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Optimity Limited, a leading London-based managed IT services and connectivity provider is pleased to announce the acquisition of Avagio IT Services Ltd. The acquisition will help Optimity to accelerate and strengthen its accomplished IT Managed Services portfolio which both companies have been operating for 20 years.
Avagio is an established managed IT services provider that offers its own branded ‘Worry Free IT’ solutions for UK-based customers. Specialising in IT support, security & compliance, infrastructure and consulting services, the company has seen significant growth due to a dedicated and unique focus on customer excellence delivered by a highly capable and skilled team.
The acquisition will strengthen the services Optimity provides to existing customers and demonstrates the ambition of both companies to offer best in class solutions, platforms and support services on a UK wide basis.
Backed by FPE Capital, Optimity has transformed London’s high-speed connectivity market by providing a unique alternative to fibre connectivity and has extended its product set into fully managed IT services creating flexible, secure and intelligent workplace environments for its customers.
Discussing the deal, Optimity’s CEO, Leeland Pavey said:
Managing Director of Avagio, Adam Morris commented “Finding a new owner for Avagio with an aligned ethos, was never going to be any easy task; but it was very quickly apparent that with Optimity, we had a shared vision of what our customers expected and can benefit from joining forces with Optimity.”
Notes to Editors:
FPE Capital
FPE is a specialist growth investor in B2B software and services businesses. FPE partners with ambitious UK and Irish companies to enable them to realise their potential. It is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. www.fpecapital.com
About Optimity
Optimity is a connectivity and IT managed services provider focused on servicing fast growing businesses. Optimity provides a wireless internet connectivity solution that is a unique alternative to fibre connectivity and has since extended its product set into a full IT service for small and medium businesses, smart campus and workplace environments. www.optimity.co.uk
If your business is considering change, or would like to understand the possibilities then Optimity can help you create a vision of your new normal. The cost savings will be significant, your people will be happier, recruitment and staff retention will be significantly strengthened and your business will be perfectly positioned to work with clients who will demand deep levels of technical innovation.
Let's get you started with a free Q&A session with one of our transformation experts;
Designing a dynamic IT environment to effectively manage the changing needs of your workforce is essential in the current climate. We've helped many businesses transition into agile workplaces with our Business without Walls offering - delivering bespoke solutions for businesses that want to embrace an entirely new way of working.
To understand the possibilities for your business, let's talk.
Let's get you started with a free Q&A session with one of our transformation experts:
The founder of Optimity, who holds a string of government roles, will be unveiled this week as the next boss of Be the Business, the charity set up to address the perennial challenge of Britain’s weak productivity.
We understand that Anthony Impey will be announced on Tuesday as the organisation's new chief executive.
Anthony, who orchestrated the sale of a majority stake in Optimity, is to replace Tony Danker, who is about to take over as the new director-general of the CBI.
His arrival at Be the Business will come amid a turbulent period for the UK and global economies, which have been buffeted by the coronavirus pandemic and forced some industries into a virtual standstill.
Although official data from the Office for National Statistics outlining the UK's productivity record during the COVID-19 crisis will not be released for some time, Be the Business recently published research suggesting small and mid-sized companies (SMEs) undertook the same degree of innovation in the three months of lockdown that they typically would have done in three years.
The research showed that half a million businesses - more than 35% of the total - had changed or are changing their operating model during the pandemic.
More than one-quarter of companies have asked staff to work in new ways or roles aimed at developing new revenue streams, the charity added.
Be the Business said that while firms had adopted productivity-boosting technology as a result of COVID-19, they did not necessarily have the capital to continue doing so.
Anthony's appointment underlines the importance that Be the Business's board and stakeholders attach to the adoption of new technology to drive productivity improvements.
Britain has suffered by comparison with the productivity record of many other major European economies, prompting economists, business leaders and policy-makers to grapple with the underlying reasons.
Anthony, who remains on the board of Optimity, also chairs the Department for Education's Apprenticeship Stakeholder Board and the Greater London Authority's Apprenticeship Advisory Board.
He will also continue as chair of the City & Guilds Industry Skills Board.
Sir Charlie Mayfield, the former John Lewis Partnership chair who also chairs Be the Business, said Mr Impey's recruitment reflected the charity's desire to use the current crisis as a catalyst for increasing technology adoption across British business.
"Adoption of technology improves the growth and productivity of businesses in Britain.
"In conducting our search to replace Tony, we wanted someone who believes in and has experienced this for themselves," Sir Charlie said.
Mr Impey said there were "still too many tales of companies embracing technology only to struggle to successfully adopt it".
"That hurts twice over, causing a short-term distraction and a longer-term distrust of the role technology can play.
"This is now essential as businesses across the country are having to deal with the immense uncertainty and massive change caused by the pandemic."
Launched in 2017 with funding from government and the private sector, Be the Business counts leading business figures such as Sir Roger Carr, chairman of the defence contractor BAE Systems, Doug Gurr, the departing UK country manager at Amazon), and Dame Fiona Kendrick, Nestle UK's former chairman and CEO, among its board members and advisors.
Credit: Original article by Mark Kleinman, City editor for Sky News
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David has been central to our success as our Chief Financial Officer. Drawing on his experience at Zayo Group and RBC Capital Markets, he brings strong insight across large-scale infrastructure, investment banking and managed services. As our CFO, he’s been instrumental in shaping a commercial model that supports businesses as they grow, giving our customers the certainty and simplicity they expect.
Rhod has played a pivotal role in operations at Vorboss since 2020. He led the build of our network, now spanning over 900 km, and has raised industry standards across quality and efficiency, making sure our customers have a flawless experience. With previous roles at companies like Arup and WeWork, Rhod understands the complexity of London commercial real estate and knows exactly what it takes to deliver world-class technology in a fast-paced city.
The next chapter
Under David and Rhod’s leadership, we are doubling down on our commitment to keep things simple for our customers and remain the transparent, accountable provider ambitious businesses rely on as they grow.
“Vorboss is on path to becoming one of the UK’s leading B2B connectivity and managed service providers,”
says Adam Dunlop, Operating Partner at Octopus Capital and Chair of the Vorboss Board.
“With David and Rhod’s leadership, and the strength and commitment of the team across the business, I am genuinely excited about what lies ahead.”
Vorboss is part of the Fern Trading Group, managed and advised by Octopus Investments. This partnership, backed by £250million in funding, enabled us to build an independent, 100Gbps London fibre network and connect thousands of businesses across the capital. Having expanded our offering with a range of cybersecurity and managed technology solutions last year, we continue to do things differently by delivering everything end-to-end through our in-house teams.
As companies grow, so does the technology behind them. Connectivity, IT and cybersecurity often end up spread across multiple suppliers, contracts and support models. Simply Connected brings it all together under one provider, making it easier to manage, easier to support, and clearer to understand costs.
At the heart of it is Vorboss’ own fibre network spanning over 750km across London, built, owned and operated in-house, with the same team designing, installing and managing the full setup end-to-end.
“Office technology has become overcomplicated,”
said Rhod Morgan, Chief Operations Officer at Vorboss.
“Many businesses have the right services on paper, but the experience feels disjointed. We wanted to remove the grey areas. Customers manage one relationship, have access to local support and receive one predictable monthly bill. The same team that builds the solution runs and supports it day-to-day.”
Simply Connected includes modular services that flex around each business and scale as it grows:
- Dedicated internet connectivity from Vorboss
- Fully managed office networks
- Managed IT and hardware provisioning
- Cybersecurity
- Ongoing support delivered by local London experts
