Fast-growing IT services firm eyes push into Edinburgh amid data and AI explosion

An Ayrshire IT services specialist is eyeing a push into the east coast after notching up record growth 15 years after being founded.

Innovec was launched in 2009 by its chief executive Iain Wham, using his redundancy pay-off from a manufacturing company. It has grown from a one-man operation into a business with 13 employees and offices in Dundonald, near Ayr, and Glasgow.

The firm is now scouting for possible locations in Edinburgh and the Lothians following its most successful year to date. Wham said his business plan includes growing sales by 10 to 15 per cent annually over the next three years.

Innovec was launched in 2009 by its chief executive Iain Wham, using his redundancy pay-off from a manufacturing company.

“My intention is to grow the Glasgow branch to five or six staff and, beyond that, to roll out our model further across Scotland into other major Scottish cities, with Edinburgh being our main priority,” he said. “Following population centres makes sense but, ideally, we want to stay within a region where the team can easily collaborate.”

The company provides a range of IT support, from basic troubleshooting to more complex infrastructure management, including network setup, cloud services and phone systems. It racked up sales of just over £1.2 million for the past year, its highest turnover yet and up by more than a quarter on the previous year.

Wham added: “When I started, everything was on-site. Now, the drive towards the cloud, particularly with Microsoft 365, has fundamentally changed how we operate and how our clients work.”

He said the shift had necessitated continuous training and upskilling within the team to remain at the “cutting edge” of cloud technology and emerging innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI). Pushing into new geographic territories is also seen as a key component in the company’s growth strategy.

“We realised we couldn’t just keep throwing more work at a single team and expect it to function optimally,” noted Wham. “We had about 20 per cent of our customers in the Glasgow area, so we split the office into two, creating distinct Ayrshire and Glasgow teams.

“With a growing financial services sector, Edinburgh in particular is now a target for us in terms of our continued expansion. Our main market is small-to-medium sized businesses who are looking for a reliable, personalised provider of services to keep them connected and to handle the increasingly important issue of data management and security.

“These companies are often too large to manage their IT internally but too small to justify a dedicated IT person.”

He acknowledged that AI was still in its early stages, but pointed to a growing client demand for AI-related support and training.

“Younger employees are often more comfortable using AI for troubleshooting,” the Innovec boss added. “This changes the nature of support calls, but ultimately, people still need that personal touch when things go wrong. AI will likely automate some tasks, but the human element - the personal touch, the ability to quickly resolve issues, and the close client relationships - will always be essential.”