01732 759725 14 NEWS : RESEllers Rebrand for IT@Spectrum Tim Mercer Rob Cavill Mark Halpin Scott Brenchley, Tactus CEO (R) and Ben Miles, MD at Chillblast (L). Fourth acquisition by Tactus Multi-channel e-commerce business Tactus Group has complemented its portfolio of technology brands and strengthened its gaming proposition with the acquisition of award-winning PC gaming brand Chillblast. This is the fourth acquisition by the 2021 Microsoft Device Partner of the Year and follows a £40 million investment from Chrysalis Investments in August. Located in Poole, Dorset, Chillblast is the official PC supplier of Williams eSports and provider of cutting-edge VR technology used in RAF Air Cadet training simulators. It is an Intel Platinum Member and Microsoft Silver OEM Partner. Scott Brenchley, CEO of Tactus Group, said: “We are building a global technology group with unrivalled expertise in the gaming space. Ultimately, we want to change the way people buy and use technology, so we are investing in brands and platforms that deliver the solutions that customers need, when they need it. “Ben and his team have created a business renowned for building the best high-end PC systems on the market today, so Chillblast will be an excellent addition to Tactus and we look forward to welcoming them to the Group.” www.tactusgroup.com/ Xmas cheer Staff and directors at Derby-based IT specialist Neuways are helping people in need across the city of Derby by donating a range of essential supplies to local foodbank charity, the Derby Food 4 Thought Alliance. These range from essential hygiene products to children’s toys, as well as warm winter clothing and advent calendars. https://www.communityactionderby.org. uk/latest/news/derby-food-4-thoughtalliance Partnering for success Two Yorkshire IT companies, both closely aligned with enterprise cybersecurity giant Fortinet, are demonstrating the value of partnerships by strengthening each other’s product offerings. Managed IT specialist CloudCoCo, based in Leeds, is enhancing the cybersecurity offering provided by Huddersfield-based network guru Vapour and, in return, Vapour is strengthening CloudCoCo’s infrastructure with the addition of security-first SD-WAN connectivity. Vapour CEO Tim Mercer said: “Organisations, certainly in the larger SME market and above, don’t expect or want a vendor to be a ‘jack of all trades’ anymore. They seek to place their trust in a small number of proven experts who will listen carefully to the brief and deliver exactly what the business needs. Partnerships, in this environment, are therefore key. But they have to be carefully formed, between specialists whose technologies, standards and cultures are on a par, with no exceptions.” One of the cultural similarities between CloudCoCo and Vapour is their leaders’ belief in their vision, which helped them overcome scepticism from vested interests. Mark Halpin said: “Tim and I share a similar back story and many values too – not least a passion for delighting customers with the help of progressive people and powerful technology that doesn’t have to be complicated. I was told I was cloud cuckoo for believing the managed IT sector had become slow, unresponsive, boring and broken, so in April 2018 I left my long-term job and built a company of agile, fiercely passionate and supremely talented cloud, cybersecurity, connectivity, hardware and hosted voice professionals.” Three years on, CloudCoCo has more than 1,000 customers, £27m in turnover and has made its first acquisitions, of acquired managed service provider IDE Connect and Nimoveri IT Support. https://cloudcoco.co.uk Office technology business IT@Spectrum has rebranded as Spectrum and launched a new website as part of ambitious plans to more than double annual turnover to £20 million plus over the next three years. Based at Bridgehead business park in Hessle, East Yorkshire, Spectrum provides print, information management and business automation services to hundreds of customers and also operates Canon Business Centre North East in Newcastle, the UK’s only Canon Business Centre. Managing Director Rob Cavill plans to grow all parts of Spectrum’s business but sees greatest potential in digital-led business transformation. He said: “This is an incredibly exciting time, with so many opportunities for us to grow the business, and the rebrand is a key element of our strategy. We provide our customers with highly efficient print and information management services and help them to maximise the benefits of digital technology and automation. “Our new name reflects that we offer customers the full spectrum of services to work smarter, reduce costs, improve business processes and productivity and, ultimately, be more profitable through digital technology.” Over the last year, Spectrum has supported its growth strategy by taking on 15 new members of staff, including a new Head of Digital Solutions, Steve Motley. He said: “It’s clear the pace of digital transformation has been fast-tracked by the pandemic. That means there are many more opportunities for us to support customers to better understand and embrace the benefits of digital technology and automation.” Meanwhile, Spectrum is continuing to invest in new talent with the addition of 12 young recruits for its Spectrum Campus training programme. It is also plans to explore acquisition opportunities across the North of England. www.spectrum.tech/see-tomorrow
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDUxNDM=