Everythings rosy at Crimson Tide

The data solutions provider is a Yes Telecom business partner and an O2 direct data reseller. It is understood to be on the verge of signing either Ipswich-based distributor Anglia or Kent-based MoCo to its new partner programme  a scheme whereby it manages customers data solutions and its dealer or distributor partners take care of their voice services. It is offering partners the chance to double, or to possibly even triple, their money on standard airtime commissions for alerting customers to its data solutions. />Crimson Tide, founded by executive chairman Barrie Whipp in 1996, listed on the London Stock Exchange AiM market late last year and recently opened a new Irish headquarters in Dublin. />Its data solutions, first offered in 2004, provide field workers with bespoke, subscription-based mobile data programmes for handheld devices. The objective is to save clients time and money by enabling smart working. />Whipp, for his part, has a long history of growing private companies, and concentrates at Crimson Tide on company strategy, marketing and product development. In person, he comes across as self-assured and extremely ambitious. He refers to Crimson Tide as his baby, and is animated about its success to date, and its plans for growth. />I came out of the City, where I was in financial services. I was involved in the floatation of a financial services group, called IAF Group, where I was the managing director. And because I came out of that company well, I had the money to re-invest in what I really wanted to do in life  computer services. />Whipp knew that to gain any level of success in the mobile computing sector with Crimson Tide, he needed assistance from people with proven track records in the industry. He found that know-how in sales director Jeremy Roth and Steve Goodwin, Crimson Tide sales director and CEO respectively. />Starting from scratch />He explains: I had to start this business from scratch  I started it with literally nothing. After deciding handheld solutions were the way to go, I needed two heavyweight people to join the business  to really take it to the kind of levels we achieved last year when we floated. />Roth has been in the mobile communications solutions business for 14 years. He joined Crimson Tide from Vodafone, where he was its leading government sector sales director. Prior to joining Crimson Tide, Goodwin headed up his own MBO and managed a major division of General Electric. Goodwin focuses on the running and development of the company  expansion and acquisitions. />So what persuaded Roth to quit an industry giant like Vodafone to join a data start-up like Crimson Tide? />Roth says: I got very interested in not just supplying mobile phones, but also supplying mobile data solutions. />My last couple of years at Vodafone included supplying mobile data solutions in the government market place. />We felt the market for mobile data solutions in smaller businesses was untapped and decided to take advantage of the opportunity. />Whipp founded the company on a clear sales principal  efficiency, for itself and its customers. But it took some time before mobile technology caught up with his vision. />Whipp says: I had this continuing desire to make businesses more efficient. I wanted to make what I call big boy applications available to small and medium-sized companies. I firmly believed these small or medium-sized companies should have access to the features that the bigger companies do. But we only developed the company to offer that over six or seven years as the technology became available. />The emergence of technologies such as Bluetooth and more efficient PDAs sparked the availability of serious computing programmes on mobile. It effectively made the mobile phone a modem, and meant we could really start to deliver those kinds of services  services to anybody, anywhere  from salesmen to management  with handheld devices that can pretty much do whatever they want. />But Whipps vision for Crimson Tide does not stop at delivering cost and time-efficient data solutions. />My ultimate goal when I started was to float the business. We achieved that last year. My goal beyond that is to keep growing, he says. We have a market space that is really wide open, so I have pretty big ambitions. />Visions and ambitions />For Roth, on the other hand, the driving motivation at Crimson Tide was more personal. />He says: I come from a big corporate background, where i was providing solutions to the government sector. What I really wanted was to get out of that kind of infrastructure and start to get involved in real life mobile solutions. />While most companies provide a selective service to a niche audience, Crimson Tide has set itself to reach a broader customer base, not defined by size or sector. />We provide services for everybody and anybody  about 700 different companies, in total, says Roth. We dont have a particular vertical market, we dont have a particular horizontal market and we dont particularly deal with customers directly. So were not a typical B2C organisation at all. />This was not always the case. In fact, Whipp originally planned to operate at the lower end of the market. />Actually, as the business came into fruition, we found its sweet spot was in the higher end of the smaller market, or even the mid-market companies. Theres still a fairly big gap in the medium-sized companies as to what they think is actually available to them, particularly in our market. />Crimson Tides listing on the AiM market in August last year is a testament to the size of that gap in the market  and, of course, to the way in which the company has exploited it. Four months after it floated, Crimson Tide announced the acquisition of the share capital of Intelligent Data in Dublin, which has since been renamed Crimson Tide (IE). />Whipp explains that floating on the London Stock Exchange came with a gentle word of warning. />When you float on the stock exchange, they tell you never to mention the word unique and say, You can never say youre unique, because there has to be someone out there that does exactly what you do, he explains. />Quite frankly though, for what we do, we havent found anyone that does exactly the same. We find people doing hardware, software or network connections. />There are good discounts on handsets out there from hardware suppliers, and there are good software solutions from software providers. Theres fierce competition right across the market  but no one does exactly what we do. />He goes on: We dont look to get into head-to-head situations like Tesco versus Sainsburys or Vauxhall versus Ford and say that our product is better than theirs  its us or nobody. />We do all the things our competitors do, plus a little bit more  we offer a fully integrated solution. />Whipp does not foresee any long-term difficulties for Crimson Tide. The base it has built up during the past decade has enabled it to develop its strategy and to remain unique. />For the market we compete in, we dont find it very difficult at all, he says. If we get in front of the customer, we have an incredibly high conversion rate  and if the customer sits down and sees what were putting on the table, we know we can be successful. />An ever-growing market />At the same time, Whipp warns against complacency and comfort and says that ambition precludes any thoughts of any easy ride. />We are as busy as busy can be, he says, because the market is moving rapidly towards mobile applications on handheld devices. />It really is the tip of the iceberg, when Nokia and RIM start telling you there are going to be billions of mobile addresses in four or five years time. />It makes you realise the market for these applications is really going to be carried forward by that publicity. />Roth adds that Crimson is in the right position to capitalise on a developing market and can even work further after that. />The availability and choice of devices has grown considerably in the past three to six months and people are now used to having a mobile email device, whether its BlackBerry or another solution. />Were in the market space where we can provide solutions for businesses requiring BlackBerry, Palm or Windows Mobile devices. />Crimson have only one primary aim for the rest of 2007  to continue to grow. />Were growing reasonably fast and have always said to people that we are an acquisitive company, says Roth. This is shown by the addition of the Dublin operation. Well continue to look for opportunities to add acquisitions.