01732 759725 22 INTERVIEW With Kelly Tedesco, Managing Director of NG Bailey IT Services a private cloud platform, with all unified communications services and incoming and outgoing calls hosted by NG Bailey across our data centre network. This reduces network congestion, enhances flexible working provision and, most importantly, supports better patient outcomes. We’ve also been doing a lot of projects in the defence and social care sectors, providing high quality Wi-Fi access to enable new recruits in the military to enjoy ‘home comforts’ like video-on-demand services or to make it easier for family members to communicate with loved ones via video calling in the social care environment. TR: What recent wins are you most proud of? KT: I’m very proud of the work we’re doing to help clients prepare for the PSTN switchoff and use this once-in-a-generation upgrade to update and transition from legacy systems to new solutions. A prime example is the work we are currently undertaking with a major supermarket, which was looking to migrate its entire telephony estate to a unified solution. Our expertise in legacy systems, and in particular Mitel, as well as our consultative and collaborative approach, led to us being named as the programme owner. Preparation for deployment, including test sites, took place throughout 2023 and in September we started to roll out the solution. This includes a comprehensive programme to ensure the legacy estate can be migrated and connectivity maintained between the old and new hardware units, allowing the client to transition their estate without spending budget on an entirely new system. Something else I’m very proud of is our new partnership with Nokia, a B2B technology innovation leader, and Infinigate, the EMEA value-add distributor specialising in cybersecurity, secure networks and secure cloud. Together, we’re looking to accelerate the adoption of 5G technology, which really does have the potential to be a game-changer and will particularly support the advancement of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT). As part of the partnership, we’ve already launched one of the UK’s first state-of-the-art 5G labs at our Leeds head office so that our team can continue to develop its unmatched technical expertise and ensure NG Bailey remains at the forefront of a technology that is transforming connectivity. We’re now working closely with colleagues at Nokia and Infinigate on opportunities to harness the potential of 5G connectivity in a range of environments and I’m excited about developing these further in 2024. TR: Where is business proving most difficult? KT: In recruiting and retaining the best talent, as I think it is for every sector. With this in mind, we are looking to nurture the next generation of leaders through our apprenticeship programme. Last year we received 150 applicants for our Structured Cabling and Digital Technical Solutions schemes, delivered in partnership with CNet Training and Staffordshire University respectively, and it was a great pleasure to welcome the successful candidates to the business in September. These are the first apprenticeship schemes the IT Services division has run in over a decade and we’re now exploring how we can continue this programme to offer more opportunities to join a business and a sector we’re all passionate about. It’s vital that businesses such as ours invest in the talent of tomorrow as digital connectivity continues to evolve at pace and we work to fulfil our own growth ambitions. TR: How have you changed/are you changing business operations to exploit new opportunities? KT: Like every business, post-pandemic, we’ve embraced change. One of the biggest developments has been to change our positioning, which is now focused on transforming connectivity for businesses and on the benefits that doing so brings to people, places and UK plc. NG Bailey IT Services is part of the UK’s leading engineering and services business dedicated to designing, operating and maintaining buildings, infrastructure and services for customers across a range of sectors including healthcare, defence, education, entertainment, data centres and infrastructure. With offices in Leeds, London, Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol, NG Bailey IT Services works with leading brands to deliver transformational IT infrastructure and managed services covering networks and connectivity, unified communications, data management and systems integration. Here, Managing Director Kelly Tedesco gives her view from the channel. Technology Reseller (TR): How’s business? Better or worse than 12 months ago? And how confident are you about the future? Kelly Tedesco (KT): The IT Services business has been on a growth trajectory over the last few years, and in 2022 we launched a new 3-year growth plan targeting a 40% increase in turnover by 2025. In the 12 months to March 3, 2023, we made great progress towards this objective with a 42% increase in operating profit. Our continued growth is testament to the importance of IT and connectivity infrastructure to the economy and to the ongoing digitalisation of all sectors within the UK, from logistics to defence. Looking to 2024 and beyond, we have some exciting partnerships we’re planning to develop further as we continue to transform connectivity to deliver better businesses and wider economic and social benefits. TR: In what areas are you experiencing strongest demand? KT: We’ve seen a great deal of interest in integrated Teams solutions as businesses continue to adapt to hybrid working patterns while preparing for the great PSTN switch-off in 2025. In this context, we have been doing a lot of work with retailers and NHS Trusts to transition them from legacy systems to new solutions designed around how these organisations work. For example, we have provided Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust with a new solution, delivered through View from the Channel Kelly Tedesco
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