OPER8 GLOBAL
Oper8
Global : Filling in the Gaps
Andrea . In order to trace that stellar growth trajectory , it ’ s important to take a better look at the company ’ s roots , and the series of events that led to its inception .
Unpacking the Pedigree In 2004 , Andrea and his business partner Chris Goldstone founded Strategic Directions , a business management consulting firm with a focus on IT . Then , around 2010 , Andrea recalls that the demands of Strategic Directions ’ customers changed . “ Strategic Directions would help with our customers ' IT strategy , vendor management model , telecommunications strategy , as well as what was becoming at that time an industry-wide shift towards cloud and various as-a-service models ,” he recalls . Within the space of a single week , Andrea continues , he was approached by two completely independent customers asking for Strategic Directions to manage their IT infrastructure . “ We really weren ' t
set up to be an IT management firm , so originally we told those customers ' no ' and that IT management wasn ' t something we were interested in doing , and said we ' d help them find someone who could do that ,” says Andrea . “ Those customers - again , independently of one another - told us that ' no , you don ' t understand ; if you can ' t do it then we ' ll find someone else who can do both '."
Initially , Andrea and Goldstone tried to incorporate an element of IT managementas-a-service into Strategic Directions ’ capabilities . However , Andrea explains , “ we found that it really began to confuse our market and existing customers about what Strategic Directions was doing .” As a result , Goldstone and Andrea made the decision in 2012 to spin out the management-asa-service arm of Strategic Directions into Oper8 , an independent firm focused on operational management of IT . “ You ' ve also got to keep in mind that Strategic Directions
70 October 2021