Gloucestershire-based Optimising IT celebrates 10 years in business

After starting at the founder's dining room table, Optimising IT is now an award-winning business which employs nearly 30 staff in Gloucestershire, as well as a certified B Corp — and it's celebrating 10 years in business in 2023.

By Chloe Gorman  |  Published
From a dining room table to an award-winning B Corp, Optimising IT celebrates 10 years in business this April 2023.

Award-winning Gloucestershire-based IT service provider, Optimising IT, is celebrating 10 years in business this April 2023.

The important milestone follows Optimising IT's announcement of its official B Corp certification this March 2023 — a testament to its ongoing success and its investment in both people and the planet with its forward-thinking IT services. 

The hugely successful business started at founder Gary Smith's kitchen table in 2013 and hired four staff in its first 12 months of trading.

It opened its first office at Cheltenham Film Studios in September 2014 and took on an extra office there in February 2016; before moving to a larger premises at Twigworth Business Centre in July 2016.

Going from strength to strength, Optimising IT then outgrew that office in April 2018 and took an even larger space at Twigworth Business Centre, where it remains today.

The business gained ISO 27001 accreditation in March 2019 and won the prestigious Service Desk Institute Managed Service Provider of the Year in 2020.

When the pandemic hit in March 2020, Optimising IT not only survived but thrived as businesses all over the world turned to remote working. By 2021, it was supporting 2,700 individual users with a variety of services spanning IT support to cyber security.

By March 2022 it had gained ISO 9001 accreditation; and in October 2022, one of its five apprentices, James Rodgers, was a finalist for Apprentice of the Year at the SoGlos Gloucestershire Business Awards

Things aren't slowing down in 2023 either, as Optimising IT appointed Todd Gifford as managing director this March 2023 and opened a new office in Exeter, too. 

Gifford said: 'We’re really proud of how far Optimising IT has come over the last 10 years. The success of the company is fundamentally down to the amazing team and the outstanding service they provide to our clients.

'Optimising IT is ever evolving and adapting to meet the needs of our clients, and this was especially evident throughout the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. We are excited to expand our business further across the south west and across the country over the next few years in addition to working with more certified B Corporations too.'

Outside the office, Optimising IT sponsors Cheltenham Town Football Club and Cheltenham Tigers Rugby, as well as supporting many local charities through fundraising efforts like inflatable 5k runs and skydives. It also donated a defibrillator to Parkrun, providing a vital lifeline in the event of an emergency. 

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