Redstone's Managing Director Brendan Loughrey reveals how the company has strengthened its presence in the high growth smart buildings and smart technologies arena while leveraging cross-selling opportunities throughout the customer base, including many blue chip organisations.
Redstone has reinvented itself as a specialist in smartening up buildings and commercial spaces. This strategic shift was made possible through the acquisition in March this year of Connect IB, a smart buildings software and solutions business. Redstone now operates as an IT network and smart building systems integrator with a blue chip customer base and a 30 year heritage. Its roots reach back to 1986 when Cableship was founded by two former BT engineers. Following a period of acquisition the company became known as Communica and during 2004-2007 won some key deals including Bank of America, HSBC and Merrill Lynch. Communica also cabled many of the major buildings in Europe.
The company was acquired by Redstone in 2007 and six years later it had evolved into three primary service areas - mobile and telecoms, managed services and converged solutions. Redstone sold to Coms plc in 2013 and has since been developing and delivering smart building solutions, from cabling and infrastructure to smart building and then service and support. This year Coms plc changed its name to RedstoneConnect, merging the Redstone brand with the Group company.
Redstone has seen steady growth since its inception 30 years ago. The company has 300 employees including 185 engineers located on-site with customers. Last year revenues climbed 35 per cent to £40-plus million and profits rose 35 per cent to £7 million. "Redstone has delivered a number of new business wins that brought scale and breadth to the scope of our client engagement," said Loughrey. "For example, recent successes in our blue chip financial services customer base include a £5.4 million contract with a major global financial services client, delivering a smart building, ICT infrastructure and IT networking project."
The company also scooped a £0.9 million contract with an international financial services client to provide a Storage Area Network infrastructure and ICT refresh, and a £0.4 million contract to deliver an IT networking project with a leading provider of audit, tax and advisory services. "Our focus has moved towards the office space, enabling customers to create an enjoyable experience within their working environment through the use of technology," added Loughrey.
In recent years Redstone has developed its service areas, appointed a new CEO, Mark Braund, and launched a fully integrated smart building solution that makes spaces work more effective and efficient. Also top of the agenda is developing and expanding the Group's annuity revenue streams in software, managed services, support and maintenance, and rolling out its new occupancy management software solution called OneSpace. "In our always-on world employees expect to use their technology seamlessly," added Loughrey. "And with the explosion of mobile devices DAS infrastructures need to cope with this exponential rise in usage. The move to hot desking has enabled us to push our One Space product that allows employers to manage their space and report on its utilisation. This software also enables employees to engage with their workspace and ensure they can work in appropriate groups.
"The way buildings are now being constructed to include IT networks from the start is key to the evolution of the smart building space. Over the last 18 months we have seen a rise in landlord networks being installed that help the tenant in their occupancy. The need to drive out cost and improve returns through the occupation and running of corporate businesses comes as a major positive for us. The Group will broaden its intellectual property applications to a wider spectrum of smart environments and invest in research and development."
Re-industrialisation, or Industry 4.0, is another key trend being closely tracked by Redstone, along with the potential impact of IoT disruption. Both are aspects of the market that are breaking new ground and this is reflected in Loughrey's career at a personal level. "Pushing boundaries is important in all aspect of your career," he said. "The development of people is important to me and seeing how they continue to grow is a special highlight."
Loughrey's own career path is a shining example of his work ethos. After completing an electrical apprenticeship he worked for BT and completed further studies in telecommunications. "I then started with Cableship in 1987, initially as an engineer and moved swiftly through the ranks, running operations with a responsibility for 450 staff and delivering £55 million of projects. I completed an MBA in 2002 and this gave me a grounding in all aspects of business, from HR to finance. I still believe that working hard and doing the right thing, regardless of how difficult this can be, is the key to being successful."•