Building my business; with James Cunningham
- How did the business start, and can you tell us about the growth of Core to Cloud since then?
My business partner, Mark Liddle, and I launched Core to Cloud in 2015. At the time, we had over 30 years of experience in the IT service provider sector between us. We understood the developing needs of businesses seeking IT and cybersecurity support, how the challenges were changing and where we felt businesses and organisations weren’t currently getting the protection and help they needed.
We work closely with all our clients to fully understand their digital estates and unique needs. Every business is different. The technical team and I are constantly researching the market for the latest vendor innovations and technologies. Our first-to-market approach has seen us launch exciting new offerings to the UK over the last 8 years, many of which have gone on to be some of the fastest growing vendors globally.
Since day one, Mark and I have always ensured that we grow Core to Cloud at an ambitious but sustainable pace, ensuring we maintain the quality of service that we are renowned for. We have established ourselves as a trusted consultant, providing sound, reliable and assured advice to our clients. This USP remains our key focus.
It’s obvious to say that we were a small team when we set out, but we have grown as we have needed to. As we have entered new markets and sectors, we have ensured that we have top industry experts in-house to provide the best advice and solutions to the exact needs and requirements of our clients. Our team understand the sectors our clients work in, the challenges they face, and the best technologies to help keep them secure.
Our turnover growth has remained consistent for the last 5 years or so, growing 100% year on year, and our team has expanded from 18 to 40 full-time members of staff over the last year, and this is growing every month. As our client base has grown, so have we, and last year we moved our headquarters to the Castle in Cirencester. We recently completed a refurbishment of the building and have created a fantastic collaborative environment for our team and customers to enjoy.
- How has your customer base and service offering changed since launching?
As I lightly touched on earlier, we pride ourselves on our first to market approach. We work closely with our vendor partners to ensure we provide the right solutions for our clients. Cybersecurity isn’t a one size fits all product; every client has different demands, challenges and concerns.
From day one we have always taken the time to understand our client’s exact needs and requirements, to understand the challenges that they are facing. By being methodical in processes we can build customers bespoke, robust cybersecurity packages and strategies that not only focus on technologies, but that can also help to educate and inform them too. We’re not just looking at the now either, we want to know what they expect their business to look like in a year or two, so we can plan ahead and help future proof their strategy. This philosophy is something that we will continue to live by and is what helps us stand out amongst the crowd within an ever-busier cybersecurity sector.
We now work in a fantastic mix of sectors. We help protect over a quarter of the NHS Trusts in England and Wales, and we are looking to expand our public sector share over the coming months and years. Our portfolio of private sector clients covers all aspects of business, including retail, finance, market research, consumer intelligence, and higher education. Our client base is split almost 50/50 between public sector and healthcare, and private enterprise and other organisations.
- How has Core to Cloud grown specifically in the last twelve months?
The last 12 months have been a truly exciting time for Core to Cloud.
Our team has grown significantly over this period, from 18 or so at the beginning of 2022 to 30 full-time members of staff by the turn of the year. Now, at the midpoint of 2023, we’ve already reached 40 team members and are recruiting more every month. We have recruited in all areas too, from marketing and sales, to technical and support. Bringing new faces into the fold always creates a buzz and air of excitement amongst the team.
At the end of last year, we completed the refurbishment of our headquarters. We have added new collaborative spaces, breakout areas, a podcast studio and new cinema room, all with the aim of improving work-life balance for our employees, and helping to get them excited about coming into the office. All of these facilities are also open to local businesses to use.
We have a reputation for bringing some of the latest innovations to the UK and are constantly researching the market for solutions that meet the changing demands of our client base. In the last 12 months we have partnered with some exciting new vendors, specialising in a range of innovative new technologies covering micro segmentation, zero trust, and endpoint threat detection.
Our biggest change this year has been the launch of our new managed services portfolio. This launch is part of a strategic transition for Core to Cloud becoming a fully managed service provider. This is a move we feel will add even further value to our existing customer base and help attract new opportunities too. The first three of our services to launch include our Dark Web Monitoring, fully Managed 24/7 Detection and Response, and Crisis Simulation services. The latter is a really exciting proposition, and it highlights our belief that robust cybersecurity strategies aren’t just built on technology, but processes and people too.
At a time where the threat landscape is ever changing, organisations need to ensure their workforce is aware of the increasing risk around cyber-attacks. Our crisis simulation service is an online solution that drops defenders into real-time cyber crises. The team and I truly believe that this could be a vital tool for helping organisations to educate staff about the threat landscape and help build workforce resilience.
On top of all of this, we have also expanded into two new territories too, in both Sweden and Scotland, with other markets and new territories also being explored.
- How do new offices in Scotland and Stockholm fit into Core to Cloud’s plans for the future, and do you have plans to expand to new territories too?
Scotland feels like a natural progression for Core to Cloud. We are obviously well established in the south of England and have facilities in place to be on-hand to our clients in this region and up and down the country.
We also have a growing customer base in the North too and as such it felt important that we had a tangible presence in the area. Excitingly, our office in Dundee is housed in the Abertay cyberQuarter, a new £18m cybersecurity research and development facility at the university. We will also be working closely with Abertay University to help develop the next generation of cybersecurity experts.
Just like Scotland, our move to the Nordics and Sweden has also felt organic. We started working closely with a few organisations in the country. As these relationships have grown, we felt now was the right time to have a permanent, physical presence in the region. The office will put us in an even better position to look after and support our existing clients, and also our new customers, as our reputation in the region continues to grow.
- Where do you see Core to Cloud achieving success in the future, in which new markets and services areas? What are your plans for the next 12 months in helping you to achieve these goals?
There is a lot of work to do in supporting our existing customer base and ensuring these organisations, their staff and their customers, or patients, are protected. Our job is stay on top of the threat landscape and best advise these clients on how to develop their cybersecurity resilience, whether that’s investment in technology, people or processes.
Internally, a key investment for us is to continue our transition from a trusted adviser to an MSP. As mentioned, we have already launched our crisis simulation, dark web monitoring, and our managed detection and response services. Over the coming months we’re looking to add further services to this new offering.
As we have done from the very start, we’ll continue to explore all opportunities for growth, including looking at new verticals in the private sector.
About Core to Cloud
Core to Cloud is an award winning cyber security solutions provider founded in 2015 by business entrepreneurs and IT specialists, Mark Liddle and James Cunningham. The company continuously research the market for emerging, ground-breaking technology solutions. From complete network visibility, security validation, governance and control, to threat detection and response, it provides consultancy and technical support for the planning and implementation of bespoke, sustainable cyber security strategies.
In 2022 it was awarded Cyber Security Company of the Year at The Sparkies award, Growth Business of the Year at the SoGlos Gloucestershire Business Awards, and Co-founder James Cunningham, was named as a ‘One to Watch’ in The Times’ LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders list.
Now supporting over 100 customers across an array of sectors, from Fat Face to UCL and 50+ NHS Trusts, Core to Cloud turns cybersecurity into a competitive advantage, removing the constraints that limit performance while keeping their customers’ most critical infrastructure safe and secure.
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