New Year Business Guide - brought to you by APL Media • Wednesday 14 January 2026 A woman’s touch is on the tools?


It’s unusual to find women making a splash in a male-dominated industry, such as utilities software


But the 30% year-on-year growth success following the acquisition of Depotnet Ltd in 2023 by Aquiline- backed Everfield speaks for itself. Founded and led by Holly Dalby


in 2011, with a leadership team of predominantly women, Depotnet, now employs more than 60 people and supports all the major players in the utilities industry today. Situated in the picturesque


Warwickshire market town of Henley-in-Arden, famous for ice creams and committee meetings, Depotnet sits quietly and unpretentiously above a supermarket. However, behind the black door next to the Spar is a different story. After visiting multiple customer


sites adorned with framed shirts from 1980s rugby league stars, Depotnet decided to take a different approach, believing that to surround people with beautiful things would inspire them to create beautiful software. Displaying David Shrigley paintings, alongside original Apple marketing posters, it’s clear from the resulting software that the developers take inspiration from all around them. From humble beginnings,


building software for small telecoms subcontract users, replacing whiteboards, pigeon holes and excel, Depotnet quickly realised that its software was applicable across utilities, and so quickly side-stepped to a SaaS model, drawing attention from major clients like Openreach, CityFibre and The Clancy Group along the way.


From humble beginnings, building software for small telecoms subcontract users, replacing whiteboards, pigeon holes and Excel, Depotnet soon realised its software was adaptable


Determined to stay true to


its roots, but busily expanding into energy, water and traffic management, supporting large- scale programmes with multiple delivery partners, Holly states that she’s “proud to lead a people-facing business”. She adds, “We’ve always believed in touching our users, the closer we get to them, the more we feel their pain, enabling us to build truly great software. Some of our greatest innovations have come from our users.” The benefits of


Depotnet unites


operations, commercial and compliance in a single


software platform for asset owners, tier 1 contractors


and subcontractors across the UK and Ireland


intuitive software, specifically designed for the utilities sector and users, in some cases, with hands


like shovels, shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s


proven that easy-to-use software has a higher


level of long-term adoption. Depotnet’s Head of Product,


Harriet Stephens, says, “It’s not just about building amazing software, but seeing the difference it makes to the people using it every day.” Depotnet’s bread and butter is its


comprehensive modular platform, providing essential operational and commercial tools like automated permit validation, dynamic job scheduling and field data capture — connecting field teams to the back office in real time. Enabling


Tech, Software & Marketing • 11 ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE


DEPOTNET AND LINESEARCH BEFOREUDIG


DEPOTNET FOOTBALL COMPETITION


organisations to plan, manage and report on every phase of delivery — from initial job scheduling and site compliance, to commercial approvals and performance analytics. Felicity Caldwell, Head of IT at


The Clancy Group, says, “Working with Depotnet has strengthened our ability to plan, track and deliver works, improving productivity and compliance across our teams. Depotnet’s commitment to technical excellence and industry understanding helps us to work smarter every day.” Darren Bridge, Executive Director


at Depotnet, believes that “people are what make the software great. The people behind Depotnet and the


Depotnet’s commitment to technical excellence and industry understanding helps us to work smarter


100,000 people using Depotnet every day. I genuinely believe people are our biggest asset.” A recent meeting of minds


between industry safety leader, LinesearchbeforeUDig and Depotnet, takes advantage of the newly launched Linesearch API to automate the process of retrieving prints for site workers, making it safer, faster, and less prone to human error. Most “Safe Dig prints”, as they’re


known in the industry, expire after 28 days, so Depotnet introduced a facility to automatically remove expired prints from devices, removing any chance that newly laid infrastructure could be critically missed. An early adopter of this safety-


critical integration is one of Depotnet’s most long-standing clients, MJ Quinn. Based in Knowsley, just outside of Liverpool, MJ Quinn has more than 3,000 people working every day. Matt Ball, Head of Streetworks Compliance, says LSBUD has taken the Depotnet system to the next level and “streamlined our search process,


Depotnet’s ambitions for the future include listening to users, focusing on industry and reacting to the ever-changing world around them


eliminating the need to operate outside the platform”. Depotnet’s ambitions for the


future include listening to users, focusing on industry and reacting to the ever-changing world around them, to keep on building beautiful software for the industry they love.


For further information


T: 0345 2573 549 Visit: depotnet.co.uk


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