The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 8: Summer 2018 | Page 22

TECHNOLOGY MEET BATH’S 1ST OFFICE Tucked away on Brassmill Lane in Bath is 1st Office. The business which specialises in photocopiers, managed print solutions, archive and retrieval software and hybrid mail services has made Bath its home for over 30 years. The 66-strong team moved into their current premises ten months ago from the Lower Bristol Road which had been the company’s base since 1984. 1st Office works with sole traders to multi-nationals, supplying industry leading equipment to a number of key sectors including finance and education. They work with top brands such as Ricoh and Lexmark and have been the country’s largest Olivetti dealer for the last five years. The firm deals in technology from £350 to in excess of £100,000, but regardless of the price point, customer service is at the heart of the firm. Their strapline is ‘Where service matters’ and director Andrew Jones believes their commitment to this has been key to their success. Andrew said: “We employ 36 of our own in-house engineers who work across the south west. They are trained by our manufacturers to ensure if there is any downtime from equipment, business interruption is kept to a minimum and clients can resume usual practice.” The firm is the only photocopier supplier in Bath and is seeing an increased demand from the local marketplace. 1st office has just employed a news sales and marketing person dedicated to Bath and the surrounds. The rise in confidential document and print management is boosting the business alongside cloud archive and retrieval software. With the introduction of the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), companies have been investing ahead of the new rules ensuring the equipment and systems they are using are compliant. Another growth area for 1st Office is hybrid mail. At the beginning of the year they launched Print2Post UK. The service allows users to print and post a letter at the click of a button- without dashing to any mailroom to fulfil it, all for less than the cost of a 2nd class Royal Mail stamp. Andrew added: “We’re excited about Print2Post. Our simple online hybrid mail toolkit lets you mail out documents including letters, invoices, mail shots, recall letters, newsletters, postcards and greetings cards from just 45p.” You can visit the dedicated Print2Post website to find out more, www. print2postuk.com 01225 582583 @1stOffice For more info: www.1st-officeequipment.co.uk Two new recruits at Mintivo The team at Mintivo have welcomed two new directors into the business in recent weeks – now offering more than 60 years’ experience of supporting other ambitious businesses with efficient, effective and up-to-the-minute IT support and solutions. Steve Healy, managing director, said: “We are a true IT service management company with customer service at the core of everything we do. Our approach combines people, process and technology to create a continuous improvement programme.” The team, based in Chippenham, work with customers nationwide including Mulberry, Age UK Solihull, John Williams Heating Services, White Horse Surveyors and CMS Group. Their services include: 22 THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2018 • Managed IT support – which includes a state-of-the-art service desk with access to first class support facilities, ITIL service management framework and a consistent approach to delivery of service. Their support services are always underpinned by a comprehensive SLA. • Infrastructure Management – which includes monitoring, virtualisation projects, capacity planning, consultancy, solution design, disaster recovery and business continuity. • Cyber security services – which includes external vulnerability scanning, full audit, data encryption, education and prevention around phishing emails and scam vulnerability and two factor authentication. Chris Gough, technical director, said: “It’s fantastic to be part of a team with a fantastic blend of technical skills in a fun, modern culture. Our company has ambitious growth plans and I’m excited to be a part of their future.” The Mintivo team are partners with, Cisco, ESET, VMWare, Datto, Microsoft, HP Dell, Veeam. To find out more contact the team on [email protected] or call 03300 883310 or visit: www.mintivo.co.uk