Academia bags £3m university iPad contract win

Apple and Microsoft partner targeting £100m turnover mark in the next three years

Reseller Academia has bagged a £3m contract to supply iPads to the University of Westminster (pictured) as it continues on its mission to reach the £100m revenue mark.

Academia began rolling out the three-year contract this week, and will supply 2,500 first-year students at the London university with 16GB iPad Air 2s, preconfigured with the university's own software.

Mike Bacon, Academia's founder, told CRN that the firm's profile in the education sector "massively helped" in securing the deal. He added that each of the eligible students will get the device for free.

"We could have just shipped an iPad in a box, but we have preconfigured them," he said. "That makes it a much more valuable resource, with all the university software on it, and it's bespoke to each student."

Founded in 2003, Academia has built its business around education and the public sector, but has recently put more focus on the commercial space, creating a dedicated commercial division in 2013. This unit is run by former Misco man Jesse Westgate.

Bacon said about 30 per cent of the firm's business comes from the commercial side, with 70 per cent from the public sector, but he expects this to become a 50-50 split by 2020.

For its latest fiscal year, ending 30 June, Academia anticipates its revenues to be £51m, up from £44m in its previous year. Bacon said he predicts this will go up to £65m for 2016 and he hopes the company can reach £100m in the next three years.

"That will be part of our organic growth but we are also open to small acquisitions – anything up to £1m I think we could invest in," he said.

In April, Academia was added to Microsoft's updated list of authorised device resellers (ADRs), which could sell the Surface.

Bacon said although Microsoft's targets were quite high, he has seen "steady progress" with this programme.