SOCONNECT, the award-winning Borders-based Telecom, Internet and IT Managed services business, has secured a bolt-on deal with Edinburgh based Netopa, one the city’s leading IT Managed service providers. Netopa, a 10-strong team in Edinburgh, gives SoConnect, which has 20 people in Newton St. Boswells in the Scottish Borders, a base in Scotland’s capital and adds an established IT managed service offering to SoConnect’s existing operations.
SoConnect was founded by CEO Campbell Fraser in 2011 and now supports the SME market in Scotland and across the UK from its Borders base through a nationwide network of over 200 engineers. SoConnect won the High Growth Award at the Scottish Borders Excellence Awards in 2017 and 2018. Netopa was founded in 2011 by CEO Bob Bazley, a British Army veteran who brings over 25 years’ IT experience including as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Noble Group and as a Vice President at Merrill Lynch.
The combined group is expected to have revenues in the region of £4 million during its first year of trading. SoConnect’s client base now includes Ted Baker, Association of Project Managers, Stobo Castle Health Spa and Victim Support Scotland. In the combined group, which will retain the SoConnect name, Campbell Fraser remains as CEO and Bob Bazley will join the board of SoConnect and takes up the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO).
SoConnect CEO and founder Campbell Fraser said: “From day one, our vision has been around providing great value market-leading Internet and communication services with first-class customer support. Netopa has built a fantastic reputation among its customer base and the deal is a great strategic fit for SoConnect. Bringing Bob and the Netopa team on board strengthens our offering and gives us a footprint in Edinburgh which will be important as we look to grow the team.”
SoConnect COO Bob Bazley said: “The merger with SoConnect is really positive news for both our team and our clients and we wouldn’t have done the deal otherwise. We’re excited about the growth prospects for the business while continuing to develop the quality and delivery of services that we know matters most to the businesses we deal with.”
Campbell Fraser added: “For the SMEs we work alongside, simplifying and improving the efficiency of IT and Comms infrastructure through the use of Cloud technology is at the core of everything we do. Increasingly, we are also becoming a strategic, virtual CTO for many SME’s who don’t have the resources to have a dedicated CTO in place.”
Bob Bazley added: “Incorporating best-of-class cloud technology and cybersecurity are integral to business success and competitiveness and we see this trend continuing to grow in the years ahead.”
