New name, same ambitious vision: Introducing Qodea

Appsbroker CTS has changed its name to Qodea, marking the culmination of a landmark year for the company, which included a merger, a new executive team, a record Q4 performance, and two EMEA Partner of the Year Awards at Google Cloud's Next '24 conference in Las Vegas.

Qodea sees huge customer opportunities in surging interest for AI, noting that as a trusted Google transformation partner, it has over two decades of experience helping a range of organizations exploit the full potential of one of the world’s most popular cloud technology providers. The company has also committed to looking beyond the IT department when it comes to discussions with leaders on digital transformation and its managed services.

Qodea is Europe's largest Google Premier-only transformation partner. It holds more than 420 Google certifications and employs Google Cloud experts across the UK and wider Europe, from Manchester to Utrecht to Iași.

Qodea, a compound word formed from ‘code’ and ‘idea’, represents the company’s strong basis in digital transformation and helping a wide range of organizations unlock the potential of cloud technology.

“We chose the name Qodea, which combines ‘code’ and ‘idea’, as it embodies the essence of what we do; providing tried and trusted digital solutions, whilst helping our clients look to the future and innovate”, says Tom Ray, CEO at Qodea.

Reach for the cloud by first getting the foundations right

Qodea has built three, interlinked capabilities to help organizations unlock the potential of Google Cloud technologies. These are: security & infrastructure, data activation & AI, and modernization & innovation.

Security and infrastructure goes to the heart of the company’s decades-long experience with Google Cloud. Digital transformation relies on both to succeed and Qodea has already made a name for itself as a trusted partner for the private and public sectors, by helping organizations to lay solid foundations so they can enjoy the full potential of cloud technologies securely.

As a managed security service provider (MSSP), Qodea offers attack surface management and managed detection and response (MDR) services, in addition to its security information and event management SIEM and security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) offerings.

All of this can be applied to a firm’s existing stack or built out in one’s Google Cloud environment, which can be expanded or scaled on a dynamic basis depending on its goals.

On top of its managed security offerings, Qodea is also a market expert in security consultancy. Its services include hands-on help for adopting secure-by-design principles when moving to the cloud, as well as attack surface analysis aimed to minimize risk to businesses and ensure customers don’t overlook longstanding vulnerabilities when they move to the cloud.

Google Cloud operates the ‘shared fate’ approach to the cloud, which means it works closely with customers to achieve the level of security they seek and takes an active role in every aspect of their approach to security in the cloud. Qodea plays a key role in this process, with security analysts and consultants on hand to provide critical recommendations and ensure customers have as smooth a transition to the cloud as possible.

The firm knows that its customers will be looking to embrace the technologies of the future and prepare for digital transformation in the name of efficiency. With this in mind, it’s ready to support customers through data technology, and assistance with applying AI to existing applications.

Qodea’s strong relationship with Google Cloud is a bedrock for technological aspirations like these. Per Google Cloud data, more than 60% of generative AI startups with funding are Google Cloud customers, underlining the strong role the platform is playing in supporting AI development and adoption.

Tapping the data goldmine

Grounding business decisions and wider transformations in data isn’t just good for AI; it’s also a valuable capability for any firm looking to meet ever changing customer needs and compete in an increasingly unpredictable global market.

That’s why Qodea has also made data activation one of its core capabilities, with a focus on leveraging valuable insights from enterprise data using machine learning (ML) and data engineering.

Businesses with data in the cloud have excellent potential for data analytics, as they can bring their data together as never before and greatly improve their data observability.

In one example, Qodea worked with the National Grid, the UK’s largest electricity distribution network operator, to produce an ML model capable of predicting the flow of power across the grid in just six weeks. As National Grid oversees critical national infrastructure (CNI), Qodea ensured the model was able to ensure the data and model are securely run in a Google Cloud foundation that can be expanded in the future.

The data activation capabilities Qodea offers complement its security and AI offering which hugely benefit from firms being solidly established in the cloud and using its inherent scalability and security to the fullest extent. For example, these gains can be accentuated through cloud workloads such as virtual machines (VM) and cloud-native approaches to working, which Qodea helps companies embrace.

“With a clear offering, built around our core capabilities of security & infrastructure, data activation & AI, and modernization & innovation, and a strong legacy of delivering customer success over two decades, we’re determined to help more organizations across the UK, Benelux, and wider Europe unlock the potential of Google technologies in ways they’ve not yet imagined” explains Ray.

Cracking on with cloud

Appsbroker and CTS merged in 2023, to become Appsbroker CTS with the firms’ respective leaders stating at the time that they were focused on meeting the demands of “high-impact digital transformation” across critical public sector roles such as manufacturing, rail, and financial services.

As it looks to the future as one company, under one name, Qodea is looking to build on that solid legacy, by providing tried and trusted digital solutions, whilst helping clients look to the future and innovate.

Among staff, Ray is known for the phrase “Let’s crack on!” and this filters down to the company’s wider approach. Underlining its strong portfolio of services and capabilities, Qodea will move forward with both the weight of its experience and the freedom to pursue the most valuable processes for its customers.

“Looking ahead, I’m confident that with our new executive team, brand positioning, and product architecture, we’re in an excellent place to meet and exceed the demands of our customers, and drive strong growth into the future,” Ray adds.

This is one CEO clearly proud of past achievements but equally excited about the opportunities ahead and how Qodea can help businesses set themselves up for success today, tomorrow, and beyond.

To find out more about Qodea and it’s Google Cloud offering, visit http://qodea.com/introducing_qodea