Diversification strategy bears fruit for Appetite with new energy contracts

19/08/2019
Sheryl Newman
Sheryl Newman

An Aberdeen-based technology consultancy’s strategy to diversify into new regions and markets has resulted in energy sector contracts worth an initial five-figure sum.

Appetite for Business has been awarded its first public sector deal by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) since achieving G-Cloud 11 framework for cloud computing services.

The business will provide the industry regulator with Microsoft SharePoint consultancy, development, data migration, end user adoption and support to help the organisation transition to Office 365.

The company has also secured work with an oil and gas equipment manufacturer located in Houston, Texas for the transition to Office 365; providing training and development services, including automation of processes to help streamline the business and increase efficiencies.

This agreement marks the company’s first North American contract since a management buy-out was completed in 2016. Appetite has also won new contracts with clients in Canada and Norway.

Sheryl Newman, managing director at Appetite, commented: “The OGA contract represents one of our most exciting wins to date and demonstrates the continuation of our successful approach to helping organisations realise the full potential of Office 365 and its applications.

“Most importantly, we get to work with a forward-thinking team that is setting best practice standards for industry. Working with such a leading industry body has been a huge goal for me and my team.

“This announcement is testament to the hard work we’ve put in and the support that we’ve delivered to provide our clients with a strategy based on their business goals and objectives.”

Over the past year, the business has seen its team grow from three to nine people and extended its client base across the UK and internationally across a diverse range of sectors including energy, pharmaceutical, food and drink and recruitment.

In the past month, Appetite has also appointed Debbie Jamieson as office co-ordinator to help support customer care and service delivery.

Sheryl added: “We’ve made a step change over the past 12 months in terms of the diversity of the business we are adding and have seen steady growth as a result. We have grown the team and are currently looking at increasing our footprint across the UK.

“The decision for companies to invest in Office 365 and SharePoint technology is being led by how digital technologies can help us to work better. Working smarter, driving productivity and making teams more effective is something all organisations are striving to do, and we are helping to play a significant role in this.

“With an uncertain Brexit decision and inertia in the face of change, clinging to systems that stifle growth and make innovation, not to mention day-to-day work, harder than it should be has never been more vital.”

Appetite is a people-focused technology consultancy that specialises in Office 365 and associated applications to support organisations achieve significant cost savings and process improvements through better understanding of how employees engage and interact with technology.

In July, the business was recognised by the Learning and Performance Institute (LPI) as one of the UK’s top 20 highest performing learning providers. It also received LPI gold accreditation for the seventh consecutive year, including achieving perfect scores (100%) for client value proposition, business integrity, learning consultancy, online learning and people development.

Sheryl Newman was also named Leader of the Year at the 2018 Scottish Women in Technology (SWiT) Awards in recognition of her commitment to inspiring other women into the technology sector.

The Latest Stories

Virtual reality transforms learning for paramedic students
Leading Scottish microbiology firm moves to employee ownership
New study reveals that Brits are spending £9.41 per day working remotely
Almost 80% of Scottish tech sector optimistic for 2024