Following a year of record growth, Lancaster IT specialist Q2Q is setting its sights on further expansion in 2018.
With turnover having increased by 17% to £950k in 2017, the firm is now budgeting for a forecasted profit uplift of 15% by the end of 2018.
Beginning this month with 35 managed IT support clients – eight more than at the start of last year – Q2Q has been enlisted by a number of notable brands over this period.
Amongst the new clients to come on board are two Morecambe-based legal practices – solicitors firm Wright & Lord and property lawyers Bannister Bates – along with automation solutions provider IconSys, advocacy organisation Ncompass and 130-year-old jewellery retailer Banks Lyon, to name just a few.
The firm’s recent growth has additionally been bolstered by the proactive extension of its services to cover General Data Protection Regulation support for SMEs, with managing director Andrew Stellakis having achieved EU Certified GDPR Practitioner status in July last year.
Alongside its core roster of IT support, proactive systems monitoring, cloud management, data recovery back-up and cyber-security protection, this move has seen a further six companies join the company’s steadily expanding client-base. These GDPR-only customers include financial service provider MHA Moore & Smalley, international food supplier European Freeze Dry and plastics manufacturer Jonesco.
Commenting on the significant period of growth, MD Andrew said: “Our expansion over the last 12 months has enabled us to sharpen our existing tools, as well as increase the breadth of non-core IT offerings – most notably our GDPR support.
“We’re putting a greater focus on implementing proactive changes for customers rather than simply keeping systems up and running effectively, and striving to deliver even more value to our clients. Of course, it’s our hard-working, skilled team that makes such improvements possible.”
Q2Q has expanded its internal function over the past year too, with the recent appointments of technical manager Martin Bilton and technical support analyst Phil Irwin in October bringing team numbers up to 12. The recruitment drive is set to continue into this year, as the IT specialist looks to bring more customer support experts on board.
Elaborating on his hopes for the year ahead, Andrew commented: “We’re targeting a 20% growth in turnover over the next 12 months, and also aiming to welcome six new support customers into the fold.
“A large amount of attention in this first quarter is being dedicated to our GDPR compliance consultancy services, as the regulation is now just around the corner. However, we are still focusing our attention on our regular managed IT support, ensuring our clients receive the reliable and receptive assistance they have come to expect.”
