This is Redsquid’s third acquisition this year. In August Redsquid bought OptivITy, a managed service provider specialising in the film industry. In March it acquired Epoq IT a High Wycombe-based managed service provider. Last July it bought companies: Covue, a managed service provider which focuses on the education sector, and Connect2.  Three years ago it took over Thame-based managed IT services business Triumph Technologies.

Redsquid was founded in 2006 by Sohin Raithatha (main pic left) and Vince Mignacca, (Main pic right) who remain the sole shareholders. It offers IT managed services, cybersecurity, cloud solutions, unified communications, and consultancy.IT Hotdesk specialises in IT support and cyber security services.It was set up in 2009 and operates from offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Inverness

CEO Raithatha commented: “We have had a presence in the North and look forward to being closer to our customers so we can continue providing value as their local MSP.”

IT Hotdesk founder Gordon Christie added:  “This partnership will enable us to deliver greater value and create a stronger and more comprehensive service portfolio. This move aligns perfectly with our vision of supporting our customers’ transition to greener technology. We look forward to being part of the region’s journey as it transitions from traditional oil and gas industries to renewable energy sectors.”

The acquisition was funded by ThinCats, a non-bank alternative lender. In 2022, ThinCats topped Experian‘s national annual table of mergers and acqusition debt providers, funding 71 transactions and surpassing traditional banks.

]]> https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/redsquid-buys-aberdeen-based-hotdesk-increase-scotland-presence/feed/ 0 https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/redsquid-launches-new-cyber-security-solution/ https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/redsquid-launches-new-cyber-security-solution/#respond Mon, 03 Oct 2022 14:23:55 +0000 https://mncwp.tailrd.cloud/redsquid-launches-new-cyber-security-solution/ Redsquid Cyber/Kill is the company’s Managed Endpoint Detection and Recovery solution (MDR) backed by a team of more than 30 security experts

It’s been a long, exciting journey for telecommunications service provider Redsquid, which recently achieved a milestone by celebrating 15 years as a company last year.

Starting in 2006 as a mobile voice and data service, Redsquid now prides itself on being an innovative provider of services in IoT, voice and data connectivity, cybersecurity, ICT and the cloud.

In the past decade and a half, digital transformations in areas such as managed services, connectivity and security have borne fruit for the company, which won reseller of the year and best SME managed service customer solution in 2021 at the Comms National Awards.

The Borehamwood-based provider also boasts a wide range of customers, including law and construction companies, community equipment provider Medequip and even parts of the NHS – with Redsquid helping store the Pfizer vaccine ahead of the mass rollout in the UK.

Squid spawned

Redsquid co-founder Sohin Raithatha recalls how he and other co-founder Vince Mignacca quit their jobs and created Redsquid, in the belief that basic service levels were missing for SME customers.

“In the businesses I worked at in the past, you would have ideas to change and drive change for the customer experience but it never worked,” says Raithatha.

“So we thought ‘you know what, if you can’t make changes wherever you work, let’s do it with Redsquid’.”

The idea started in Mignacca’s spare bedroom on a bank holiday weekend, with the company name chosen because it stands out and the founders knew that nobody else would have that name.

Raithatha also points out that he didn’t want to have the word ‘mobile’ in the branding like so many other companies, as many end up moving in a different direction.

He believes this has proved to be the right decision. “With the appointments, it made a massive difference because I went to see many large organisations and I would get a lot of calls saying ‘your name sounds pretty cool and quirky, so we thought we’d see you’,” he says.

“It put us in good stead from a branding perspective.”

Making it simple

When the company first launched services in 2006, its main aim was to make customers’ lives simple, thus leading to repeat business and referrals.

Redsquid planned to grow quickly and drive customer change, leading it to reach £1 million in revenues within the first three years.

“We wanted to ensure that, from a service perspective, SMEs got what they deserved – and some of those customers are still with us now,” says Raithatha.

The company keeps expanding, going from two employees 15 years ago to around 45 staff members now.

One of the reasons for the growth in employees and the organisation as a whole is due to the acquisitions Redsquid has made, starting with its merger with 5Com in 2015.

Acquisition trail

Since then, the company has made two more acquisitions.

First came Ridgeway Telecom, a wholesale provider for voice data and mobile, in 2019, followed by IT services company Triumph Technologies in the summer of 2021.

On the back of these acquisitions, Redsquid has retained all of Ridgeway’s staff and adopted a loyal customer base, as well as taking on nearly 20 people in its managed services team thanks to the Triumph merger.

A workstation hub has been set up at the site of the Ridgeway office, while both offices have been combined due to their locations being near each other.

“It’s given us a real opportunity now to cross-sell into our customers, and it’s given us a platform to technologies that we couldn’t deliver on,” says Raithatha.

He believes, meanwhile, that the pandemic has caused business owners to rethink what they’re doing and how they can stay successful.

“You have to grow organically or acquire, or eventually you’ll get swallowed up one day,” he says.

“The pandemic wasn’t difficult at all, and it probably brought more opportunities… raising finance was the hardest, but we’ve got a very supportive bank and team that has helped as well.”

Integrating people

Redsquid wants to continue hitting its budget and integrating people into the company by becoming more structured and creating a fresh strategy for new employees.

Redsquid is two-and-a-half years into a five-year plan, with a long-term goal of reaching £40 million in revenues by 2024.

To reach this goal, Raithatha says the company will either strive for a couple of acquisitions this year or complete one large merger.

Meanwhile, he says nurturing talent is key to growth, alongside thinking long term. 

“It’s not just about the revenue, it’s about the talent we’re acquiring, which is really important,” he says. 

“People are going to get us to our long-term vision.”

Redsquid has struck a partnership with omnichannel contact centre provider Cirrus.

It’s a partnership that will enable the managed service provider to provide large SME and enterprise customers with an omnichannel contact centre solution.

This will enable these businesses to meet the changing customer demands that have developed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The partnership has also been engineered due as Redsquid which is a Gamma Gold Partner, requires a collaborative omnichannel contact centre solution for its customers.

Commenting on the partnership, Redsquid CEO Sohin Raithatha said: “Omnichannel contact centres are the perfect solution to meet the changing consumer needs.

“Furthermore, we believe that the technology should be easy and intuitive for agents to use and have the possibility to grow with a business.”

Hybrid working

Redsquid’s existing customers will be able to access Cirrus’ cloud-based omnichannel platform.

This platform supports hybrid working by enabling contact centre agents to provide a consistent experience for customers, wherever they are located.

Raithatha added: “Over the last years we have seen a shift in consumer behaviour, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Our partnership with Cirrus enables us to meet our customers’ demands for an omni-channel contact centre that allows them to connect with their customers.”

Redsquid has confirmed the acquisition of IT technology provider Triumph Technologies.

The deal with see both parties provide their services to over 850 organisations and business end users this year.

The acquisition, which is Redsquid’s third in total, has been supported by Santander UK’s growth capital team, with a growth capital loan provided to the dealer.

Redsquid will continue to be headquartered in London, but will grow its presence in Oxfordshire, where Triumph Technologies is based.

Triumph Technologies is based in Thame and recently posted £1.5m in annual revenue, as provides fully managed IT services.

Shareholders

Redsquid founders Sohin Raithatha, who is CEO and Vince Mignacca who is COO, will remain as the only shareholders of the business.

Commenting on the acquisition, Raithatha said: “Bringing Triumph into the Redsquid group, helps us fulfil our purpose of making a difference to our customers with the use of technology, as we now will be able to provide them with even more technologies supported by Triumph’s experience in the field.

“It (Triumph) is well known for delivering exceptional service and technologies that change the way organisations work. The pandemic has set cyber-crime to new heights and the demand for cyber security technologies have grown alongside it.

“Through this acquisition we will become a fully managed service provider and keep up with the demand our customers have for digital transformation.”

Redsquid Communications has signed its largest ever deal – with Pinnacle Property Management – gaining more than 1,000 Vodafone mobile connections.

Total connection now stands at 15,000 and customer base is 550. The deal was finalised in January by sales director Nick Grime (pictured) and CEO Sohin Raithatha.

The new contract is the largest the Hertfordshire-based dealer has signed this year.
The firm is targeting to quadruple turnover to £25 million by 2020 through organic growth and acquisitions. Staff currently sits at 48 which the firm wants to double.

Raithatha said: “Pinnacle will go on to join several other large companies that Redsquid is currently supplying mobiles to, such as Eat, Wonga, and project developers GPF Lewis.
“The signing is yet another step in our plan to continue growing and solidify our place as one of the UK’s leading UC and technology B2B providers.”

Pinnacle group procurement manager Sarah Russell added: “Our previous supplier did not have the ability to provide us with a real-time picture of issues, such as data usage, in order to allow us to take action immediately when there was a problem. Nor were they able to put in place the alerts and bars that Redsquid have.

“The result was that most months we would experience bill shock and were unable to accurately budget or recharge costs.”

Redsquid partnered with repair specialist Gadget Repair Solutions in November, opening up a recycling service to its customers. In the same month, CEO and industry vetertan Andy Tow departed from the dealer.

RedSquid has welcomed industry veteran Nick Grime to their senior leadership team as sales director.

The former Maintel and Solar sales director joins RedSquid from IP Solutions where he was head of new business sales for 10 months.

Grime, who left IP Solutions last month, will focus on maintaining growth as the communications provider steps up its expansion plans and prepares to announce the acquisition of two new IT and telecoms managed service providers.

Commenting on the appointment RedSquid CEO Andy Tow said Grime is an “ideal fit” to the company.

He added: “Nick’s experience and extensive sales leadership skills and technology business knowledge is invaluable to us as we work towards our growth ambitions.”

Commenting on his new role, Grime said: “I’m delighted to join RedSquid and look forward to demonstrably making a real difference going forward.”

Redsquid Communications has set a target of quadrupling turnover to £25 million within three years as part of ambitious plans to rapidly expand the business.

Last November, chief commercial officer Sohin Raithatha (pictured left) told Mobile News that the immediate aim for the B2B dealer was to grow turnover by 50 per cent to £6 million in its most recent financial year ending March 31, 2017, driven by a higher number of customers buying more than one product from it.

The first part of this expansion plan is being achieved through a recruitment drive over the coming weeks and months, adding seven members of staff to take headcount close to 50 at the Vodafone Total Communications Partner’s headquarters in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.

Acquisitions

Redsquid CEO Andy Tow (pictured centre), who joined the business in April and took over its leadership from co-founder Raithatha, is planning to recruit a sales director, account manager, three unified communications consultants and two people within UC and IT support.

The company’s growth targets will also be driven by a number of acquisitions to expand its offerings in the managed services and IT sectors, which would eventually see total headcount increase by more than 150 per cent to around 100.

Redsquid is currently in discussions with potential acquisition targets. Its first and last company purchase was that of B2B dealer 5Com for an undisclosed fee last year. This added 3,500 mobile connections, to take its total base to 14,000 lines.

Organic growth

“This is backing up what we have previously said about our future growth,” said Tow. “At present, this strategy is being driven through organic means and increasing sales,so it is important to grow the total headcount and recruit the right people.

“If any of our acquisitions do complete this year, we’ll potentially be looking at adding another 15 people in addition to the seven we’re aiming to recruit over the coming weeks.”

“Looking at our three-year plan, we’re looking at £9 million at the end of our next financial year, followed by £17 million and £25 million, but that won’t happen without acquisitions.”

Last month Redsquid further strengthened its board of directors with the appointment of Andy Coughlin in the newly-created position of non-executive chairman.

He has gained experience at IBM, Compaq and two digital publishers, and was also business development director at BHP Information Solutions for 10 years.