1) When and where did the company start?
The company was formed in January 2020 by Richard Scott and John Davis from our headquarters in West Sussex.
2) Why did you decide to start it?
Having both spent a lot of time working in the industry, we felt there was a gap in the market for a more agile, dynamic reseller that had more time and resource to spend directly to SME customers and helping them making the transition to the cloud.
3) What are your key products or services?
We are cloud-only and provide UCaaS, CCaaS, data mobile and security solutions to SME businesses within the UK. Our strong relationship with Gamma, in particular, enables us to meet the evolving needs of our valued customers.
At present we are still seeing a high uptake of UCaaS solutions while the UK makes the transition to an all-IP market. However, we are seeing rapid growth for cloud contact centre solutions within the SME market, which traditionally been out of reach for customers of this size. With customer experience being more important than ever, we see this as a strong area for future growth.
4) What do you consider to be the biggest challenges facing your business? And opportunities?
AI is clearly one of the biggest threats, but also opportunities to our industry, and our sales strategy will evolve considerably over the next couple of years. IP products are generally more consumable and transferable than legacy services, and this will drive more online based transactions. Self-service, AI and automation will be key to taking advantage of this market opportunity. We are investing heavily in automation across all areas of the business from sales processes to billing and support. This will free up more time to focus on helping customers.
5) What are the key achievements you have made during your time in business?
In our first year, we picked up the Gamma Best Newcomer of the Year award, and during the last couple of years we have hit several key achievements including number of customers, turnover and UCaaS licences. However, becoming a Gamma Gold Partner is one of our proudest moments as this is direct recognition of our substantial growth and the relationship with have with our suppliers.
6) How did you achieve your Gold Partner status?
To achieve Gamma Gold Partner status, a company must demonstrate consistent and high levels of new UCaaS connections and annual billing with Gamma. With a heavy focus on UCaaS solutions, Start Communications has been able to achieve this in less than four years and have already set our sights on becoming a Platinum Partner in the next couple of years.
7) What other awards have you won in recent years?
We have two highly commended awards for SMB ICT Solution of the Year from the Comms Business Awards.
8) What are your plan for 2024 and beyond?
Our immediate priorities are to continue to grow out the support and sales teams while continuing to provide our high levels of service. Longer term, we have ambitions to expand into cybersecurity and IT services, and of course moving offices to accommodate all of this.