IN this week’s SME Focus we hear from a kick-boxer who has made the grade in the IT business after acquiring experience of the old Youth Training Scheme and the world of professional football.

Name:

Alan Middleton.

Age:

44.

What is your business called?

Capito Ltd.

Where is it based?

Livingston with an office in Aberdeen and one we opened recently in Reading in the south of England.

What does it produce, what services does it offer?

We are an IT company providing services and solutions in areas ranging from cloud computing to the deployment and management of IT systems. We work with several partners including Microsoft, HP Inc., VMware and Citrix.

As a service partner with HP Inc., we have provided services for in excess of 100,000 mobile and desk top devices in Scotland in the last 12 months.

We have also delivered complex deployments of user-ready devices and legacy lifecycle services into both Glasgow City Council and City of Edinburgh Council totalling in excess of 27,000 devices, in the case of the latter managing a maintenance service for 10 years.

Whom does it sell to?

A wide mix of commercial and public sector clients.

Outwith Scotland our contract work with HP Inc. has extended into financial services, utilities, telecoms and charity. We have just secured a project to deploy 20,000 devices into the central government space at over 150 sites across England and Wales, our single largest ever deployment.

Turnover?

£5 million plus last year.

How many employees?

Around 50 permanent members of staff. Recent recruitment includes the acquisition of the former Taupo sales, technical consultancy and support team. We have tripled our headcount in the last 12 months using our agile databank model, which gives us the ability to add over 100 trusted individuals/preferred suppliers to meet a customer's needs.

When was it formed?

1990. We started out as a computer rentals business (CRS), moving towards an IT reseller model in 1993 as a stockist for Sun Microsystems and Digital as the cost of IT equipment became more affordable.

We've continued to develop and grow our services offering as businesses move to more virtual and cloud-based environments. We became Scotland's first accredited Microsoft Gold Partner in 2000.

Why did you take the plunge?

I took part in a management buyout in 2006, which was backed by Murray Capital and Clydesdale Bank. PwC advised.

I guess part of this is that I was in the right place at the right time during a dynamic period in the business. Having already been here eight years, I had a real sense of belonging with Capito, and I wanted to be part of the leadership team within it.

Sitting in front of rooms full of potential backers and being part of a team essentially presenting and selling the business was not one of my more comfortable activities but, looking back, it was a great experience and that piece in particular has served me well in more recent times.

A decade on, I am managing director and have now been in that role five years.

What were you doing before taking the plunge?

As a 16-year-old I was one of the very first participants in what was then a brand new Youth Training Scheme, in my case for the Association of Accounting Technicians, when I was placed in a firm of chartered accountants in Edinburgh. On qualifying after three years, I stayed with them for a decade. I then progressed to become company accountant at an office interiors and industrial equipment and racking company for five years before joining Capito as financial controller in 1998.

What was your biggest break?

Probably being approached by the CRS Computers owner. They appointed me Finance Director in 2004 after two FDs had left during my time as financial controller, believing in me to take the role on rather than looking at another external appointment.

We had earlier won a worldwide contract for Quintiles Transnational, a Fortune 500 company and the world's largest provider of biopharmaceutical development and commercial outsourcing under our Lotus Notes expertise. This single rollout work represented a fundamental step change, radically altering the scale of this business.

What was your worst moment?

Like many, the business experienced some tough, lean times in years gone by. Letting people go is never a nice experience.

What do you most enjoy about running the business?

It's both dynamic and fast-paced. We have continued to grow and evolve over the years so there's never a dull moment. The IT sector is such an exciting place to be at the moment, with so many new challenges facing businesses around virtualisation and when, how and which services they should move to the cloud. Also the people I work, with who display lots of different characteristics.

What do you least enjoy?

The necessary evil of managing my inbox!

What are your ambitions for the firm?

To be the trusted IT services partner of choice for our customers and partners in our chosen markets, also ensuring Capito is a great place to be for all employees as we continue our growth plans.

What are your top priorities?

To continue to invest in the right mix of people: to this end we liaise closely with West Lothian on the jobs and employment front.

To maintain a culture that supports our team through the application of our company values.

To achieve growth in Cloud services and to build strong recurring revenue stream.

Geographic expansion.

What could the Scottish/Westminster Governments do that would help?

Capito is deeply involved in StepsN2Work and apprenticeship programmes plus more lately Careers Ready. Support from policymakers on the Investors in People and professional development fronts is absolutely vital if this country is to continue to improve its offering and compete internationally.

There is quite a lot of focus on the ICT sector already and the UK Government’s initiative to encourage 25 per cent of procurement spending to go to SMEs has definitely helped. I’m encouraged to see this target is rising to 33 per cent for 2020.

What were the most valuable lessons that you learned?

A few: Trust your instincts. Be a good listener. Don't delay making a decision once you know it's the right one. As a business, continue to be hard working and strong on the credibility and reputation fronts, being both flexible and reliable for the customer at all times.

How do you relax?

It used to be playing part-time professional and semi-professional football including at Arbroath and Linlithgow Rose, leading to coaching and management positions at semi-professional clubs Fauldhouse, Broxburn, Bathgate and Livingston.

Now? Not sure what this says but since giving all that up in 2012 I do a lot of Kick-Boxing.

It started as a fitness thing, led to small-club competition evolving into national competitions including a win at WKA Scotland championships, in the "Vets" section of course at my age! I've also had two semi-professional full contact boxing fights in the last six months - both went the distance, one decision and one draw.