Aspire Technology Solutions held an employee party on the rooftop of their impressive office to celebrate 16 years of business.
Aspire first opened its doors back in 2006 as a two-person company. With a current workforce of more than 230, it has since become one of the fastest growing IT managed service and cyber security providers in the UK.
It’s increasingly difficult to remember, but 2006 was a time when the iPhone was yet to be invented so too were the host of time-saving productivity apps we’ve all come to know and love. It was the year that Facebook extended its platform to the world, Twitter was launched and the dominant web browser was Internet Explorer.
Back in 2006, the average UK broadband speed was 3.8Mbit/s (3.8 megabits per second). A far cry from the dedicated 100Gbp/s (100 gigabits per second) that Aspire now offers its customers.
Fast forward to today and Aspire have offices in Gateshead, London and Stockton-on-Tees. The business has scaled rapidly with revenue rising to £30m during the last 12 months, growing more than 48% over the past three years. The company, who were crowned North East business of the year 2020, has a portfolio of clients located across the UK, Ireland, Continental Europe, and Australia, including the likes of Barbour, Lookers and Sunderland AFC to NHS and local authorities.
Having secured a minority investment from private equity firm LDC in a transaction which values Aspire at £85m the business looks set for further growth. Aspire’s company vision is to ‘deliver technology like no other’ and ensure businesses have access to innovative IT solutions that enable them to grow more quickly is the cornerstone of their promise. In addition to their suite of IT services and support, the company has recently invested heavily in cloud and cyber security as part of their managed services offering.
Their new self-service, industry leading cloud platform ensures customers benefit from all the efficiencies that transition to the cloud can offer, whilst keeping them at the cutting edge of innovation. Meanwhile, their own Security Operations Centre is equipped with next generation cyber security intelligence, proactive monitoring, and advanced threat detection to keep customers protected. To celebrate their milestone anniversary, Aspire enjoyed a party on their roof terrace complete with pizza (courtesy of Lucca Pizza Company), drinks (from Albert & Charlies Mobile Bar) and music from North East DJ playing throwback tunes from the early 2000’s.
CEO, Chris Fraser said: “It’s been an incredible journey watching Aspire go from strength to strength since we founded it 16 years ago. A huge thanks is owed to everyone who has helped us on our journey. Our success wouldn’t have been possible without a great group of colleagues, customers and partners, many of whom have grown with us along the way. One thing that hasn’t changed for us over the years is our passion for providing innovative solutions to help our customers grow. This continues to be at the heart of everything our teams do today. I’m really excited about the next 16 years as we continue to deliver our ambitious plans!”