A Manchester-based tech company is set to reach 拢2m turnover this year after moving into its own city centre offices.
As well as offering traditional IT support, Everything Tech is a Microsoft Gold Partner and helps companies transform their business through the adoption of Microsoft 365 technology.
Based in a 2,500 sq ft office in Hanover House, Charlotte Street, Everything Tech was founded in 2010 and employs 25 people.
It鈥檚 co-owned by sales and marketing director Lee Wrall, technical director Anthony Hautin and director Ruth Hall, who was runner-up in the 2006 series of The Apprentice under her marital name of Ruth Badger. She also went on to host her own TV series Badger or Bust on Sky.
The company saw demand for its Microsoft 365 expertise soar during the lockdown, enabling up to 500 people a week to work from home.
Everything Tech recruited three new members of staff during the pandemic to meet demand and Hall said the company was perfectly placed to reach a record turnover of 拢2m this year.
鈥淥ur ticket numbers nearly doubled during the lockdown and we didn鈥檛 charge clients any extra as it all fell within their support package,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e very proud of our 97 per cent customer retention record which confirms our great service delivery.
鈥淥ur decision to sign a five-year lease on a 2,500 sq ft space on Hanover House is a real statement of our intent. We moved from WeWork in St Peter鈥檚 Square and it鈥檚 already paying dividends.鈥�
Hall said Everything Tech鈥檚 decision to specialise in Microsoft 365 three years ago has been crucial during Covid-19.
鈥淲e are a managed service provider but that鈥檚 only a fraction of what we offer because we utilise technology to modernise workplaces,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e changed our mindset about three years ago. We鈥檝e won a lot of awards for our customer service but we recognised that Microsoft 365 had the potential to transform businesses so we became experts and a Microsoft Gold Partner.
鈥淲e can sit in on a board meeting and help come up with a digital strategy. You used to pay someone 拢45,000 a year to do that but we鈥檒l charge two or three days of our time to do the same thing. That makes us very appealing.鈥�
In the last three years Everything Tech has grown its turnover from 拢675,000 in 2016/17 to 拢866,000 in 2017/18 to 拢1.5m last year.
Wrall, who founded the business in 2010, said Covid-19 had changed the way people work forever and meant they now expect more from their technology.
鈥淲e embraced Office 365, which was renamed Microsoft 365 in 2020, and over the past four years we鈥檝e built our business around that product and become experts in it,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e always tried to separate ourselves from our competitors on our customer service. Now we鈥檙e trying to separate ourselves on our tech.
鈥淢icrosoft Teams integrates with everything. It saves businesses time and money. We don鈥檛 need to give anyone mobile phones anymore. Teams has got an app so all the company calls can go through the app.That saves a lot of money.
鈥淚鈥檝e been shouting about Microsoft Teams for more than two years now and what the lockdown has done is accelerate the digital transformation journey. We recently helped save a business 拢80,000 by deploying Microsoft 365. It鈥檚 a gamechanger.
鈥淚 actually think our performance post-Covid will be tremendous because it鈥檚 opened people鈥檚 minds on how they want to work.鈥�
Fellow director Hall said the company is targeting 拢3m turnover next year and believes the new office move will be the catalyst.
Everything Tech has signed a five-year lease with landlords Epsilon Real Estate Partners for the entire third floor of Hanover House.
鈥淲e were originally based in Swinton but in 2017 we decided we needed to move to the city centre to improve staff recruitment and retention and it worked,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n July2018 we took space at WeWork in St Peter鈥檚 Square but the next natural step was having our own office and Hanover House gives us that. It鈥檚 the perfect base as we continue to grow.鈥�