanced somewhere between individual talent and combined effort, that is providing a driving force for sustained success.


“This is the best IT firm in the south,” says Tim Walker without a hint of doubt or boastfulness. He should know. He worked as a consultant to Taylor Made for three years before accepting the role of MD last March.


“I work for Taylor Made because I want to, and like it. I observed them, saw the company grow progressively stronger, focused around good customer service.


“It’s different to every other place I have worked. There is a real pride to being part of Taylor Made, to wear the brand, to be associated with it. There’s a buzz. Taylor Made has a wow-factor.”


www.businessmag.co.uk


But, don’t just take Walker’s word for it.


In February, Taylor Made Computer Solutions was placed among the top 50 managed service providers in the world by industry experts MSPMentor. Taylor Made was ranked seventh in the UK, 10th in EMEA.


Last year, Taylor Made became 2013 Silver Partner of the Year for data storage giant NetApp. It is also a Super Elite MSP of world- leading N-able Technologies. Taylor Made engineers are all accredited through vendor and IT industry training.


Taylor Made is ISO 9001 compliant and aiming for ISO 27001. In 2009, it was one of the first UK companies to gain Investors in People Gold Standard. It is now one of only 30 Investors in People Champions. And, of course, Taylor Made is listed in our Southern Tech 100.


“They are really good benchmarks of the progress we’ve made as an MSP.”


Needless to say perhaps, but Taylor Made works with high standard ‘best of breed’ partners, suppliers and professional support services.


And, it views its third-party awards and verified accreditations as key business differentiators, particularly in customer eyes, in the highly competitive world of managed IT services.


It’s a reputational IP that Taylor Made maintains and protects, through customer and staff feedback, as carefully as it does its clients’ data and IT systems.


Another differentiator is the comprehensive analysis Taylor Made gives to the IT operations of all new clients. “We always start with the end in mind,” says Walker. “We spend time with the people actually using the IT, and provide a detailed 3-5 year IT road- map, aligned with their business objectives and reviewed quarterly. Most MSPs of our size don’t do that.”


With a loyal customer base, Taylor Made has mirrored its clients’ growth over the years. But, Taylor Made created its own bright future by forging credentials in the managed services arena, notably in ‘the cloud.’


Taylor Made was ready when, around 2010, Internet-linked mobile devices began to change corporate workstyles and momentum gathered in the move to cloud-based managed IT services.


Today, it has developed its industry partnering with OEMs and vendors, and produced clear choices, measurable benefits, and attractive ‘pay-as-you-consume’ pricing for end-user customers.


Walker believes workstyle change actually started after the 7/7 bombings in London. “People became more focused on what


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – APRIL 2014


would happen if their office was put out of action or they were unexpectedly unable to get to their workplace. I saw a shift towards the need for rapid disaster recovery, whether power, weather or IT related.”


Today, managed hosting with its automatic back-up, offsite data storage, plus multi-locational usage, helps give those companies peace of mind.


As Walker points out, corporate data, IP and business continuity have become vital in today’s commercial world. “… 40% of businesses who suffer a major loss of data go out of business within a year; 70% within two years.”


A growing proportion of Taylor Made’s revenue comes from managed IT services. Over the next three years Walker expects that to double to make up the majority of the company’s revenues.


So, have we got a ‘cloud’-filled future?


“There are still cautious organisations who don’t want to put their data offsite, but most people today are embracing hosted solutions, which allow them to feel their business is more secure.


“Compared with the investment on a 3-5 year onsite project, most organisations would benefit in economic, flexibility and resilience terms by moving to a hosted infrastructure,” states Walker.


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