Collaboration is the key to 2025 for Greenlight Computers
As we rapidly move toward 2025 the Greenlight Computers team has been analysing our strengths and weaknesses and it makes quite pleasant reading. For us to build on these solid foundations we need to think collaboratively and build our growth strategy around that.
Since our decision in 2020 to make Life Science & Healthcare our focus sector we have see on average a healthy 22% annual growth. This is despite the acquisition of several long-term clients by larger businesses in the period, often resulting in a reduction in our contracts as the new owners bring things in house. We do however celebrate this and take great pride in the fact that we enabled our clients to grow and exit. Its also nice to establish an ongoing relationship with the new larger company that leads to new opportunity.
To work with these bigger organisations, we recognise that supply chain collaboration is the best way to build ongoing growth, and this is a core part of our strategic plan.
Anti-business budget 2024
Following the October 2024 budget statement increasing tax on doing business, going it alone is no longer an option. Lots of feet on the street trying to sell will become too big of an investment for many businesses, collaborating with like minded businesses who have positive relationships with their clients will allow for much reduced sales and marketing investment.
The implications of the hike in national insurance for our business is 1.2 additional salaries, like most business we now have a choice and will reduce our expected headcount growth to compensate. The investment needed in the NHS is essential so hopefully the business sacrifice will make the difference needed.
What is Collaboration?
We asked our friendly generative AI engine for its definition:
Collaboration is the process of individuals or groups working together towards a common goal, sharing resources, ideas, and expertise to achieve something that might be challenging or impossible to accomplish alone. In collaborative settings, participants typically combine their diverse skills, perspectives, and efforts to maximise efficiency and innovation, whether within an organisation, between different teams, or across entire industries.
Key characteristics of collaboration include:
- Shared Purpose: The participants have a mutual understanding of the goal and are motivated to work together to reach it.
- Open Communication: Effective collaboration requires open channels of communication, enabling transparency, feedback, and continuous information sharing.
- Complementary Skills: Collaborators often have varying strengths, with each individual contributing unique skills and insights.
- Trust and Respect: For collaboration to be effective, members must trust and respect each other’s roles, contributions, and perspectives.
- Flexibility and Adaptability: Collaborative efforts often require members to be open to change and willing to adapt their approach based on the group’s needs.
Warning: Companies simply trying to access our client base by using us as a sales channel for their product is not collaboration. Sharing of leads and mutual benefit of growth is the key.
Lab Innovations 2024 Conference
Greenlight Computers attended Lab Innovations 2024 Conference at the NEC with collaboration in mind and with the backdrop of the budget news the conversations were very positive and encouraging.
One example is LIMS: Greenlight Computers provides and IT support and helpdesk service for several companies using LIMS applications. We often take the initial call for an IT issue on our helpdesk and triage to find the issue maybe a faulty LIMS update but the escalation to the LIMS provider can be problematic. If we can collaborate in this area, understand the development roadmap for the LIMS product in advance we can ensure the clients IT Infrastructure is ready for change and minimise the need for multiple parties chasing fault tickets.
The three LIMS providers we met at the conference: Labware, Interactive Software & Sapio all expressed interest in working more closely with Greenlight Computers so watch this space for future announcements.
Big Plans
The Greenlight Computers management team have set out some ambitious targets for the 2025 -2027 business plan, with a big reliance on collaboration and customer service.
Life Science & Healthcare businesses will typically deal with a dozen companies in their supply chain for IT, from landlords, broadband providers, IT partners, LIMS providers, Data Analytics, Digital Marketing etc. all with account managers, project managers to interface with. Supply chain collaboration can reduce the need multiple separate meetings and bring in collaborative meetings around shared goals for the client.
UKSPA
Greenlight Computers is a proud member of the UKSPA (UK Science Park Association) community with offices in a growing number of parks. Find out more.
We have the technology, IT expertise and collaborative partner relationships to provide excellent customer service to both landlord and tenant/occupier companies in Science Parks. This community is at the centre of Greenlight Computers strategic plan, and we are keen to add value to this crucial sector of the UK economy wherever we can.
The UKSPA 40th anniversary conference at the University of Warwick really energised the Greenlight Computers team to double our efforts in 2025 and build a UK wide collaborative network.
Collaborators Breakfast
On 5th December in Manchester, we will be holding our first collaborators event at which Greenlight Computers CEO Gary Dodson will present our 2025 – 2027 strategy to partners and potential collaborators. The theme will be simple “if we grow you grow” so how do we jointly build a sales funnel that benefits us all.
An opportunity for some excellent peer level networking and focus on how, as a group of collaborators, we can offer the most enabling set of IT & technology solutions to the UK Life Science and Healthcare sector.
If you believe your company should be at our collaboration event, please contact us
This event is invitation only and decision maker attendance will make for the best collaboration.
We wish all our collaborators, partners and clients a successful 2025 and beyond.
