Joint Innovation Winners

20 December 2011

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This year's Chamber Innovation Award was won jointly by technical company UKFast and social enterprise Unlimited Potential. Although the two businesses are very different, both displayed a passion for innovation which impressed the judges.

UKFast is a hosting solutions company, specialising in all areas of internet provision and support. The firm, based in Manchester city centre, was established 12 years ago by husband and wife team Lawrence and Gail Jones. In this constantly changing, evolving and increasingly competitive industry, innovation is key to success, and Lawrence was keen to share the secrets of his success with us.

It is obvious when speaking to Lawrence that one of the most important elements of his business is his team. By adopting a careful recruitment strategy, UKFast has hired people with the right attitude and who are the best fit for the business. With an incredibly low staff turnover, Lawrence is obviously doing something right. By taking regular team building trips to Snowdon and through constantly developing and investing in his team, Lawrence's team certainly works hard for him.

It is the research and development department within UKFast that was responsible for the company's success at the Chamber's recent innovation event.

Over the past 12 years, the team has developed a unique central software system that has a reporting and delivery function to ensure that the company can detect any problems before they become bigger issues. The account management team can see minute by minute reports on the firm and its 4,000 customers, and the system can be operated with just a small team of account managers, leaving more time to spend with clients.

Commenting on his team, Lawrence said: "I work with a group of exceptional people who have managed to make a real difference to the work we do. Research and development is so important in our firm; it's not only what you see now that counts, but it's what happens in the future. We're always looking forward so innovation is a key part of what we do."

As well as winning the Chamber's Innovation Award, UKFast has achieved a host of other accolades this year, including the UK's Best Workplaces award and North West Entrepreneur of the Year 2011 for Lawrence himself.

He said: "Awards are a great way to benchmark your success but most of all they help to reward a hard working team. Even individual awards we've won are a testament to the supportive nature of our people. We started out with two of us and now we're 140, and each and every person plays an integral part."

Looking to the future, Lawrence envisages the firm will keep on growing. The central software system has been developed to be easily adaptable as the business grows, and with further investments and possible acquisitions in the pipeline, UKFast is definitely one to watch.

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