Deloitte 7
The Sunday Business Post
March 5, 2017
Arkphire
on the up
and up at
high speed
IT and networking company
Arkphire recorded incredible
growth in its most recent financial
year, and it doesn’t intend to stop
there, writes Graham Clifford
W
ith 91 per cent
growth in the
last financial year, one
Irish-owned
IT and networking company is living life in the fast lane of the
information super-highway.
Arkphire reported operating profits of
€1 million on turnover of €52.6 million
for the 12-month period that ended on
June 30 last year. Those figures reflected
an incredible increase in turnover of 63
per cent on the previous 12 months.
The company expects to generate revenues of €70 million for the 12 months to
the end of June 2017. Arkphire’s managing
director Paschal Naylor said profits would
likely double in the same period.
“We had a very strong end of 2015 and
first six months of 2016. There wasn’t any
single factor to explain the significant
increase in turnover,” said Naylor.
“With a company like ours, it takes
time for investments and strategies to
reach full fruition and that’s what happened last year. The excellent result was
driven primarily by the expansion of
Arkphire’s customer base and the strong
performance across each of its principal
activities covering managed services, IT
consulting, product procurement and
logistics.”
The company has had a number of
reincarnations over the past 35 years. In
1981, it began life as the Memorex Corporation before being renamed Arkphire
in 2011, following a management buyout.
In that time, it has served hundreds of
clients successfully in 51 countries across
the globe.
“Our sector has changed so dramatically over the years. Companies like ours
are no longer involved in maintenance of
systems, but rather in their implementation. IT is now the power station of
business enabling companies to thrive,
innovate and prosper,” said Naylor.
Arkphire has followed two parallel
strategies, focusing on procurement
in the multinational and international
sector and in design, build and manage
(through cloud technology) in the Irish
and British markets.
Last year, Arkphire acquired networking company Bootstrap in a strategic play
that will now position both companies
Paschal Naylor,
managing director,
Arkphire
to offer enterprises the full spectrum of
IT services.
Due to the timing of the Bootstrap
acquisition, earnings for the newly-acquired business were not included in
Arkphire’s consolidated financial statements for the period ended June 30, 2016.
“It’s a hugely significant and exciting development for us. Bootstrap is a
high-quality networking solutions specialist company which possesses such
a broad range of specialist expertise in
areas such as security knowledge. They
will help us to build infrastructures and
complement our current offering,” said
Naylor.
Arkphire’s customers cover large multinationals, leading Irish organisations
and public sector agencies within a wide
range of industries including telecommunications, finance, pharma, healthcare
and energy.
In 2014, it opened a serviced office in
Britain, to target new business and there
are plans to do the same in the US.
“At different stages, we’ve had to go
back to the drawing board and re-evaluate our strategies and I think that’s
healthy in any company. It makes you
At the heart of
our enterprise are
our customers
and workforce.
Both are integral
to our success
sharper and keeps perspective,” said
Naylor. “We must thank Ulster Bank who
have always supported us and provided
vital working capital when we’ve needed
it. At the heart of our enterprise are our
customers and workforce. Both have been
integral to our success, especially in the
last few years.”
Arkphire has achieved an average 400
per cent annual growth in revenues since
2011, and in 2016, was listed among the
Deloitte Technology Fast 50, a ranking
of the fastest growing technology companies in Ireland.
“Getting that accolade was very important, both internally and externally.
It was something of a milestone for us
and was certainly beneficial in terms
of gaining new customers,” said Naylor.
“For those involved in the tech side of
our business, it gave a great boost and
contributed to the good feeling that exists
in our business.”
The company entered the Deloitte Best
Managed Company Awards for the first
time this year, emerging a victor.
“The in-depth scrutiny of our company and strategies from every angle was
holistic, almost like a thesis approach. So,
to come through that with flying colours
is wonderful and we thank Deloitte for
this prestigious recognition,” said Naylor.
Arkphire employs 75 people, and it
is hoped that will increase by 35 in the
year ahead.
“Arkphire’s primary contributor to
the growth of the business is down to
our customer-centric approach and our
management team’s mindset to be willing
to invest in new and evolving solutions
that meet the market requirements of our
valued customers,” said Naylor.
“Having that close connectivity with
our customers, taking the time to understand their needs and delivering on
our promise to them makes for a strong
partnership, and we aim to make many
more in the years ahead.” A company that has its
finger on the Irish pulse
Atlas Travel got its big break in 1970 by bringing a GAA
All Star team to the US. Almost half a century later, it’s
still going strong, writes Graham Clifford
A
tlas Travel has
been to the forefront of Corporate
Travel Management for half a
century, delivering solutions
and innovating along the way.
Managing journeys is its speciality.
Set up in Dublin in 1967 to
cater for incoming tours and
outgoing overseas travel, the
firm’s initial origins actually
go back to 1946, when it was
set up as a German travel
agency. It was later acquired
by Andy McKenna, who had
just turned 24.
The company has always
had its finger on the pulse
of Irish business and social
evolution.
In 1970, McKenna approached the then GAA president Sean O’Siochan to ask if
the organisation would send
an All-Stars team to the United
States, promising that Atlas
would underwrite all losses.
The audacious proposal got
the green light and, for over 40
years, the All-Stars GAA travel
to the US has been serviced by
Andy Mc Kenna’s business.
His son Stephen, chief executive of Atlas Travel today,
said the company’s successful
ethos centred on its ability to
continually innovate, analyse
its offering and put its clients
first.
“My father was continuously innovating, so it’s in
our DNA. We’re now competing with larger travel brands
across Europe so we have to
concentrate on what we do
best,” said Stephen McKenna.
“We remain agile, innovative and always eager to
hear from our clients so that,
through their feedback, we
can improve our offering.”
As advances in online technology continue at pace Atlas Travel has embraced the
challenges and opportunities
which have arisen as a result.
“We’ve developed technol-
Stephen McKenna, chief executive, Atlas Travel
ogy to enhance our customer
service offering. We want to
make the entire experience
less stressful, more efficient
and easier to manage for our
clients.
“Smart solutions and integrated technology in our
business is now a must and is
revolutionising the industry.”
Atlas has developed new
door-to-door technology
which will allow them to
literally take control of their
clients’ journey from start to
finish.
“It will facilitate the entire
journey from the taxi, to the
train or plane and everything
in between including travel
expenses,” said Stephen McKenna.
“We believe in providing
ease and convenience, because arranging and managing travel should be easier
than it is. Through innovation
and insight, we’re upgrading
the world of business travel
management.
“We’re all passionate about
improving the corporate travel
experience including helping companies’ bottom line
through offering travel expense solutions and innovative ways of procuring travel.”
McKenna said that each
client was equally valuable
to the company. “We provide
24-7 customer support because we know travelling can
be stressful and, occasionally,
frustrating,” he said.
“If one of our client’s employees needs us we’re here to
help. Last year, we had three
people at Atatürk Airport in
Istanbul when there was a terrorist attack there. Thankfully,
none of our customers was
injured, and we made sure
we got them a private transfer back to their hotel and to
safety. We feel an obligation
to protect our customers and
if they face delays or disruption do all we can to rectify
problems.”
Dashboard analytics is now
a mainstay of modern-day
corporate travel management. While more and more
companies are outsourcing
travel booking and management, they also require detailed breakdowns of fees and
costs, so Atlas Travel ensures
all these figures are accessible
at the touch of a button.
“We deal with a lot of millennials, who are so used to
having information presented
to them instantly via mobile
technology. Because of our
technology, we can give clients
travel options and information
quickly,” said McKenna.
The company’s meticulous
focus on its customers over
the decades has given it a reliable and firm foundation from
which to progress.
“We’ve had clients who
have been with us for many
decades. Indeed, one company has used our services
for 36 years. When we look
at the figures, we see that 94
per cent of our business is rollover or referral business,” said
McKenna.
In 2009, Atlas Travel, which
has 77 employees, entered a
partnership agreement with
American Express Global
Business Travel, the world’s
leading business travel management company.
This partnership has allowed Atlas to enhance its
value proposition to its customers by offering a local travel service with global power
and solutions.
This is the second year the
company has entered the Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards Programme, so its
success this year has delighted
those behind the application.
“The entire process has
benefited us so much and the
success gives us great legitimacy. When clients look at
doing business with us, we
believe this award will help us
greatly,” said McKenna.
“Undoubtedly, the process
forces you to focus strategically. It’s a collective effort,
and we’re thrilled to have
impressed in the way we did.”
Deloitte
Best Managed
Companies
2017
2017 Gold Award Winner
A huge thanks to our fantastic team
and cherished customers in Intelligent
Logistics, In-Market Solutions and
Integrated Services.
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