Member Article

Atlas Infrastructure Management secure NBSL funding for growth

Atlas Infrastructure Management is a cutting edge IT company based in Newcastle that provides business to business services offering hosted desktops and delivering enterprise class IT to small and medium businesses, where the business only pays for what it uses.

Specialising in private ‘Cloud Computing’ services, hosted desktops and desktops as a service, the company can provide fully managed outsourced IT Infrastructure in an operational cost framework. Following a business needs analysis and technical audit, Atlas IM then provides dual support delivery to give equal priority to a business’ IT needs.

As a relatively new company however, Atlas IM needed to raise awareness of its brand in order to lead to increased enquiries and sales. Realising that they would need professional help to develop their leadership and management capabilities if they were to achieve this, the company turned to NBSL for support.

NBSL is a D-BIS (Department of Business, Innovation and Skills) approved and regulated Local Enterprise Agency. Over the last 8 years NBSL has delivered the North East’s Leadership & Management Advisory Service, funded by D-BIS’s Skills Funding Agency. Under NBSL this programme has gone from strength to strength, engaging directly with more than 1,000 SMEs each year.

In order to continue the programme NBSL has secured ERDF investment of £2.38 million to deliver support to the North East’s private sector businesses employing between 2 – 249 employees, and funding is still available which provides grant support of up to £1,000 for businesses like Atlas IM that need coaching for growth.

John Richardson, the Commercial Director of Atlas IM was tasked with taking the lead on behalf of the company and following a meeting with NBSL’s Leadership & Management Specialist Adviser Lynne Burns to agree objectives and complete the simple paperwork, he chose Sarah Hall Consulting to carry out the mentoring required.

Sarah spent 20 hours with John over a period of three months and coached him to engage and harness the knowledge and expertise of the full workforce to develop an enterprise culture aimed at maximising individual skills to achieve agreed business aims.

Specific areas covered included establishing a plan of action to penetrate the market place and grow the business, developing ways of communicating key messages and focus and identifying and building strategic relationships to develop the potential client base.

Following the project John agreed a follow up action plan with Lynne Burns which included referrals that NBSL would make on behalf of Atlas IM to Universities and Sector Skills Councils in order to develop John’s strategic network.

For more information about the company and to contact Atlas IM, go to www.atlasim.co.uk.

NBSL still has limited funding available to support businesses, so if you would like to benefit from grant funding of up to £1,000 towards the cost of developing a strategy for your business, and get your business on the road to growth, contact NBSL now on 01670 813322 or apply online at www.nbsl.org.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Phil Langton .