VAR Frontier Technology moves to bigger London digs

Tintri, Nexgen Storage and SimpliVity partner moves to new Shepherd's Bush office to accommodate bigger workforce

Data-management VAR Frontier Technology has moved into "considerably bigger" digs, as it looks to increase its headcount in 2016.

The Tintri, Nexgen Storage and SimpliVity partner last month moved from its Baker Street office to a new facility in Shepherd's Bush to accommodate new recruits and combat rising London rent prices.

"Baker Street rent went up 85 per cent, and we needed more space," sales manager Jerry Mumford said. "[The Shepherd's Bush office] is really a lovely space."

After taking on a number of new staff in 2015, Frontier's headcount is now 20, and Mumford said this year "is all about recruitment".

In 2016 Frontier will also concentrate on a smaller number of vendor partners and expand its relationships with pre-IPO companies such as Tintri.

"We have experience here of EMC and NetApp, but we think the start-ups offer a genuine alternative solution and I don't think it's any coincidence that these guys do successfully get their IPOs or get bought," he said.

"The advantage is that you get a bit more return on investment [with these vendors] and they put time back into you and you have a very relevant message to take to customers. For every dollar we invest with these new guys, we definitely get a dollar back. With an EMC or a NetApp we are just another partner and we don't get very much back."

Last year Frontier set itself the goal of reaching £10m sales in five years, and Mumford said the firm had a "brilliant end" of 2015.

"In December alone we acquired five new customers across all spaces with a significant win in oil and gas, which is great."