Impressive – Neil Warren and Justin Godfrey inside AV Dawson ’ s new HQ , The Staiths .
CONNECTING WITH HISTORY
An ultrafast connectivity solution is benefiting one of Teesside ’ s oldest and most well-known firms
118 | Tees Business
I f you aspire to roll out a product you truly believe in , securing one of an area ’ s best-known companies as a customer is a massive boost .
And that ’ s just what happened to awardwinning IT provider Aspire Technology Solutions as it sought to expand its full fibre Ultrafast Dedicated Connectivity ( UDC ) network — which boasts some of the fastest speeds available in the country — among firms across the Tees Valley .
By signing up AV Dawson , Aspire has one of Teesside ’ s most successful businesses on its books .
Celebrating more than 80 years of supporting manufacturing supply chains by handling and moving freight , AV Dawson ’ s Port of Middlesbrough operates from a 100-acre port facility on Riverside Park .
It ’ s a sprawling site – and 21st-century demands mean it ’ s never been more important to have a fit-for-purpose connectivity solution .
PICTURES : TOM BANKS WORDS : DAVE ROBSON
Step forward Aspire , with its UDC innovation .
And as Tees Business chats with both parties in AV Dawson ’ s impressive new HQ , The Staiths , with Philip Boville ’ s stunning mural telling the AV Dawson story as a colourful backdrop , it ’ s clear that UDC is revolutionary .
AV Dawson ’ s head of IT , Neil Warren , and Aspire Technology Solutions sales manager Justin Godfrey knew each other after working together on previous projects .
When Neil was tasked by MD Gary Dawson with bringing in a connectivity solution suitable for one of the region ’ s biggest port operators , discussions began with Aspire about UDC .
And when the switch was flicked in February 2020 , AV Dawson became one of the first – and certainly most high profile – firms on Teesside to go “ live ” with UDC .
Launched in 2015 by Gateshead-based Aspire but expanded into Teesside in 2020 , UDC is a cost-effective , 100 gigabit per second , full fibre network providing the fastest speeds and one of