In the first of our business spotlights, we sit down with Liverpool-based technology partner Sys Group.
Chief Sales Officer Nick Guite talks to us about the impact LCR Connect is set to have on their business, their customers and what it means for the region.
Tell us about Sys Group?
SysGroup is an award-winning managed IT, cloud hosting, and IT consultancy provider. We’re both technology and sector agnostic, meaning we can deliver solutions that combine the best-in-class technologies, skills and capabilities.
We primarily work B2B from our offices in Liverpool, Manchester, Newport and London, securing an impressive portfolio of clients boasting names such as Home Bargains, Adelante and gocompare.com.
What historically has been the connectivity challenge you’ve experienced in the city region?
It’s been reported that across Merseyside, nearly one in every 15 properties haven’t had access to reliable and affordable broadband in the last year. This has heightened the effects of the pandemic for both residential properties and businesses alike. The internet is no longer a ‘nice to have’, it’s now a necessity for people’s livelihoods.
Without baseline broadband connectivity, it becomes impossible for people to communicate with colleagues and operate their businesses. Not to mention the social and ethical implications of those suffering in education due to insufficient digital connections.
How will LCR Connect and the network support your business objectives?
As SysGroup’s Headquarters are based in Liverpool City Centre, our roots are firmly planted within the Liverpool City Region. As a result, it’s important to us that the LCR Connect initiative will allow SysGroup to support the growth of local businesses by providing them with access to the full-fibre network from our partners ITS.
What challenges are you customers facing?
The modern workplace has proved difficult for a lot of customers following the shift to remote and hybrid working environments. One of the biggest concerns has been making those connections to colleagues and business partners across disparate locations. As this way of working became the new norm so quickly and unexpectedly, these connections weren’t, and still aren’t, always accessible.
This is a major challenge that has caused business and operational disruption across many businesses, especially with cloud migration and consumption being at an all time high. This means having access to critical applications at all times is pivotal to business success.
The LCR Connect network will enable us to work with more local businesses and expand our presence across the Liverpool City Region. The majority of our clients are currently based across the South of England and South Wales where connectivity has been less of an issue, so it’s an exciting opportunity to help businesses closer to home level-up in a way that wouldn’t have been possible without the new network infrastructure.
