Opal IT has strengthened its hand in the North East’s burgeoning creative sector by clinching a contract with a fast-growing firm that aims to double turnover in twelve months.
Creative and digital communications agency Guerilla has expanded rapidly since its formation in 2002, increasing its range of services, adding to its team of staff and winning lucrative contracts with firms in the food and drink, pharmaceutical, sports and leisure industries.
Now the Newcastle-based firm is preparing for the next phase of expansion by making sure its operating systems are robust enough to cope with a further surge in new business. An agreement has been struck with Newcastle-headquartered Opal, a multi-platform IT solutions provider, to revamp Guerilla’s IT infrastructure and network security to make processes far more efficient and enable easy access to huge amounts of data.
Opal has been tasked with installing new physical and virtual servers, as well as a secure cloud-based back-up solution that protects the increasing amounts of data held by Guerilla. As part of the contract, Opal will also provide the company with ongoing onsite IT maintenance, advice and support.
The move is intended to help Guerilla take on and service extra work, add to its 15-strong team of staff and double its seven-figure annual revenues by the middle of 2019.
James Allen, managing director of Guerilla, said: “As we’ve grown, we’ve had to collect and store more data about our clients, and our IT has been struggling to keep up. Our previous servers, which had served us well in the past, were reaching the end of their shelf-life and the systems were getting slower.
“Our contract with Opal means we now have an IT system that’s fit-for-purpose and tailored to our growth plans. Without their support, we’d have been stuck with an archaic IT system that wouldn’t allow us to hit our growth targets.”
Opal provides a wide variety of services and specialises in the creation, integration and maintenance of multi-site virtual networks. An Authorised Apple Premium service provider, JAMF Casper Suite Integrator and approved Microsoft partner, the company works with a number of high-profile clients in the creative industries as well as those operating in the education, retail, legal and financial services sectors. Its biggest client has more than 50 global sites and 25,000 employees worldwide.
Andy Metcalfe, managing director of Opal, said: “As companies evolve they need a flexible, robust IT solution that can facilitate their immediate and future growth. Guerilla is a good example of the type of ambitious, fast-expanding creative agency that we work with, not just in the North East but all over the UK.
“Over the years we’ve developed a strong understanding of the industry and this, coupled with our knowledge of emerging technology solutions, means we can ably assist our clients on their growth journey.”
PHOTO CAPTION: Andy Metcalfe (left), MD of Opal IT with James Allen, MD of Guerilla