Hubtel IT is one of the leading Managed Service Providers in the Midlands, but like all good things, it didn’t happen overnight. Let’s go back to the beginning for a look at how it all began.
In 2002, a 24 year old Neil Bayliss, set up shop in his parents’ spare bedroom. Young and ambitious, with a few years’ experience in the telecoms industry, Neil decided to embark on the next stage of his career and entered the world of self-employment. His main focus was selling, installing and maintaining Panasonic telephone systems but little did he know that he was laying the foundation for a company that would become one of the leading telecoms and IT providers.
With a year under his belt and Hubtel going in the right direction, Neil employed Dave Bamford with the impressive job title of Sales Manager! Fast forward to today and Dave has remained an integral part of Hubtel – but back to 2003…
Within 12 months the company outgrew the spare bedroom as a fully-fledge sales department emerged. A small team of account manager and telesales relocated to rented office space just outside of Birmingham city centre and it’s from here that Hubtel took off. By 2005 Hubtel’s service offering had expanded, including the most significant to date: the ability to re-sell telephone calls and lines from the BT OpenReach network.
In 2009 Neil needed to bring the billing function in-house and managed to convince his wife, Jo, to become an official employee of Hubtel. They say not to work with children and animals, maybe that should be extended to include your spouse – but it’s worked out well so far! 2009 also saw a young, fresh-faced Marie Gauntlett walk through the Hubtel door. Marie might only have been 19, but she was ambitious, and it didn’t take her long to move into account management where she is still thriving today.
Over the next few years the face of the telecoms industry began to change, with a move towards hosted telephony and an increasing integration with IT. With several clients asking for ad-hoc IT support, in 2013 Neil and Jo started Blue Click IT in order to provide IT support to new and existing clients.
IT was a massive growth area for the business and saw the company relocate to even bigger premises in 2018.
In all that time, Neil had barely taken more than a week’s break from Hubtel, until 2019 which saw him take his first two-week annual leave – marking a huge personal milestone. Neil might have helmed the ship for the past 16 (yes 16 years!) but he had set Hubtel and Blue Click IT on the right path to continue in his absence.
Of course, in 2020 businesses nationwide were affected by COVID19, and its ramifications. The Work from Home (WFH) revolution had started, which forced companies to rethink their IT and Telecoms needs. Hubtel continued to help clients stride through the pandemic and as the country began to recover, even expanding their offerings again to include managed print and cyber security solutions.
The start of 2023 saw Hubtel with a team of 13 and over 400 clients. The time felt right to merge Hubtel Communications and Blue Click IT into Hubtel IT and begin a new era as a leading Managed Service Provider. Dave and Marie remain integral to the success of the company and are now supported by Julian Brettle, BDM, and Jordan Patrick, IT Lead.
The journey hasn’t been without its highs and lows of course. The first time Hubtel achieved a £1 million turnover was a particular highlight for Neil, along with having Dave leave his comfort zone and become a Hubtel employee.
Keeping all the plates spinning against a back drop of having a young family was at times stressful but it’s in pushing through these that have made Hubtel IT the business it is today. The company continues to go from strength to strength, with 2023 being it’s most financially successful to date.
So, what lessons have been learnt over the last 20+ years?
- It’s vital to invest in the best staff and nurture a supportive team
- Never take your clients for granted. Your oldest clients are just as important as your newest, and maybe even more important than the ones you’ve yet to onboard
- Don’t hide away – market yourself, shout about your success!
- Be consistent, have a plan and work hard to achieve your goals
- Don’t be afraid to take time off – everyone needs to recharge at some point!
If you would like more information on any of the services Hubtel IT can provide then please call us on 01675 466637, or email enquiries@hubtelit.co.uk.
