What we’re all about

We’re for the disruptors. The movers and shakers. The change makers. The ones who understand that bravery doesn’t mean recklessness. And that safe and affordable can ignite fearless growth.

We’re for the innovators. The collaborators. The ambitious. The ones who know relevance means survival. And that no matter how fast the evolving landscape, they’re ready to adapt to whatever comes their way.

Things just keep getting better

With plenty of cloud migrations under our belt, it’s safe to say that by now, we’ve really got this thing down. Equal parts passion and good old-fashioned elbow grease has allowed us to enjoy continuous, organic profits - year on year - since 2003.

Reaching the level we’re currently at hasn’t been easy - we had to jump through a lot of hoops. But each one of them was worth it because now we’re the very best at helping our customers achieve Fearless Growth. It’s our brand promise, after all.

We now have a team of 200+ staff with annual revenue of over £25 million. All profits are ploughed directly back into the business to support our continued growth.

Microsoft experts

We’re one of Microsoft’s most trusted and capable partners, armed with more than 15 of their most stringent competencies.

200+

We have 200+ staff

£25m

Annual revenue of more than £25 million

Just like yours - our business is always growing

And without tooting our own horn (too much), we know exactly what we’re doing.
We know that to help you achieve Fearless Growth, we need to be growing fearlessly too.
We need to be excellent at what we do. And we are.
Cheeky? Perhaps. True? Absolutely.

With our 5 guiding principles at the heart of every single decision we make, we’re creating steady and measurable streams of long-term value for all our ambitious clients - helping them grow fearlessly, at speed and scale.

Mutuality

We deliver mutual benefits that endure. We aim to be fair. We are trusted for quality, reliability, and transparency. And in return, we believe success will flow.

Quality

We aim to be better than others at meeting customer needs with unique and value-for-money offerings. When it comes to quality, we are uncompromising.

Efficiency

We do more with less. We waste nothing. We have high output and low costs. We have few staff with big jobs. We only do what we can do best.

Responsibility

We do the 'right thing' by ourselves and others. We celebrate and reward success. We set and achieve high standards. We develop as individuals and teams. We remain accountable.

Freedom

We need freedom to shape our future; we need profit to remain free.

Our cloud IS the silver lining

Collaborating with us is always uncomplicated. Unlike some Expert MSP’s, we pride ourselves on absolute transparency around costs and processes. And you can always depend on us to keep you relevant and a cut above the rest.
Because let’s face it: When you thrive, we thrive.
It’s called symbiosis. A win-win. Everybody’s happy.

How do we do this?

We build it right

As an Azure Expert MSP, we’re an operator at heart. This means we understand what makes systems successful. Our solutions work because we build them to use them. Unlike an SI, we own the result over the long-term.

We have the learning edge

Our expertise comes from being born in the cloud, and being recognised as a Microsoft Gold Partner and Azure Expert MSP. Advanced specialisation and continuous investment in our skills, knowledge, and training gives us the edge over others.

We’re about teaching - not selling

Delivering value-for-money for our customer over the long-term excites us. By empowering and upskilling your in-house teams, and helping you bridge knowledge gaps, we create a powerful platform from which to collaborate on those high-impact, transformational projects.

86

Customer experience is the thing that matters most to us. At 86, we have one of the highest Net Promoter Scores (NPS) in the world.

We love giving the neighbours something to talk about

Top 50 Fast Growth business 2018

We’re delighted to be named one of the Top 50 Fast Growth businesses in the South West 2018. The list, compiled by Trinity Mirror PLC, highlights the fastest growing companies in the South West and shortlisted Cloud Direct as a finalist for the Technology and Innovation award. Brett Raynes, CEO of Cloud Direct, said: “It’s fantastic to be recognised as one of the fastest growing businesses in the South West. We are in a rapidly growing market as more companies move to use cloud computing. Our experience and expertise mean we are in a great position to help them do this and therefore to grow ourselves.”

1000 Companies to Inspire Britain, 2017
London Stock Exchange Group celebrates AOG, a Cloud Direct company

alwaysON Group (AOG), a Cloud Direct company, has been identified as one of London Stock Exchange Group’s “1000 Companies to Inspire Britain”. The report is a celebration of the UK’s fastest-growing and most dynamic small and medium sized businesses across the UK. To be included in the list, companies needed to show consistent revenue growth over a minimum of three years, significantly outperforming their industry peers.

UK Cloud Awards, 2017
Best Cloud Service Provider – finalist

Cloud Direct was shortlisted among ‘hundreds of entries’ – including industry giant Ingram Micro – as one of the UK’s best cloud service providers (CSPs). The awards celebrate innovation, entrepreneurialism and technical excellence from the leading cloud suppliers, technologies and projects in the UK cloud sector. Microsoft, Red Hat, IBM and Deloitte were also shortlisted for the finals in their chosen categories.

‘The Markies’ from Oracle, 2016
Best Emerging Company Marketing Campaign – finalist

Oracle named Cloud Direct as one of five finalists in their tenth annual Oracle Marketing Cloud Awards, The Markies, in the “Best Emerging Company Marketing Campaign” category. The award celebrates the best in modern marketing, recognising customer-centric best practice in marketing excellence – “marketing magic with online creativity, digital communication and compelling content”. Fellow awards finalists include Dell, Vodafone, Ingram Micro, Hewlett Packard, Thomson Reuters, Cisco and BT Global Services.

The CRN Channel Awards, 2015
Best Cloud Services Provider – finalist

Cloud Direct was shortlisted in the Cloud Services Provider (CSP) category at The CRN Channel Awards 2015. The awards recognise excellence in the delivery of solutions, service and support to end-user customers. They take into consideration the CSP’s ability to deliver real benefits to the user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI, investment protection and cost reduction.

ISO 27001:2013

In recognition of Cloud Direct’s commitment to global standards for security best practice, the packaged cloud provider was one of the first UK businesses to be awarded ISO 27001:2013 certification, in March 2015. ISO 27001:2013 is the latest international standard and benchmark for information security management. The certification demonstrates that Cloud Direct has implemented and upholds an independently assessed and certified information security management system (ISMS). The certification proves to customers, suppliers and stakeholders that Cloud Direct is committed to, and compliant with, global best practice for information security. It also proves that Cloud Direct can support its customers’ obligations under the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998, and has robust policies around access control, incident management, business continuity, physical security, human resources and technical procedures.

ISO 20000

ISO 20000 certification is an independent audit of a business’ ability to deliver consistently high-quality IT services and was certified ISO 20000 compliant in June 2011. Cloud Direct bases its processes on ITIL® – a comprehensive set of best practices for IT Service Management. The ethos behind ITIL is the recognition that organisations are increasingly dependent on IT in order to meet business needs. This leads to an increased requirement for high quality IT services. Used around the world by companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Hewlett Packard and the Ministry of Defence, ITIL is a route to ensuring quality and efficiency in the world of IT. ITIL® is a registered trademark of the Office of Government Commerce.

Institute of Customer Service - ServiceMark

ServiceMark is an organisational accreditation which uses a combination of self-diagnosis, customer satisfaction measurement and independent assessment. The ICS assessor stated: “All the directors / line managers and staff interviewed and observed were found to be helpful, friendly, very professional and keen for the company to achieve a world class customer service, to achieve the ICS ServiceMark and to maintain their strong focus and culture of continuous improvement. It was impressive to see the improvements and results already achieved and the commitment to work harder to develop an outstanding customer experience.” On Direct Business Services Limited (the legal entity of Cloud Direct) was strongly recommended to the ICS board as an extremely worthy award recipient of the ICS Service Mark SME, achieving ServiceMark accreditation late 2010.

Beacon Status

Beacon status is an award given to companies who demonstrate outstanding achievement across a range of criteria, including improvements in productivity and performance, profitability, work culture and innovation. Beacon Companies are identified as the South West region’s top performing businesses. Beacon South West is a key business initiative of the South West of England Regional Development Agency (SWRDA); it acknowledges and brings together companies with a proven track record of success, from a diverse range of industries, to showcase good practice, share ideas and exchange experiences.

We don’t follow tech trends. We start them

Way back in 2003, before the word ‘cloud’ got thrown around like it was everybody’s business, CEO Brett Raynes founded Cloud Direct. His vision? Replacing old-world, on-premises IT with a simple, scalable, and secure cloud service that organisations could subscribe to like they did gas or electricity. The idea? To help ambitious businesses compete and thrive by freeing them from the pain and cost of traditional IT – with absolute transparency from beginning to end.

Meet our cloud industry leaders

Brett Raynes
Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Brett, a serial entrepreneur, enjoyed 10 years of founding and running technology businesses in the UK and abroad before he set up Cloud Direct in Bath, UK, in 2003. After a marketing career at Mars Corporation, Brett started up his first business in 1992. He sold this to a NASDAQ quoted business in 1999. Following further experience running equity-backed technology businesses in France and Germany, Brett then founded Cloud Direct with the goal of building a leading cloud services provider. Brett has a first-class honours degree in engineering, a marketing degree, and has completed Cranfield University’s Business Growth program.

Jane Hall
Finance Director

Jane is an accomplished commercial, main board director with more than 25 years’ experience as a chartered accountant and non-executive director, chairing boards and audit committees. She is a strategic and analytical thinker with a deep understanding of technology and operations. Jane has an exceptional international track record of delivering strong growth, international M&A, turnaround and financial results aligned to strong operational and strategic skills.

Ian Bowen
Chief Customer Officer

An experienced sales and business management executive in UK and Europe, Ian has a track record of growing businesses, whether start-ups or established brands. Ian develops differentiated marketing and sales strategies that resonate with customers. He has detailed knowledge of key business drivers and how to make technology support these. Ian strongly believes we are all in sales, and that acting as a team with integrity and transparency delivers results and develops loyalty.

Be part of an award-winning team

We’re always on the lookout for a new wave of tech-savvy employees who are curious, courageous and obsessed with the power of digital transformation. Hungry for disruption?