NG Bailey IT Services smashes £60m barrier

Cisco Gold partner claims lead in smart buildings market

NG Bailey's IT Services division broke the £60m barrier in its last fiscal year as it boasts a lead in the smart buildings market.

For the year ending 27 February, sales in the IT Services arm were up seven per cent annually to just over £60m after the firm secured 454 new contracts over the course of the year.

The IT Services division forms part of the wider NG Bailey Group, which also has business units focused on engineering and facilities services. Overall, the group's underlying operating profit rocketed 43 per cent annually to £3m on sales which fell by four per cent to £365m over the same period.

NG Bailey Group claims its secured order book increased from £550m to £590m last year and boasted a place on a number of lucrative contracts which will come to fruition this year.

Over the past year, firms such as Cisco – with which NG Bailey It Services is a Gold partner – have been keen to talk up the opportunity around the Internet of Things in buildings, or smart buildings. Some partners are beginning to dip their toe into the market to encourage customers to consider the technology. NG Bailey IT Services claims the group's background in building services and IT means it is already ahead of the curve.

David Hurcomb, NG Bailey's chief executive, said: "The market is in its infancy – the groundwork is being laid in new buildings in particular. If you are going to have smart cities, you're going to need smart buildings. One of the key things that has been missing in this whole process are the people. Technology is great but it is not about implantation, the goal is adoption. You need to ensure that technology interacts with the people in that environment – I don't think everyone has got that right and work needs to be done in that area."

NG Bailey's IT Services division's managing director Bob Dunnett added that his company's experience in both buildings and IT gives it an edge.

"We do think we are a little ahead of the curve," he said. "Scepticism normally comes from lack of understanding. If you can talk to the right people – it can be the CIO or CFO – and get them to understand the benefits, adoption follows reasonably quickly."