centre before becoming the
cook at Cockton Hill Primary
School. That’s where Ian
began his education, before
moving up to King James
Comprehensive around the
same time as he joined the Boy
Scouts and pursued his love of
the countryside.
He stayed at King James for
his O and A-levels, in an era
when computer studies had
become a fancy new option. “I
did it for a year but dropped it
because I didn’t think it would
ever catch on!” he says, smiling
at the irony.
His interest in computer
systems was reignited, however,
when he joined ITEC on a
Youth Training Scheme, which included a placement in the
computer department at GEC Telecommunications. He
impressed enough after a couple of months to be offered a
permanent job as a programmer, and that vital first step had
been taken on the climb to the top.
When he started as a young whizz-kid in 1981, the
GEC site had a data entry room, employing ten typists,
and running just three processing terminals. By the time
he left, eight years later, his innovative contribution to the
department led to the number of terminals growing to 120,
and to the business operating a myriad of systems.
The systems created by Ian and his colleagues enabled
GEC’s Aycliffe site to become independent of its mainframe
– hundreds of miles away in Coventry – and far more
efficient. His success led to him being poached by Microdata,
which was to evolve into Northgate Information Solutions,
providing software for public sector bodies, including
councils and police forces across the UK.
While at Northgate, Ian worked alongside a “rising star” in
sales, Derek Buchanan, who left to head up a company called
Sunrise Software, and Ian was head-hunted again – this time
to join the board.
It meant him moving out of a tech role into sales – “selling
answers to problems” – for two-and-a-half years. Meanwhile,
two friends had set up Excelpoint, in Bradford, carrying out
bespoke development work, and, in 2003, Ian was invited to
become part of a business restructure as major shareholder
and managing director.
For a while, Excelpoint dispensed with its office, preferring
staff to work from home, but Ian soon felt the company
missed out on important “softer interactions” between the
employees. Consequently, office space was rented at Shildon,
and, as Excelpoint grew, the company moved to Flexspace, on
Aycliffe Business Park, before relocating to The Work Place at
the start of the year.
With the dark clouds of Covid gathering, Excelpoint was
ahead of the game by arranging for its staff to work from
home, fully two weeks before the official lockdown. But
despite the company continuing to help other businesses
overcome the challenges of home-working, Ian has no doubt
that he wants his own team to return to an office-based
environment as soon as possible.
“There are fewer distractions when you’re working from
home, and in many ways, more gets done. But what you lose
is that cross fertilisation that is so vital to problem-solving,”
he says. “We have a really productive team culture, with a
team who have a great attitude.”
It is a culture that has been the foundation of a highly
progressive business, with a customer base that includes the
likes of National Air Traffic Services; global mining group
Minova; CI Biomass; Hanson – part of the Heidleberg
Cement Group; and NHS trusts in Scotland and Northern
Ireland.
Excelpoint is also working with HM Revenue and Customs
to enable staff to work more flexibly during the pandemic.
Ian and his wife, Debbie, live in Woodham Village and
their three sons – Curtis, Lloyd, and Costner – all now play
a part in Excelpoint as the company continues to aim high.
Indeed, two new strategic partnerships have just been signed:
one with Altia-ABM – specialising in criminal investigation
software – and a re-selling agreement with CI Biomass.
And, in defiance of the challenges brought by the biggest
public health crisis in a generation, Ian remains confident of
continued growth.
“Over the last 20 years we’ve developed expertise as a nocode
platform and no-code platforms are now a buzz, and
that market will grow very significantly, so I guess we have a
20-year head start,” he predicts. “An international expansion
we were planning for this year hasn’t happened because of
Covid – but it will. It’s just a matter of time.”
The company boss who grew up with a love of climbing
mountains clearly hasn’t peaked just yet.
The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 21