IT specialist Millgate has shed light on the latest phase in its transformation journey by revealing a strategic partnership with Vapour Cloud for voice, video and network connectivity.
The deal means clients can now implement a unified communications service straight from Millgate - eliminating the need to source multiple suppliers with differing service levels and billing protocol.
The move marks the latest stage in the Sheffield-based VAR’s transformation, which has seen the firm bolster its telephony and hardware products and services to its 4,500-strong customer base over the last two years.
Steve Dono, Millgate’s group head of sales, said clients now want “consistently high service levels across the board” and the collaboration allows the business to deliver these benefits to its customers.
“Tech now needs to support flexible working, be scalable to reflect the fluidity of business, and have an integrated disaster recovery strategy as standard. It needs to be quick, cost-effective, compliant and feature-rich,” Dono said.
“We don’t just want to provide piecemeal advice to clients – we want to help them make savvy, technology-led business decisions that will power greater connectivity, efficiency and growth. But we needed the right partner on board for Millgate to be able to fulfil this vision.”
Currently, 80% of Millgate’s revenue is generated from hardware sales but Dono added that he sees this “shifting to 60%” as the firm deploys more unified communications systems.
Vapour’s impressive 50% growth – fuelled by the rapid upsurge in Avaya licenses being sold – made the company an attractive partner.
“We admire companies that are clear on being ‘best of breed’ in their space,” Dono continued. “We know from first-hand experience that it isn’t always easy to define such a sharp level of focus. But Vapour really owns the digital transformation environment, particularly because they now work so closely with Avaya.”
Vapour Cloud CEO Tim Mercer said the businesses “complement each other well”, thanks to Millgate’s ability to supply hardware and IT support.
“Millgate has a nationwide presence, and they’re currently undergoing one of their most exciting periods of change internally, to build an even more compelling proposition for colleagues, clients and vendors alike,” he said. “It’s the perfect time to be on board with their revolution.”
Millgate also revealed plans to create six new sales and engineer roles over the next three months as it continues its expansion.
