To golfers, a trip to Scotland is practically a religious experience. And one of the prize destinations for any serious golfing traveler is the Championship Course at Royal Dornoch—where the game has been played since 1616.
But when you step out onto the first tee, unless you’ve experienced true “links golf,” you’re faced with a challenge you may have never seen before: “Where do I aim?”
Because unlike the tree-lined fairways found throughout the U.S., links golf provides a different set of challenges. And without a trusted caddie who knows the course like the back of his hand—someone who can help you navigate unfamiliar terrain—it can be a struggle, no matter how skilled a golfer you may be.
STRATiiS founder Alun Borland calls Royal Dornoch home, and he’s well aware of the issues faced by newcomers to links golf.
“I’ve played with golfers from the States who look totally lost out there—and it’s much like how many of our customers come to us when dealing with the complexities of technology,” says Alun. “They simply don’t know what to do when it comes to securing their users from cyber-attacks, how to manage their servers, or how to integrate new technologies, etc.”
But STRATiiS saves the day by making their “course strategy” a whole lot simpler. Like an experienced caddie, STRATiiS helps their clients understand the technology they already have in place and provides them with the expertise they need to put it to its very best use.
Bigger Dreams
Alun’s journey in IT began over 30 years ago, when he started his career as a support engineer on small technology projects before moving into presales and then formal IT management.
During the early-2000s dot-com era, he worked as an IT network manager for several different organizations, eventually serving over 5,000 people across several countries. His experience included setting up infrastructure, traveling the world, opening new offices, managing budgets, and just about everything you could imagine associated with technology and IT.
It was exciting and rewarding, but Alun had bigger dreams.
“Ultimately, what I wanted to do was start my own business, to look after smaller clients,” he says. “I wanted to take the experience I’d gained across that network—developing my expertise in various tools and strategies—and leverage it to serve firms within the small to medium business space.”
When Alun formed STRATiiS in 2002, the goal was to provide secure, reliable IT services to companies in Glasgow and throughout the U.K. by offering IT management, support, and services.
STRATiiS provides a wide range of services to support the IT needs of SMBs, enabling them to make the day-to-day running of their businesses easier and less stressful. STRATiiS now serves over 100 different clients, some of whom have been there from the very beginning.
STRATiiS provides customized packages encompassing managed IT support, telecoms, disaster recovery, and information security—reducing costs and increasing productivity and efficiency—and allowing ANY company to get the support they need for a flat-rate monthly fee.
And as a golfer who loves the game, Alun follows some simple strategies to succeed both on and off the course.
Don’t Go It Alone
Even though golfing alone can be fun, the game’s far more enjoyable when played with others, especially with someone who can help you avoid hazards you may not even know exist.
This applies to how STRATiiS manages its business and the clients it likes to serve. “We want to work with people who value the technology and are also looking for our help in creating a customized strategy for its use … an approach based on achieving specific business goals, rather than just reacting to emergencies,” says Alun. “We work together with them to identify a plan that leverages technology in a way that streamlines operations and makes them more efficient.”
Borland has found that when you partner with clients who understand the value that managed IT services provide—ensuring critical business systems work effectively and reliably—not only does this create a better working relationship, but it also saves the client time and money.
“Our perfect client,” he says, “is someone who understands and values this kind of partnership—someone who sees technology as an enabler that will allow them to operate and grow their business, while keeping their systems and data secure. This means we have to take the time necessary to understand their business and their goals, and then work out a plan to help get done what they need to do.”
This kind of collaborative approach isn’t for everyone, but Alun has found that the best results come when there’s a partnership, not just a transactional experience. The goal is to form a relationship that’s going to last for a long time, not just a one-off fix where the client has to go looking every three years for something different.
“We’re looking for situations where we can come on board alongside them, look at their entire infrastructure, and then provide direction on the best ways to maximize their opportunities through technology,” says Alun. “It’s not just making sure you don’t get hacked, it’s a much more strategic approach.”
The All Important “Follow-Through”
Watch the very best golfers; they don’t simply “whack” the ball. Instead, they take a full swing that begins and ends in perfect balance … all the way to the picture-perfect follow-through, staying totally focused on every shot, from start to finish.
Likewise, one of the secrets to the success STRATiiS has achieved – both for themselves and for their clients – results from a similar dedication to consistent, ongoing “follow-through” with a focus on managing technology to keep their staff safe, their systems safe, and their data safe.
“You need to be diligent when you actually start something, and follow it right through to the end,” Alun stresses. “You can’t stop and start and then go back again. You’ve got to be consistent with it, you’ve got to keep going with it. And that’s how success happens: It keeps gaining momentum, like a stone accelerating as it rolls down a hill.”
The result of this dedication to always following through is a low turnover of clients, some of whom have been with STRATiiS since the beginning. “With every new client,” Alun says, “we make it a priority to work with them in a way that lets them know how much we value them and that we intend to keep working with them for a long, long time.”
This means a lot to the clients they serve, as well as to the kinds of team members STRATiiS attracts.
“We’ve got really good staff who’ve been with us on average 10 years. We don’t have a high staff turnover, which you can’t have in IT. It makes it so much more comfortable for me to service our clients using engineers we know we can rely on – team members who have developed long-term experience working with our clients’ systems and networks.”
It’s How You Play The Game That Matters Most
Golf is more than just a game. Its traditions and values have endured the centuries, and the sport today is more popular than ever.
It’s this same kind of commitment to values and customer care that makes STRATiiS different.
“We’ll work hard to understand exactly what their needs are,” Alun says. “We will never go sell something with the only goal of trying to make some profit. Or we’ll never sell something if it’s an old solution. We want to make sure every time that they get just the right solution for them.”
Borland works hard every day to ensure the company values of professionalism, results, integrity, caring, and excellence shine through in every interaction they have and in everything they do.
“We’re always engaging with them, finding out what’s important to their business before they launch a new technology, or integrate systems, or embark on a new project. My aim is to always focus on building the relationship to make sure the client’s best interests remain front and center.”
Because at the end of the day, it’s not just about what you do to make a living, it’s about what you do to truly connect with the people you work with and serve.
That’s a sure formula for success, no matter what game you play.
For more information on Stratiis Ltd., please click here.
