Guided by strategic foresight

You can’t put a price on the increasing value of long-term and collaborative vendor partnerships underpinned by a knack for strategic foresight, according to Future Voice Director Tom Shirley.

What got you into ICT?
As a teenager I knew I wanted to run my own business, and I also knew I needed the right experience before going it alone. Acting on this combination of foresight and strategy I started in kitchen sales and with my first win under my belt promised myself I would never go more than 24 hours without a sale, and kept it. I moved to B2B telecoms in a telesales role and later into field sales for a couple of resellers before being headhunted by Central Telecom. Not long into the job I decided to set up Future Voice from a spare bedroom in January 2005. After the first 18 months and with six staff we moved to a standalone office. Future Voice felt established and I knew I’d made the right choice to be my own boss.

Which markets do you focus on?
Future Voice has a strong track record in the education sector. Charities, NGOs and other public sector verticals like healthcare have also become high growth areas. Our experience in education helps us to extend further and make a big impact in budget conscious operations.

Is Future Voice in growth mode?
Twenty years since being established Future Voice is still growing and our customers include big high street names like Purple Bricks, Triton Showers, Bravissimo and Blackburn Rovers. They show that we can compete against the big guys and beat them even when some may, incorrectly, see us as the underdogs.

What impact did Covid-19 have on the business?
Since the pandemic our turnover has risen circa 30-35 per cent even through the transition from standalone purchases to SaaS. With a consistent, reliable MRR and SPIFFs in place, Future Voice has established the foundations for effortless growth in the future, as long as we continue down the path we’re already on. We’re making sure Future Voice continues to work with the right vendors to deliver the best experience for our customers, while keeping the business agile with a range of solutions so we can remain vendor agnostic.

How has your gift for strategic foresight played into your growth?
We saw the move to the cloud and UC way before Covid. While many perceived the proposition as a luxury solution, we understood the business benefits and quickly pivoted the company. Having gone through that learning curve years before we were in the perfect position to help businesses react when the lockdown prompted so many companies to panic. We’re acting early on AI too. It’s on everyone’s radar so we’d be missing a trick if we weren’t investing time and resources into finding intelligent methods and platforms to integrate AI seamlessly, so that customers can link everything to everything else and enjoy the benefits of de-silo’d systems and information. But our immediate priorities are future proofing customers for PSTN and working with them to continually evolve and optimise their solutions.

How are you leveraging vendor partnerships for a competitive advantage?
As long as we continue to put trust in our vendors to deliver the technology businesses need, and we remain laser focused on the customer experience, we’ll push further into enterprise level customers, as we’re already doing, and expand our specialisms in the education, public sector and not-for-profit industries into new areas. We’ve already started working more closely with our vendors to target enterprise customers and smaller operations with larger capital, for example VC firms that demand the highest levels of product functionality, reliability, usability and support. Through making the vendor and customer relationship simple and enjoyable for both parties we will continue on the trajectory we’re on, disrupting more established brands and giving them a run for their money.

What’s the key to providing a sublime customer experience?
People don’t remember what they spent on a phone system, they remember the experience. So Future Voice aims to be the best possible go between for vendors and customers. The vendors will take care of the tech, and we take care of our customers, consulting from a neutral perspective to ensure both parties have all the information they need while we design, deploy and continue to support services that deliver an unbeatable experience.

Your role model:
Unai Emery, Aston Villa’s manager. He pulled the team out of relegation by just goal difference to Champions League football within two years. His never give up spirit and positivity is something I try and mirror every day.

What talent do you wish you had?
To cook. I may be great at BBQ, but I could be better in the kitchen.

Industry bugbear:
As with any industry, there are always big egos and a Wolf of Wall Street mentality within some people and cultures. I would get rid of that, and the desire to close deals at any cost.

What could you not do without in your job?
Mark Darby and Justin Goodchild have brought a phenomenal level of engineering and sales expertise respectively. Without them, Future Voice wouldn’t be where it is today.

What do you fear the most?
Not living up to expectations.

Tell us something about yourself we don’t know:
I’m a martial arts instructor.

What do you want Future Voice to be known for?
As the best Zoom delivery partner in the channel.

Three ideal dinner guests:
George Washington, JFK and Margaret Thatcher: I’d be interested to see what they think about the current state of politics and the world.

What are your main strengths and what could you improve on?
My strong point is determination, being moral driven and devoted to my family. My weaknesses are chocolate and not turning off.

Your favourite comedian or comedienne?
Jimmy Carr: I make an effort to see a handful of comedians every year but I keep on coming back to Jimmy because he’s consistently the funniest.

Best piece of advice you have been given?
Focus on what you can control and let go of what you can’t.

The biggest risk you have taken?
Setting up Future Voice at the age of 24. I believed in myself and was a sponge for six years, learning everything I could. It was the best decision I ever made.

How do you relax?
Spending time with my family, playing squash, martial arts training and BBQs. I recently got my own meat smoker and am experimenting as much as I can to perfect various different cuts and proteins.

Top tip:
If you look after your people and teams they will look after your customers.

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