Connecting with a super-connector

Over the past decade he’s grown Communicate into one of the UK’s leading commercial IT, telecoms and cyber security specialists. With a comprehensive solution and a nationwide presence, the organisation continues to go from strength to strength. Following a series of acquisitions and external investment, Communicate are on track to achieve their next phase of growth.

Tony sat down with our MD, Mark, to discuss where Communicate has come from, the role brand has played, and their plans for the future.

For those who don’t know you, can you tell us a little about yourself and Communicate?

“I’m Tony, the founder and CEO of Communicate, and we specialise in tailored solutions for IT, telecoms and cyber security. I originally had the idea to provide end to end connection and support for businesses over 25 years ago, when data network infrastructures were just being developed.

“I installed the first Cat5 data cable in the UK and have always been interested in connecting systems together. After 15 years working in various technical roles I developed the solution and set up a trial at Wynyard Park. Communicate was born out of this in 2011.”

What’s Communicate’s purpose? Why do you do what you do?

“Just like our name, we’re all about connections. From procuring to securing, we exist to help businesses get connected and stay connected. Ultimately, the fact that we have everything under one roof offers our clients the most valuable benefit of all – confidence.

“We want people to ask: ‘is the building you work in connected to Communicate?’

“Too many businesses rely on poor connectivity and IT support. Just think how many times you’ve heard someone say: ‘the network’s off again’, ‘the internet is down’, ‘I can’t access the system at the moment.’

“Most IT suppliers buy in services from third parties and just resell someone else’s products. They are staffed with sales people and not technical people who understand how everything fits together.

“Our infrastructure is built from the ground up and stability is built-in from end to end. We are an ISP, so we control our own network bandwidth and IP address ranges. We can install networks and WiFi so we understand how this all connects together as a system.

“We also build servers in the cloud and then connect end user machines, desktops, laptops and mobiles. Similarly, we provide VoIP telephones and numbers, connecting them, then protecting everything with managed firewalls and cyber security services. This is what we define as end to end support and complete confidence.”

‘Powerfully Connected’ became the new strapline for the brand. How does this represent the business and you as a leader?

“Modern business is powered by its connections. There would be no productivity and profit without the networks, telephony, cloud computing, and storage that connect businesses and clients.

“After many years in the business, I know that every business has its own unique connection requirements. Any great project starts with listening and understanding, and it’s of the utmost importance that adaptability is a key pillar of what we provide at Communicate.

“Over the years we’ve built a team of real and reliable engineers, technicians, and support staff ready to provide the IT required to take businesses to the next level. We pride ourselves on providing this connection entirely end to end, with the strength and security that comes from expert support and custom infrastructure.

“Powerfully Connected epitomises our ethos and way of working.”

What makes you different and how do you stand out?

“For our managed buildings, our model is completely different to the usual IT company in that we install and pay for the underlying infrastructure used within a building. We work with landlords to supply all the services required including superfast fibre, firewalls, network switches, Wi-Fi, and Cat6 cabling.

“Businesses onsite then purchase only the services they need for their requirements. That way we can control the quality of the network and only build the right data centres that don’t suffer the usual problems of small business networks.

“As far as we know, no one else provides this type of service and our network is growing all across the country. Soon it will be standard to have a ‘Communicate enabled building’ in every city, and once you’re a client and connected you can work anywhere throughout our network.”

Communicate recently underwent a major rebrand. Why did you feel you’d outgrown the previous brand and why was the time right to evolve?

“The business has developed significantly over the past ten years. We started life as an infrastructure business and then realised we needed to add more services as clients requested them. VoIP was in its infancy, and coming from a telecoms background we realised we needed our own SIP solution to deliver VoIP telecoms services rather than just resell one of the big providers services. We acquired our first telecoms company in 2016 and then quickly realised we also needed a Cyber Security business as well, which we did in 2017.

“Our plan was always to integrate all three companies under one Communicate brand, and this was a key aim of the rebrand. Rather than operate as three separate entities, we wanted to demonstrate that all three business units operate coherently as one end to end service. The new brand reflects this perfectly.

“Through the rebrand, it was important for us to show that the application of our complete services could provide companies of all shapes and sizes with the reliable, bespoke and ultimately the powerful connections they need to take their business further.

“The team at Better distilled this message and brought together our verbal and visual identity in a way which reflects where we are, and where we’re going.”

What impact has the rebrand had on the business?

“Since the rebrand the business has gone from strength to strength. Most recently, we’ve successfully executed the next step of our growth strategy by securing support from London-based private equity investor, Rockpool.

“Alongside a new round of investment from the executive management team, the cash injection will provide the financial backing we need to grow the business significantly over the next few years. Part of this is continuing our buy-and-build approach, with future purchases of similar companies planned in-line with our three previous successful acquisitions.

“Whilst this cannot all be attributed to the rebrand, we feel it has had a huge impact and helps to portray the business as a leader in its field and elevates us above the competition. Everyone we meet mentions the branding and website, noting how it helped in their decision to select us as their preferred partner.”

We know your team and your customers are at the heart of your business. What do they feel about the new Communicate brand?

“We spent a long time gathering opinions both internally with staff and shareholders, and then externally with clients before selecting Better as our preferred partner.

“All the staff now love wearing the corporate workwear, t-shirts, polos and jackets, and the clients have commented on how professional everyone looks. Internally, bringing the three arms of the business under one roof has cemented our culture across our UK offices from Darlington to Sandwich, and clarified the vision of who we are as we continue to onboard new members of the team.”

How do you define ROI for your brand investment?

“Measuring ROI on a rebrand can be infamously challenging. Brand value does not necessarily translate to hard cash, and we’re continually pushing for growth in all aspects. The long term utility of a united and strong brand is intangibly high to us as we strive to be the IT provider of choice.

“Looking at the figures, the brand investment contributed to a value worth more on the bottom line than what we paid.

“Turnover has increased by more than 50% and profitability by over 300% in the 12 months since the rebrand.

“So something definitely worked! Add to that the recent investment we’ve secured and it’s clear that the rebrand has positioned us for the next phase of growth.”

With new investment, established partners, and increased network points, we know that Communicate continues to evolve and expand. What does the future hold for the business?

“The recent investment gives us a clear next step to achieve our growth strategy. The vision is to expand the business significantly over the next few years, leveraging our strong market differentiation and business model. Working with Rockpool will open doors for us to expand our full-service offering to more businesses and multi-tenanted sites, while strengthening our position as a market-leader.

“We plan to have a Communicate presence in every major UK location within the next five years. As we add new properties to our network infrastructure and build up new clients in each location, we eventually get to the point where the business can support onsite staff and an office. When this happens we can add new companies in that locality without engineers having to travel long distances, reducing the time and costs associated with a site visit.

“We also plan to acquire more businesses operating in our sector that have either the locations or skill sets we are seeking. We recently made our third acquisition with Zencom Telecommunications, increasing our telecoms footprint and providing cross selling opportunities for our network and cyber services.

“The future for Communicate looks like continuous growth to fuel slicker and stronger services to a growing pool of valued clients. The new brand supports this completely, and provides the message of adaptability and innovation to audiences from their first touchpoint, to installation and beyond.”

Visit Communicate to find out more about their services and experience the brand. 

Read more of Mark’s chats with business leaders, including Founder of Headlight Project, Catherine Devereux, and Managing Director of Additional Lengths, Victoria Lynch.