Georgia Grimes: ‘We see huge growth in cybersecurity’

M Group technology MD discusses defence investments, sovereignty demand and vendor roster

Telent expects cybersecurity to become an increasingly important growth engine as operators of critical national infrastructure (CNI) face mounting pressure to secure more connected and complex environments.

Georgia Grimes, technology MD at M Group, tells CRN that changing security requirements are creating opportunities for the business across its CNI customer base.

“CNI is an area that unfortunately does come as a target for attacks. We see huge growth in cybersecurity.”

Cyber is one part of a broader technology opportunity Grimes sees emerging across Telent’s markets.

Connectivity and networking remain core to the business as customers deploy more devices and ask for greater control and visibility over them.

She also points to rising demand around CCTV and computer vision analytics, including remote monitoring technology capable of identifying safety issues and overcrowding.

Further up the tech stack, Grimes highlights control and automation technologies, including supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), as another potential focus area, particularly across water and energy.

Sovereignty becomes ‘a key factor’ for CNI clients, says Grimes

The changing geopolitical landscape is also putting greater emphasis on sovereignty among Telent’s customers, according to Grimes.

“It comes up in many conversations,” she says.

“With the wider geopolitical landscape, I think sovereignty is going to be a key factor for the CNI clients that we’re working with.

“MoD, government, they want to see that we’ve got that end-to-end UK presence and base of operations, and we’re very well placed to serve that.”

Telent, which ranks tenth on CRN’s Top VARs list, works with a broad range of technology vendors to build those solutions, such as Cisco, Fortinet, Juniper, Ericsson and Nokia.

Grimes notes that the company intends to consolidate its existing relationships with major partners while remaining open to emerging vendors.

“We have very long-standing, very valued relationships with a large number of technology vendors and partners,” she says.

“If somebody has a great product or capability, Telent and M Group, we are the organisation that can take that into complex CNI and turn it into an outcome.”

That role also shapes how Grimes positions Telent within the channel.

“We very much see ourselves as an integrator and solutions partner rather than a traditional IT reseller.”

While the company plans to “double down” on its major channel relationships, Grimes says new entrants will continue to be considered where they bring relevant innovation.

“We’re open to whoever brings the best solution. That’s part of what we do.”

Defence interest

The organisation is currently bidding for a major MoD contract, with a decision expected in November, as it looks to build on a series of smaller defence wins.

“Defence very much remains a strategic priority for us,” Grimes tells CRN.

“We’ve had some small but strategically important wins with the MoD, but over a number of years we’ve been strengthening relationships with Defence Digital and other parts of the defence organisation.”

Grimes says increasing investment in defence, coupled with Defence Digital’s transformation plans, could significantly expand the work available to Telent.

“There’s a very large bid that we’re currently in the tender process with the MoD, hoped to hear in November, and look, we’re really excited about it.

“We think there could be some really large-scale pieces of work, both the one we’re currently engaged in, but as we look to the future, we know that the MoD need to think about multiple types of network.”

Potential areas range from corporate Wi-Fi and secure networks to perimeter security and drone detection, she adds.

In January, Telent won an arrangement with the RAF to operate and improve the Site Co-ordination, Installation and Design Authority (SCIDA) service across 244 sites, including all military air traffic control infrastructure.

Utilities emerge as another growth engine

Alongside defence, Grimes singles out utilities as one of Telent’s most important expansion opportunities.

The business already has established positions across transport through customers including TfL, Network Rail and National Highways, while public safety, emergency services and government represent further areas for expansion.

Earlier this week, the business secured a contract with Herefordshire Council to maintain the county’s traffic signal network.

She also argues that Telent’s combination with M Group creates a particular opportunity across water and energy.

“Huge investment, huge regulatory-driven change and areas where there’s a lot that Telent can do. There’s a lot of technology capability that’s going to be required and M Group has those really strong, deep relationships to help open the doors.”

“Alongside defence, utilities is going to be a really key growth space for us.”