Virtua Team Talk

Virtua, the Swindon based mobile telecoms experts, has appointed a new business development director, Kevin Tillotson as a part of their marketing and sales strategy.  Kevin has more than 20 years of experience across a variety of sectors and has helped businesses grow through his knowledge and expertise.

Kevin had worked with Virtua on a consultancy basis in the first quarter of 2010. During that period, the company achieved additional sales amounting to 20% of turnover.

On joining the company, Kevin said: “It is a pleasure to be able to lead the sales and marketing team for a company with whom I have been closely associated. My experience with the company enables me to have a clear vision of the things that we want to achieve. The company is growing fantastically and it will be my job to work with a variety of teams and clients to maintain this momentum.”

Andy Watts, chief executive of Virtua said: “Virtua prides itself in having some of the most talented and experienced people in the industry. Kevin’s appointment is another feather to our cap. Our success depends on our people, and to achieve this we always invest in the best people available, people with a passion and in-depth knowledge of the industry, the technology and the clients. Kevin has been instrumental in making some key business decisions for Virtua and we are very happy to have him on board as our full time member of staff.”

Virtua has also appointed Holly Atkins on a secondment from Morris Owen, a leading Swindon based accountancy practice. Holly will manage the company’s accounts division in the absence of accountant Joanne Carter, who is on a maternity leave.

Andy continues “We have a very strong relationship with Morris Owen. They have been a trustworthy and friendly partner and having someone from them to assist us gives us peace of mind, and the expertise necessary to continue our expansion plans. We welcome Holly and Kevin to the team and look forward to great long term relationships with them.”

Virtua UK Limited, a leading Swindon based supplier of expertise to the telecoms industry has set up a triathlon club. The club is made up of the employees of the company and is a part of wider scheme, invigorating the company‘s work culture with fun and sports.

Andy Watts said: “The tri-club has been set up in response to the fact that we now have around a dozen members of staff interested in the sport and even considering race entry.  As keen tri-athletes ourselves, the directors wanted to help develop staff members’ interest in the sport and allow them to progress beyond their own training regimes.  It is also part of our wider health and safety policy to encourage our employees to take up sports and remain healthy.”

Love for sports, in particular has been an integral part of Virtua’s growth as all three directors are keen athletes. Two of the company’s directors, Andy Watts and Brian Watt have competed in the Ironman triathlon in Switzerland, whilst Brian has also taken part in the London marathon 16 times in a row.  Brian and Rob Brown (the third director) are also currently in training for a 250 mile charity bike ride for Multiple Sclerosis Research.

To help team members train and improve the company has also established a leader board in the office for times on the local measured 10 mile time trial route.

Virtua UK Ltd, a leading Swindon based supplier of expertise to the telecoms industry has been taking extraordinary steps in their health and safety practices that go far beyond the usual requirement of a company of their size.

Andy Watts, chief executive of Virtua comments: “For us people are our most important asset. As a telecoms company some of our staff do work in risk prone areas and we want to ensure that we take all measures to keep them safe. We don’t want health and safety to be just text book rules but want to incorporate it into our daily work culture.  This ensures everyone is aware of H&S requirements and has the resources and training necessary to not just deal with accidents but avoid them in the first place.”

The company is investing heavily in their staff health and safety by providing training and facilities that would be seen by many as radical steps, particularly in a company of less than 200 staff.  Some of the unusual steps taken by Virtua are as follows: •    The company has recently trained six members of staff in first aid, with plans to train others who show an interest in the subject. •    Virtua is sending its entire management team for IOSH training, which is a chartered body for health and safety professionals.

In addition to the above, the company has set up an in–house triathlon club to encourage employees to take up sports and maintain a healthy life style.  The club currently includes eleven staff members, including all three directors.  Andy Watts comments further on this: “Health and safety is about the well being of our employees wherever they are, which is why we are also encouraging them to maintain good health through sporting activities.  We even have a leader board in the office for times on the local measured 10 mile time trial route!  Above all we are focused on transforming health and safety from mere guidelines to part of Virtua’s work ethos.”

Virtua UK, the fast growing provider of design and technology solutions to the mobile industry has retained a large number of top class engineers despite the conclusion of a major project.  As a people focused business, Virtua are committed to growth for the benefit of all staff and team members.

Virtua UK Ltd, managing director, Andy Watts:  “It’s in the nature of our sort of project based business that even the most complicated projects eventually come to an end. We’ve been fortunate to have such good new business growth over the last few years that each time a major project has finished we’ve had new ones starting so that we can keep the best engineers working at full speed.”

The conclusion of a major project in the North, providing infrastructure services to the emergency services was concluded late last year.  Several of the team involved were immediately re-assigned to alternative client projects, including two recent new business wins.  The remaining members have joined Virtua’s growing head office team, supporting several hundred field workers, engineers and telecoms experts across the UK.

Watts concludes: “2010 was an incredibly successful year for us, with growth across all client sectors and all services.  In particular, our bespoke design work has grown as both a standalone service delivered to a range of clients looking to improve their mobile networks as well as in support of our other installation and engineering contracts.”

With more than 400% growth in staff over the last two years, Virtua UK Ltd has today moved into new premises in Wiltshire.

Virtua UK ltd, managing director, Andy Watts: “We have seen some great growth over the last couple of years.  But we still have goals to achieve and are looking forward to the next stage of our growth plans.  We have also been lucky enough to increase both turnover and profit alongside the staffing requirement, which is great news.”

In addition to the extra desk space offered by their new offices, Virtua staff have used their own technical knowledge to create a bespoke work space that includes testing facilities and meeting spaces that will allow them to continue their customer focused growth plans.

The modern style offices and facilities are located at:

• Virtua UK Ltd, Unit 5, Callow Park, Callow Hill, Brinkworth, SN15 5FD

• The new main phone number is: 01666 511020

Andy Watts continues: “Our growth has been organic and generated through a number of key activities.  Exploration of new services has yielded a number of clients wins as has the employment of a business development manager.  Our work with Swindon based communications agency and reputation management agency Soaring Worldwide has also created a great deal of interest.”

“Above all else the key to our success remains our people.  They continue to be the best in the market, not just technically but in terms of attitude.  This has brought in new business through referrals and up-selling across the whole of our client portfolio.”

Mobile Telecoms specialists Virtua, in partnership with iBwave, are not only developing innovative communications solutions for their clients but they are also changing the way business is done.

Traditionally businesses tend to sit groups of people together based on their job roles and their need to be close to a fixed phone line. For most this is the standard way of working but it is not necessarily the most beneficial or productive way of running a business.

Virtua, chief executive,  Andy Watts: “Today people tend to use their mobiles to conduct business and no longer need to be desk bound. Recognising this fact a number of forward thinking organisations are adopting a new type of telecoms facility called Fixed Mobile Convergence or FMC.“

The technology works by installing a small box on the wall of an office enabling staff to communicate more easily using dedicated mobile handsets at much cheaper call rates.

This way of working could revolutionise the way businesses communicate by freeing up staff so that they can work anywhere within an office complex without the need for a fixed  location.

Virtua are currently using their knowledge of the technology to set up the complete FMC solution for their clients and utilising iBwave’s unique set of technical tools to plan and implement the systems.

Watts concludes: “The most important element of these projects is in the planning and deployment phases and by using iBwave’s tools, coupled with our own experience, our clients can be sure of receiving a cost effective, optimised and  robust phone system that will enable them to work more productively and more efficiently”.

Anyone who knows the three Virtua directors, Rob Brown, Brian Watt and myself, Andy Watts, will know how passionate we all are about our cycling. That’s why we were all so interested this week to hear that Nokia has just released a mobile phone charging kit that uses a dynamo powered by a bicycle’s wheels.

According to Nokia any cyclist wanting to re-charge their handset using the kit will need to maintain a speed of about 4mph (6km/h). The charging kit is primarily intended for nations where bicycles are the most common form of transport but it will work with any phone using a 2mm charger jack.

Alex Lambeek the Nokia Vice President stated that. “Bicycles are the most widespread means of transport in many markets around the world, so this is just one more benefit to be gained from an activity people are already doing”

The phone charging times will vary by speed but a cyclist completing a 10 minute journey at 6mph (10 km/h) will produce enough power for 28 minutes of talk time or 37 hours of standby time. Also included in the kit along with the dynamo is a holder to secure a phone to a bicycle while it is being re-charged.

For us three cycling fanatics though, 4mph or 6mph is not what we would call cycling. Our 15-20 mile commute to work at over 20mph would give a good charge for phone calls for the whole day!

The charging kit will be available through Nokia’s stores worldwide by the end of 2010 and will cost about £12.50 (15 Euros). The phones have been designed for developing nations and in particular for places where the electricity supply is limited.

Personally I think this is a great idea and the ideal way to use dynamo power whilst enjoying a good work out at the same time. It’s also not just the perfect solution for cyclists in countries where the electricity supply is unreliable but also for anyone wanting to combine a little exercise with the opportunity to get their mobile charged up.

So the next time one of my work colleagues or fellow directors calls across the office –“Hey Andy – can I borrow your phone charger?” they can be very sure of my answer:

“On your bike!”

Virtua UK Ltd, a leader in the provision of Telecoms specialists, has selected Anite’s Nemo Handy tool for testing mobile networks.

Virtua is pioneering the deployment of in-building Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) solutions for retail and commercial properties.  To ensure that no detail is overlooked, Virtua uses the very best technical tools available, one example being Nemo Handy, supplied by voice and data experts Anite.

Virtua, chief executive, Andy Watts:  “Nemo Handy has set the standard for handheld network measurement devices since 2005 and continues to do so today. It is the most widely deployed handheld measurement tool in the world. Its extensive measurement capabilities are incorporated into a small mobile terminal that is ideal for performing measurements both outdoors and in busy and crowded indoor spaces – perfect for Virtua’s needs.”

With state-of-the-art real-time and customisable data views, Nemo Handy displays all the relevant network parameters on the terminal screen, at the same time recording all the important network parameters. Network information that is collected can be transmitted for post-processing in Nemo Analyze for further analysis.

Commenting on this partnership, Andy Watts said: “The combination of features offered by Nemo provides everything the Virtua teams need to deliver exceptional performance to our clients.  Working closely with Anite is proving to be an exciting process as we develop products and services together. The most important elements of these FMC projects are the planning and deployment phases – Anite’s tools, coupled with our own experience provide our clients with a cost effective, optimised and robust phone system that will enable them to work more productively and more efficiently”.

Heikki Koivuaho, senior vice president of global sales and marketing at Anite Finland Ltd commented:  “Virtua is pushing the boundaries of FMC and telecoms technological development.  Their team is designing and implementing systems in challenging environments so it is vital they have the right tools for the job.  They are consistently pushing our equipment’s capabilities and we are excited about their growth and ideas for the future which in turn allow us to investigate new technologies ourselves.”

Virtua UK Ltd, a leading supplier of expertise to the telecoms industry, achieved additional sales amounting to 20% of turnover in first four months of 2010.

To meet the demands of this growth, Virtua has employed industry heavyweights –Rob Davies and Ian Jenkins as well as Kevin Tillotson in a business development role.

Virtua, chief executive, Andy Watts:  “These are exciting times for Virtua, we are seeing fantastic growth in all areas of the business.  In particular, since the new year, we have made changes to our marketing and sales strategy.  These have directly affected our new-business activity but we want to carry on expanding for the benefit of our team, clients and the industry as a whole.  To achieve this we are investing in some of the best people available, people with a passion and in-depth knowledge of the industry, the technology and our client’s needs.”

•    Rob Davies takes on the role of senior systems architect.  After five years working for Ferranti and then twenty years in Motorola as a systems engineer Rob has a wealth of experience within the Telecoms industry specialising in cellular development.

•    Ian Jenkins takes on the role of head of RF systems design.  After 10 years at Alan Dick & Co as a “cellular design antenna engineer” he focused on projects for Vodafone and 02 where he came to be considered the ‘design authority’.

•    Kevin Tillotson takes on the role of Business Development Director.  With 20 years experience across a variety of sectors, he has grown businesses both organically and through acquisition.

Watts continues: “Virtua is a fast moving company going through exciting changes and performing at the top level of the telecoms and mobile telecoms industries.  To move forward we need to work with the best.  Rob, Ian and Kevin have the right attitude and are already working closely with both long-term and new clients”.