New Solar CEO to take managed services to 'next level'

John Whitty joins comms VAR from GCI where he was managing director

Newly appointed CEO of Solar Communications, John Whitty, has said he will be looking to take the firm's managed services offering to "the next level".

Whitty (pictured), who started at Solar earlier this month, was previously managing director at telecoms firm GCI for three years.

He told CRN he joined Solar because the voice and data VAR is in a strong market position.

"I did some due diligence on Solar, and I looked at the financial stability of the company, and that is exceptionally good, with no debt," he said. "The cash flow is also very good, and then I looked at the team and the ethos and vision and that met with what I wanted and where I want to go."

The firm's former CEO, Mark Colquhoun - who will remain at the company as a board director - brought Whitty in to lead the firm because of his track record of moving into managed services at GCI, Whitty claimed.

"Mark Colquhoun, who is the founder and majority shareholder, has been pushing that [managed services] for the last year or so," Whitty said. "We have grown quite significantly in our recurring business, but we need to take it to the next level. That's why he has brought me in, because I have managed to do it before.

"What we have to do is maintain that service to our existing customers and reassure them that they are going to still get that great service. But if they choose to move to the cloud and take managed services, then Solar is definitely here to provide that for them."

Whitty added the move of PBX telephone systems into the cloud creates a good opportunity for Solar to wrap around managed services for its customers.

For its last year ending 31 December 2014, Solar's profits were £946,000 on sales of £13.5m. Whitty said he is expecting the firm's sales to be in excess of £14m for 2015. He added he is hoping to double the company's sales within four years.

Solar acquired ShoreTel partner Armstrong Communications in 2013, and Whitty said the firm is going to continue with organic and acquisitive growth and mentioned service providers with connectivity or hosting voice capabilities as potential candidates.

The Mitel, ShorTel and Avaya partner has offices in London, Chippenham and earlier this month opened a larger office in Salford Quays, Manchester, where it previously had a base.

The firm has a headcount of 80, and Whitty said he would like to "increase this significantly as we gain more business and market share".