Issue 1: Standing Together (June 2021)

Out of the
Issue 1 - Spring/ Summer
Customer-centric Approach
Importance of
customer feedback in
improving services
Business Transformation
How businesses
can not only
survive but thrive
Cybersecurity Tips
Advice on how to
safeguard your
business
razorblue has
big plans
for 2021
Issue 1: Standing Together
At razorblue we believe in the
power of partnership. During these
challenging times it is imperative that
we come together.
1

Refer a business
and be rewarded
Under 50 users
£500
Over 50 users
£1500
Dan Kitchen, CEO
The amount rewarded
can be redeemed
as credit on your
account or it will
be converted into
vouchers of your
choice.
T&Cs apply.
• The referral is only applicable to secured contracts.
• Applies to Managed IT contracts only.
• All referrals should be submitted via email to your Account Manager.
A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO...
Welcome to our first ever edition
of “Out of the Blue”, a short
publication we’ve put together to
showcase what we do and provide you with
useful insights into the world of technology.
As business leaders, you understand the
challenges and effort involved in running
a business. For many, the last year has
been exceptionally difficult – whether your
business has been affected financially,
or you’ve had to deal with the emotional
strain of a team struggling to motivate
themselves, stuck at home – we’ve all been
there together.
As we start to move slowly out of the world
of restrictions, hopefully for the last time,
I feel confident that we’re about to see a
great economic resurgence. Technology
no doubt plays a huge part in that, and we
want to be able to help you make the most
of it.
It is fair to say that our sector has been
exceptionally stretched by the pandemic.
Back in March 2020 we had to deal with
an overnight 30% increase in resource
requirements to deal with supporting a
distributed workforce. Whilst the chaos
has now subsided and many businesses
have invested in IT that is fit for purpose,
in a country where there is a shortage of
tech skills, it is still hard to find talent at the
speed we need it.
We’ve recently been working very hard
to bolster our Account Management and
Technical teams to make sure we have the
right amount of resource for you – and our
new programme based around our HQ in
North Yorkshire will see us bring ex-military
personnel into the team and give them the
necessary business and technology skills
they need.
We have also added additional skills to our
offering including our Microsoft Dynamics
practice which allows us to implement
best-in-breed ERP solutions for our clients.
I’m exceptionally proud of what we’ve
achieved in the last year – and so should
every business leader. If you’ve made it
through this, you can make it through
anything.
2 3

POWERING THROUGH COVID
New HQ
Case Study:
Middleton Lodge
Superfast
Connectivity
Client Profile
Middleton Lodge is an award-winning
Georgian country retreat set in 200
acres of stunning North Yorkshire
countryside. Popular for both hotel and
leisure, the lodge offers 31 bedrooms,
as well as a luxury spa and two
restaurants.
The beautiful views and facilities make
it a favourite for weddings, events and
even film and television productions.
Solution
Key Outcomes
Superfast connectivity
Proactive 24/7 monitoring
Enhanced guest experience
The beautiful countryside views are one of Middleton Lodge’s key
selling points, however, this rural location meant the internet access
was poor and made conventional solutions prohibitively expensive.
razorblue overcame the unique challenge presented by Middleton
Lodge’s secluded location by installing a wireless point-to-point link
supplying a 100MB superfast internet access from 8 miles away. The
project included the deployment of a new Ruckus wireless solution
across the site which now ensures that the hotel enjoys 100%
coverage in all rooms, across all facilities and grounds.
razorblue also provides 24/7 managed services to maintain the
smooth running of the hotel’s systems day and night.
We have big plans for 2021, but our focus remains on service delivery
and exceeding customer expectations.
T
he past year has been a monumental one
for us here at razorblue. As we continue to
grow our service offering, employee count
and client base, we must continue to offer the
highest level of service to our customers.
In our line of work, a lot of what we do goes
unnoticed, our teams often find themselves
working late at night to fix IT issues before
clients get to their desk the following morning.
As with most industries, it can be easy to get lost
in the daily grind. It is important that at times
we pause and reflect on the journey that got us
here and our many achievements along the way.
When lockdown was first announced, we hit
a record-high with the number of open cases
tripling in just one day.
“Our teams worked tirelessly
to make sure our clients
could continue operating in
some of the most challenging
circumstances they have yet
to face. We moved thousands
of users to remote working
solutions in a matter of days.”
Since then, demand has remained high due to
many businesses increasing their investment
in IT throughout the pandemic, paired with
many others being let down by their previous
suppliers.
To meet these demands, we continue to expand
our team on a nationwide scale.
“Our headcount is now over
the 110 mark, growing by 25
percent during the first nine
months of the pandemic.”
We have doubled our sales and marketing team,
expanded our software team by a third, and
taken on four new apprentices over the last
year. New roles continue to be added across the
business, from our service desk to senior management,
sales and new business team, account
management and software developers.
Back in June we opened our new Head Office.
This purpose-built headquarters gives us twice
as much space as we had previously, allowing
us to expand the team and host more customer
events and demonstrations in the future.
This was shortly followed by a new office space
in Edinburgh, expanding reach into Scotland
and bringing the total offices to seven.
The start of 2021 saw razorblue awarded a place
in Ward Hadaway’s Yorkshire Fastest 50 Awards,
which celebrates business growth, innovation,
and commercial achievements over the last 12
months.
As well as this, we have been recognised in
CloudTango’s 2021 Top 50 Managed Services
Providers in the UK for another year running.
These awards recognise our incredible journey
of growth over the past few years, and we look
forward to sharing more successes with you
throughout 2021 and beyond.
4 5

SIMPLE
yet
Jonathan Anderson,
Managing Director- Business Software
TRANSFORMATIONAL
learnings from the global shutdown
The year of 2020 saw 2 years’ worth of digital transformation in the space of 2 months. While this sounds
impressive, it must be noted that many of these digital solutions were designed and implemented to be
an interim, quick-fix solution.
“In an economy
that is contracting,
it is important
for businesses
to become more
efficient and
retain market
share.”
Data-led decisions
Business leaders should now be asking themselves “do we have a true
understanding of our suppliers, operations, people, customers and
marketplace?” Such understanding derives from data.
As a starting point, the data you should focus on is that which can be
generated and analysed in your day-to-day business operations. This
is existing information about your customers, operations, people,
suppliers and supply chain.
To use this data effectively, it must offer a single version of the truth
through an undisputed source of performance data. Critically, this
data should be presented in a way that not only supports informed
decision making, but also provides immediate feedback and analysis
opportunities.
Take your finance department as an example - one of the main challenges
they face are the inefficiencies around collating and analysing large
datasets. The amount of resource and time needed to transform this
data into deep insights and reports is colossal and often unnecessary.
Many companies have data stored in numerous, disparate systems,
creating challenges to deliver accurate, on-demand management
information.
This is where business intelligence tools such as, Microsoft Power BI
come in. Compiling and automating relevant information into a tailored
interface, enabling users to extract information efficiently and make
data-driven predictions based on real-time statistics.
These scalable business intelligence tools help you gain a deeper
understanding of your data, as well as ensuring you get the most out of
any big data investments. Insights can be shared and promoted across
your organisation, whilst maintaining accuracy, consistency and security.
Streamline processes
Many businesses responded to the economic uncertainties and huge
drop in demand by reducing their workforce. Whether your business
made redundancies or not, one question remains: can your business
thrive with reduced resource?
Crucially, businesses now need to assess whether workloads can
be managed more efficiently, and which of their processes can be
streamlined through automation. This in turn will not only reduce
overheads but increase business resilience.
Frustrations around manual data entry, tracking down data
inconsistencies, and manually compiling reports from several different
datasets are far from uncommon. Whilst good-intentioned, workarounds
such as Excel spreadsheets demand far too much of our precious time
and resource. Employees can quickly become absorbed in high-touch
manual steps to data entry that despite best efforts often result in
incomplete data and ultimately impair productivity.
Automating such processes produces results immediately and eliminates
any risk of human error. Importantly, replacing mundane and timeconsuming
tasks, keeping overheads down and freeing up resource to
focus on the all-important relationship-building or creative tasks that
humans are designed for.
Microsoft Dynamics 365
Consolidating disjointed processes and systems can be achieved easily
through products such as Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Through its modular approach, Dynamics 365 allows businesses to take
only the applications that are most appropriate and suitable to them and
their existing systems. This is an industry-leading product suitable for all
business types regardless of size or sector. When implemented correctly,
Dynamics guarantees improved efficiencies and according to multiple
recent reports, for every £1 spent, you will see a minimum return of £7.
However, implementing these off-the-shelf products without a true
understanding of your processes and future objectives runs the risk
of wasted investment and the solutions not serving their intended
purpose. If not applied correctly, businesses will become overwhelmed
with the number of features and functions available.
Bespoke solutions
For some businesses, bespoke solutions are better suited. This offers the
opportunity for a solution to be custom-built to the precise needs of
your business, in alignment with your internal systems and processes.
The specificity and capabilities available are limitless and solutions
can be created to grow with your business, at a pace that suits you.
Additionally, ownership of the intellectual property and maintaining full
control offers a competitive advantage.
Embracing change
Whether through off-the-shelf products, bespoke solutions, or a mixture
of the two, such digitalisation will provide sustainable solutions and
crucially improve efficiencies.
It is fair to assume that the marketplace is only going to get more
competitive, and it is organisations who embrace change and build
resilience into their operations, that will not only survive but thrive.
Speak to your Account Manager to arrange a software consultation
with one of our experts.
6 7

azorblue software used in the fight
against Covid-19
New bespoke software allowed Acculabs Diagnostics to increase its
Covid-19 testing capacity to thousands of swabs per day.
“razorblue has been a
crucial partner in our
journey to successfully
provide COVID-19 testing
at a nationwide level.”
Microsoft Dynamics boosts operational
efficiency through digitally transforming
your financial and production management,
supply planning, and capacity requirements.
Increase Profitability
& Efficiencies
Reduce Risks
Analyse & Optimise
Performance
Engage Customers
Welcome to
the Team:
Nigel Hedley
Senior Microsoft Expert
This quarter Microsoft Industry
expert, Nigel joined our team
to support the growth of
our software division to help
improve business profitability
and efficiency through digital
transformation. We are working
with businesses and clients to
implement industry-leading
Microsoft Dynamics Financials,
ERP & CRM solutions.
Having worked with us for over five
years, Acculabs Diagnostics utilised our
managed IT as well as specialist software
services. Acculabs helped fight against the
spread of Covid-19 with the help of a bespoke
software project implemented and designed by
razorblue. This enabled the company to increase
its efficiency and capacity to meet demand,
supporting testing for the NHS, government and
businesses during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Jonathan Anderson, Managing Director of
Software said: “We knew that this was a critical
and time-sensitive project. The company handles
vast volumes of extremely sensitive data and
there was absolutely no room for error.
“We have worked closely with Chris and the
team for years and understood their needs
and expectations. Ensuring we implemented a
reliable and secure system with an easy-to-use
interface was paramount to the success of this
project.
“I’m proud to be working alongside Acculabs
Diagnostics, the company is doing a fantastic job
to supply tests not only in the local area, but to
nationwide centres.”
The new software has eliminated paperwork
and manual administration. It is laboratory
management-specific, linking data such as what
the sample itself is and where it has come from,
to the results following testing. The result has
been repeatable, reliable testing at a time where
it has been needed more than ever.
Chris Gordon, CEO of Acculabs Diagnostics said:
“Having worked closely with
the team for a number of years,
we were confident that their
skills and expertise meant we
could scale up efficiently whilst
providing reliable results and
minimising human input.”
“It is thanks to these systems that we are able
to step up capacity and provide testing for
workforces in the industry, retail, and commercial
sectors as a means of safeguarding staff and their
business”
Acculabs Diagnostics has upped capacity to
thousands of swabs a day and taken on new
staff to provide round-the-clock testing, all of
which is possible following the implementation
of the software. Leading them to be hailed by
Public Health England as providing a “great
service at the time of national need”, following
playing an important part in the national effort
at the beginning of the pandemic after most
of its instruments were handed over to the
government.
As business owners focus on business revival,
our software division is growing to support this
demand, recently recruiting senior industry
experts to help improve business profitability
and efficiency through digital transformation.
A modular
approach...
Through a combination of deep-rooted
product knowledge and detailed commercial
understanding of all business sectors, razorblue
works to enhance your existing business
processes through Dynamics 365.
Microsoft
Dynamics
365
Our Dynamics solutions
drive productivity and
deliver increased agility, so
your organisation can adapt
quickly to changes – whether
economical or behavioral.
Dynamics 365 gives you
control and visibility into what
is going on in your business,
allowing you to make smarter
decisions to improve margins
and cash flow, ultimately driving
business growth.
Combining technology with
your workforce, the Dynamics
unified experience can be readily
available across all devices, from
anywhere.
8 9
Field Service
Operations
Customer
Service
Sales
Project
Bespoke
Marketing
Financials
Get in touch with your Account Manager today.
A message from Nigel:
“razorblue’s reputation is
what first attracted me to the
role. I wanted to work with a
leading technology company
and razorblue is just that. The
people who work here have
an extremely high level of
expertise in their fields and the
positive company ethos has
shone throughout.
“I’m really excited to be a
part of the business’ growth,
especially during these times.
What excites and drives me
every day is the fact that I am
helping people and businesses
with their success through
utilising software in the best
way possible to achieve their
business goals.”
Jonathan Anderson, Managing
Director – Business Software at
razorblue said:
“I am thrilled to welcome Nigel
to the team who with his wealth
of experience and knowledge
will play a key role in razorblue’s
growth strategy and support
businesses on their digital
transformation journey.”

?
OF ALL
ORGANIZATIONS
How a
compromise
can happen...
Scenario 1
Phishing email lands
in your inbox and you
click on a malicious link
Attacker now has
your username and
password
You use your company username
and password on a compromised
third party website
Attacker accesses
your emails
Scenario 2
Attacker sets up mail
forwarding rules to
redirect emails with
payment-related
content
Attacker uses these
details to gain access
to your corporate
network and data
Attacker sends phishing
emails via your account to
contacts and colleagues
Attacker replies to
these now hidden
emails imitating
you, using their
own bank details
Strong Email
Protection
Blocks phishing emails
from entering your mailbox,
and protects businesses
from malicious links,
email attachments and
impersonation attempts.
MFA (Multi-Factor
Authentification):
Rather than just username
and password, MFA provides
a second layer of security
by asking for a unique code
which is sent to another one
of your devices.
Ransomware
attack is launched
which renders
your business
inoperable
Payment is
diverted and
money is
irrecoverable
Attacker
threatens to
post company
data online
unless you pay a
hefty ransom
Want to get inside the minds of your attackers?
Mimecast provides Threat Intelligence as a new standard feature* with our Secure Email Gateway
LEARN MORE
Don’t wait until it’s too late.
Safeguard your business today.
Offering 100% anti-virus and 99% anti-spam protection, Mimecast is the leader
in protecting businesses from advanced threats and financial scams by blocking
malicious links and email attachments.
For more information contact your Account Manager today.
10 11

Craig Dean,
Regional Director- North West
The sudden shift to remote working in
response to Covid-19 intensified cyberattacks
and breaches on a global scale.
Hackers took advantage of the gaps in these
new target-rich environments and as a result
governments, organisations and individuals
have paid a heavy price.
Breaches almost doubled from 2019 with
hackers attacking every 39 seconds. The types of
cyber-attacks vary in sophistication, but financial
gains remain the main motivator.
Recent high-profile examples include British
energy provider Npower who recently suffered
a data breach exposing customers’ financial
and personal data, forcing the company to shut
down its mobile app permanently.
In November 2020, Manchester United’s
computer systems were hacked and although
they responded quickly, this could have had
devastating consequences. Football clubs hold
records of hundreds of thousands of individuals,
as well as sensitive business and payment data.
How do attacks work?
One common method of attack is phishing, a
type of social engineering attack often used to
steal user data, including login credentials and
credit card numbers.
Phishing occurs when an attacker,
masquerading as a trusted entity, dupes a victim
into opening an attachment.
Typically this tricks the recipient into believing
that there is an action they need to take, such
as: a request for bank details, clicking a link or
downloading an attachment, or a request to
change their password.
Clicking a malicious link leads to the installation
of malware, the freezing of the system as part of
a ransomware attack or the revealing of sensitive
information.
Ransomware is another one of the most
prevalent variants of a cyber-attack, often
delivering more impact and disruption to
the victim than many others. The malware
prevents users from accessing their system or
personal files and demands a ransom pay-out in
exchange for regained access.
The principle of a ransomware attack is simple,
hackers hold businesses ransom by encrypting
their data so they can no longer make use of
it, and in some cases exposing the stolen data
online.
Although ransomware has been around for
years, it has become a more prevalent method
for hackers as they can operate under the cover
of cryptocurrencies that are more difficult to
trace.
How to safeguard your business?
Attackers are smarter and more convincing
than ever before. One method of protection is
not enough to fully safeguard your business,
you need to implement a layered approach. We
recommend an amalgamation of the following
solutions:
1.Education
86% of threats and data leaks start with an
employee and over 90% of security breaches
involve human error. It is imperative to keep
your employees up-to-date and trained on cyber
threats and how to identify malicious content.
2.Email Security
Around 94% of all malware is spread through
email. An effective email security software will
protect against all internal and external email
threats. Email security should include spam
filters, impersonation protection and detailed
attachment and link scanning.
3. MFA
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is an
authentication method which provides any type
of account with a second layer of security. Rather
than just a username and password, MFA asks
for a unique code which is sent to another one
of your devices, ensuring that only authorised
personnel can access the account and gain
access to data.
4. Next-gen firewalls
There is a general misconception that because
people are not working from the office that
firewalls are not needed. Next-generation
firewalls give you visibility, control and
protection of the traffic flowing through your
network, even if it’s encrypted.
5. Anti-virus
Anti-virus provides your business with robust
protection against evolving cyber threats
and viruses that are aiming to hack into your
organisation’s confidential data.
6. Air-gapped backup
Lost or compromised data needs retrieving
quickly and with minimal downtime. The best
method to recover such data is from a backup.
However, it is vital to keep a backup away
from your network, such as in the cloud. This is
because malware and ransomware attacks can
destroy data on a network they gain access to.
Our cloud backup solution makes it impossible
for the hacker to interfere with or delete cloud
backups, ensuring your cloud copy is always
safe.
7. Patch Management
A recent Microsoft Exchange vulnerability was
exploited across the world, putting customers at
risk of emails being accessed without needing
to log in. The rapid installation of security
patches ensures your business remains safe from
evolving threats.
8. Expert solutions
Cyber attackers are experts and should be faced
with expert protection solutions.
A reliable Managed Service Provider will
perform vulnerability checks, recommend
and implement relevant solutions to suit your
requirements, and conduct regular software and
patch management updates.
We are Cyber Essentials Plus accredited and offer
leading cybersecurity protection and prevention
solutions to safeguard your business.
BE CYBER SAFE
2020 was the year of the virus,
both from a biological and a digital
perspective.
Save with our new
Security Packages
Standard
Mimecast Email Security S1
Ivanti Patch Management
Sophos Central
Endpoint Antivirus
£4.82
per user/per month
Advanced
Mimecast Email Security S2
Ivanti Patch Management
Ivanti App Control
Sophos Intercept X
Endpoint Advanced
£9.80
per user/per month
12 13

Will Blacklock,
Customer Service Manager
WHERE THERE’S A
WILL, THERE’S A WAY
We speak to Customer Service Manager, Will Blacklock about the importance
of customer feedback and creating honest conversations in order to improve
our service and build long-lasting partnerships.
At razorblue, we adopt a customer-centric
approach to business.
We believe in creating open avenues for
communication and build relationships based
on honesty and trust. Through our continuous
innovation and willingness to adapt, we strive to
not only meet but exceed customer expectations.
best method of approach: “Customers appreciate
a conversation and immediately feel valued when
given the opportunity to share their experience
with us.
“We all know that there is nothing more frustrating
than not being able to get through to a customer
service team when things go wrong.
+70.3
NPS Score
Processes and procedures are embedded into
our daily operations to enhance the customer
experience.
“Unlike other companies, we don’t just say we
believe in putting the customer first, we act upon
that belief.
+72
+70
My role as Customer Service Manager involves
following up on client feedback and ensuring
customer satisfaction is achieved through our
service delivery.
For the most part, contact with the Customer
Service Manager assures our customers that
action is being taken and that their feedback is
valued and will result in improvements.
+68
+66
Customer feedback is paramount to our success
as a managed service provider. This is monitored
daily using a Net Promoter Score (NPS) system,
allowing us to collect feedback, track changes and
obtain actionable insights.
The NPS survey is a simple one question survey
that finds out how likely it is that you, our customer,
would recommend razorblue to others.
Following the closure of a case, end-users receive
an automated email asking for feedback based on
their own customer experience. This is rated on a
scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest satisfaction
rating.
Dependant on the score given, the feedback is
then categorised as a detractor, a passive, or a
promoter.
A detractor can be defined as a consumer who
was not satisfied with the service at all, while a
passive is a customer who is neither satisfied nor
disappointed with the service, and a promoter is a
satisfied, loyal customer who is most likely to refer
others.
At razorblue, we regard ratings of 1-3 as detractors
and unlike other managed service provider, this
feedback prompts a direct follow up phone call to
the customer.
Following every conversation, an ROC (Record
of Conversation) is logged, and customers are
reminded of whom to contact should they wish
to escalate the matter. Our robust Escalation
Process ensures that every customer is given the
opportunity to voice their feedback and gain
access to support services as required.
Will continues, “We take poor feedback very
seriously and the only reason we have got to
where we are today is because we listen, learn
and act on feedback. We review our processes
regularly and where necessary we take immediate
action to retrain staff”
“Success derives from a trusted partnership and
that can only be achieved through communication.
“It is my job to ensure that our customers feel
valued, are kept in the loop throughout the
process and ultimately trust that we will improve
in readiness for their next experience with us.”
Our business model incorporates continuous
improvement based upon the client’s feedback
to ensure that the Service Desk is delivering an
exceptional service.
We are completely transparent when it comes to
feedback and all results are proactively monitored
and can be seen live on our website.
+64
+62
+60
+58
94%
93%
Q3 2020 Q4 2020 Q1 2021
94%
Client Satisfaction
Poor feedback means that there has been a failure
at some point in the process and always results in
an investigation and action being taken. Cases are
investigated on an individual basis and the follow
up call is used to gauge a true understanding of
what went wrong and how we can improve the
experience for them going forward.
A rating of 4 is viewed as passive while a 5-star
rating is considered a promoter.
Customer Service Manager, Will conducts all
follow up calls himself and explains why this is the
Our customer-centric approach evidently works,
having achieved an impressive average NPS score
of +70.3 since the start of 2021. Client retention
rates remain stable at near 100%.
Our teams look forward to face-to-face meetings
recommencing and this too will play an important
role in building stronger customer relationships.
Regardless of restrictions, our team will continue
to listen and learn, in order to provide the
exceptional service that you, our valued customer,
deserves.
Q3 2020 Q4 2020 Q1 2021
14 15
92%

Microsoft Teams
now has 75 million
daily active users,
but did you know
it can also be a full
featured phone
system too?
Why Teams
with Voice?
Multiple Devices
Call from any of your connected
devices, from anywhere.
CELEBRATING WOMEN IN TECH
Team of Female Managers
razorblue’s Match Made in Heaven package
allows businesses to take advantage of our
telephony platform and superfast connectivity
to provide a best-in-class phone system within
Microsoft Teams.
This service guarantees
enterprise-grade
telephony, a pristine user
experience and unrivalled
voice call management.
Teams with Phone System
seamlessly integrates with
your existing Microsoft
package. Our team of
experts will work with
you to ensure a smooth
transition.
Contact your Account Manager to
find out more.
Inclusive Cost
2000 landline and 2000 mobile
minutes included for every user.
Unified System
Links your phone system, email,
Planner and more into one
connected system.
Advanced Features
Includes: group call pick up, shared
line, call delegation, hold music and
voicemail with transcription.
Support Experience
Single support experience from a
service team you know and trust.
Promoting equality and diversity
through our workforce.
Women make up only 16% of IT
professionals in the UK, a trend that has
remained consecutively for 10 years and
we strive to challenge this male dominant norm.
Our workforce has 21 females, beating the
industry average of 20%, and over a third of those
are in managerial or director roles.
razorblue strongly believes in promoting
equality and diversity through our workforce and
continues to grow our team in this way.
Joanne Finkeldey, Head of People at razorblue
commented: “Working in tech, we generally do
see a lack of applications from women. This is
something we are working to actively increase
and promote through showcasing real examples
of how women can thrive within this sector.
We employ people based on their talent and
attitude, gender does not and never will play a
role in our recruitment process.”
Dan Kitchen, CEO of razorblue commented:
“Individually, we’re all responsible
for our own thoughts and actions.
But as a busines we can actively
choose to challenge stereotypes,
broaden perceptions and improve
situations through embedding
these actions into our core values
and making sure each person we
employ shares the same values.”
Client Support Engineer, Lacey
In today’s digital age, there have never been
more opportunities for people to grow and
achieve based on their abilities and ideas, rather
than their gender.
Each one of our employees has been appointed
on their merits and their ability to do their jobs
extremely well. It is important we don’t stand
still and do all we can to encourage women into
this field to enable a truly diverse workforce.”
We are proud sponsors of the HelloWorld event
at Teesside University which aims to showcase
careers in the technology sector to young
women. The event was organised to inspire
young females in year 8, 9 and 10 to consider
a career in computer science and digital
technology.
5 female employees from razorblue spoke at
the event, sharing their own stories and offering
advice to the younger generations. Thank you
to all those involved! razorblue continue to
grow and have several live vacancies open to all
genders.
“I think if young generations see more women represented within the
technology industry, this will solve the gender imbalance. “Working in tech
industry is so fast-paced and means I learn something new every day, this is
what makes it so exciting.
My advice to younger females would be to just go for it and be yourself! Just
because you may be working in a more male-driven environment does not
mean you need to change. If we put our mind to something nothing can stop us.”
16 17

Power Automate Power BI Power Apps
Organisations who use Microsoft 365 typically use Outlook and Office apps first, before
diving into OneDrive, Teams and SharePoint for content management and collaboration.
However, few realise the capabilities of the Power Platform. This is a built-in feature included
with Office 365 and includes Power Automate, Power BI and Power Apps. These added
applications can save hours of time by automating simple workflows and processes.
Harness
the power of
Power
Automation
What is Power Automate?
Microsoft Power Automate enables businesses
to automate routine processes and tasks,
even without coding skills. These automated
workflows are referred to as ‘flows’ and begin
with a ‘trigger’, a pre-defined event which then
prompts an automated response.
Why do I want Power Automate?
Not only will Power Automate relieve you from
repetitive and mundane tasks, but it can also
be used to produce reports to enhance your
productivity. Essentially, Power Automate is like
having an electronic personal assistant.
What can it automate?
Power Automate is suitable for “quick wins”
and is best used for automating simple, daily
tasks. Below are some examples of when Power
Automate is ideal:
1
Working with email attachments
When receiving attachment documents via
email, Power Automate can automatically save
these attachments into the relevant SharePoint
folder, based on who the attachment has come
from. This would benefit the likes of Account
Management teams, whereby client attachments
can be automatically saved into a specific client
folder, saving time spent searching through
emails to find what is needed.
2
Document Approval
Important documents that require approval
before publishing can often be time-consuming.
Whether requiring authorisation from a
manager, document sign off, or a signature from
a customer, this process can involve several
people and can be difficult to track and manage.
Relevant employees will be notified of a shared
document and the sender receives notifications
when approvals are completed. Approvals can be
integrated with Microsoft Teams which is useful
for internal documents.
3 Timesheets
Power Automate provides a simple
Timesheet application to track employee
working hours which are accurately reflected
and properly counted. This is an ideal solution
for companies using outdated methods such as
paper-based timesheets, ensuring accurate times
are logged to avoid mistakes.
4
SharePoint Notifications
Whenever a new entry is submitted to
SharePoint that is relevant to the team it would
be useful to notify them so everyone can stay
up to date with the new information. Setting
up a workflow with Power Automate can send
notifications and emails to the relevant staff on
these occasions.
5 Tasks
Create a task in Microsoft To Do and Power
Automate can automatically add it as an event
onto your Outlook through simple integration.
6
Holiday Requests
Holiday requests can be automatically sent
to a line manager when an employee requests
leave. Notification of their response can also be
automated, allowing effective management of
time off throughout the year.
7
Push notifications for important
senders
Using a mobile flow app with Power Automate
you can get push reminders/notifications of
emails sent by important senders (e.g. manager,
clients, CEO). This can be configured in just a few
clicks and is extremely helpful during training or
traveling.
8
Integrate Outlook emails with
Planner Tasks
Thanks to Power Automate you can very easily
integrate Outlook with Planner. Using the Flag
function with Outlook, this will automatically
create the flagged item as a task in Planner,
making it easier to manage and organise tasks.
What platform does Power Automate
connect with?
Power Automate connects to more than 275 data
sources, the most used are: Outlook, SharePoint,
OneDrive, Twitter, Trello, Dynamics 365, Adobe
Sign, Google Drive.
Do I have to create flows from scratch?
No, it is much simpler than that. There are
hundreds of Power Automate templates which
can be used to fit an array of processes. However,
if you want a more bespoke flow and cannot
utilise an existing template, you can create your
own flow from scratch.
Is Power Automate fit for all?
In short, no. Power Automate is well-suited for
implementing automation into simple workflows
or tasks.
If you go to the list of most frequently used
templates in the Power Automate console,
you will find many self-explanatory examples
including:
• Set a reminder to myself in 10 minutes
• Send custom email when a new SharePoint list
item is added
• Start approval process for a new file to move it
to another folder
These examples show that Power Automate is
suitable for “quick wins” and is ideal to implement
simple settings that often call for triggered
interaction via external solutions.
Power Automate is not a suitable solution if you
are looking to automate critical tasks or processes
with several components. This mainly is down
to its poor error handling capabilities and its
somewhat fragility when editing workflows.
Ultimately, the more complex a scenario is,
the more difficult it is to implement Power
Automate. This is where larger scale or bespoke
ERP solutions would be better suited, with the
capacity to manage a full end-to-end workflow
with several different components and multiple
triggers.
More and more businesses are turning to process
automation to improve workforce efficiency- a
vital move in today’s climate.
Digitalising mundane, manual tasks means
that time can be reallocated and focuses on
the important and human-centric roles such as
relationship-building or creative tasks.
If you need help with understanding the
bandwidth of Microsoft 365 and whether
Power Apps are the right fit for you, get in
18 19

BUILDING THE FUTURE
Erimus advert
Kieran Dunn, Luke Johns
razorblue celebrates National Apprenticeship Week by
recognising the contributions and commitment of their
current and former apprentices.
Technology enthusiast and self-taught
infrastructure engineer Dan Kitchen, quit
college after three months to pursue fulltime
employment, launching razorblue in 2006.
We continue to go from strength to strength,
with a total of seven offices across the UK, and
over 100 members of staff.
razorblue strongly believes in the value add
through apprenticeships and continues
to grow their team in this way. Currently
razorblue employs 4 apprentices across various
departments including technical and financial
roles.
Dan commented: “We have always been very
keen on investing in our staff so they can grow
with us. As an organisation in one of the most
dynamic industries, we have a duty to help
nurture workers of the future.
“Speaking from my own experience, I have
learnt everything I know through on the job
experience, this has been invaluable in my own
career and personal development, ultimately
getting me to where I am today.
“Our apprentices have proved a real asset to
razorblue and they are essential additions to our
team”.
The theme of this year’s National Apprenticeship
Week is “Build the Future” – encouraging
everyone to consider how apprenticeships help
individuals to build the skills and knowledge
required for a rewarding career.
A fitting theme for a company who believes in
just that.
Luke Johns, Client Support Engineer at
razorblue, joined as an apprentice in August
2020 to follow his dream of getting into IT.
“During my first month with
razorblue, I felt like I had learned
more than I did during my entire time
at college. Of course, everyone is
different, but if you are considering
an apprenticeship, I would say go for
it.”
He said: “A lot of my time is spent visiting sites,
getting hands-on experience with the different
technologies and speaking with our clients, I
have already been exposed to so much across
different departments.
Kieran Dunn, Onboarding Engineer at razorblue,
joined as an apprentice five years ago and
has seen his role grow and develop with the
company.
“I have learnt so much from gaining
experience on the job as well as
working towards industry recognised
qualifications and would recommend
apprenticeships to anyone”
He said: “I started my journey with razorblue as
an apprentice Client Support Engineer and since
then I have enjoyed a supervisor role and two
managerial roles.
“They are a great opportunity to learn and gain
the valuable experiences employers are looking
for. I have had so many career development
opportunities with razorblue, I wouldn’t look
back”
The firm has plans in place to add more
apprentices to the team in the coming months,
with technical positions to add to both their
infrastructure and service desk teams.
newcastle office
Erimus Insurance Brokers
Collingwood Buildings
38 Collingwood Street
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
NE1 1JF
0191 260 0770
info@erimusib.com
head office
Erimus Insurance Brokers
2 Kingfisher Court
Bowesfield Park
Stockton-on-Tees
TS18 3EX
01642 240400
info@erimusib.com
erimusib.com
Erimus are a Top 100 UK independent
insurance broker, specialising in the
arrangement of business insurance. We have
grown our business on Teesside since 1986
and we are the only broker Headquartered in
the Tees Valley. Our ethos is to provide
competitive premiums, establish long term
professional relationships and deliver expert
advice to our clients.
We help to protect the local economy by employing local staff
members and keeping our services in-house, using local
suppliers and supporting local charities. We believe that we
can make Teesside a better place to work and live by spending
our money locally.
Many of our competitors are headquartered out of the region
and are part of large national and multinational corporations.
As a regional independent business, we value each and every
one of our clients, many of whom have been with us since we
first opened our doors.
20 21

YOUR COMPANY COULD HELP
SAVE LIVES
WEATHERING
Despite the challenges of the last year, our frontline critical
care team have not lost one minute of operational time.
THE STORM
This was only possible with the support of our community.
208
Fall
30
Industrial
1287
total
call-outs
responded to
in financial year
2020/21
91
Self harm
80
Medical
29
Burns
38
Sport & Leisure
148
Assault
330
Transport
697
Helicopter
590
Rapid response
vehicle
10
Drowning
221
Cardiac Arrest
- Medical
50
Other
52
Cardiac Arrest
- Traumatic
Get in touch with our corporate team to find out how your business
can help us continue saving lives across our region.
business@gnaas.com
01325 487 263
Commercial Director,
Mark Wilkinson looks
back on the whirlwind
that was 2020.
T
his time last year, we were just beginning to adapt to
lockdown life. As a business, we had to manage our own shift
to home working. Alongside this, we were also responsible for
supporting our client base, migrating thousands of users to
home working solutions in a remarkably short timeframe.
Our Service Desk team were inundated with client requests and we hit
record numbers of open cases, with figures tripling in just one day. The
team absolutely pulled it out of the bag and we achieved our highest
NPS (customer feedback score) ever during this period.
Meanwhile our Account Management team were back-to-back in
meetings and calls working with clients on the immediate concerns
around business continuity, as well as longer-term strategies for
survival. All the while, adding value through their exceptional technical
support and advice.
It was not all smooth sailing and like most businesses, our inbound
enquiries declined drastically. There was an overwhelming uncertainty
and lack of confidence felt across all sectors.
But then people started to realise that the virus wasn’t going anywhere
and we witnessed an influx of enquiries from businesses who had been
let down by their previous IT provider at the start of lockdown.
We also saw an uplift in businesses seeking support in accelerating
their digital transformation journey. The pandemic certainly created
a sense of urgency that has shifted the inertia to change within many
organisations.
If there is one positive to emerge from the last year, it is the drastic
wave of digital acceptance, adapting to new ways of working and
connecting that will continue far beyond this pandemic.
Marketing teams, adding several new roles and making internal
promotions. Maintaining focus on enhancing our sales process and
building relationships within our expanding regions.
As well as this, our technical Account Management team continues
to grow, with several new roles added over the last year. Team
development and training has continued, albeit virtually. Monthly
training days include updates from our partners and suppliers on the
latest product offerings and roadmaps.
I think I speak for the entire team when I say that whilst we are
forever grateful for Teams, we are so excited to get back to face-toface
meetings with our customers. Our recently launched quarterly
webinars have been a huge success and we are eager to host future
events and meetings at our new head office space.
Our growth journey throughout the pandemic has been incredible and
whilst we are fortunate enough to be in a growing sector, I would not
want that to diminish the efforts made by the entire team. They have
worked extremely hard throughout these unprecedented times and I
look forward to celebrating face-to-face soon.
From a commercial viewpoint the future certainly looks bright, and we
have spent a lot of time discussing the next steps for us as a business.
Our strategy involves developing the regions we currently operate in,
growing our office spaces, as well as expanding our geographical reach
further into Scotland.
That is all I can say at this stage, but I’m really looking forward to
sharing more exciting news with you soon!
Mark Wilkinson,
Commercial Director
www.gnaas.com
Registered Charity No. 1092204
To meet these demands, we have more than doubled our Sales and
22 23

PROJECT
You’re only
as effective
as your
internet
connection...
Our Network
Unlike many of our competitors, we’ve built our own
network and we have also invested heavily in our
own cloud infrastructure, which sits on our resilient
national network in each of our datacentres - putting
us in complete control and ensuring we can deliver
the best fit solution for your specific business
needs.
GIGABIT
Resiliency
We can provide diversely routed
connectivity to ensure 100%
uptime, by using different carriers or
combining different connection types
Connections to Third
Party cloud services
Cloud Platform
Cloud Backup
Telephone Services
Mobile Network
Preparations underway for the gigabit full-fibre
broadband revolution.
The Coronavirus pandemic has
underlined the importance of a
reliable internet connection. The UK’s
predominantly copper communications
network has proven its resilience - but is
creaking.
As our demand for data continues to
accelerate, the UK’s infrastructure urgently
needs an upgrade which requires significant
investment in “full-fibre” broadband. That is,
fibre optic cable directly into homes and
businesses.
Investment by Openreach - by far the
largest owner of broadband infrastructure
in the UK - has been stifled by government
regulation in recent years.
Restrictions were placed on the prices
Openreach can charge for their services
to encourage uptake of broadband
services. This had the opposite effect,
disincentivising Openreach to invest in
next-generation technology owing to the
poor return on investment.
Internet service providers – like us – buy
wholesale access to Openreach’s network
to provide their services.
The market has become very competitive of
late, with several challengers like CityFibre,
Virgin Media and Hyperoptic identifying the
gap in the market – and investing heavily in
building their own full-fibre networks.
As a result, Ofcom – the government
regulator - recently announced that they
will remove their regulatory price caps,
allowing Openreach to charge higher
wholesale prices and increase investment.
In response Openreach have said they will
“build [their full-fibre network] like fury”.
It’s fair to say the gigabit
revolution has already begun and
great progress is being made.
What next?
This change has meant Openreach have
committed to ramp up deployment of fullfibre
services to over three million premises
per year, providing vital next-generation
connectivity for homes and business
right across the UK, with coverage of an
estimated 20 million properties by the mid
-to-late 2020s.
Meanwhile, other competitors are also
building their networks – CityFibre are
building an extensive full-fibre network
in the North East, Teesside, Yorkshire - and
across the North West.
As an independent internet service provider
with our own core network, we have access
to fibre broadband infrastructure owned by
both Openreach and CityFibre.
Providing full-fibre gigabit services is
not just about having the physical fibre
infrastructure in the ground; but having the
right capacity within the core network too.
Our team have been working
very hard over the last 6 months
to upgrade our core network
capacity to allow us to handle
faster services. We’ve increased
interconnect capacity to our
wholesale broadband suppliers
by 900% and upgraded our
broadband termination
equipment to new nextgeneration
Cisco hardware.
We operate our own independent
backbone network with over 20 points of
presence across the UK, using sophisticated
systems to constantly monitor our network
and the service we deliver to clients.
Proactively Monitored
24/7 proactive monitoring means
any faults are detected and rectified
before your business is affected.
Guaranteed Speeds
As your own private network, you
will receive consistent, committed
bandwidth at all times.
Expansive Portfolio
A full suite of connectivity solutions
suited to all business sizes and
sectors, offering superfast speeds.
Gary Sandberg
Senior Account Manager
Connections to Third
Party cloud services
The superfast connectivity
together with the excellent
support that we have received
from razorblue has been
critical in improving our
business processes and
Ben Curtis-Haigh complimenting our Lindsay Christison
Infrastructure Engineer high-quality offering. Project Coordinator
24 25
LINX
Manchester
Peering
Cloud Platform
Cloud Backup
Telephone Services
Mobile Network
MAN1
NTT
Transit
MAN2
MAN3
To
London
To
Leeds
“
LONAP
Peering
To
Manchester
LON2 LON 1
NTT
Transit
LINX
Peering
To
Leeds
Telia
Transit

A MESSAGE
FROM OUR
HEAD OF
PEOPLE
Joanne Finkeldey,
Head of People
Social
Events
Techy Tuesdays
It goes without saying that the key to creating a
successful business stems from high employee
productivity and engagement.
Across the world, business leaders have been
asking the same question: “how do I keep my
team motivated and productive when working
from home?”.
document simultaneously, adding comments,
mentions, and edit requests.
Over the last year, we have seen a significant
period of growth, but even growth comes with
challenges. One of the main challenges we
have faced is embedding new starters into the
company culture.
Friday Morning
Yoga
The last year has been tough on everyone with
restrictions impacting people both physically
and mentally. It continues to be essential for
businesses to double down on their efforts to
boost employee morale.
At the safety of our staff, we took the decision to
migrate to home working a week prior to the first
national lockdown being announced. Our robust
disaster recovery plan meant we were wellprepared
and could quickly deploy the relevant
equipment to all staff.
As we are considered keyworkers, we were able
to keep our offices open and create Covid-safe
environments. This hybrid option has been
well-received from an employee wellbeing and
mental health perspective, especially amongst
those who don’t have the luxury of a separate
office space at home.
It goes without saying that teamwork and
collaboration are paramount to the success of
any business. Fortunately, we work with the latest
and greatest technologies and invest heavily in
our own infrastructure. Microsoft Teams has been
a lifeline, allowing video meetings and chats for
daily inter and cross-departmental discussions.
SharePoint Document Hub is also used across the
company, allowing several people to work on a
A lack of face-to-face interactions naturally results
in a lack of connection with colleagues and as a
result we have seen a slower rate of productivity
levels and uptake than in previous years.
To combat this lack of connection, we have
worked hard to maintain a sense of socialisation
amongst employees.
We have enjoyed virtual quizzes, coffee
breaks, bingo, team nights in, and even online
management meals.
Friday morning virtual yoga is available to all
employees and recently Friday evening football
has started up again.
We have also just introduced “Techy Tuesdays”,
which aims to create a social and relaxed learning
environment for the whole team to get handson
with kit and learn more about our product
offering, regardless of job role.
Our End of Week catch ups held every Friday
afternoon continue to play a key role in boosting
employee engagement, whilst also maintaining
a feeling of inclusion and belonging amongst all
employees.
Friday Night
Football
Summer BBQs
Christmas Party
2021!
£3,442
raised for charity
in 2020 by
#teamrazorblue
Employees of the Quarter
Did you know we offer a 10% discount for charities?
Gary Sandberg
Ben Curtis-Haigh
Lindsay Christison
26 Senior Account Manager
Infrastructure Engineer
Project Coordinator
27

More of a
partner than
a provider
Edinburgh Office
Newcastle Office
Teesside Office
Catterick Office (HQ)
Leeds Office
Manchester Office
www.razorblue.com
t: 0333 344 6 344
e: sales@razorblue.com
Razorblue Group Ltd is registered in England number 08962843.
Razorblue Ltd is registered in England number 5824001.
Razorblue Software Solutions Ltd is registered in England number 8081833.
Group VAT Registration: GB185295767.
London Office
28