Mintivo reports 40% growth as it invests in people & tech

Wiltshire-based IT services provider Mintivo has reported over 40% annual growth for the second consecutive year, marking a turnover increase of more than 300% over the past four years.

Mintivo, headquartered in Chippenham, attributes its sustained performance to continued investment in people, systems, and processes. Managing Director Alex Jukes stated that, while the initial plan was for sustainable growth, the foundations laid by the company led to further expansion beyond expectations.

"We've had a really successful year and I'm very proud of what we've achieved, but the plan originally was one of sustainable growth because the previous years have been so successful. The goal of the year was ultimately reinvestment in systems, processes and our people but those foundations we put in place have obviously paid off."

Over the past year, Mintivo upgraded its IT Service Management system, integrating helpdesk, sales, and network engineering operations into a unified platform. Jukes explained that this has supported the company's ability to scale while also increasing transparency across the organisation. "The goal of doing that was to allow us to scale the operation and also have more visibility over the business and we achieved that," he said.

Investment has also been directed at staff training, benefits, and refining workplace culture. Jukes noted the importance of maintaining company values as Mintivo expanded. "We've also been investing more in our people in terms of learning and development, new benefits and really working on our culture – trying to promote our values," he said.

"We wanted to make sure that as we were growing quickly we didn't take our eye off the ball because we have got a team of ambitious, very talented people who want to develop, do training and take ownership of projects. It could have been quite easy to forget about that if we were solely focusing on growth."

Cloud technology growth

Mintivo works with organisations from various sectors, but much of its recent expansion comes from customers looking to evolve their IT environments using Cloud technologies. Jukes said, "Our goal is to partner with organisations who want to leverage more from their IT, organisations who want to approach IT in a strategic way and see us as a valuable partner."

He cited low customer attrition as a factor supporting growth. "We're proud that we haven't compromised on the customer experience," he said. "Over the last six years we've lost on average 1.5 customers a year – and we're bringing in close to 25 customers a year."

Sector focus

Growth areas for the business over the past year include the defence, manufacturing, professional services, and voluntary sectors. Work with charities in particular has expanded, building Mintivo's reputation in the third sector, according to Jukes. "The voluntary sector has been a key growth area for us and I'm really proud of the reputation we have built with charities," he said.

Mintivo currently provides strategic IT services to Dorothy House Hospice and Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance. Jukes highlighted the pressures faced by charities and the nature of support offered by Mintivo. "Charities are being squeezed because donations are challenging, their costs are rising and the demand for their services is increasing, so they are being asked to do more with less," he said.

"Supporting and navigating that is part of what we do and we've got really good relations with vendors, particularly ones who support charities as well, which helps us support them meaningfully. I think we add a lot of value as a partner with them."

Leadership and outlook

Mintivo employs 38 staff and over the past year has developed a new senior leadership team, encouraging greater autonomy in departmental decision-making. Jukes said, "We want them to own their budgets and make decisions that will change the course of those departments."

"We have come to appreciate that we have some brilliant people guiding the business, which is great. It's for them to lead the business from here."

Looking ahead, Jukes commented on the company's position for future growth. "We pride ourselves on acting as a strategic partner, guiding our customers from where they are today to where they want to be," he said. "Our clients see us as a valuable partner because of the impact we deliver and we're focused on continuing that smart, sustainable growth."