Insights > Best of 2019 at San-iT

Best of 2019 at San-iT

Internal News

10 Dec 2019

In our best of 2018 blog, we said 2019 was going to be a ‘big’ and ‘busy’ year. What an understatement.

The truth is that 2019 has been our biggest and busiest year yet. We are beyond proud of our team, partners and clients who have helped San-iT surpass major milestones.

Let’s take a look at the business goals we have achieved as well as the individual triumphs of our superstar staff.

We became a Gold Microsoft Partner

Gold Partner status is the highest standard within Microsoft’s partnership program. Achieving Gold demonstrates how we consistently deliver an outstanding client service fuelled by innovation.

It was no easy feat. A number of our team members became Microsoft Certified Trainers to make this possible. Their commitment and hard work puts us in the top 1% of Microsoft Partners across the World.

But the road doesn’t end here. We are always working hard to improve our capabilities and expertise, so watch this space.

Our team has continued to grow

Two big goals for 2019: continue to grow the team and create learning opportunities. We’ve met them and then some.

While our new recruits’ backgrounds are different, they all share similar values – friendly, caring and professional – making them a perfect fit for San-iT.

Here’s a little bit about them:

Our new starters

Cathryn Bright came to us earlier this year as an Accounts Assistant. An organisational goddess, Cathryn has blown us away with her helpfulness and attention to detail.

And then we have James Wright, our new 3rd Line Support Engineer. His technical knowledge and willingness to tackle new projects continues to astound us.

“Don’t just turn it on and off again. This isn’t the IT crowd,” we rely on Luke Goodlife for gems like this. He’s also an incredible 1st and 2nd Line Support Engineer. We couldn’t be happier to have him on our team.

Sam Owolabi also joined us as a 1st and 2nd Line Support Engineer. He consistently goes out of his way to help his clients and team members (unless they offer him mushrooms or cheese).

Our new apprentices

We’ve also continued to invest in apprenticeship schemes. We believe in enabling young talent to reach their potential. After all, these are the people who will be leading San-iT in the future.

Joe Harris joined us earlier this year as an apprentice IT Support Engineer. He is a committed, caring and talented individual. It’s an honour to help him advance in his career.

We fine-tuned our culture

As the business grew, so did the need to evolve our culture. We enlisted Martin Murphy – a former Special Forces soldier, international adviser and coach to leaders and high-performance teams – to help us.

Martin’s been a regular figure in the San-iT office, helping us to come together as a team to collaboratively create San-iT’s culture.

It was critical that everyone in the team had their say. As Martin showed us, cultural changes are powerful when everyone in the business commits to the same values and goals. Engaging them in defining who we are ensures we can build a team-led culture.

Now our staff reinforce our enhanced values through their day-to-day behaviours and work practices. Because of this, San-iT is stronger than ever.

We completed our office extension

New kitchen? Check. A lounge with a smart TV and games console? Check. New meeting rooms for events? Check. A happier San-iT team? You bet.

Our new office is a reflection of the progress San-iT has achieved over the past few years. The new build ensures our staff have a place to recharge, eat away from their desks and bond as a team.

We are grateful to everyone who worked hard to get the extension completed. And to all those who joined us to celebrate our grand opening. We also used our office party as an opportunity to hold an awards ceremony. You can discover the lucky winners in our blog.

You can also learn more about our new digs here. Pre-warning: you might get office envy.

We became a Freshwalks partner

Freshwalks gives busy professionals a chance to network in the gorgeous countryside. We’ve been steadfast supporters of the networking group, and becoming a partner in 2019 was a no-brainer.

The organisation has had a huge impact on several San-iT team members. Take Matt Simmons, for example. In June 2019, he committed to all the Freshwalks through to the end of the year.

Plus, he reached the top of Freshwalk’s leaderboard in November, totalling 245km. We salute you, Matt.

Work anniversaries and personal milestones

Our team are a loyal bunch. And many of our staff have celebrated significant anniversaries this year:

Brian Sparkes had his 1st year anniversary in April
Seb Graham reached his 6th year anniversary
Adam Lowe completed his apprenticeship and is now a permanent team member
Matt Simmons, our fantastic Solutions Architect, celebrated his 2nd year anniversary
Terry Smith also reached his 1st year anniversary
Emma Howes, our amazing Accounts Assistant, reached her 1st year anniversary too
Alison Evans’ 2nd year anniversary was celebrated by all
Mike Gregg, our Apprentice IT Technician, reached his 3rd year anniversary

One of our team members also got hitched in August. Congratulations again, Kev! While Sam became a dad. It’s been a privilege to share these moments with you.

We became masters of treats

To end on a very serious note, we have also achieved 12 Treat Tuesdays. Pizzas, cakes, chips, Chinese, you name it, we’ve consumed it. We can’t wait to continue treating the team to banquets in 2020.